I'm going to try changing my oil with an extractor on my 2012 on a sloped driveway. I'm curious if it makes more sense to park the car uphill or downhill? Based on the way that the dipstick curls, I want to say that uphill would be better but then again, I'm not too sure of the shape of the oil pan and how the oil pools on a slope nor exactly how the extracting hose curves when it goes down the dip stick tube. The hose always hits a wall when I insert it (the hose is a stiff material for reference) so I'm trying to get the most amount of oil out as possible obviously.

Has anyone used an extractor to change the oil on a Fit before? I've heard results vary depending on type of car and most of the info I found online was for German cars and not much for Honda's nor the Fit specifically. I tried searching but haven't found much here. Am I missing an obvious thread on this topic?

 

I don't want to be "that guy," but... why? You suggest that both uphill and downhill are possible, suggesting that your car is mobile. So, how about no hill? I'm joking a bit, but I don't see why you would complicate a simple, established procedure.

If my life depended on it and I couldn't move the car, I would go with uphill. Most oil changes are traditionally performed on flat ground or with the front end on ramps, suggesting that uphill should be ok (unless the slope is very extreme).

If you're truly curious, why don't you extract as much oil as possible with the car uphill, measure the amount, dump it back in, and then try again with the car facing downhill.

 

Flat ground is the only way. Because you never lift the car up in the air on any hills. Not smart and stupid dangerous.

Also Honda doesn't use oil extractors because it's not a sealed up system. They just use the drain plug while filling the oil through the valve cover.

 

I have a 2013, bought new. I have always used an extractor. My oil drain plug has never been touched! Gets almost everything out. I do it on flat ground, though. After I drain it, I lift it with a jack a little to get the oil filter off (I can't get under the Fit without lifting it a little). Also, remember to remove the oil filler knob when extracting, otherwise, it takes longer to suck the oil out.

 

"Gets almost everything out."

Or just change your oil the correct way by using the drain plug and it will all of the oil will be removed by gravity. smh

 

I hope you're putting something under the car and not just lifting it with a jack that could easily drop the car.

For NWCH saying SMH, not everybody is the same. I can slide under the car easily but that's not everybody.

 

Why? There might be a tablespoon or two left in there using the extractor. The first time I did it with the extractor, I measured the amount I took out with the extractor (and drained from the filter) and it was what the specs showed it should have had. I think more will be left in with the plug since the extractor tube gets to the bottom of the pan on the Fit. But, the drain plug is a little bit above the bottom of the pan, so there will be a little left in that is under the drain plug's hole. Plus, there is no chance of cross-threading the drain plug.

 

I use a jack stand when I jack up car....just stupid not to.

 

Sometimes I'll pour in the 3 > 5 ounces of oil left from previous O.C. to flush out the old oil and wait for fresh to come to a slow drip . Then insert drain plug w/ new washer .

 

The driveway is sloped a bit, nothing crazy, and need to do it in the driveway versus on the street in front of the house due to the HOA rules. So I was curious which way was better to park the car. I ended up doing it uphill but the slope is pretty minimal so I don't think it caused too much of an issue and everything seemed to go smooth.

I am kind of curious and was thinking about doing what you suggested as an experiement and see which way is better but after extracting it out I figured it's best to just do the fresh oil and move on. If I remember, I might try it downhill next time and see if the results are different at all.

 

I didn't lift the car at all because I used the extractor. I've been doing the extractor so I can do it at home myself after having issues with oil change places doing it. I like to just buy my own oil and oil filter and do it myself now because just too many headaches with places not using the correct oil, overfilling, and just being a pain in the butt. With the extractor, I can suck out the oil without lifting the car and I can just reach under and change the oil filter without lifting as well. Stuff like oil filters and air filters, I like to do myself because it's cheaper so I can do it more often and know that it's done right.

 

I can reach in from under the front and reach the oil filter with one hand. The first time I did it, I had someone watch from above and "guide" me to get the fresh one back on but now I just have a feel for it I guess. I do it blind due to not having an angle but can feel where it needs to go. After 7 or 8 oil changes its just reflexes to find the right spot I guess.

 

These are my thoughts as well. The extractor seems to get to the very bottom. I do it through the dipstick opening and it seems to curve and get to the bottom and come in at an angle so if I push it too far in, it curves back up and above the oil. As I'm extracting, I find the right spot and it forms a vacumm and sucks it dry. I even move the extractor hose up and down at the very end and it gets the last drops pretty well. That combined with what comes out of the oil filter meets the numbers correctly.

One of my issues with getting it changed at shops has been them overfilling about 80% of the time and then to remove some they try to do it from under and ended up cross threading the drain plug and had to get the oil pan replaced because they stripped the threads entirely. After a place overfilled (after I tell them constantly and politely to under fill specifically each time and I'll top off at home if needed or in the parking lot if it's really low) I would find a new place and after a handful of places, I just decided to get the extractor and do it at home. I don't have a place to lift the car on jackstands so I just got the extractor.

 

For the OP, I'm pretty sure I could replace the filter by feel, but I wouldn't.
1) I like to clean and inspect the area where the filter mounts. Why? Because I'm like that, and also because I want to make sure that none of the old filter gasket remained on the block. I also check the old filter when I remove it for the same reason.
2) I put a bit of clean oil on the gasket surface of the new filter, and I don't want to touch that clean surface to anything besides the mounting area (which I wiped clean in #1).
What's the chance that you'll have a problem or introduce contaminants while putting on a filter blind? Probably pretty low, but for me it's worth it to run the car onto ramps and take a few minutes to look over the filter, oil pan, suspension, drive shafts, CV boots, etc. For me, the convenience of an extractor would not outweigh the peace of mind of doing that visual inspection.