First oil change at less than 3500 miles?

Mogadee

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I am at ~7600 miles, picked up Sept. 7, 2017, and it just now hit 20% and have first oil change scheduled for this Saturday. I have mostly highway miles; probably 75/25 split.
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charleswrivers

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Yeah... my old lady told me it just hit the 15 or 20% that causes it to recommend a change this past week. I got the car something about 6 months ago and we probably are around 7500 miles. Pretty much on par with the Odyssey. I usually get 6-8k/change depending on whether I do a lot of interested driving. Probably 1/4-1/2 the Civic's miles are interstate cruising.
 

zroger73

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Honda's Maintenance Minder is based solely on engine revolutions and operating conditions. It does not consider time or measure actual oil quality. Here's a post I made regarding the MM on the Ridgeline forum. If you really want to geek out, there's a technical paper attached to that post that explains exactly how the MM works.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/.../204145-g2-when-change-oil-3.html#post2918633

Some people can go 9,000 miles before reaching 15% oil life while others only get 3,000 miles. It all depends on your specific driving conditions (that's the whole point of the MM so that you change your oil only when necessary). With daily driving, I usually hit 15% around 8,000 miles in most of my Hondas. My brother just bought a new Colorado and he's at 50% oil life at only 1,500 miles, but most of his trips are very short which kills oil life.
 

Chief 08

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I bought my car last June and I have less than 2,500 miles so far. My MM just came on last week, did the oil change on Friday.
 


grifocx

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+1

There is no machine learning or AI here. It’s just a time/mileage computation based on conditions. At least we still have a dipstick -BMW was notorious a few years back for eliminating them and going solely on the service indicator.

Just looking at your oil when you check it can tell you a lot about it’s condition. It’s readily apparent when it’s getting dirty and worn.

I also get a bit of a chuckle when I read about the “factory break in oil.” Can anyone actually cite a legitimate source that supports the existence of this magical oil supplied to our new cars?

One is definitely not doing any harm but spending a few dollars and changing the oil in the early side, especially on a new engine. The service intervals in the manual are balanced to support long term warranty claims (minimizing those) with dealers that cover maintenance.

well im sure the cars not actully analizing the oil. its probably just time and milage based with brake and accelerator inputs to some equasion computed for the computer to tell you its time to change the oil.

if i threw a cup of sand in with the oil i dont think the car would be any wiser to let you know it needed to be changed sooner.

anyone know what sensors the computers getting readings from to make this oil MM come on?
 

frontlinegeek

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Since the maintenance minder stuff has shown up on Hondas, I average about 12k KMs on my 2010 CRV. First change was at 11k KMs. My new Civic went to 5% at 11k and change KMs. Canadian driving. Mostly city.

That change point seems short but it is no shorter than the original Honda recommended change interval.
 

zroger73

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It’s just a time/mileage computation based on conditions.
As I mentioned in post #19 above and can be confirmed by reading Honda's technical paper on the subject, the Maintenance Minder's oil life calculation is not based on time or mileage - it is based on engine revolutions and operating conditions.
 

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grifocx

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That is a pretty cool paper! RPM and oil temp are the two variables that go into the algorithm. As it explains, short drives where oil temp doesn't get up to proper levels will accelerate oil deterioration (among other things). Oil temp is estimated based on other things directly measured.

Very cool quote from the paper "It was discovered that the drivers in North America actually changed their oil earlier than required."

Where did you find this paper? I would love to read more like it!

As I mentioned in post #19 above and can be confirmed by reading Honda's technical paper on the subject, the Maintenance Minder's oil life calculation is not based on time or mileage - it is based on engine revolutions and operating conditions.
 


tehSteve

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I purchased my car October last year. Only @ 2.3k miles (not typo). I am at 70% with mostly city driving.
Should I change?

Or should I wait till right before winter starts?
 

zroger73

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I purchased my car October last year. Only @ 2.3k miles (not typo). I am at 70% with mostly city driving.
Should I change?

Or should I wait till right before winter starts?
Change when prompted by the Maintenance Minder or one year from the date of manufacture located on the driver's door jamb, whichever occurs first.

At your rate, you'll be one who should change the oil every year instead of waiting on the Maintenance Minder.
 

tehSteve

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At your rate, you'll be one who should change the oil every year instead of waiting on the Maintenance Minder.
Thanks brother! Yeah everything is local and my work commute is now a 3 minute drive lol.
 

nunusguy

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I bought my car last June and I have less than 2,500 miles so far. My MM just came on last week, did the oil change on Friday.
Wow that civic must stay parked all day, huh ? I bought my Sport Hatch in December ('17) and I've only got 'bout 3700 and thought that was extremely low mileage.
How often do you guys check your oil ? This is the first new car I've had in almost 20 years, didn't know what was customary these days or recommended by Honda ?
 

burningoilagain

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Guys please don't go by no Honda oil indicator. Check the oil yourself. I'm changing mine every 3,000 miles. That indicator does nothing but assumptions.
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