Oil life meter accurate?

2019_SI_COUPE

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I have about 3,300 miles since my last oil change, with just over 19,000 miles on a 2019 Si. I went to the dealer for a change and they said that since the oil life meter listed it as still being 60%, I don't need a change. Anyone know how accurate the oil life meter actually is?

By that math, I'd get over 7,000 miles before a change was required. That seems like too much. My concerns are this is still a "new" engine for a Honda, and I drive it hard. Plus in Cali we have tons of fires/smoke/heat waves, so it seems to me like the dealer might not be right. Also, after my last oil change, they did not reset the meter - I did after the service. This suggests it's not based on actual oil condition but a predetermined mileage of some sort.

That said, I don't know, so I defer to you experts.
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gtman

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Not predetermined at all. I use the MM. It's all based on your driving style and environment and I think it works rather well.

You can still change it anytime you want though.
 

Sil98

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MM said i needed to do the first oil change on my Type R at less than 1,500 miles. I did that (even though it seemed like a waste of oil) and put the car into winter storage. I started the car up a few times during the winter, let it get up to temperature, reposition the car to avoid flat spots on the tires, run the AC, etc..

Why does the MM say i need to change the oil so soon? Guess it's due to driving laps at the road course and doing an occasional, brief high speed run. What i don't like is watching the MM drop from 100% at the time of an end of season oil change to 70% after 3-1/2 months in storage.

I'm getting ready to do the second oil change at ~3,500 miles on the odometer (10% oil life left on the MM). This year i won't be resetting the MM until i start driving the car again in the Spring.
 

NotSerious

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While your powertrain warranty is in effect (5 years), you should get the maintenance done on time according to the MM. Many of the owners with Turbo cars get their oil changes done early because of oil dilution.

Once your powertrain warranty is up, you can use the MM as a rough reminder. Many of the turbo car owners just change their oil every 5,000 miles or at least once a year after the powertrain warranty is up.
 


Beansley

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You're definitely best to just go by the maintenance minder and annual if you don't reach it. Personally I have never let mine go below 20-30% life left.

Now that I'm permanent work at home, it might be yearly for me ?
 

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I've gone by the MM for everything. I have 101,000 miles now (yes, 101) in 4 years. My oil changes have been anywhere between 9500-11,500 miles. The service manual states that, "on rare occasion" the MM can reach a maximum mileage between oil changes of 12,000 miles.

I do mega highway runs once a month - 2,000 mile weekend runs, driving 2 entire tanks of fuel without a stop (500 miles, 6.5 hours) on Friday, and doing the same on Sunday. So, I assume that this is why I can get so many miles between changes (all highway).
 

gtman

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I think two of the biggest factors in determining when you get that oil change reminder is city stop and go versus highway and short trips versus long trips.

Basically, the guy driving a couple miles to work in the city will have short intervals and the guy mostly taking long highway trips will have extended intervals. I'm sure there are other factors too but I'm really impressed with the way the MM works.

I drive about a 60/40 highway/city mix and my MM usually hits 15% at around the 5,000 mile mark.
 

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The fact that Honda does not publish a maintenance schedule tells a lot about their faith in the MM. If it's good enough for Honda it's good enough for me. A lot of great posts already so...
 

naldy

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On a somewhat related note, has anyone had their MM reset after flashing their ecu? i’m 90% sure mine was on 70% before tuning my car using ktuner and it just now dropped to 80 from 90 after a month or so of tuned driving. I’m asking because I don’t want it to be at 90% after flashing back to stock to take the car into the dealership for an oil change
 


kimtyson

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Pretty sure I read that the MM is not reset by a tune flash.
 

TheCanadian

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I do 95% highway driving - I ended up with about 11000km in 5 months and still 50% oil life left. I believe this is because every drive my oil reached operating temperature and the maintenance minder knows.

Regardless I still changed the oil at the dealer just before I hit 11,000 - I did not want to store the car with used oil
 

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MM said i needed to do the first oil change on my Type R at less than 1,500 miles. I did that (even though it seemed like a waste of oil) and put the car into winter storage. I started the car up a few times during the winter, let it get up to temperature, reposition the car to avoid flat spots on the tires, run the AC, etc..

Why does the MM say i need to change the oil so soon? Guess it's due to driving laps at the road course and doing an occasional, brief high speed run. What i don't like is watching the MM drop from 100% at the time of an end of season oil change to 70% after 3-1/2 months in storage.

I'm getting ready to do the second oil change at ~3,500 miles on the odometer (10% oil life left on the MM). This year i won't be resetting the MM until i start driving the car again in the Spring.
Its based on time as well. So 30 percent drop sounds just about right for that time frame.
 

manualSi

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I did my first change at 2700 miles, 10 months ago. Now I'm at 5100, and MM is saying I'm at 15% now. I usually drive really short trips in the city, but still, that seems a bit excessive to be at 15% already. I don't know what to believe.
 

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I did my first change at 2700 miles, 10 months ago. Now I'm at 5100, and MM is saying I'm at 15% now. I usually drive really short trips in the city, but still, that seems a bit excessive to be at 15% already. I don't know what to believe.
If you really have been doing mostly really short trips and for 10 months, I wouldn't be surprised at all with a call for oil change at 2400 miles. After all, Honda tells you to change the oil at least once a year regardless of miles. Oil is not really being used by miles driven but by the hours engine was on and by the number of driving cycles.
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