I have just over 3000 miles on my new FIT. The oil life gauge says 70%. Should I change the oil now or can I wait a bit longer? If so, how long? Also should I go for synthetic oil or just use natural oil? Thanks.
Follow the owner’s manual. Use the SEVERE driving schedule to be safe.
Also, use this website’s search function for OLM or Oil Life Monitor to see lots of discussion on this subject.
Here’s an interesting article on the 3,000 mile oil change myth: http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/586/the-3000-mile-oil-change-myth/
No Honda owner’s manual has stated 3000 miles as an oil change interval for a long time. As others suggest, read the other posts on this; if you had no oil meter or manual, I would say go 5000 miles which is the severe interval for most cars these days.
You probaly don’t want to go to 0% with the oil meter. Most owners don’t go below 15% oil life remaining.
It’s YOUR CAR>>>Do what you want!
[b] My husband was also surprised Tom & Ray didn't know about Coke to clean battery terminals.[/b]
I am sure you know a lot of people who have bragged that they changed their oil every 2 or 3,000 miles and never had an oil related problem. Of course if you do a good survey, I suspect you will find very little difference in engine life as related to the oil change interval as long as it was no less than that listed in the owner's manual.
When I first learned to drive, it was important to change the oil at no less than 3,000 miles. But that was a very long time ago and cars and oils have changed. I put more trust in the engineers that make the motors than my father's advice from 50 years ago. (It was good advice 50 years ago as was almost all the advice he gave me.
Synthetic oil is required by many modern cars. [b] Never substitute regular oil for synthetic unless the owner's manual recommends it.[/b] The other way around (substitute synthetic for regular) is fine, but don't think that makes it OK to extend your oil change intervals. It might be OK or it might not.Follow the OLM; that’s what the owner’s manual tells you. Use mineral oil, too. Just make sure it’s the right blend and has the starburst insignia on the label.
I use the OLM on my Accord (73,000 miles), my Silhouette (108,000 miles) and now the Cobalt (12,000 miles). GM has been testing them since 1984 and installing them on production cars since 1988. Many (most? all?) other manufacturers install them as standard equipment. SAE, the professional society for many automotive engineers, has published may tests of OLMs. It is well-understood, mature technology in the industry.
Where the heck did I leave that “beating a dead horse” picture?
This comes up fairly regularly. Long discussions/arguments ensue. In the end you will have to just decide for yourself. (The search feature will help you find some of these discussions.
I always run the oil life monitor on my Honda Ridgeline down to 0%. Although I also use synthetic, but I prefer the synthetic solely because it flows better at colder temperatures and here in MN winters that can be beneficial. However, it is not required and I would be completely comfortable going to 0% with conventional oils.