My wife and I have new 2007 Honda CRV and Odyssey. The manufacturer suggests oil and filter change once the maintenance minder light comes on, which I calculate to be every 10K miles. Is this standard now? I used to change oil and filter on my 1994 Mazda Protege every 3K mile, and had over 190K miles out of that car before getting the Honda’s. What is your recommendation?
This is pretty standard, the computer can track the type of driving to figure out how often it’s needed.
No way would I allow the oil to go 10k miles without changing it. If you do a lot of highway driving then I would say 5-6k miles. A decent mix of driving about every 3500 and if it’s very severe (all short hop, stop and go, etc. the sometimes even 2000-2500 is a good idea.
If you read about oil sludging complaints then keep in mind that those are caused by failure to change the oil regularly enough based on the conditions.
I agree with ok4450. Oil is relatively cheap, and engines are expensive.
By the time that your engine develops a sludging problem from 10,000 mile oil change intervals, the warranty would be long over, and you would have the responsibility for the resulting repairs. I change my oil every 3,500-4,000 miles of suburban/rural driving in order to prevent problems.
We had many BMW customers want a extra oil change between the 15K Factory interval. And then we had people who couldn’t make the 15K even when is was included in the cars purchase price.
It amazing these expensive engines and people don’t change the oil.
Please explain how you CALCULATE when the oil should be changed based on the computer. If, for instance, the computer says you have 3000 miles left on the oil life, it does not mean you can prorate exactly when the oil change will be. The oil deteriorates at a rapidly increasing rate, so you don’t really know when the time will be.
As others say, use common sense, and go 3000 to 5000 miles between oil changes, unless you are a travelling salesman covering the whole Western United States and all you d is drive on the highway.
I change our Acura at 5000. The mileage minder is usually at 50% at that point. I won’t go beyond 5000 and don’t care what anyone says. Just isn’t worth it for $20. No way would I go to 10,000 nor would I buy a car that had been serviced at that interval.
In a modern car with modern oil (make sure the oil used meets the specifications listed in your owner’s manual) a 10,000 mile oil change will not cause any problems. If you like to do it more often, that will not hurt the car, but will cost you a little more.
Frankly there are very very few oil failures today when the instructions in the owner’s manual has been followed.
A lot of factors go into the life of the oil. Heat, wear, miles, hours of operation, hot shutdowns, etc. The computer tracks each of these elements and when all these things add up to needing an oil change, the computer tells you so.
Simply put, some kinds of driving conditions are not as hard on oil as others. The oil that Honda recommends has fewer viscosity improvers, which wear out quickly, so it lasts longer naturally. Also engines are sealed so contaminates don’t get in from the outside. Oil gets contaminated by itself, oil breakdown due to heat and sheer.
But if changing your oil more frequently gives you peace of mind, then by all means, change it. Its your $25-35k investment.
The Honda maintenance minder system actually counts engine revolutions instead of miles.
I have an S2000 and was concerned about the same thing. When it said I had 50% oil life left, I changed the oil anyway because it had about 4000 miles on it. The oil that drained out looked as clean as the new oil that went back in. I still don’t think I would let it go beyond about 5000 miles, but that’s just me. I think oil changes are cheap insurance.
Be sure to reset the oil life to 100% when you change the oil. If you get it changed at a Honda dealer, they’ll probably do it for you. If you get it changed someplace else, you’ll probably have to reset it yourself. The procedure is in your manual.
I would feel comfortable with 10,000 miles on a single oil change if I was using a good brand name synthetic oil and an OEM oil filter. On conventional oil though and cheap oil filters, I would not go longer than 5,000 miles.
Personally I prefer to change the oil BEFORE it NEEDS to be changed. And 10k is way too long even for synthetic. It may be fine if you plan on only keeping the car 150k miles. But I sure wouldn’t want to see what that engine is like at 250k or 300k miles.