Hey guys. I have a Honda Fit Sport 2009 from Canada. My Oil change indicator turned 5% yesterday. My usual oil change place is booked until next saturday. Will I last until then? will it be harmful to drive the car when oil change indicator is 0%? Should i just get it changed right away? Thanks

 

How long 5% varies... it really depends on roughly how long it took to get there from 100%. And even then, if there's a change in driving conditions compared to the previous 95%.

I've driven it until mine was past 0% (it turns into negative miles). It's fine so long as it's only a couple of miles. But if you go a couple hundred or thousands, then it could be an issue.

 

thanks. i will just probably get it done this weekend somewhere. don't want to screw up my engine. thanks

 

Without running outside to get the book... You should get it changed at 15%, but it can be run at 5%. Speaking from personal experience, I get about 800-1000 miles for every 10% of oil 'life'. I changed the oil and filter last Friday and drove it 800 very hard miles with 5 people in the car up and down Kentucky and West Virginia roads with the A/C on before the monitor dropped to 90%.

When I changed the oil, I had driven 7,300 miles before the light came on at 15%.

 

Is that kinda like Ron White saying "How far do you think we can fly on just one engine?" LOL You won't experience engine failure if the meter drops below 5%, kind of like how the car doesn't stop running when the low fuel light comes on. You do want to get it changed as soon as you can, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. If you trust your normal place and don't do a lot of high speed driving over the next week, you should be fine.

 

why even push it that far? i dont car what honda says, no way will i ever run my car 7 or 8k miles on an oil change. i stick to every 3k.

 

I'm voting for Grover Cleveland.

 

To determine how long you have from now to 0%, you can estimate it by looking at how long it has been since your last oil change. For example, if it has been 9.5 months since your last oil change, you have about ½ month.

Your engine is not going to blow up the day it turns 0%. There is no benefit to the engine to wait till last minute either.

 

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I don't mean to offend anyone, but many who have replied to this thread sound like they believe it when someone says "the sky is falling, Chicken Little". You can use your Maintenance Minder as a guide, but you don't have to live and breathe by it! You won't fall off the edge of the earth when it hits zero!

Personally, I don't pay any attention to the maintenance minder on my Fit. I keep ALL maintenance records in a three-ring notebook for all 8 of my cars or I'd never be able to keep track of what I need to do and when. I do all maintenance on my cars, including engine and transmission rebuilding, alignments, tire changes, you name it. Never have any arguments with my mechanic, since I'm him

The Fit maintenance minder is a general guideline. Before we had them, people relied on the sticker on the door jamb, or their maintenance notebook (you DO keep one, don't you?) for when to change oil. Like someone said, your engine isn't going to blow up if you go a week beyond 0%. It's much more harmful to a car to let the oil level run too low than it is to go a few miles longer before an oil change.

I got news for you, if you drive with conventional motor oil, you aren't doing your car any favors, especially if you plan on keeping it for a long time. Treat your engine to good brand name fully synthetic motor oil. Change it when the oil manufacturer recommends. That means if you are using Mobil 1, change it at 15,000 miles. And believe me, the oil manufacturers KNOW when they give a recommended mileage change interval, people will stretch those limits, so there's a safety factor built into Mobil's 15,000 miles. Use synthetic and you'll save money on oil, you'll save money on gas, and your engine will have less wear due to its superior lubricating properties. I've been using synthetic since the mid 1980's and couldn't be happier with it's superior performance.

I recently sold a 1995 Ford Escort 4 banger with over 200,000 miles. Where I live, they use a ton of road salt and the body was like Swiss cheese, but the engine still ran great. I used Mobil 1 and changed it every 20,000 miles. When it was new, it got 35mpg, when I sold it, it got 35-40mpg. It used one quart of oil every 5000 miles when I sold it last month. Same oil consumption as when it was new. I rest my case. If you plan to go this route, buy the best oil filter money can buy. There are several good ones out there: K&N, Mobil 1, Purolator PureOne. This is also a good policy even if you insist on sticking with "dino" oil. Don't skimp on oil filters.

BTW, don't waste your money on "synthetic blend" oils. To me, that's like mixing Johhny Walker Blue with White Horse to save money.

My '07 Fit Sport manual has 127,000 miles and still uses less than a quart of oil every 9000 miles, which is remarkable in my book. On the highway I get 40- 43 mpg @ 60mph. I get 30mpg @ 80mph. There are hybrids that don't do any better! Kudos to Honda's engineering.

 

i change by season if that, usually just twice to 3 times a year, but thats me. Its not like i'm going to own it forever or nothing, usually sometime after 60k miles i trade them in anyway.

 

My compliments to KwazyKwaig,

That is one of the most common sense articles about oil changing that I have read.....in like 50 years.

Although synthetic is not for everyone...I have never used it but I want to give it a try. Due to arthritis, I cannot crawl under my own car anymore....so it is too tough to change my own oil, and esp filter.

The MM is just that....a guide to good motoring habits. I also keep a record book for all my vehicles, including a motor scooter. It reveals a lot of good information that is easy to forget. I have all my books back to my first new car....a 1960 VW bug....which I loved a lot. Before that I owned junkers.

Thanks to KK for his insight!

 

Very good guys. It only takes a little common sense. It's a wonder what anyone did before TPMS and maintenance minders.