First oil change for an 06 Civic?

[PhoenixDown]

We just got a new 2006 civic ex sedan today!

I've heard that new cars use a special kind of synthetic oil to help break in the engine but at what point should I have it changed? The dealer said that the car's maintence minder will tell me when it needs to be done... I wasn't exactly comfortable with that answer though its probably the right one.

[twistedframe]

i believe you want to wait until the 1st scheduled oil change to ...do an oil change. ( i think the owners maual recomends 3000 miles) i know that sounds stupid but they use a special kind of oil from the factory that helps the motor break in. if you change it to synthetic too soon the rings will not seat properly and you will have major oil consumption issues down the road.

[enter801]

I was told today by a honda tech to not do your first oil change until 5000 miles at least.

[twistedframe]

alot of old time techs say that b/c for a long time they wanted you to leave that "break in" oil in for a pretty long time, but now with the technology they have come up with in oils and assembly lube i think 3000 is plenty. i think the owners manual even says 3000, but i'll check i may be wrong.

[starboy869]

Maybe you should the manual. Change your oil when the life meter gets down to 15% ish.

I have just over 6,000km and the meter just turned down to 50%

[razer]

Originally Posted by starboy869

Maybe you should the manual. Change your oil when the life meter gets down to 15% ish.

I have just over 6,000km and the meter just turned down to 50%

hmmm.... i just over 6000kms and mine just hit 30%

[PhoenixDown]

Thats another good question... does it alert you when you need to change the oil or do I just have to periodically check the percentage on the dash? At what % should you change it?

(This is probably where it helps to rtfm)

[Rachael]

I did mine at the recommended 5,000 miles, my oil life indicator was at 50% at that point. The techs didn't say anything on if I should wait longer or what, and I was in and out in 30 minutes.

[CameronJr9]

I think it really depends on how long you want to keep your car and how well you want to maintain it/how much money you're willing to spend. If you really don't care and will sell it in the next few years, then change the oil when it hits 15%. If you want to keep it and hand it down to your kids or whatever, change it every 5000 miles as the manual says. Personally, I change it every 5000 miles, regardless of what the oil indicator says.

[jnuzzi]

Originally Posted by CameronJr9

I think it really depends on how long you want to keep your car and how well you want to maintain it/how much money you're willing to spend. If you really don't care and will sell it in the next few years, then change the oil when it hits 15%. If you want to keep it and hand it down to your kids or whatever, change it every 5000 miles as the manual says. Personally, I change it every 5000 miles, regardless of what the oil indicator says.

Where in the manual does it say this?

Everything that I have read says to follow the Maintenence Minder.

[Wrathchild]

i was told should do oil changes when the oil meter is 5-15%

[Skyline]

For those of you that have changed their own oil...quick question: what size is the drain plug? 13mm 6-point? I haven't had a chance to get under there and look...

[Jrfish007]

Originally Posted by Wrathchild

i was told should do oil changes when the oil meter is 5-15%

I did that for the first oil change, I think it was around 5000 miles, never agian will I let the oil go that long. It was super black and smelled of sulfur (which is horrible for oil).

The special break in oil is not synbthetic, it just has a high moly count to help harden and smooth the metal. In fact in the manual it used to say (in my old '03 it did anyway) not to use synthetic oil until the third oil change. Here is an interesting tid bit, if you want to change that oil out early, use Valvoline Max Life as the replacement. It sounds wierd, but it has a 5 wt% moly content, is 22% synthetic and overall a very well made oil. Don't bother with other high milage oils, most are junk. I use this oil around 60,000 miles.

The oil meter is simply a mathatical formula that find the stress put on the oil and tells you how much life you have, it is in no way measuring the actual oil in your car. If your drive agresively, always shifting at higher RPMS, this will kill your oil faster, the meter takes this into account and tries to figure out when the oil is "dead." The problem is that this type of calculation is different for every oil, so if you are not using honda oil, this may not be true. Synthetic will probably last long than the indicator says, and cheaper Wal-mart oil will be long gone before the oil indicator says, so don't tak ethis thing as the tell all for oil, it si just a guide.

[Jrfish007]

Originally Posted by Skyline

For those of you that have changed their own oil...quick question: what size is the drain plug? 13mm 6-point? I haven't had a chance to get under there and look...

Sorry, I forget what size it was but that sounds about right, I just remember it was larger then my F150 with a 5.4L engine, thought that was funny.

[Kroze]

Originally Posted by PhoenixDown

We just got a new 2006 civic ex sedan today!

I've heard that new cars use a special kind of synthetic oil to help break in the engine but at what point should I have it changed? The dealer said that the car's maintence minder will tell me when it needs to be done... I wasn't exactly comfortable with that answer though its probably the right one.

yea... don't trust the engineer that built the car telling you when to change the oil. come here and ask opinions of kids who's just graduated high school and their parent bought a civic for them.

they're going to prove to you how you should change your oil x amount of miles by copying and paste some article they found somewhere by some nutcase or oil manufacturer trying to sell you their oil.

[Jrfish007]

Originally Posted by Kroze

yea... don't trust the engineer that built the car telling you when to change the oil. come here and ask opinions of kids who's just graduated high school and their parent bought a civic for them.

they're going to prove to you how you should change your oil x amount of miles by copying and paste some article they found somewhere by some nutcase or oil manufacturer trying to sell you their oil.

I am an engineer, working on my PhD.

Chemical engineer actually, you know the ones that distil and make gasoline and oil... I actually know a few of the engineers at Honda too, they told me that thing is only a guide, as always if you want to how much life is in your oil, get it tested.

[Kroze]

i trust the engineers that work at honda than any kid on this forum any day even if the kid "knoweverythingthereistoknow" about cars & life.

but i guess the kid who can paste the most baseless & useless info about oil knows better than the engineers who build some of the most reliable & efficient motors in the world.

i'll stick with what honda saids "change oil once it reach 15% on the maint. system, if not, once a year"

[twistedframe]

once a year!?!?!?!?!? even if you only drive 10k miles a year that still seems way too long even on sythetic. and my oil indicator only reads in powers of ten.

[Kroze]

Originally Posted by Jrfish007

I am an engineer, working on my PhD.

Chemical engineer actually, you know the ones that distil and make gasoline and oil... I actually know a few of the engineers at Honda too, they told me that thing is only a guide, as always if you want to how much life is in your oil, get it tested.

chemical engineer still in college with vast resources to test and study >>>>>>> those dumbass 70 year old japanese engineers who's been working/testing at honda's their entire life and been making some of the most reliable engine in the world

[Kroze]

Originally Posted by twistedframe

once a year!?!?!?!?!? even if you only drive 10k miles a year that still seems way too long even on sythetic. and my oil indicator only reads in powers of ten.

that's why they said to change it at 15%. and worse case scenario, once a year