Many vehicles don’t have a set interval schedule listed in manual. They basically say - change oil when oil monitor says to change oil.
True. Only time they can void warranty is if they offer FREE oil changes. Even then it’s iffy.
Toyota’s oil change reminder system is strictly miles. Some like GM use more sophisticated algorithm.
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I think you and I have discussed it before, but I can’t bring myself to wait 10k miles to change the oil on my wife’s 2013 Toyota. Not even with synthetic. Just…can’t…do it!
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I can’t even do it on my lawn mower. Briggs says 50 hours with syn. but I still change at 25 hours (700 hours and still going strong). Until the police come and stop me, I’ll continue. Kids are not always right.
I change the oil and filter on my lawnmower (Briggs engine) once a year when I intend to put it up for the winter. Then I get it back out and mow leaves, though. I’m not sure how many hours between changes. I looked in the manual when I got the mower, did the math on how many hours it took to mow, how many times I mowed each month, etc. Once a year was less hours than the book recommended, I remember that, but forgot all the details. It’s 16 or 17 years old now, so I guess it worked out ok.
My daughter has a CRV. She drove 50 minutes each way to work on highways. The manual said 10,000 miles for that kind of driving. So that’s what she did. The VVT valve got oil sludge so I’m with you.
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Ouch…sorry to hear that. I’m a 5k mile guy. Used to be a 3k mile guy, but got converted. Maybe one day I’ll be a 7.5k mile guy, but the math is so easy with 5k mile intervals, I’ll probably just stick with that.
YoshiMoshi, by now you figured out that you wandered into the oil change mine field on this site. My understanding is that the oil change reminder on this car has a qualitative component where the computer keeps track of speed, temperature, time, engine load. You should be able to have the display indicate the percentage of oil life remaining. What I see of Honda’s recommended intervals are 3-5K for conventional oil, 7.5-10K for synthetic. They don’t give a time based alternative, but if mileages aren’t reached then at least once a year.
I wouldn’t worry about an oil change on this car until it was indicated by the service reminder.
This is not Yoshi’s vehicle and if someone who was helping me with my car and they had to go to a Forum for help then I am telling them to stay away from my vehicle.
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Here’s an article discussing how OLMs work. They generally work the same way, but the specific environmental and engine parameters are determined by Honda, in your case, and were determined by a large amount of testing.
We agree that we’re not letting him close to our cars, but I’m just trying to answer the OP’s question. Not sure what you’re trying to do.
One thing that OLMs do not do is track combustion particles, dust, moisture in the air, and so on; all of which end up in the motor oil.
I would hope that Yoshi rethinks performing oil changes for this person. The owner of that Civic is obviously trying to cheap out and at some point this could easily go south. The Honda dealer here charges 35 bucks for an oil change. Why even bother with anyone else for that price.
It was stated that a dealer cannot refuse engine warranty because of a DIY oil change. That is simply not true. Look at the potential for a future problem in this case; and there are tons of potential cases every day.
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Excerpt from Honda’s 2021 warranty booklet for the Civic below. How can a claim be denied if Honda is OK with non-dealer maintenance? The original poster asked about torque specs and maintenance schedules, not which end of the wrench to use. Why would an oil change performed by a person conscientious enough to check for this information be problematic for a warranty claim?
The personnel at your authorized Honda automotive dealer are trained
and equipped to perform scheduled maintenance on your 2021 Honda.
However, service at an authorized Honda automobile dealer is not
mandatory for continued warranty coverage. You can have scheduled
maintenance, and non-high-voltagerelated scheduled maintenance
(where applicable), done somewhere other than your authorized Honda
automobile dealer, or you can do the maintenance yourself if you have the tools and skills necessary to correctly service your vehicle.
The warranty claim section stated the following:
If someone else has been performing the maintenance, you may need to provide evidence that you have properly maintained the vehicle.This evidence may consist of one or more of these items:
Copies of repair orders or other receipts that include the odometer mileage and date that the vehicle was serviced. Each receipt should be signed by a qualified automotive service technician.
*A statement that you completed the maintenance yourself, showing the odometer mileage and date you did the work. Receipts for the replacement parts (fluids, filters, etc.) should accompany this statement.
NOTE: As a convenience for the next owner, keep all maintenance receipts with the vehicle if it is sold.
Key words there are properly and qualified. Is the person who started this thread “qualified”? Not by a long shot IMO and it does not even approach fast lube competence.
“Properly maintained” does not mean screw ups; of which there are plenty.
In this case the person who owns this car is going to have someone who has apparently no experience with oil changes actually do this job.
If that oil change gets botched (loose drain plug, double gasketed or loose filter, stripped drain/pan leak, or failure to add enough oil) you can bet the owner of that car will be at the dealer demanding warranty and it should be rightfully denied.
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This is a laugh too. I’ve always provided a record of everything done on my cars so the next person would know what was done. Never has this information ever been passed on to the next owner. Once it hits the lot, good luck. The car with the 15,000 mile oil changes is right next to the one with 5,000 mile changes, and the neglected one has been polished to look as good.
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The records might help if you sell privately. I know someone who only buys used vehicles from private parties. His criteria for a vehicle is that it must include maintenance records. He acknowledges his pickiness eliminates lot of vehicles and extends his search, but he feels he finds better quality cars that way.
OP has engine problems.
Goes into dealer and mentions warranty repairs.
Service writer or manager says we need to see your maintenance records.
Uh, I don’t have any…but I have a note from Ole Bob around the corner who always did the oil changes.
How is Bob qualified mechanically?
Well, he works on his own cars and a few neighbors…
Sorry, you are up la crique.
Customer gets argumentative.
Get out now.
I’ll call Honda.
Fine; have at it.
That’s the way it works.
As for maintenance records one hardly ever finds those; even on very late model, low miles cars. Dealers especially sanitize a car even if records do exist.They prefer no contact between the the past and aspiring owner in the event owners manuals and maintenance logs are left behind. Glove box is first thing cleaned…
Hey, I have been changing and doing repairs for almost 50 years and even got paid for doing so for a while!
Bob 
No problem. There are plenty of very competent DIYers whom even I would trust in a heartbeat. You are one of them NYBo.
Honda says they want qualified and records. To me that means they want someone with a track record in a shop with certifications, history of schools, etc, etc and records would mean something on a shop letterhead; not a handwritten note or a receipt for oil/filter from Wal Mart.
I’ll just say that I’ve never seen a lubrication related under warranty engine problem in which an outside influence was not responsible for it. In cases where the customer elevated it to the regional office they always, without one exception, either flat lied or lied by omission with the facts. Once the blanks were filled in customers were told sorry. Go away.
You would hope that if the warranty states owner-performed oil changes are acceptable with receipts, that the manufacturer would honor the warranty. Some people live in locations where it is a major haul just to get life’s necessities, let alone get to a car dealer. Someone who lives in an area like that and is capable should be able to do their own oil changes without the fear of invalidating their warranty.
And there is the consideration for some people that they may be able to perform a better oil change than the dealer’s service department. They’d rather have the original engine in their car than a replacement or repaired engine. Look at the screenshot below from a quick topic search of this site.
But yes, I agree with the point made earlier. It is all on the manufacturer if problems arise and documentation shows the manufacturer’s dealer’s service department was the only provider of oil changes on the vehicle - which you would assume would lead to an easier warranty claim.
