I'm pretty sure it cannot. If it could, then you wouldn't have this worry of 15% on the MM or 12 months, for example.

 

First off my argument is not with the MM. Honda has the additive package on the pistons and in an aluminum motor temps run cooler. The oil has enough additives to last 7500 miles at least and changing the oil too much is a waste and can hurt the motor by additive build up. Thinner oils (0w-20) are just for better mpg over the life time of the car and protect the motor just like the regular 5w20. In extreme cold the 0w20 is preferred to protect the motor at cold temps. The main reason of lower ZDDP is to help the emission system last longer and to help prevent additive build up which can restrict oil flow to the upper engine parts that rely on good oil pressure to advance the cam. All this a regular conventional oil which is semi synthetic anyways is good enough under normal driving. Synthetics is a great oil but I have seen no real benefit in the 15 years of using it. My mpg is the same and actually dropped in the Fit the longer I used it. Its for racing and hard working vehicles where the advantages are seen. Every where Ive read say that true synthetics last 20-25000 miles which as long as the car is under warranty you have to change the oil when the MM tells you or 1 year so no real advantage.

My problem is with the different oils that are out and the new GF5 is actually not as good as the M1 GF4. So why not just say M1 exceeds GF5 and leave it at that. Using cheaper stocks and better additives compared to better stocks to cheaper or using less additives. As long as it stamped with the API and has the star burst symbol its ok to use in the car. I am just a little disappointed that the new GF5 is not as good as whats available.

 

10,186 miles just changed out the factory fill with 15% life left.

 

Both my manual 5 speed 2011's call for "0-5w" motor oil, but my automatic 2012 wants me to use "0-20w" oil. Why the change? Are they both all synthetic? I find it odd that the local Honda dealer does not know, but recommends the "full synthetic" for all my Fit needs! The reason I'm asking is that the 2011's had a much higher EPA estimate of MPG than the 2012, and I was wondering if the oil weight had any effect on this (drag)??? One 2011 gets about 35mpg average (my son drives it) and the one I drive averages 39. My daughter's automatic 2012 is only getting about 32, although when she drove the '11 she averaged 39mpg, just like I do, so I'm thinking it's the car, not the driver in this case.

 

Its because of the auto trans. The differences between 5AT and 5MT were similar between GD models too. I get about 37 mpg average in my 5MT (visiting 6k rpm often) whereas my friend gets about 29 driving like an old person in his 5AT.

 

Okay, so the manual DOES get better MPG's. The salesman said it would be the same, as did the brochure. But, why the change in the recommended oil weight from 0-5 to 0-20, from the 2011's to the 2012's?

 

Also, the switch from 5w-20 to 0w-20 slightly improves the EPA milage numbers because the oil is slightly more fluid at cold temps.

 

I think you mean 5w-20 vs 0w-20. 0w-20 is synthetic but provides at least the same protection as 5w-20. Either should be fine but many people prefer synthetic for various reasons. My new 2009 Fit came with 5w-20 in it. When I changed the oil I switched to Mobil 0w-20 and never looked back. My new 2012 came with 0w-20 already in it. Some synthetic oil companies market products that claim to increase fuel efficiency by a few percent.

As far as fuel mileage there is no difference in EPA ratings between the years 2009 and 2012.

Compare Side-by-Side

 

Thanks. I don't know where the Mobil 0-5w came from, except maybe the oil section of AutoZone or WalMart. What would use such a thin oil? (If anything?) I did buy a quart and have been adding it to my lawn mower just to use it up when it dips down under the full mark, just to use it up. It did cost 8 bucks.

 

Don't buy them by the quart. Buy the 5 qt jugs from Walmart, usually at about $28 a jug. Cheaper than the $8+ per quart bottles. Yes, you will have more than a quart left over after an oil change.

My MM hits 0% every 6k miles, which is about every four months.

After I do an oil change, I keep that leftover for next time and use it first. Then after the 3rd oil change, the "leftover" is just about enough for a 4th oil change. Though technically, I'll be .2 qts shy of the 3.8qts for a full change. But the 5qt jug actually slightly more than 5 qts... so it works out.

 

You must be doing lots of stop and go. Where I drive is mostly U.S. Route 4 in what you'd call suburban; no red lights and average 45 mph (I've checked the little gauge and I think that 40-45 is where the Fit really does top out on its potential mpg.) The other 25% of my driving is on a moderately light traffic interstate; at 55 mph so as not to get rear-ended. Cruise control helps a great deal; with the tires set at 32 psi my max mpg has been 46 on an interstate trip to CT (200 miles each way) even though there are ups and downs. My MM tends to drop 10% every 1100 to 1200 miles with great predictability...so I get the 11,000 easily before it goes down to 10 or 5% warning to change oil. I see no reason to pinch pennies on the quality of the oil with this car's performance; the 5 qts of Mobil 1 at walmart for $28 seems like a real bargain. 5 bucks for a filter and I'm done for almost another year! So far it's my second favorite car ever, and certainly my highest MPG that I know of (didn't used to keep close track at 99 cent gas prices!) Thanks for the feedback.

 

I'm just north of Rt 4 but 2/3 of the way across Vermont from NH. My commute used to be 26 miles each way with a 45mph avg and I was running 36 in the winter up to 42 in the spring/summer. it has changed in the last 8 months to being a round trip of 10 miles so my economy has dropped a bit (down into the low 30's) but I'm currently at 37K miles and averaging about 10K/oil change. MM is showing 30% with my last oil change at right around 31K miles. Just did a Jaunt from Rutland over the mountains down rt 103 and back and with the A/C on for part of the time (and enjoying the corners on the mountain roads), I averaged about 37mpg over 180 miles.

~SB

 

SAE J300 is the oil viscosity specification.

There is no such thing as 0-5w or 0-20W. I think you meant 0W-20, but what do you mean by 0-5W, 5W-20?

 

Specboy: I'm afraid I'm just doing the transportation thing with mine, and trying to squeeze the highest possible mpg out of it....I'm totally missing what some of you seem to be having as "fun" driving through corners and such! I'm in Hanover, NH area, so like you, lots of hills (which I neutral out and coast down.) So the 400 mile CT trip on I91 was my 46mpg @ 55mph both ways. When the car had 2000 miles on it. Now it has 14000, and I'm averaging 40 on rte 4 and town and Interstate. Leaving the trip odometer alone to see what the cumulative mpg will be in the long run. Too bad I can no longer reset for calculating distances! Have a 2150 cumulate on it as of now. Oh, and I just upped the PSI on all 4 tires to 44 from 32. Now I have to watch and see if that has any effect at all.


Reply to the nikita who wondered what 5w-0 was (or whatever) ...I am dyslexic and frequently get the W in the wrong place, certainly messed up on the 0-5 and 5-20 thing. Sorry. I'll just do what the dealer's service dept says for oil changes. 40 or 50 bucks every 10 or 11 thousand miles (once a year?) isn't going to break the bank.

 

I wave the BS flag here, the 2011 might get better MPG then the 2012, because it's broken in. what's the mileage on your 2012?

It was proven in a test that that the 5AT gets better fuel mileage on the highway then a 5MT and in the city it was the same.
I have owned both and found the 5AT to have better fuel mileage then the 5MT.

 

My first oil change.

Which oil weight should i use on my 2009 sport?

Mobil 1 synthetic : 0W-20 OR 5W+20 OR 5W-30.

 

5w-20 if you are always in a hot area.



for those of you who think the automatic gets better gas mileage, think again. the manual has less to rotate, and i average 6-7 more mpg then my friend. i have the 13 manual, he has the 13 auto. my motor only has 1200 more miles then him

 

i would use whatever your manual says
5w20 oe 0w20 the difference is very minimal.

any the 5MT and 5AT fits have been compared many times.
The 5AT gets better mileage, as it has a longer gear ratio, the shift points on the 5MT are much smaller which causes more revs which use more gasoline.
the 5AT gets about the same as the 5MT or even better, again, this depends on how you accelerate and how hard you drive your car, from stop to start to stop.
2 users took two 2010 FIT sports a 5MT and a 5AT and the 5AT did beat the 5MT in fuel economy.
The 6MT might be a different story, but it's not availabe in North America yet.

 

How many miles on the car? If it's high (over 100K, I assume you bought used or you would have changed the oil before) better to stick with mineral (dino) oil.

I'd go with the lighter synthetic oil to save fuel, 0W20 or 5W20. I run 0W20 synthetic now and it did seem to get better MPG than 5w20 conventional oil (hard to say, I changed tires at the same time). 0W20 is only available as synthetic.

Honda calls for 5W20 in '09s and in FL, 0W20 might have no benefit.

 

We've used Mobil 1 on hundreds of cars, some for racing, and every time we put one on the dyno we found the increase in mpg was aroiund 3 to 4%, or 31 instead of 30 mpg. HP was increased too and efven better we found the wear on our engines was much less. For us and those customers synthetic oil wass worth every extra penny. Every teardown and oil analysis has demonstrated good synthetics have less wear and better predictor of longer engine life than conventional oils.
As far as what oil is what, conventional oils are refined from napthenic crude or paraffin crude, (paraffins yield better oil) and cannot be labelled as synthetics. There are part synthetic oils (Castrol?), and fully synthetics. Synthenetics offer increased tear resistance, that is the ability of the lubricant to thin out until it 'tears' thus resulting in metal to metal contact. Thats not so much an additive consequence as it is the base lubricant 'carrier'.
yes, there are a host of additives, and despite Carroll's ads, don't know if Z stuff is advantageous. I have no idea how it would help emissions devices last longer. As for additives that make engines run cooler we have no evidence of that in the lubricants other than reduced friction. Which by the way can be improved by changes to the coolant system with more ease.
I'm also curious why you say GF5 is less performing than GF4. Any reason why?
The less viscous oil an engine can use is of course a reduction in the hp required to operate the oil pump and naturally that leads to better mpg. As for the 'life' of synthetics that misses the point. All oil filters have a limited capacity to retin contaminants filtered from the recirculating oil. All engines generate contaminants from the combustion process as well asincoming dirt and other sources like bearing grease and the real limit to oil life ids that filter. One thing we first noticed here is thed mieage minder didn't seem to know about Fits running in dusty environments or how much water contaminated the oil; it seemed only to know the time and distance that Fit traveled. So we continue to advise synthetic oils are better, Take your pick based on your budget.