since my last oil change, i've driven 6635 miles and my minder says i have 50% oil life left (im sure it'll hit 40% very shortly).

i drive normally. i dont push the car, i dont baby the car.

based on the maintenance minder, i could go close to 10,000 miles before needing an changing oil.

ive heard the oil life minder is simply calculated by engine revs.
i dont know if that's true... but it makes sense.

i plan to change the oil at 7000 miles... but i wonder if i really have to.

 

thats CRAZY mileage on your oil... i've gone about 6500 on mine and had the meter down to 10%.... but you are getting crazy oil life.... u sure its not synthetic?

 

no you dont have to. just follow the manufacturer's service manual.

but if you're going over 1yr i recommend changing it.

my 09 has about 8k miles and at 30% or something. in no rush.

 

what kind of driver are you?

if you were native american, would your name be "heavy foot" or "light feather"????

no synth oil here.

but looking at kenchan's post (above), looks like my situation is typical.

 

lol i'm not heavy footed ALL the time, just every once in a while.... i thought about 6k was more or less the avg.

 

not with the GE's.

Ive seen quite a few ppl pulling the trigger on changing their oil at 5k/50%

 

I change mine at 5k regardless if there is still some left on the percentage gauge.

 

Mine is at 9800 miles and 20%. My dealer insists on my not changing the oil until 15%. Based on what I'd read here, I'd expected 6-7K.

Those of you who change earlier, do you reset the Maintenance Minder and guess as to when other service is needed? Or do you reset the MM every other oil change or something like that?

I ask because the GE has no alternate mileage recommendations for other services (tire rotation, valve service, coolant replacement, transmission oil, etc.), it's all handled by codes from the MM. If you constantly reset the MM early, you will never see any other sevice codes. At least, this is what the service department at my dealership told me.

 

Press the MM button for 10 seconds. It will show the codes for needed services. Press it again for 5 seconds, it will reset. If you don't press it again it will return to normal. Mine shows tire rotation on every oil change and air and cabin filters as milage approaches 30K, 60K, etc. I have 65K so these are the only codes I have gotten. I wait until 15% for my services, but if you do services earlier (waste of time and money IMHO), you can find your codes this way.

 

i assume the other periodic services are calculated by total lifetime miles... so resetting the mm doesnt have an impact on those.

 

my oil life minder hit 40% after 6800 miles.

so i averaged 1133 miles for every 10% of oil life.

ge8 auto trans.

mixed highway/suburban driving.

april - september.

regular driver... not a heavy foot..... i use cruise control massively.

 

that's about how my wife drives... and pretty consistent with wat we're seeing on our obc, so no issue.

 

You may not have a heavy foot, but the cruise control sure does

I wish car companies would just let us adjust cruise control behavior... Yeah I know, that's not gonna happen.

 

Just to be clear, the Maintenance Minder wouldn't know dino or synthetic - you'll still get the same % either way.

I hit 7000 for 10% before my first oil change... 50% for 6000+ sounds like something isn't right, or you're very very very easy on the engine?

 

i dont have a heavy foot... i have a heavy thumb.... you can basically completely drive the car with your thumb by engaging & disengaging & accelerating & decelerating w/ cruise control all day.

 

after talking to several honda service techs, i completely trust the oil life minder.

 

i bet you have a manual transmission.


i believe it's the autos that are getting the long oil life.


i do think i'm pretty easy on the engine... but with a fit, you might as well be, because you're not getting anywhere in a hurry anyway.

 

.

Beyonce' has one of the greatest Fits of all time!

The greatest Fits of ALL TIME!!!

 

the oil life indicator is not just about mileage. It is also how often you start the motor. Shorter trips also lessen oil life.

I personally change my oil around every 5000KM, and is usually around 50%-60% on the oil life indicator. The Fit has a timing chain, and the chain and tensioner inside is coated with your motor oil for proper lubrication as well as clearance. Keep your oil clean and you'll never have to worry about the timing chain for the life of your car. Let crap build up on the chain or tensioner and you'll need to rip it apart just to clean them. To me, an oil change is cheap insurance.

And also, if it's going to be your first oil change, don't wait 'til when the indicator tells you to. The initial fill is often thicker for engine break-in, and as your engine initially breaks in, there will be more metal and other bits worn off and floating around in the oil. You'd be surprised how thick the oil seems for 0w-20 when you do your first oil change. And after the first oil change, your fuel mileage will go up noticeably.

And I do reset my service reminder after each oil change. I do other services as reasonably required. Sometimes that means more often than the dealer recommendation, sometimes it means less often. Just use common sense, physical inspections, and a trusted mechanic.

 

Your first oil change should NOT be done early. The break-in oil has more molybdenum in it, and even your owner's manual says not to change the oil early on the first go-round.
Wait until it's time, at least the first time. After that, it's between you and your wallet, but not necessary to do it early. The Honda engineers have even more knowledge on the subject than the people on the Internet.