I changed my oil to synthetic oil, around 3500 miles the change oil gauge turned on. Is this something I should follow and change the oil even though sythetic should last double? Or should I leave it and push it?

 

Your maintenance minder is based on the Honda recommended engine oil, which for a 1st gen Fit would be 5w20. If you replaced with a synthetic - say 0w20 - the maintenance minder will be off because it's not programmed for that oil. You will not get a reliable oil change indicator because the calibration is off.

It's up to you if you want to run full synthetic for the life of the engine, in which case I'd double the MM suggestions. If you want to go back to the Maintenance Minder recommendation to change oil, I'd go back to 5w20 and skip the synthetic.

FWIW - when my GD3 got totaled a couple years ago, it wasn't burning a drop of oil at 147K, and I already had done 30 oil changes by that time. So no harm in running regular oil if you change it regularly.

 

3500 seems premature......You forgot to manually reset the minder system when you changed oil?

The minder system doesn't have any way to know what sort of oil is in the engine, and it has no way of knowing the oil got changed---it has to be reset manually every time.

0w20 is a perfectly acceptable oil for that car (as per Honda) and is usually a higher quality oil than most 5w20.
0w20 can give easier starts in extreme cold too.
I run 0w20 in my GFs 07 Fit, it's at about 240,000 miles now....Change when the minder says to change it, I don't worry about it one bit.

 

It was reset when I changed the oil and I figure it wouldn't be able to tell if oil is different. The normal reset doesn't work when it goes below the 15% when the indicator turns on. I guess I can always go back to standard I just didn't want to change it all the time. Having the indicator on is just a annoying to look at all the time.

 

There were a few times where I got below 15% oil life left and resetting the MM wasn't an issue.

If memory serves: Turn ignition to ON (but not starting the engine), scroll to oil life display, hold button in for 10 sec. or until it begins to flash, release and hold button for another 5 sec. or so, and it should go back to 100%. Is this what you're doing?

 

I was starting it, I will try it not starting it. Thanks

 

I have to think, somehow your maintenance minder got out of sync with your actual Oil Change.

And you SHOULD be able to reset your maintenance minder whether the Oil is at 15% or less or not.

You say it was reset when you changed the oil? Did you check what the actual Oil Life reading was saying? Should start out at 100%. Otherwise, it wasn't reset.

My personal philosophy?
Oil and filters are pretty cheap. I don't "Push It".
For the investment called for? I'd probably just change the Oil again, and reset, making sure the Maintenance Minder was reading 100% Oil life...then go from there.

But that's just me.

 

The gauge reset itself when the oil is changed. I did check it and it was at 100%. It also off cause I changed it to sythetic oil and not standard. That's why I'm asking, it's should be good for 7500 miles but the indicator turned on at around 3500 like it normally does. It's the first time I'm using sythetic so I wasn't sure. The normal reset doesn't work when the indicator turns on at 15%.

 

I still think something was done wrong when you changed the oil.
I'm skeptical that it was reset.

My understanding is the the gauge does NOT reset ITSELF. The maintenance minder has no way of knowing you changed the oil.
It's not like a gas gauge, that reads when it is full or not.

It also does NOT know whether the vehicle has synthetic oil or "regular" oil in it, so filling it with synthetic shouldn't change the "rate" it reads, either extending it or making it read to change prematurely. So the gauge is not off BECAUSE you changed to synthetic.

There's only 3 possibilities IMO.

1. Either the maintenance minder was not properly reset after you changed the oil.

2. You have a problem, defective maintenance minder.

3. And this is the long shot, it IS actually time to change your Oil. The maintenance minder does NOT just go on mileage alone, but evaluates other factors. Engine run time, etc.

Mine typically goes 7,000 miles or more in-between changes, but I suppose it is possible if you've been driving really hard, that the minder counted down, and does think it's time to change the oil.

Again, if it was me? I'd want my minder in sync, with my actual situation. So, even if a waste, I'd change it again and reset. Then monitor the countdown.

But if you plan to always do your own Oil Changes, and want to make your own evaluation and choice as to when to change it? It's your vehicle, your choice.

And also YES...you can reset and should reset the maintenance minder after doing the required maintenance, and it IS possible. In my owners manual the procedure is outlined on page 358. This can be done whether the vehicle is above 15%, at 15% or below 15%.

If you are asking for over the internet reassurance that it is OK to push your synthetic oil past the maintenance minder life?

Well I find the maintenance minder to be a useful tool. It also is there to remind you about OTHER maintenance issues.
Being in sync with the maintenance minder is important to me.

But the decision to do whatever...is up to you.

 

correct. it has to be manually reset.

 

Agree with all this.

I see maintenance minders allow drivers to go anywhere from 4000 miles to well over 10k miles, it can vary greatly depending on the driver and their unique driving conditions.
(strictly highway driving is very different from soccer mom/grocery getter driving)

10k+ isn't a big deal if the driving habits warrants it IMO, but a lot of these drivers don't even bother to check oil level once in that time...that's where big trouble can begin.

I think 4k is probably the earliest I've personally seen the 15% message turn on, but I'd expect there are some people with habits that cause it come on sooner.

If OPs display was at 15% or below and automatically showing the reminder when he starts the engine, he has to cycle the display through the odometer and tripmeters to bring up the service reminder again before he can reset it.
I have a feeling this is what he was talking about.