High five to ya'll..I'd really be lost without this forum..a valuable asset to my driving life..i might add.

Ok so i got another issue with oil change..my '12 Fit has 43K miles on it, its at 30% oil change and i need to re-visit this issue..ive read the horror stories about the "in-and-out" oil change joints but to be honest, right now i'm not set up to do the oil change myself and i don't want to go to the stealership either so will it really be a big deal to go to the quicky places just ONE time? Also, i am in the bay area and wondering which one of these places you guys recommend - IF you had to go to one yourselves?

till soon
Zero2Hero

 

You're going to pay at least 40-45 for a change. You could source an axle stand ($6 at Walmart), a pan (maybe $3?) and a 17mm wrench and do it yourself in 10 minutes. Jack the driver side up and support, slink underneath and bang it out. I do mine in my apartment complex parking lot to save the money of taking it somewhere.

In case you don't know how to reset the oil maintenance minder press the button to cycle to the percentage screen, press and hold the button till it flashes, release and hold till it stops flashing. Back to 100%

 

$40-45 to do at home you mean? But i like your tips..when you say source, do you mean they rent it for $6.00 each and would i need two stands or one ? Sorry if the questions sound silly but its going to be my first time so i do need the details, also i remember this to be a tricky issue, where to put the stand? I remember once changing the tire and i could not find a stable/safe place to place the jack as most areas looked plastic-ey underneath and i had a hard time finding the right spot.

 

You could do it at home for around $30 (without tax).

I think he was saying you could buy a single cheap jack stand. Your first DIY oil change will cost you more then having it done but once over the initial tool cost it will be cheaper. Another thing to consider, is there somewhere close by you can dispose of the oil? Heck you can get a turkey roasting pan from the dollar store to catch the oil. Most places like Pep Boys will take your old oil for free.

People give dealerships a hard time but they typically higher better techs. If you can spell your name and have 2 thumbs you are qualified at a quick lube place. Not saying all dealers are like that and not all quick lube places are like, that just have to find a good one. Dealers run specials sometimes so you can get it done for under $50.

I prefer to do it myself because it's faster, I can use the oil I want, I used to drive 30k miles a year and it makes me feel accomplished. I use ramps as I much prefer to work under them. You can buy a cheap plastic set for not too much.

How often do you drive? If you are only needing to change it once a year then $60 for a dealer oil change is not bad. Now if you're racking up 30k miles and it will need changing 3-4 times then it can get pricey to have it done at a shop.

 

GolNat- thanks for weighing in..i put about 10K per year on the car..so really low annual milage, your tip about checking with my local dealership just to see how much more they may charge is a good call..now that i think of it, i still have that recall to attend to (something about the passenger side air bag) so maybe i could look into both but having said all this, if you were to take your car to those oil changing joints, which one would you consider? As mentioned i'm in the bay area so not sure how many of these outfits are nation-wide. Also i'll check to see how much the ramp and/or jack stand will cost me..another thing, do you use Honda oil or other brands when you do it yourself.

Oh and one other (silly) question about the "change oil " indicator, so does it always get to 30% when you are over the 3K-miles-driven range ? If so then technically every 3K miles i will need an oil change right ? I am assuming thats what the average Fit owner is doing...but maybe im wrong.

 

I would probably go with a small mom and pop shop honestly. Actually my local Pep Boys did have some really good techs there (I worked there briefly) but I know of some other local Pep Boys that were horrible. It really depends on the shop and who they have. I also have a good NTB within an hour drive that I use for tire mounting but I would consider them for an oil change.

The computer actually calculates an average based off how the car is driven so the mileage varies. If you do a lot of city driving or idling it will typically be lower then if you do a lot of highway. I always went off the oil indicator in the car and it varied from 8-10k miles between changes. If your car was reset at the last change then it probably has over 5k miles on the oil at 30%.

I used Honda oil in my Fit and the wife's Pilot. Next oil change I will probably switch the Pilot to whatever I can get at local store as my dealer stopped selling quarts. Any name brand oil will do. Mobile 1, Castrol, Penzoil, Quaker State. I use Redline in my GTI but it is way overkill for a Fit IMO.

And yes get that recall taken care of. Luckily I had mine done so when I got in my accident I didn't get shards in my face.

 

IMO, despite the rather negative reputation many of these in and out Oil Change places to have, they do change oil. They do it a lot. And it's not Rocket Science.
If I was going to have my Oil Changed at one of those places, first of all I'd make sure they are ONLY doing the Oil Change, many of these places try to up sell you on a lot of additional services. Filters, signal bulbs, coolant fluid changes and flushes...whatever. Just don't be up sold.

Then while most all of these places, won't let you into the service area, you can usually see what is being done. I'd watch. I once paid for a synthetic oil change at one of these places only to watch them pump bulk oil into the vehicle.
Watch as much as you can.
THEN
After it is done? Check for leaks, check oil level. If you notice any leaks...have them fix it. If it's over filled have them fix it. Save your receipt in case you notice any of this day's later. Check the oil after 24 hours and the vehicle has sat. Basically double check anything they touch. I hate to say it, but that level of attention I think is often warranted.
I often ask them to NOT add windshield wiper fluid. To not bother to check the air filter, and don't ask me about changing the cabin filter. I don't even really want them checking my tire PSI. All things they are apt to do as part of the "service". I pretty much just want them changing the Oil and Oil Filter ONLY. I think most of their extra no charge services are just searching for reasons to sell you more. Such as air filters, cabin filters, things I would rather do myself.

The times I have used these type of places? That's the approach I use.
IMO....they can be fine for an Oil Change, as long as you don't let them up sell you into a lot of other things and if you double check their work.

 

Owned mine for 10+ yrs now. I do not have high mileage so I do the once a year change at my dealer. Otherwise I would have waited until the % has dropped to 10%.

Yes nice to save a couple bucks but the mess and having to dispose of old oil etc so much easier to read my KOBO while dealer does it.

 

my 1st experience with pep boys was a week ago. bought some tires for the other honda, it took pep boys 2.5 hrs to do the job. keep in mind, I had an appointment 30 mins after opening, I'm typically in and out in an hour at the other national tire chains

TL;DR = prob will not be going back there again

when I recycle my oil at a nearby drive thru oil change shop, I did spend a few mins to watch what they do to other customers cars. they seemed pretty decent at what they do, and did a thorough inspection on customers car (they gotta try to sell you those replacement wiper blades right?)

 

Rhino ramps are nice and you don't have to worry about how to jack up the car. I think they're around $60. But they take up a bit more space to store than jack stands, if your garage is full.

 

If they are like the one I worked at they don't actually have appointments. We had an appointment book and were suppose to write people in but it's not like they had a tech waiting for them. I refused to use it and when people asked me about making an appointment I would explain to them how it means nothing. I was a service writer for 3 months while I was in between jobs and I wasn't very good at it. Honesty doesn't make you the most money in that business.

 

no tech waiting = bingo

there was 5 customer cars in the bays, and only 3 techs working. when my car was finally pulled in, tech #1 was working on my car + 1 more car

interesting fact about that "appointment system", it def went down exactly as such .... I kept asking myself "what the heck was the point of making an appt"

 

Maybe they want people to make appointments because they're more likely to show up.
Also possible that if they get too many people trying to make appointments they spread them out?