until the wrench comes on.

I usually change my own oil when I have a chance to do I haven't done it on our fit yet. So my fiancee had the oil changed 3k miles ago and we are going away from a weekend so she brought it in to get it looked over.

The guy over at the Honda service said we don't need to do anything until the wrench comes on. This makes me want to change it before we leave. =-/

 

How many percent is the oil life? When it becomes 15%, the maintenance minder(wrench) will come on and that's the sign that you should change the oil soon.

 

i think his question might be more like "is it bad to change the oil before the wrench comes on?"

IMO, besides wasting money on oil, I don't think it's bad to change it before the wrench comes on. But I'm sure Honda's engineers have it figured out so the car probably doesn't NEED the oil changed before the wrench comes on.

 

You could safely change the oil every day if you wanted too but...

 

What % does the meter currently show? On a road trip 1000 miles = ~10% If the meter reads 50% a 3000 mile trip should be possible.

 

Follow the MM. It's your friend.

 

Fits are factory filled with Synthetic oil. It really doesn't matter how hard you drive it, as long as you don't tow boats or cars with it (or try rather) or run it to red line at every shift... the actual mileage the oil can run in the car vs the MM is approximately 7000 miles. It sounds ridiculous but these new engines have tighter tolerances and better filtration than vehicles pre-2007. Run 5w-20 Synthetic or the blend oil the dealers uses, and you're good to go!

 

Factory fill is not syn - 5W20 dino. Tons of discussions - search 'synthetic oil'. The recommendation on going to 15% on first oil change is to do exactly what you say. My dealer service advised going two oil changes before switching to syn.

 

Here's two good threads:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...il-change.html

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...e-starter.html

 

Not saying you're wrong or I'm right or anything. Could just be area difference. My Fit has had synthetic since I bought it.

Dino oil would be for break in. But in most vehicles now engines are broken in before they are installed in the vehicle. Synthetic oil is too slick to break in new bearings and seat rings. I have heard different stories across the board. Not here, but from dealer to dealer, tech to tech. Everyone has their own preference.

For Instance, I change my own oil per-MM suggestion. The Dealer I work for has a bulk reel of standard 5w-20 and a (blend) reel of 5w-20. I run Castrol as do the dealers here. BUT, the Castrol Syntec is a full-synthetic oil. Not a blend. I don't have faith in the longevity of conventional oil if you run over 4000 miles. I'm unsure of the blend, because I've never used it in a Honda (I had a Ford Ranger and ran Motorcraft which is blend oil) and it ran ok.) I do know that at 80K miles when I pulled the valve cover off to adjust my valves, the rockers and all of the overhead still looked brand new running Syntec (I buy my own from Wal-Mart).

This will bake your noodle - Our Honda dealers here all run Castrol oil in the bulk tanks. If you buy "Honda" branded gray oil bottles to DIY, you're buying an expensive form of Mobile One (Read the labels on the older bottles if you can find them, they're manufactured by Exxon Mobile). The technicians are taught to pull the cap off and lay it next to the hood latch, so if you try to close the hood and forgot the cap, the hood won't shut (good idea, in theory)....my bad vibe about that comes from we work in dusty, dirty, shops with crap floating everywhere in the air; If it takes 25 minutes to do an oil change and 40 pt. inspection, if you ALWAYS get your car serviced by the dealer, how long over the period of times the car sits in the shop, is that engine ingesting dirt and contaminants from the cap being off of the valve cover? Not to mention have you ever walked behind the buildings to inspect the bulk tanks? They're disgusting, and they are actually filled by a pumping truck from a bulk refining company that has a filter system on board that's only changed once a month. (Let me point out at this point the reason I say this is because the company that fills the Honda bulk tanks, is the SAME company that fills our bulk tanks at Caterpillar with "Cat" oil.) Who knows what oil has been through those filters, through the nasty hoses on his truck, into the bulk tank, through the reels, through the hose filler that isn't wiped down and cleaned between each oil change, and into your engine? It really makes you wonder why engines don't last longer than they do these days.

I'm sorry for the rant everyone. I'm a trained technician by Caterpillar and the importance of fluid sampling and analysis, plus the cleanliness of our shop. Honda is a Saturday only job, and your vehicle is RARELY serviced by anyone with proper training and skills to diagnose and repair anything other than "do the brakes look good". Most express oil techs at Dealers are no better than burger jacks at McDonalds... I cannot STAND watching what those kids do to customer's cars on Saturday. I want to strangle them! I hope that the knowledge I share provides you with a little intel on the automotive industry.

 

The difference between syn and new dino oil is not that much. I drive a truck and they use a group 2 oil for 20000 plus miles carrying 80000 pound loads for 1 million miles and no problems. New oils are group 2, 2+, and maybe group 3 to meet the gf4,gf5 standard. As gas and oil advances the problems we grew up with are disappearing.

 

Also factory fill is dino oil other wise they would recommend it like they do in Mitsubshi turbo motors. The oil in the Honda is clear and M1 is alot darker and looks different when it wears. M1 is a great oil but not needed anymore unless required.

 

rubix from what you say, I avoid the dealer on weekends. What's the best day? Too tiered to talk oil... rants is good, you amongst friends.

 

40% w/ 4k on this batch of oil.

I've always gone by the 3k rule for oil. I know oils are better and blah blah, but I change the oil in my American car every 3k.

 

This debate or information comes up from time to time. Everyone kind of has their own approach.

For me? For the first oil change I'm going by the maintenance minder. Then I'm changing to full synthetic and I'll change it when I want to.

Nothing against the maintenance minder and the supposed genius of Honda Engineers, but I'm not one of Pavlovs Dogs, I think it's bad practice to learn how to respond only when given an automated signal. Besides, wrench or no wrench it's your car...whatever makes you comfortable.

 

My car has gone almost 5k and I'm still at 40%. For some reason, that makes me uncomfortable. I don't know why. The car has full synthetic in it.

I am starting to get the 'come in for service' e-mails from the dealer. my first oil change was done at 3.5k when they called to remind me and I made the appointment.

I'd like to wait for it to get down to 15%, as the manual written by the manufacturer states. That said, it seems like an awfully long time or I'm just way too used to driving delicate Swedish and German cars with strong appetites for fresh oil...

As an aside, I'd like to report that my fuel mileage is slowly improving as the car gets more miles on it.

 

I have 4500 miles at 50 percent, your right about feeling uncomfortable, You have synthetic in it your OK, just check the level and if need oil you can add some if oil looks good or change it. My old car need a little oil at around 5000 miles on oil but 6000 miles it need to be changed. I ran M1 and had no problems.

 

I run Royal Purple, I get on average 8-9k between changes, I've always just gone by the MM. I check it around 50% and need to top it off with 1/4 - 1/3q but then I drive it pretty hard. Runs like a champ, I just turned 84k mi.

 

Thanks for the friends complement Krimson. I would say probably Tuesday-Thursday is best. Nobody's tired or hung over normally, LOL!

Just can't stand kids working on cars when their attitude is shown through their work. I have always gone with a "treat it as if it were my own" approach.

of all the Honda's and Acura's I have serviced - this is off-topic - I honestly see fewer Fits in the shop than anything, and I have replaced a lot of batteries under warranty for the Acura MDXs, just in case anyone's looking. Haven't really observed any real problems for the Fits though, even talking to the main techs.

 

The key is just how long is your weekend trip. If its 10,000 miles perhaps you may want to change but if its less than 1500 miles and your indicator says 30% or more you likely don't need to unless you're gping to track your Fit or otherwise run hard in the mountains.