guys, please note below. she did wait until the 15% came on.

 

I may be a little late, but I would've changed the oil at 3K miles..no matter what the car. First oil change is always crucial since you're basically breaking in the whole car.

Also, when I first got my car, I waited until about 15K miles or my 3rd scheduled maintenance before I started using synthetic. You may not need it since you all are in honda fits, but you definitely feel the difference. My recommendation though is to get synthetic blend...works just as fine for fits, lasts longer too, helps you save more money in the long run.

 

The first oil change is important. Honda uses a ton of Moly in the factory installed oil for break in purposes. Which is why they recommend not changing it until 15%. Thus changing oil at 3000 miles may have made the situation worse for break in.

The myth about changing to synthetic after 10,15 or 20K miles is just that... a myth. Check out the FAQ on Mobil1, Amsoil or do a search on Bob Is the Oil Guy forum for more information on this.

 

I see...then I stand corrected

True, but waiting 15k was my own decision for other reasons...I never said that it was bad using it on the first oil change. I did however state the difference in the overall feel of the car and a monetary advantage of using synthetic/synthetic blend.

 

So I got over to the stealer...er...dealer today...

$29.99 oil change
$19.99 tire rotation (had the A code too)

I would have gotten my first oil change free if I'd bought it there, but since it came to me from 2 states away, no deal.

I also bought one of those honkin' huge sun screens for my front window. Heat Shield. $34.00 and it's as big as a fence post. But whatever, I got nothing for mother's day so I treated my baby to a sunscreen.

Next time I'm not sure I'll go back, but OTOH, I can look at all the '09 Fits they have on the lot. They had a white Mugen one in the showroom but all I saw was a rear view mirror and floor mats, big deal.

 

I read too much into your reply, sorry about that

I'm curious what overall "feel" you are referring to? I'd like to go the synthetic route myself

 

no worries...what i meant by feel was the responsiveness. My car is very torque-y...so when I hit the gas, I feel it. When I switched to synthetic, it felt smoother. I don't know how else to describe it. I just remember being surprised at how smooth and responsive my car was that I was going too fast for my own good.

A friend told me that once you go synthetic, you shouldn't go back to regular for issues I don't really care about. I don't know if he's right or not, but I've been on synthetic ever since.

I usually used castrol full synthetic (the black bottle), or mobile 1..both with no complaints on my end. I change my oil every 10-15k. What I'm eager to try is motul synthetic.

 

Wow $19.99 for tire service? The service department for one of the subaru dealerships here wanted to charge me an arm and a leg for a tire rotation (she claimed it was for inspection fees and alignment).

Anyway, you should learn how to do the oil change yourself. Besides the savings you'll get, I think it's HOT when girls work on their car themselves. Plus, no one will ever take care of their car the way YOU do.

 

Paid 21 bucks total yesterday at the dealership for an oil change. 6k on the odometer and 50% on the minder. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Could of done without the wash but it was too late when the managaer said that was all we were waiting for...next time I'll have to make sure and ask them not to wash my freshly washed and waxed car (o:

 

Dude, I did my own oil changes for YEARS, I don't really want to do it any more! Hot or not...

Yeah, I know it's high for the tire rotation. It's the stealer, after all. I just wanted to go and get a baseline for how much they charge, how long they take, etc.

I watched them the whole time and it was funny seeing my tiny little Fit surrounded by all those "normal" sized cars...

 

For tire rotations, Wally World (aka Wal-Mart) charges either $3.50 or $4.50 (can't remember which) per tire. I really want to go up to them some time and ask for a rotation for one tire--just to see the look on their faces!

 

That's just STOOPID!!!

 

yea 15% and light is on but i will tell the dealer i just rotated my tires so dont try to charge me on that one.

 

Sorry I'm coming into this kinda late, but I had a couple of questions.

This morning I got an automated e-mail from my dealership of purchase reminding me that my car is due for service. I thought that was odd bc the car is six weeks old and has just over 1,100 miles on it.

I called them and they said that there must have been an error with their e-mail provider (they sent an e-mail to ALL owners rather than just ones that needed a service) and I should disregard it.

However, I then said "Oh, so should I wait for the 15% oil life and maintenance minder to come on then?" and she told me:
"No, you should come in at 4 months or 4,000 miles no matter what."

This is consistent with another Honda owner who works with me that was told at 1 dealer to wait for the car's maintenance minder to get to 15% (and was sent away from that place...come back when you are at that level, they said) and then dealer 2 yelled at her for bringing the car in at 40% saying that "too many miles had passed and she should have come in at 4k no matter what".

So if American Honda Motor Company is going to print in the manual to wait for the CAR to tell you what to do and yet the DEALER that sold it to you is going to give you a whole bunch of different stories, how are you supposed to know when to maintain your car?

I come from a history where my dad used to tell me to change it at 3k or 3 mos no matter what...? I guess I kinda just would like some advice on what to do.

 

just go by your maintenance minder.

 

that's true if you're using a conventional oil with a cheap filter.
i run synthetic oil with a mobile1 filter and i usually change both the oil and filter between 7.5k and 8.5k. this method has worked for me for the past 50k miles and my oil is still fairly clean when it comes out.

however, for your first oil change use redrumm's advice. i've spoken with honda's technician "experts" before and i wouldn't trust them with an interior light bulb change.

 

you can buy mobil one at wal mart for $22 bucks

 

I change my oil about every 5,000 miles regardless of what the light says on the car. Right now I'm at almost 6,000 (due to a long trip yesterday) and I'm still at 50%? I don't trust it, time to do an oil change.

 

The % drops significantly for the next 1500 miles. Even though it says 50% now it'll go down pretty quickly, since you have never seen it then that's probably why you would't know.