I Lost All Confidence In The Maintenance Minder System Today
Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,462
From: Vermont
dgs, you can send your oil out for testing. There are kits out there where companies will send you the sampling kit so you can send them the oil and they will analyze it.
The Maintenance Minder DOES take into account a number of things that you mention above. The driving conditions are monitored by the sensors in and around the engine. Your engine Temp sensor, oxygen sensors, A/F ratio, the amount of time between restarts/ startup & shutdown, average fuel economy, etc... are all things the computer and maintenance minder monitors. As for the Filter, there should be [in ANY engine] very few contaminants. To start with, as long as seals are good and the minimum quality fuel is used so the filter should be able to run for way more than the old school 3000 miles. If honda knows one thing, it is engines! They are not only the largest manufacturer of engines in the world but they also make the most reliable engines across the board... Period. To be the largest producer AND have the most reliable engines means they know everything about the capabilities and needs of each motor that goes into a car/generator/etc...
I'm still with Honda on this one.
~SB
The maintenance minder doesn't take into account SEVERE driving conditions which call for more frequent oil changes too. Extreme cold (here in Minnesota), Extreme heat, dusty roads (here in minnesota), frequent small commutes (anywhere), etc... These are very valid reasons to change your oil more frequently then the maintenance minder.
For those that only change their oil every 10,000 miles.. what about your OIL FILTER?? Over time, the filter accumulates dirt that has been trapped, until it reaches a point where it is possible for oil passage to be obstructed. The filter should be changed before it reaches a point where it's an obstruction to the flow of oil, or even facing the danger of becoming plugged. The good and bad news in one, is that filters are designed to prevent from catastrophic failures due to improper lubrication, therefore it has a bypass valve, which will allow the oil to pass through with the dirt once it reaches the filtration capacity, preventing from loss of lubrication and allowing the dirt to enter the engine, and cause accelerated wear.
Just Food for thought. Just don't believe that little oil life gauge has universal super powers to take into account all of the variables affecting oil life.
For those that only change their oil every 10,000 miles.. what about your OIL FILTER?? Over time, the filter accumulates dirt that has been trapped, until it reaches a point where it is possible for oil passage to be obstructed. The filter should be changed before it reaches a point where it's an obstruction to the flow of oil, or even facing the danger of becoming plugged. The good and bad news in one, is that filters are designed to prevent from catastrophic failures due to improper lubrication, therefore it has a bypass valve, which will allow the oil to pass through with the dirt once it reaches the filtration capacity, preventing from loss of lubrication and allowing the dirt to enter the engine, and cause accelerated wear.
Just Food for thought. Just don't believe that little oil life gauge has universal super powers to take into account all of the variables affecting oil life.
I'm still with Honda on this one.
~SB
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 376
From: PA
One problem with going by the color of the oil particularly with the break-in oil is that the additives in the break-in oil discolor it! It should have been discolored right out of the can...have you checked your oil at all in the last year?
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Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 232
From: Texas
Sorry about freaking out, but I've never had a car with a maintenance minder, so I always changed my oil based on color or number of months it's been in my engine. But I wanted to follow Honda's recommendation about using the minder system to determine the oil change frequency and I got freaked looking at black oil last night. So maybe I am old school, or an "old timer" when it comes to oil changes.
Well I won't complain any more, I'll just change the oil and try to get the old oil analyzed to see if I had any cause for worry. If not, then I guess the minder system is accurate and can be trusted and I'll continue to go by what it says.
Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,661
From: Georgia
I purchased my car on January 30th this year, and as of today it has 9,770 miles. The build date for the car was January, and the dealership had it a week before I bought it. Currently the maintenance minder is showing 30%. Today since I had the day off from work I finally decided to check my oil because I'm getting antsy with the same oil in there for a year now. Well guys, that oil was super dirty. I mean almost black. I was pissed off. That maintenance minder is worthless, as it obviously does not perform an oil analysis, but uses some other method like engine revolution to determine the change frequency.
I was a good little boy and I followed Honda's recommendation not to change the original oil until the minder went off, but this has backfired on me. I went to the Honda dealership and bought five quarts of Honda 5W-20, the filter wrench, and extra washer and I'm changing the oil this Saturday. I wish I could change it tomorrow but I won't have time until Saturday.
I guess this is a warning to anyone solely relying on the minder system to check their oil every now and then. I will not be following the minder system again and will use my own two eyes to determine when to change the oil. It's a great idea in theory, especially for people who forget when to change their oil or have other services performed, but for anyone else I believe you're better off using your own judgment.
I was a good little boy and I followed Honda's recommendation not to change the original oil until the minder went off, but this has backfired on me. I went to the Honda dealership and bought five quarts of Honda 5W-20, the filter wrench, and extra washer and I'm changing the oil this Saturday. I wish I could change it tomorrow but I won't have time until Saturday.
I guess this is a warning to anyone solely relying on the minder system to check their oil every now and then. I will not be following the minder system again and will use my own two eyes to determine when to change the oil. It's a great idea in theory, especially for people who forget when to change their oil or have other services performed, but for anyone else I believe you're better off using your own judgment.
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,208
From: Quebec, Canada
I check mine monthly.
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