As per the owners manual regarding time length between oil changes. If the maintenance light does not come on due to low km useage then the oil should be changed every 12 months....

 

8th oil change this weekend at 40,000 miles

 

im @ 4700 and 30% hmm weird.. i dunno am i suppose to wait till 15%
cause my mpg is really bad now..

 

You do realize that if you have an engine failure running "30" vs "20" and Honda can prove you didn't use 5w20 or 0w20, they would deny you the warranty work.

Really, all you are doing using the higher viscocities is sludging your engine over time. Today's engines are built to such close tolerances that what you need is "better" (i.e. full synthetic), not "thicker".

 

My bad, I edited it to -20. after 50000 miles i will probably move to 10-30 due to living in Fl heat. Your heatwave may vary...THUNDER

 

I am at 3500 and it just clicked 70% but I am 95% highway.
Stephen

 

Like the manual says, don't change the break-in oil until the engine minder tells you to. It's probably not going to cause a huge problem if you have to do it before then, but why go against their engineer's advice? Honda's engineers have a pretty good rep!

 

Just a word on synthetic oil vs dino oil. I have an air/oil cooled V-twin motorcycle and this is a hotly debated topic among bikers. Many petroleum engineers on forums will say that the break-in with dino oil theory is a myth. After all many top-end cars today come with Mobil 1 synthetic from the factory, i.e., the BMW M3. However, manufacturers may put certain additives in the oil to aid the break-in process. That being said though, if you do some oil research - which i did a lot of for my bike - you will hear many differing opinions on this matter, but many petrol engineers have emphatically stated that the dino break-in theory is an old wives tale. In addition, a good reason why dino oil is used in an "economy" car, quite simply, is because it is much less costly to the manufacturer. Another school of thought which is pretty widely accepted, is, if you break in an engine TOO easy, the rings will never seat the maximum amount, thereby denying the vehicle it's full power potential. In addition, think about the variety of metal particles that may be collecting in the oil filter of a new car. Therefore, changing the filter fairly early is not a bad idea. i have an 09 Fit Sport/Navi on order and I plan on changing the oil filter within first 100-200 miles, and then switching to a good synthetic at about 1500 miles; either Mobil 1 or Amsoil.

 

A friend I trust told me to switch to Mobil 1 synthetic at the 1st oil change. I have an '09 AT and have been disappointed to see my MPG drop to its current avg of 31.2 (combined city/highway) after 2400 miles. Will the synthetic blend make that much of a difference? My indicator on the dash says 80% for oil, but my gut feeling is to change to Mobil 1 soon. Should this be at 3000 or 5000 miles?

 

Winter is here and gas stations are using winter blend and also takes longer for car to reach operating temperature. MPG always drops during winter. When the weather warms up so will your mileage.

Synthetic will not be noticeable. It basically lasts longer and flows better than dino oil. My last new car, I switched at 5K miles. This time I'll change when the OM reaches 15%. Why throw away still good oil early?

 

I appreciate your insight. I'm not a big fan of wasting anything early, but oil seems to be a minimal cost. Will synthetic translate to better MPG? I'm in no rush to trump what the manual says to do, but some Fit owners are more aggressive about changing to synthetic before the time that Honda engineers state to do this. How long does it take for a car to "break in" before we can modify the manual's specifications/maintenance schedule?

 

I have 4887 and at 60%.

 

I'll wait till mine hits 20%, at that point, its probably good.

On another note, I used to work in a honda race shop in Atlanta. When we tore down engines which had been running synthetic, one could always tell due to the non-existance of sludge. The oil does make a difference, and it flows better, but the shop owner always recommended using non-synth oil during break-in.

 

The manual is just a guide line. As long as one doesn't exceed the recommended interval. There is no documented case where changing oil early destroyed their new car. Few people did an oil analysis on Honda's factory oil. The only difference is that it contained slightly more moly than regular oil. Moly Basics (good place to go if anyone wants to know about oil and filter).

I have been using synthetic for the past 5 years. I didn't noticed any measurable difference in MPG. I use it because it lasts longer and flows better when the temperature gets to the negative numbers.

 

I'm at 50% with 4,700 miles - most of those are hwy miles.

 

i have a 09 fit AT and honda told me not to change oil till 7,500 miles anyone else get that?

 

I'm at 5700 miles and 60%.

I'm thinking those 7500 - 10k estimates are not too far off. (I am doing 75% highway and drive about 30,000/year).

Getting right on 34 - 35 mpg.

 

I picked up my new Fit Sport yesterday. My sales rep stated that once the oil % reaches 15% on your oil monitor, you should have the oil changed. She said don't be surprised if it is not until even 7,000 miles. Besides saving gas costs from my old vehicle, I will be saving on maintenance costs because I won't be running to do oil changes ever 3,500 miles or so....

 

I'm at 7,600 miles and the MM shows 40%

 

ok cool... the way i see it the car tells you and also the way you drive it i wonder if it counts time also? im going to look in to this one...