Hello,
I have a 2018 Honda Accord. I am the 1st owner. I try to change Synthetic Oil every 5,000 miles. Maintenance sign Used-to pop-up about 5,000 miles but recently it popped up
when i was only 4,000 miles in (15% oil left). The guy at the dealership said it probably popped up sooner due to the “Way I Drive”. What’s the reason maintenance sign pooped up sooner in your opinion. I just changed the car’s oil, it was 4th time. This Car only has 17,706 miles in. 3 year old car. I drive on a busy terrible Turnpike every week round trip along side with 18 wheeler trucks. Thank In Advance.
Because the engine is not running enough or your driving habits have changed . Just let the monitor do it’s thing .Maybe short trips have something to do with it . Frankly I would change at 25 % . Do you check the oil level on a regular basis ?
4 Likes
What do you mean by, “Because the engine is not running enough” ? I’m not driving enough Long distance? Which is true. I stay in town & do much Short trips. Nope, i don’t check engine oil level in a regular basis, i should. You change your engine oil when it’s 25% left ?. Why with so much left ?. (Maybe I should get my maintence notice pop-up this way too)
The percentage is not how much oil is in the vehicle . It is a estimate of the life of the oils is left . Short trips don’t get the engine up to operating temperature long enough. Mine also comes on sooner now that we don’t drive much .
4 Likes
I have a 2017 Accord 4-cyl, and I start thinking about oil changes at 20% oil life And it’s changed by the time it hits 15%. IIRC, the owners manual says to start thinking about a change at 20%.
2 Likes
Cold weather also makes them come on sooner. The more time the engins spens running at cold temps. the more water from condensation and unburned gasoline get into the oil that leaks past cold piston rings and cylinder walls. long trips will boil off the water and gasoline but not some of the contaminants that they carry, which is one of the reasons you change oil.
I only owned one car with an oil life monitor and It came on at about 7000 miles in the summer and 3ooo miles in the winter.
For a while I owned a 61 Dodge V8 and lived just a mile from work. I changed the oil in that car when it got one quart over full because what it was over full of was water and gas.
4 Likes
It is going to be shorter once the weather turns colder . If you are doing any shorter driving this is harder on the oil and the oil monitor algorithm is made to reflect this .
4 Likes
I change oil early cuz it makes me feel better. Technical answer.
2 Likes
We get plenty of posts here from people who let the oil level get too low and end up with expensive engine damage, so you definitely should.
6 Likes
I used to own a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander that had the oil life indicated. On long road trips in the summer, the maintenance light wouldn’t go on until I had traveled at least 7500 miles. However, the maintenance light might come on before 4000 miles in the winter when I would make short trips and the engine might not get fully warned up.
This is how it should work. In the old days, meaning the late 1950s through the 1960s,in the winter I often changed oil at 1000 miles. In the summer months, I might go 4000 miles if I was making long road trips.
The Toyota Siennas I have owned since that time just have a light that comes in at 5000 miles indicating it’s time for a tire rotation and 10,000 miles indicating it’s time for an oil change and tire rotation. I still believe oil change intervals should depend on the conditions under which a vehicle is driven.
4 Likes
Thanks for your detailed comment, was helpful.
I don’t know how to Check Engine Oil regularly on my 2018 Honda Accord. Can you share a video on how to do this procedure ?
If nothing else look in your manual . There might be a dip stick under the hood or a dash read out .
Just put ( check oil level on 2018 Honda Accord ) in your search engine and you will find all kinds of videos .
2 Likes
It is posts like this that make glad I don’t have to buy used vehicles .
FYI. My car is not a used vehicle.
I did not say it was . It is that I just don’t want to buy something that has not had regular simple maintenance like checking the oil level . Or the many posts we get from people wanting to know how often to change fluids and what kind to use. All that info is in the owners manual.
5 Likes
No, and Volvo V70 does not want to buy it when you are done with it.
The dipstick under the hood for checking the oil is orange on Honda’s (usually yellow for other vehicles). Check it in the morning before going anywhere. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it off with a cloth. Stick it back in the whole way. Pull it out again. There are two notches, the bottom notch is low, top notch is where it should be. If it’s at or below the bottom notch add oil until it gets to the top notch. Make sure you’re adding 0W-20 per your owners manual specifications (for the record, the oil checking procedure should be around page 614).
3 Likes
How clean is the oil when you check it is another part of the question?
1 Like
Honda’s “Maintenance Minder” counts both miles and time.
I drove around 10000 miles for the first service, before COVID restrictions, now I drive much much less and I have “15% left” message with only 3000 or so driven, same 10+ miles trips, same driving habits.
Now, I had to take a 600+ miles on it last week and it’s still the same 15%, as the time factor is still outweighing the mileage factor… gonna drop it fro the dealer in another couple of weeks or so, when it drops to 5% and you can not “snooze” it anymore. The oil itself is clean straw color.
1 Like