Performing first DIY service on Si

BoostedDreams

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Currently have about 4,500 miles on my si. Still on the original oil. I wanted to get the opinion from those who have done their first service themselves and what is needed to be done.
Typically with any other car I would have it serviced at the dealer, but since I have a flex fuel kit and ktuner, I don’t want to deal with the hassle of uninstalling and reinstalling.
What oil is most recommended ? I’ve heard rotella is good for DI engines ? I am in south Florida, should I stick with 0w-20?
Thanks in advance !
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Currently have about 4,500 miles on my si. Still on the original oil. I wanted to get the opinion from those who have done their first service themselves and what is needed to be done.
Typically with any other car I would have it serviced at the dealer, but since I have a flex fuel kit and ktuner, I don’t want to deal with the hassle of uninstalling and reinstalling.
What oil is most recommended ? I’ve heard rotella is good for DI engines ? I am in south Florida, should I stick with 0w-20?
Thanks in advance !
Any synthetic would be fine but probably the most recommended is Amsoil. It is definitely an excellent oil in any grade. I personally use Quaker State Ultimate Durability with a Fram Ultra filter. Fuel dilution is probably not a big issue in warmer climates. 0w20 is fine although no problem using 0w30 or 5w30 as well.
 
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Any synthetic would be fine but probably the most recommended is Amsoil. It is definitely an excellent oil in any grade. I personally use Quaker State Ultimate Durability with a Fram Ultra filter. Fuel dilution is probably not a big issue in warmer climates. 0w20 is fine although no problem using 0w30 or 5w30 as well.
Thanks! Anything else I should be doing for the 5,000 mile mark?
 

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Thanks! Anything else I should be doing for the 5,000 mile mark?
Honestly... I follow the maintenance minder to the T and don't do anything extra for that associated maintenance (ie. swapping oil filters if it doesn't call for it on that change). I'm not sure if a rotation is in order at that point. It'd be part of your MM code.

Past that... my routine is to do a few general things each time when the hood is popped. I take a rag and wipe down the surfaces in the engine bay a bit (done every oil change it stays pretty clean), top off the windshield wiper fluid, using one that is a winter blend if I won't be changing the oil again until it's freezing outside. You may be able to get away with the regular 32F blue stuff that at Walmart-like places being in FL, but I like the stuff that has a little methanol in it. I lived in central FL until I enlisted and still got a cold snap in Jan-Feb that was freezing a few weeks.

I use silicon spray on a rag on the windshield wiper blades to clean them and keep them from skipping. If I see they're cracked at the tips, I replace them the next time I'm out at a store. I give the belts/hoses a look while I'm in the bay and look to see if there's anything amiss (cracks/leaks). If I have a rotation due, I use brake cleaner and give the brake components a spray while they're exposed. I usually re-do my rain-X treatments then too... though sometimes I do it during a more thorough wash if it's needing it.

You can do as much or as little as you want, honestly. As long as you do at least what pops on the MM, the car oughta be fine. If you do more... that's up to you. I don't know the car will last any longer, but if it's good for your soul... then that alone is worth it. I'm a buy-whatever-0w-20-oil-is-on-sale-and-change-it-at-5-or-10-percent kind of guy. For regular oil change intervals, I'm not a believer in using ultra premium oils. If I was trying to go 25k miles between changes, sure. For the 6k-8k and 6 months I go, which is following the MM, the 0w-20 Castrol Full synthetic is get for about $16/5 quarts goes in yellow and comes out brown between the Odyssey and this Civic and my last one... and the RSXs before these... though that was pre-0w oils. BITOG is a great place to read about oil until your nose bleeds. I read until mine did... then decided I just didn't care about analyzing that sort of stuff.

Good on you for doing the work yourself though! :thumbsup: It used to be about the money for me when I was young and broke. Now? It's about the convenience and control of doing it myself in my own driveway... not having to drive somewhere else to depend on (and be at the mercy of) of someone else to get it done and to know it got done right. I only ever go back to the dealer for warranty work or recalls. I only go to 3rd party places to get tires replaced or rotations.
 

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Honestly... I follow the maintenance minder to the T and don't do anything extra for that associated maintenance (ie. swapping oil filters if it doesn't call for it on that change). I'm not sure if a rotation is in order at that point. It'd be part of your MM code.

Past that... my routine is to do a few general things each time when the hood is popped. I take a rag and wipe down the surfaces in the engine bay a bit (done every oil change it stays pretty clean), top off the windshield wiper fluid, using one that is a winter blend if I won't be changing the oil again until it's freezing outside. You may be able to get away with the regular 32F blue stuff that at Walmart-like places being in FL, but I like the stuff that has a little methanol in it. I lived in central FL until I enlisted and still got a cold snap in Jan-Feb that was freezing a few weeks.

I use silicon spray on a rag on the windshield wiper blades to clean them and keep them from skipping. If I see they're cracked at the tips, I replace them the next time I'm out at a store. I give the belts/hoses a look while I'm in the bay and look to see if there's anything amiss (cracks/leaks). If I have a rotation due, I use brake cleaner and give the brake components a spray while they're exposed. I usually re-do my rain-X treatments then too... though sometimes I do it during a more thorough wash if it's needing it.

You can do as much or as little as you want, honestly. As long as you do at least what pops on the MM, the car oughta be fine. If you do more... that's up to you. I don't know the car will last any longer, but if it's good for your soul... then that alone is worth it. I'm a buy-whatever-0w-20-oil-is-on-sale-and-change-it-at-5-or-10-percent kind of guy. For regular oil change intervals, I'm not a believer in using ultra premium oils. If I was trying to go 25k miles between changes, sure. For the 6k-8k and 6 months I go, which is following the MM, the 0w-20 Castrol Full synthetic is get for about $16/5 quarts goes in yellow and comes out brown between the Odyssey and this Civic and my last one... and the RSXs before these... though that was pre-0w oils. BITOG is a great place to read about oil until your nose bleeds. I read until mine did... then decided I just didn't care about analyzing that sort of stuff.

Good on you for doing the work yourself though! :thumbsup: It used to be about the money for me when I was young and broke. Now? It's about the convenience and control of doing it myself in my own driveway... not having to drive somewhere else to depend on (and be at the mercy of) of someone else to get it done and to know it got done right. I only ever go back to the dealer for warranty work or recalls. I only go to 3rd party places to get tires replaced or rotations.
+1 -- Makes very good sense to me :)
 


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Did my 1st oil change at 1600 miles, used Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 and matching filter. It's factory fill for Ferrari North America more than needed for a Civic....BTW it's rebottled Shell Helix Ultra from Europe. Great price too.
 

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I had never considered it before, but was looking today, and was surprised how inexpensive an OIL FLUSH/ TRANSMISSION FLUSH machine can be.

https://www.ebay.com/p/Transmission...g-Machine/14010826474?iid=142938102999&chn=ps

Especially if you have more than one car, or pool with a friend or two, it is quite realistic to justify the purchase.

If you want to also do Transmission Fluid, then getting a 2nd one for that as well is not out of the question.

With an oil "change", most of the oil drains out, before you fill with new oil, so any remaining old oil is very much diluted.

With a Transmission fluid "Change", you can only drain about 50% of the fluid, so the old fluid remaining is only diluted 50% . Hence the Transmission FLUSH is much better in replacing most/all of your old fluid.

Just a thought .. I would love to have had my own Transmission Flush machine today when I changes one that should have been done many many many many years ago.

Same for the oil... (Used car recently purchased) no oil change for 2 years, some 15K since last old change .. !!
I ended up doing an oil change, ran the car for about 50 miles, and then did a 2nd Change. The oil that came out on the 2nd change was nasty ,, what one might expect when doing a correctly scheduled change.

The only problem I had --- measuring the oil level after the 2nd change-- it was so clear, it was difficult to read the dip stick !!
 

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I had never considered it before, but was looking today, and was surprised how inexpensive an OIL FLUSH/ TRANSMISSION FLUSH machine can be.

https://www.ebay.com/p/Transmission...g-Machine/14010826474?iid=142938102999&chn=ps

Especially if you have more than one car, or pool with a friend or two, it is quite realistic to justify the purchase.

If you want to also do Transmission Fluid, then getting a 2nd one for that as well is not out of the question.

With an oil "change", most of the oil drains out, before you fill with new oil, so any remaining old oil is very much diluted.

With a Transmission fluid "Change", you can only drain about 50% of the fluid, so the old fluid remaining is only diluted 50% . Hence the Transmission FLUSH is much better in replacing most/all of your old fluid.

Just a thought .. I would love to have had my own Transmission Flush machine today when I changes one that should have been done many many many many years ago.

Same for the oil... (Used car recently purchased) no oil change for 2 years, some 15K since last old change .. !!
I ended up doing an oil change, ran the car for about 50 miles, and then did a 2nd Change. The oil that came out on the 2nd change was nasty ,, what one might expect when doing a correctly scheduled change.

The only problem I had --- measuring the oil level after the 2nd change-- it was so clear, it was difficult to read the dip stick !!
Funny thing... at least in regards to a TSB I did on my Odyssey a year ago, Honda doesn't use flush machines. They do a 3x drain/fill to get the majority of the fluid. Dilution [at least for Honda in that case] is the solution. I've done drain and fills several times across multiple vehicles, knowing I was getting out less than half of the old fluid but I've never been too concerned. In the even I did one where the fluid was pretty cooked due to towing... I just let the ATF circulate then did another drain/fill.

Whether the horror stories are true or not... I've rarely heard good things about flushes... especially on older vehicles. I've heard it also on the far extreme, where people say it's better to keep old fluid in than risk creating a problem by replacing it. I do think this is a bit ridiculous. I've definitely noted improved shifting performance on 3 vehicles I've done ATF changes on (and I've done it on others... but there was no perceived change). The idea that some automakers claim there's is 'lifetime' fluid is a bit ridiculous to me as well. I've seen fluid that had been a sweet smelling cherry red come out burnt smelling and a dark brown after towing, despite staying w/in the vehicles limits and it having a cooler.

I am steadfast in my believe that Honda makes either a transmission design that causes fluid to perform poorly compared to other makers... or the fluid itself is poor. This includes their very lightweight MTF and their ATF (DW-1 specifically... he only one I've messed with). I can't speak for CVTs, but the change interval is short on my Odyssey at around 30k on the MM and the fluid is *done* when it comes out... and this is w/o towing. Whether this is because it's the Accord powertrain put into a vehicle weighing about 1/2 again more than an Accord, I can't say. One things for sure... by whatever method you intend to do it... I would *not* skip changing the fluid for whatever Honda transmission you have... whether it's the 5s or 6s that could be hit or miss... the Acura 9s that made it into the lower tier Odysseys... their current and applauded 10s whos longevity is unknown or the CVTs that Honda tried out some years back... stopped using... then came back to. Hondas are great... but their transmissions don't have the same reputation as their engines.
 

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< --- snip --->
Whether the horror stories are true or not... I've rarely heard good things about flushes... especially on older vehicles. I've heard it also on the far extreme, where people say it's better to keep old fluid in than risk creating a problem by replacing it. I do think this is a bit ridiculous. I've definitely noted improved shifting performance on 3 vehicles I've done ATF changes on (and I've done it on others... but there was no perceived change).
< ---snip--- >.
I also think the "keep old fluid" stories are ridiculous.

The Transmission fluid I did today was on a 31 year old Nissan Maxima, that I recently purchased as a parts car.
I wanted to know if the Transmission was OK, so that I could rely on it being a working transmission, should I need it in the future.
As it stood (probably with the original fluid in it from 31 years ago), it had difficulties getting into Drive, without a lot of "In-Out" movement.
I did a x2 change, set the Hot level, and it now works perfectly.

I suspect a lot of the "keep old fluid" stories came about because people were putting the wrong (Modern synthetic) fluid into their old transmissions, that were designed for non-synthetics. - or maybe I lucked out. Car has about 170K on it, so it is really only half way through its expected life.

Certainly interesting and informative to be running and maintain both a 31 year old car, along with a 6 month old car !! Two VERY DIFFERENT beasts !!
 

latole

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Thanks! Anything else I should be doing for the 5,000 mile mark?
Check cabin and engine air filters ; I use vacuum to clean them.

Any brand of synthetic oil are good. Replace oil filter too.
I don't follow Maintenace Minder. I change my oil more often than less. Never more than 5K miles.
Car maintenance is not a rocket science. If it is your first car you may have to learn
 


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BoostedDreams

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Is a transmission fluid change necessary at 5k miles? Does honda not make a 0w-20 synthetic or is it not recommended?
Thanks for all the informative replies!
 
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Is a transmission fluid change necessary at 5k miles?
No. It's due when it pops on your MM. For CVTs... probably around 30k miles. For your manual transmission, I don't think a change periodicity is specified. My next oil change will be at the 1.5 year point and 15k miles. I do plan on replacing my MTF because of degrading shifting performance. The same thing occured on my 9th gen and my RSX wasn't great when I first got it, though it was 6 years old by then. This came up on another thread and I've heard, though not verified, that there is no change interval for the MTF.

Does honda not make a 0w-20 synthetic or is it not recommended?
They do... and by they do... they put their sticker on a full synthetic oil that someone else supplies them. I think it's made by Exxon Mobil or Phillips. If it's API certified oil of the correct viscosity, then it's fine. Some people want to use oil that's not 0w-20, as you'll see in the above comments. Such is their choice.

The oil you use is a very personal choice for some people, who feel brands or different viscosities will make a marked difference in performance or longevity and perform UOAs to try and quanity things. It's practically a hobby in itself.

So far as the book is concerned, 0w-20 and API certified. And yes... before someone wants to beat me over the head with a owners manual that isn't from the US, there is mention of other viscosities for non-US cars that have the same engine. Some of the aforementioned Amsoils lack the cert. It's both expensive and, as I've read, some of the additive packs have too much of a given substance (ie zinc) to pass. The nosebleeds of BITOG goes over all this in excruciating detail. If you want to read up... feel free. Or follow the book and use pretty much anything you want.

This thread may open up into a lot of opinions about the best oil to use, like many other threads. My opinion is it just doesn't matter so long as it's changed at the required interval per the MM. Other will say that it is not sufficient... that's there's better options... that they know better than those who engineered the car, because of things they've read, heard, or based on maintenance intervals for other vehicles, many of those from decades last. My last word on it... follow the MM at a minimum and you should be fine. Do more than the MM and you ought to still be fine and your car may not last any longer but if it makes you feel better, so be it. If you want to use products that differ from the prescribed viscosity in the manual (and yes, I am aware that many other cars have charts to show how different viscosity oils can be used for different temperature ranges... ours just doesn't) or one that lacks an API certification, that's your choice. It would be, however, contrary to your owners manual.

From my '18 Si manual...

Recommended Engine Oil
• Honda Genuine Motor Oil
• Premium-grade 0W-20 detergent oil with an API Certification Seal on the
container

This seal indicates the oil is energy conserving and that it meets the American Petroleum Institute’s latest requirements.

Use Honda Genuine Motor Oil or another
commercial engine oil of suitable viscosity for the ambient temperature as shown.

You may also use synthetic motor oil if it is labeled with the API Certification Seal and is of the specified viscosity grade.
 
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latole

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Is a transmission fluid change necessary at 5k miles? Does honda not make a 0w-20 synthetic or is it not recommended?
Thanks for all the informative replies!

I never see a non synthetic 0-20 oil. Did you ?
 


 


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