The Service Manager at my local Honda dealership advised against changing the original “break-in” oil in my 2007 CR-V with “normal” motor oil until the calculated oil-change interval has been reached.
My owner?s manual recommends Honda brand oil, but I have been unable to determine whether this oil is refined petroleum, a blend of refined and synthetic or 100% synthetic oil.
The Service Manager did not directly answer my question, but indicated that the dealership participated in Honda’s bulk oil program and (wink, wink) said their oil was delivered in a Mobile 1 tanker.
My plan is to use Mobil 1 synthetic oil in the car following the break-in period - can anyone tell me if the Honda brand oil has any advantages over Mobile 1 or other synthetics?
Thanks!
Leave the break-in oil for the specified period even if it feels long (Honda specifies this). After that use what you please.
Since Honda told you to leave the original oil in there, do it. After all they are the people who made the car, they know better than you or I.
After than use whatever oil you like as long as it meets the specifications listed in the owner’s manual. I like synthetic and use it myself. Likely that is what they recommend.
Unless the owner’s manual specifies synthetic oil, there is no real advantage to using it. It won’t hurt anything, but it’s not necessary.
“Honda” motor oil is just motor oil in a bottle that says “Honda” on it, nothing more. It’s not “special.” You could use ANY brand of oil and it would not matter.
Thanks for the replies - I was mostly just curious what was in the Honda branded oil.
Honda buys oil in bulk, just like other car makers, and price probably has a lot to do with you supplies their oil in a given year. It could be from any of the major refiners, and it could change from time to time. You’ll never know, and it won’t matter.
Oil is oil, and there is almost NO difference between brands, assuming the viscosity and API letters match.
Honda does NOT make motor oil…NO MANUFACTURER DOES. They buy the oil from some company (usually the cheapest that meets their requirements) and put their name on the bottle…They then sell it for 10 times what they paid for it.
Using Mobil-1 is the way to go. You can go at least 7,000 miles, or you can purchase the 15,000 mile Mobil product. Honda oil is just regular mineral oil.
I asked Honda dealer if using synthetic oil would be any better, and they said that the regular oil is what is recommended by the manufacturer.