Oil ?
 

Fit Friends, I have a '09 Fit with 50057 mi. on it. I am currently at 6,678 mi. since my last oil change and it's still showing 50% life remaining.

I checked the dipstick today and it showed my oil was touching the bottom of the dot on the dipstick.

I was going to see what y'all would do, should I add oil, get it changed, etc?

I checked when engine was hot and cold and it was very similiar.

Looking forward to your insightful answers!

Thanks,
Schwimn

i get reading when the engine is cold. if you checked it while at a gas station or something, i would check again after letting the engine cool down all the way (over night) and measure so the oil drips back to the pan. if it's still low, just add some.

i dont do early oil changes.

Just change the oil

50% on the MM and down to the add mark? Just add some oil.

I would change mine at that point, but thats up to you. At the very least add some to get it to the full line.

Thanks kenchan, Wafulz, nikita and Schoat333!

I have a few questions I forgot to ask in my original post:

1. I bought my car from Carmax and regrettably am not sure what type of oil and how much was added at the time of purchase.

Is adding oil a common occurrence with 50% life remaining (6,678 mi. and I drive very conservatively and no leaks) or do you think they might have put in a cheap/wrong oil or only added enough to pass inspection?

2. I decided to get a oil change but don't have time until next week. The oil is just below the bottom of the minimum dot, do you think I should add a little to get me through to next week and if so what type would you recommend?

Sorry for the remedial questions, I am really trying to baby this car and want to make sure I do it the right way.

Thanks,
Schwimm

Any quality 5w20 oil is fine. And another vote for adding a quart and not changing it until the mm is at 15% or less. I'd do it now.

Check your oil more frequently so you can get a better idea of its use.

When you change it, consider going to a synthetic 5w20.

It's common to get 10k miles per oil change.

Oil use of 1 quart every 2K miles (some say as little as 1K miles) is not excessive. 1 quart @6K is nothing to worry about.

what is the time on the oil? If it's been a year or you don't know; I'd say change it out.

If you knew last time you changed it within a year -and it's quality oil, add and let it run.

If you're getting it done next week, don't bother adding oil if you still see oil on the stick, even if it's slightly below the dot; (I assume you aren't going around very far).

As far as oil choices when you DO get your oil changed.
Do note that the change interval on this car is long. There is nothing wrong with that. But it means many choose to use synthetic oils as the premium cost is amortized over the longer service time.

If you are getting this done at a shop though, don't overpay for synthetic "upgrades". In terms of the oil cost if you were to shop for it on sale, it should only cost $10 or so extra to get synthetic over conventional.

I wouldn't call it abnormal. All engines burn oil at some rate.

Yes, I wouldn't risk it that low. The absolute worst things for engines are running them with 1) low oil 2) low coolant.

You could find out what type/brand of oil will be put in the car when you get a change. Call the shop and ask them what they use (or what you intend to be used). Buy a couple courts and add a little, so next time you need to top off you'll have some ready.

Either that or just buy the cheapest factory weight you can find and add some. It isn't going to hurt anyting in that short time, even though mixing different oil manufacturers isn't recommened.

I've had A LOT of cars...and kept many for 250,000 miles, including Suzukis that got a lot of hard core off road use. And although not a professional mechanic, I've done my share of engine teardowns, rebuilds, and swaps.

If ANY of my vehicles were at the bottom of my stick, I'd add oil...even if I was going to change it the next weekend. And check the level again, as maybe you have developed a sizable leak to be investigated.

But when adding, do NOT overfill. Overfilling is actually worse than running low, as it could be high enough that your crankshaft and connecting rod ends are in it. Their rotation will churn your oil into a foamy combination of oil and air, which will NOT properly pump through and lubricate the engine.

To summarize: bring the low level up to but not above the fill mark. Check the level again in a day or so, and at every fillup for a while. (Purists may say at every gas fillup, but lets face it, few do it that often.)

If you added the same brand, grade, and type that was already in the engine, don't bother with an early change. Don't know the brand, but do know the weight (like 5w-20), and whether synthetic or true dinosaur oil? I'd probably just wait to change it. But if you aren't sure of the weight, or if it was synthetic or natural, then I'd change both oil and filter the next weekend.

Good luck!

Paul H
New (360 miles) white 2012 base AT Fit.

except it's not at the bottom of the stick, he said it's just touching the low dot.

If it were my car and I was in that situation, I wouldn't sweat making it to next week - assuming I drive about 150miles in that time.


Anyway, if you're paranoid go ahead and put in some oil if you have it; but OP also said he doesn't have time to do an oilchange. So if he doesn't have time to get an oil change, how can he have time to get a quart of oil?

If you have time to get a quart of oil, you have time to get a quicky oilchange too. While usually I wouldn't go to a quicky oilchange, Fit is as basic as it gets and there is not much to screw up. (That being said, the quicky oil change I do sometimes use is associated with a fullservice carwash and bundle a discount and get both jobs done in about 25minutes).

Adding fresh oil gives a little boost to the older oil in the engine... Cadillac Northstar V8s have a 7 1/2 quart oil capacity and use quite a bit of oil.. The more you have add the further they will go before the oil change light comes on... It is a good thing I think..

Thanks Steve244, raytseng, Potenza, prhkgh and Texas Coyote!

Thanks,
Schwimm

Over 6000 miles and it only used one quart. That is remarkably good by any reasonable standard. Many folks on automotive forums are not reasonable. Any API-rated oil of 5W-20 viscosity is fine. "Additive clash" and other myths about mixing brands of oil are simply false today. Yes, top it off if it is all the way down to the add mark. Dont wait.

You can add oil till next week but I would change it ASAP and then change it again at 3000 miles. If the oil was full when you got it and now is a quart low the oil failed. 20 to 25 percent is additives which would be 1 qt. You might want to use a 5w30 oil since you live in a warm climate. 6000 miles is not bad for a quart but you should of been adding it right along so not to use all the additives and leave the motor vulnerable.

Throw a quart of oil in it and be done with it until the maintenance minder goes off.

If you are really worried about it, then change it along with the filter, reset the maintenance minder, and wait to change it again it again when the maintenance minder goes off in the future. Between oil changes check level on the dip stick one a month. If it gets down to the add oil mark, add a quart o full it up again. Keep the oil level between the two marks. One quart of oil usage in 6000, or 5000, or 4000 miles is nothing. Now if you said 1000 I would start to be concerned.

Oil weight is your choice. I would go with what Honda recommended which is 5W20. The temperature the oil runs at is normally the same whether the car is run in a cooler climate or a warmer climate because the engine (and corresponding oil) temperature is regulated primarily by the thermostat. Now if you are in very extreme temps then maybe looking at a different weight oil might be in order.

The farther apart the weight numbers are (2w20, 0w50, etc)the more viscosity modifiers and less oil are in the mix. Also viscosity modifiers tend to break down over time.

Good luck, If it were mine I would look are the cleanliness of the oil and if it looks OK I would add a quart and go on my way.

Oil see temperatures a lot hotter than the water temps. Oil and additives protect the motor but when a quart down and not sure what oil is in it and knowing that the additives make up a quart in a 4 quart system why wouldn't you change the oil? 30W is well with in spec especially in warmer climates.

http://www.lelubricants.com/document..._viscosity.pdf

You are correct. Oil temperatures on the cylinder walls usually maxes out in the 250 degree range with 230 being common. If the oil ran at coolant temperatures you would never be able to boil off the accumulated moisture (mostly combustion by products) in the oil. But the operating temp of the rest of the oil is always in the same range whether the outside temp is 30 degrees or 110 degrees. Oil temp is directly related to engine temperature which is regulated by the coolant thermostat. If the OAT is too far below or above these numbers then you start to see to see some variance in engine oil operating temperatures. Engine oil while not being directly controlled by the coolant thermostat, closely follows the coolant temps. The oil runs in a closed loop through the engine which is temperature controlled by the coolant thermostat. On most vehicles we also run the oil through the radiator oil cooler which removes and in cold temperatures sometimes adds heat to the oil before going through the engine. The trans oil is the same way

On air cooled piston engines such at Lycoming, Continental, Franklin., etc. where there is no coolant we have an oil temperature thermostat made by Veri-therm. It's function is to keep the oil at the same operating temperature at whether the OAT is 100 degrees on the ground or -50 degrees at altitude in the winter. The Veri-therm does this by sending oil directly to the engine or sending it to an external radiator for cooling before sending it to the engine.

My point is, and was in the first post, that the oil temperature once the engine is warmer up remains in fairly small range no matter what the OAT is.

I'd add a Quart.

Maybe it's me but something doesn't sit right about losing 1 full qt of oil. None of my cars have ever lost that much oil and my fit's dipstick is pretty much dead center all the time. This shouldn't matter but I run mobil1 and have the dealer do the oil changes about every 10K miles. (about when 15%-10% occurs on the MM.)

~SB