Trust my car's oil life gauge or get it changed every 3,000 miles?

[fuzzybabybunny]

My Honda Fit is coming up on the 3,000 mile oil change interval, but the oil life gauge that it has still shows something like 75%....

I'm not sure which one to trust. Apparently the Fit's oil life gauge keeps track of the number of revolutions of the engine.

 

[SparkyJJO]

3000 miles is old school, or if you use really cheap crappy oil and filters. What do you have in yours?

I run by my oil life monitor on my 02 Trailblazer and run synthetic oil, and the oil change light kicks on around 12k. The truck has almost 177k miles on it now.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

3000 miles is old school, or if you use really cheap crappy oil and filters. What do you have in yours?

I run by my oil life monitor on my 02 Trailblazer and run synthetic oil, and the oil change light kicks on around 12k. The truck has almost 177k miles on it now.

Wow, ok. That's kind of what I expected. I always felt that 3,000 miles was way too short.

Unfortunately I don't know what filter or oil I have on mine. I just go to my local mechanic and have it done.

 

[LevelSea]

I believe most oil life indicators are based on RPM, start up temp, operating temp, etc. You could change before that, but most likely you'll just waste your money. The fact that you even have an oil indicator means you have a modern engine with modern oil, so a 3000 interval is definitely throwing away money.

 

[Throckmorton]

Oil life indicators aren't that trustworthy, especially if your car comes with free maintenance. Longer intervals mean less free maintenance from the dealers. BMW intervals magically skyrocketed when they started doing that.

If you drive it hard or with a lot of stop and go, 3000 miles might be appropriate

 

[wirednuts]

i change mine around 6k for my 99 ranger. good or bad looking, i just change it. i can go 10k but it burns a qt by then and i dont see a reason to add when i can just change it. used to change it every 3k, but i use high mileage oil now and that stuff really works. if i use basic cheap oil, i have to change every 3k.

 

[CA19100]

My Honda Fit is coming up on the 3,000 mile oil change interval, but the oil life gauge that it has still shows something like 75%....

I'm not sure which one to trust.

Trust the people who manufactured your engine, and use the instructions in the owner's manual. Generally, that means using the oil life gauge.

You know who came up with the "every 3000 miles" charade? The people who want to sell you more oil. I haven't owned a single car that, even under the "severe duty" interval, required it that frequently. But the myth persists. The oil salesmen even helpfully put a sticker on your window telling you when to come back! It's brilliant marketing, but that's all it is. It has no basis in fact. At 3000 miles, you're likely not even close to needing an oil change.

The oil life meter on a modern Honda is not based simply on miles driven, but on a number of factors. It tracks average engine RPM, car speed, miles driven, temperatures, hot and cold starts, and high-RPM events. It takes all that and calculates how worn out the oil is. If you start it every morning and floor it between red lights to work every day like my wife does, it'll have you change the oil in fewer miles than someone who usually just cruises on the highway.

To give you an idea, I do probably 80% highway driving and 20% city, and live in a pretty temperate climate (Seattle). I just checked my records, and I drove a shade over 7000 miles between my last oil change and the one I did last week.

Keep in mind the computer's estimate is for conventional oil. If you're using synthetic, it will last longer than the computer calculates.

Hope that helps.

 

[jlee]

You cannot accurately judge the condition of your oil without testing it - you may need to change at 4k, and you may be okay to 15k. The only true way to tell is with a used oil analysis test.

I am running Amsoil Signature Series in my truck, which is supposed to be good for 15k / 1 year. I'll send a sample out to get tested at the 6 month mark (probably about 4k miles) and see what it looks like. If it's good, I'll finish the year. If it's not, I'll change it.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Oil life indicators aren't that trustworthy, especially if your car comes with free maintenance. Longer intervals mean less free maintenance from the dealers. BMW intervals magically skyrocketed when they started doing that.

If you drive it hard or with a lot of stop and go, 3000 miles might be appropriate

Get a UOA done, find out for sure and have peace of mind with whatever oil change interval you decide to go with.

 

[Jimzz]

I would change every 5k for regular or use Syn and change when the monitor says 10-20% left.

 

[Zargon]

3000 miles is old school, or if you use really cheap crappy oil and filters. What do you have in yours?

I run by my oil life monitor on my 02 Trailblazer and run synthetic oil, and the oil change light kicks on around 12k. The truck has almost 177k miles on it now.

it depends on many factors, and is different for each engine

if it comes out at 3K clean as a whislte then you should go longer, if its starting to get sludgy......theres your interval

Trust the people who manufactured your engine, and use the instructions in the owner's manual. Generally, that means using the oil life gauge.

You know who came up with the "every 3000 miles" charade? The people who want to sell you more oil. I haven't owned a single car that, even under the "severe duty" interval, required it that frequently. But the myth persists. The oil salesmen even helpfully put a sticker on your window telling you when to come back! It's brilliant marketing, but that's all it is. It has no basis in fact. At 3000 miles, you're likely not even close to needing an oil change.

The oil life meter on a modern Honda is not based simply on miles driven, but on a number of factors. It tracks average engine RPM, car speed, miles driven, temperatures, hot and cold starts, and high-RPM events. It takes all that and calculates how worn out the oil is. If you start it every morning and floor it between red lights to work every day like my wife does, it'll have you change the oil in fewer miles than someone who usually just cruises on the highway.

To give you an idea, I do probably 80% highway driving and 20% city, and live in a pretty temperate climate (Seattle). I just checked my records, and I drove a shade over 7000 miles between my last oil change and the one I did last week.

Keep in mind the computer's estimate is for conventional oil. If you're using synthetic, it will last longer than the computer calculates.

Hope that helps.

yeah dont listen to this.

The oil life monitor in my wifes car will le tit go 5-7K between changes, and its black, nasty, and sludgy when it comes out

2 timing chain tensioners later(yay warrenty, and working with the dealer to sort out oil change intervals), its down to a 4K interval on Mobile 1, well before the 'recommended by manufacturer interval'

every single engine is different.


oil analysis can obv help, though I generally dont.

 

[NutBucket]

The WRX gets fresh synthetic every 5k. The CR-Z wants an oil change every 8k or so (specifies synthetic) and the OLM in our GMC was at about 30% with 7500k on the odo. Decided to change it "early" since there have been some issues with OCI and the 3.6 engine.

Basically yes, depends a lot on the vehicle in question and how you drive. Lots of highway miles = long OCI. I think 5-7.5k is a good number for most people, generally speaking.

 

[kitatech]

The Fit you describe doesn't sound NEW nor new to you....
...and you're talking changing oil on a car that you don't know what the mechanic has done to your car and put into it...and you're asking US????? That's not wise...
Still...
1. If the Fit's NEW TO YOU and this is the 1st 3k miles since you bought it...and
2. you don't know the OC history... and
3. you don't know the oil in it...and
4. the engine oil level is between the 2 dots (low and full) on the dip stick...and
5. the engine is NOT leaking oil...
THEN
6. change the oil NOW if it's conventional oil...or @ 5k if it is synthetic
AND THEN
7. re-fill with the synthetic oil in the Honda recommended weight
AND
8. REPEAT every 6 months or 7.5k miles with synthetic in the Honda recommended weight
OR
IF the oil in the FIT is synthetic, AND (see # 4/#5)
AND
IF this is your 1st OC, keep it in there until 5k then #8 again

IF you've owned the FIT for a while and it is an older model and has leaks or burns oil that requires filling more than 2 quarts between oil changes, then the car may need more attention than just oil.

 

[Ben90]

it depends on many factors, and is different for each engine

if it comes out at 3K clean as a whislte then you should go longer, if its starting to get sludgy......theres your interval

Winner of the thread. Every engine has its own imperfections that affect oil differently. I personally wouldn't drive on a blown out tire, even if the manufacture rated them for another 20000 miles.

That said, more than likely your oil still has some life left in it.

 

[jlee]

You cannot accurately judge the condition of your oil without having it tested.

 

[LTC8K6]

The owner's manual or maintenance guide should be followed. That's all.

 

[Mide]

If it's a new to you car then change the oil now and keep an eye on the color change over time. I used to have an 09 Fit and the first oil change I trusted the indicator and waited for it to get to 15%. Around 13k that occurred and the oil was quite black. I started changing it every 7500 even though the indicator still said 60% or so...remember that if anything ever goes south the service centers aren't your friends.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Just change it every 5k......even if it's synthetic.

For those that own BMW or MB, do NOT believe the manufacturer and DO NOT wait 15k miles to change oil.

Also DO NOT rely on your gauge to tell you how much oil you have (although many have went away with oil dipstick........I would NEVER buy a car like that).

Funny how Germans have a history of poor/unreliable electronics build cars that rely on electronics to tell you how much oil you have or when to change it.

 

[CraigRT]

Go by the maintenance minder.
Why would Honda put that there for the clueless masses if it wasn't something they stood by? I go by the maintenance minder in my car and the valvetrain is spotless, like factory clean, running on maintenance minder intervals.

Why overthink it? You can probably go 10K on conventional oil without "harming" your engine, and easily without harming your engine on synthetic.

So many strange responses in this thread. Everyone saying you can't judge condition without having it analyzed is 100% correct. Color means jack shit.

 

[NutBucket]

Because it doesn't always work out that way. GM had issues with the built-in system being too optimistic which caused engine issues. They had to reprogram it to be more conservative. Maintenance minder is a tool, use with caution.

 

[CraigRT]

Because it doesn't always work out that way. GM had issues with the built-in system being too optimistic which caused engine issues. They had to reprogram it to be more conservative. Maintenance minder is a tool, use with caution.

They had not learned that direct injection engines cant keep running the same oil for as long as they originally planned.

The maintenance minder for the Honda L15 should be fine.

 

[Mermaidman]

As a stock holder of an oil company, I recommend changing your oil every 3000 miles.

 

[railer]

Go by the maintenance minder.
Why would Honda put that there for the clueless masses if it wasn't something they stood by? I go by the maintenance minder in my car and the valvetrain is spotless, like factory clean, running on maintenance minder intervals.

Why overthink it? You can probably go 10K on conventional oil without "harming" your engine, and easily without harming your engine on synthetic.

^ This times infinity. Just follow your manual.

Edumunds followed the OLM in their Pontiac for 13k miles, then had the oil tested. Of course it was fine:

http://www.edmunds.com/pontiac/g8/2008/long-term-road-test/maintenance.html

They don't even say that it was synthetic oil.

 

[Zargon]

You cannot accurately judge the condition of your oil without having it tested.

while true......

I had atleast 3 vehicles roll over 200K

its not a requirement nor is it a necessity

Ive never sent oil in to be tested


alluding to needing to have oil tested to ensure your car makes it out warrenty is pretty absurd

 

[CraigRT]

while true......

I had atleast 3 vehicles roll over 200K

its not a requirement nor is it a necessity

Ive never sent oil in to be tested


alluding to needing to have oil tested to ensure your car makes it out warrenty is pretty absurd

No one is alluding that.
What we are saying is, the only way you can TELL FOR SURE, is to have it analyzed. The rest of us will follow the maintenance minder and sleep easy at night.