Oil Change time

[Gary Fowler]

We have a 2013 Honda that we rarely use unless we are going on a long trip (29 MPG vehicle), otherwise it sets in the garage. I used it to make a trip to town (40 miles roundtrip) because it hadn't been cranked in several months and the battery was a bit weak. Anyway, I checked the onboard oil life computer and it said 60% left and 5400+ miles on the odometer. It is the original oil in the engine. I know the OEM says to change oil whenever the trip computer says to or every year, but I hate to waste our resources. This car doesn't do short trips, stop and go or any other daily driver routine, so I was wondering if I really need to change the oil.
My sister took her car (identical) to the dealer to change at 1 year and they told her to drive it till it said change, so I am wondering if the yearly is really required for my type of driving. I am not worried about warranty issues as the time will expire way before the mileage will.
I bought the car as a retirement car for the wife thinking mostly of getting rid of the gas guzzler (17MPG) car that she drives now, but she prefers to drive the 2003 car rather than the new one.
Just looking for some opinions.

 

[big bubba]

my intuition is like yours, change w/actual mileage. however with all the on board computer records, it could be an issue if the changes don't correlate with computer recommendations for the warranty if something happens. wonder what your dealer would say (both service & mechanic). i also have a honda that primary sits in the garage ('98 prelude also 27mpg) fortunately i still do all my oil changes on my many vehicles/equipment, just to stay on top. let us know what honda recommends..... cheers from the natural state

 

[oosik]

I think I would change the oil at least once a year regardless of mileage. Based upon the "onboard oil life computer" it won't tell you to change the oil until there is around 10,000 miles on the car.

I get this gnawing fear of acids, sludge etc etc forming in the oil. Because I have two vehicles and drives each less than 5K/year - I change the oil annually. If you do it yourself its not that expensive. IMHO

 

[motownbrowne]

Just listened to Ron Ananian the "car doctor" discuss this yesterday. I happen to be on a long trip in my fuel efficient Honda myself, coincidentally. He said change the oil at 5000, even if full synthetic and the reason was that there aren't filters that can really be counted on for good performance past that. He referenced a guest from Six that had been on the show. I suppose you could probably get away without changing it for longer, or maybe just replace the filter, but if it was me, I'd change at 5-6000 regardless of what the computer thought.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I trust the computer in these vehicles to provide good value and safety for oil change dates. My 2003 and 2007 has been changed only when computer says and neither engine uses any oil between changes. Up until I retired, this rarely went more than a year or 14 months at maximum. Now though, none of the 3 cars get more than 5K mileage per year. I have been using full synthetic oil, but now if I start changing yearly rather than by mileage, I may just switch back to dino oil which should do very well for <5000 miles between changes. I really see no value in using full synthetic for my driving conditions and weather conditions. Possibly it may reduce wear a bit, but I don't think I will wear out any of these vehicles in my life time with regular oil. I think other things like electronics will start to malfunction prior to engine.

 

[oosik]

That is my feeling also - Gary. Since I change oil annually the dino oil should be more than adequate protection for the engines.

 

[murphy1244]

I trust the computer in these vehicles to provide good value and safety for oil change dates. My 2003 and 2007 has been changed only when computer says and neither engine uses any oil between changes. Up until I retired, this rarely went more than a year or 14 months at maximum. Now though, none of the 3 cars get more than 5K mileage per year. I have been using full synthetic oil, but now if I start changing yearly rather than by mileage, I may just switch back to dino oil which should do very well for <5000 miles between changes. I really see no value in using full synthetic for my driving conditions and weather conditions. Possibly it may reduce wear a bit, but I don't think I will wear out any of these vehicles in my life time with regular oil. I think other things like electronics will start to malfunction prior to engine.

I think you hit it right there. To go back with dino oil and yearly changes. Makes more sense that way.IMO

 

[3930dave]

What viscosity does it take Gary ?

I'm thinking that some of the modern 0W__ are at least a semi-syn.

My vote is an annual oil change - any reference to time in the Owner's Manual ?

I'm not anti-dino, I do use it in various applications.

Rgds, D.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would change it every year as a minimum. Oil is still cheap all things considered.

Chris

 

[big bubba]

gary: how much $ per oil change would you typically save going back to dino vs synthetic? (assume going back to dino is an economic move) just curious