FIrst oil change by time or mileage?
 

I've had my 2012 Sport for over 3 months but due to some summer trips and the fact that I don't commute every day I only have about 1300 miles on it. I've been getting emails from the dealer asking me to bring it in for service. Oil is at 90%. Should I wait until the service monitor comes up to change the oil or should I do it now (or at 6 months)? I don't want to be cheap, but I don't want to drain a perfectly good 4 quarts of oil either.

In the olden days they used to do things to the engine at the first oil change like torque the head bolts, but that went out with leaded gas.

Thanks

Follow you MM or 1 year time elapsed whichever comes first. This is following your owners manual. Do not worry about dealer phone calls, as their calls and coupons will come sporadically and they are in business of making money. I just had my first oil change on my 2011 sport at 1 year, due to my only having 2,200 miles on odometer and oil was still at 70%.
Follow your MM and manual and you will be fine. Change oil yourself or at dealer or other facility as per your MM or time.
Enjoy your fit.

yah, dont worry about the dealers telling you to come in. just throw those out, seriously.

as posted above, follow your car's maintenance reminder or 1yr. unless you do super super short trips and or short trips in bumper to bumper often you dont need to alter your maintence schedule from what the MANUFACTURER states.

The days of 3000 miles or 3 months service are no longer applicable with the newer vehicles and oils. Just go by the vehicle's on board maintenance minder. It knows better than the dealer who is just trying to make extra money off of you for unnecessary service. Don't even start thinking about scheduled maintenance until the MM shows an advance warning at 15%. The only exception is if the MM doesn't hit 15% by the end of one year. Then you will need to do the maintenance regardless of the MM reading or miles driven.

I did my first oil change at roughly a year and 7,000 miles. Don't worry about what the dealership is telling you as they are just out for the money. How do they know you didn't buy the car 3 months ago and just park it in your garage?

Anyone using Mobil 1 synthetic? I used it exclusively in my last Civic Hybrid, and (on the recommendation of my mechanic) never went less than 10,000 miles on an oil change. Never had a lick of trouble with the car either. Everybody I know in Europe and Japan (which is quite a few people) think Americans are crazy for changing our oil so frequently. I have an Italian friend who changes his once a year regardless of mileage, and he drives *a lot* all over Europe in his Mazda 6.

Why do I feel so odd compared to all of you? I put the kind of miles you're talking about on my car in a week or a month, not a year. 7000 miles in a year!?!? I couldn't get to the end of my driveway and back every day and stay under that kind of figure! I regularly put 18-22,000 a year on every car I've ever owned.

I have a work vehicle that comes home with me every day plus a motorcycle which is why I ALWAYS have low miles on all my vehicles. I bought a new Toyota 4x4 truck in 1991 and sold it 12 years late with 62,000.

Your dealer's an a-hole since Honda is pretty specific NOT to change the initial oil (break-in oil) until the car tells you to. Do some reading on this site, you'll see a lot about it.

Looks like I may be the low mileage per year champ.

9/17/11 - Bought new, 10.2 miles.
9/17/12 - First service, 1,825 miles.

This is my only vehicle, I commute in it everyday, just not very far, obviously.

As has been said, go by the MM or 1 year.

Do you go ANYWHERE besides to work? You're averaging ~6 miles per weekday!!

I hit the grocery store on the way home from work on Mondays and Fridays. That adds about two tenths of a mile on those days.

Follow the MM https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...707O00212A.pdf.

If you do not drive a lot and the MM does not tell you to change the oil, I would change the oil after a year. As you see in the link its condition's and rpms that the computer goes by. You still need to check the oil level with the other maintenance items.

With older vehicles I've had, just 5 or 6 miles a day would definately fall into the definition of "severe" driving, as it doesn't warm up enough to fully evaporate any water/condensation in the engine. I used to have a 1.5 mile commute, and could hardly keep my car (a VW Van) in tune...and the oil developed a scum like coating inside the oil filler cap from unevaporated water contamination.

But really, for the >20 years my commute was 6 miles one way, or less, 90% of the time wet or dry, summer or winter, I bicycled. For a while I even walked 6 miles each way one day a week, preparing for a major desert hike.

Holy cow. The closest grocery store is 14.2 miles from my back porch. 50+ miles a day is a low mileage day for me at work. I'll probably get a 2015 when they come out, by which time my 2010 will likely have well over 100k on it.

go by your maintenance minder indicator!!!

Go by the maintenance minder.

If it gets to be 12 months and the maintenance minder hasn't tripped, change the oil and reset the maintenance minder. The dealership has no idea home many miles you had on the vehicle when they sent you that advertizement.

They are just trolling for business.

Does the maintenance minder work off oil life sensor like GM cars or how does it calculate when it needs to be changed? I plan on changing my oil out regularly like every 7500, i drive mostly (70%) highway, but at this point in time with 693 miles on the car the minder still says 100% lol.

The new MM is based off of rpm's and fuel usage. It does not analyze the oil but knowing the oil it knows how long it lasts based on mileage,rpm,and fuel that is why its important to use a oil of the proper weight and have a API logo.

If its based on RPM then it should of chiseled a few % off because the first tank of gas was my "break in" period and i drove the car like i stole it. It was seeing redline quiet often. Right now I'm in mellow mode on this second tank.

I may able to beat that when the time comes. Bought my 2013 with 42 miles on it in October and as of today just had 400.