Hi all,

I just bought a 2013 Honda Fit Base with a MT. The dealer took delivery of the car a year ago (May 2013) and I bought it two weeks ago (May 2014) with 19 miles on it. From what I understand, the factory fill oil should not be changed until the MM gets to 15%. However, I was wondering if the oil should be changed sooner since it sat on the dealer lot for a year without being driven much at all. Will replacing the factory fill oil too soon cause any issues? There's currently 370 miles on the odometer so it's not even past the break-in period yet. Thanks for help!

 

I would drive it until it has 1000-1500 miles and then change it to a conventional (non-synthetic) and hold that for about 3-4K miles. Then I start using full synthetic. Did this with both new Fits I bought.

The oil should not really go bad (it's not an organic product) but the reasons for changing would be: a year of temperature changes might have introduced condensation and moisture into the oil. Due to lack of mechanical mixing, the oil could potentially have separated and formed residue (sludge). A year of contact with gaskets and metals may have oxidized some additives in the oil (it's mineral) and changed its chemical composition from original formula. It may or not be significant but to be safe, I would change as mentioned above.
Enjoy your new fit. Did you get a good deal?

 

Thanks for the advice. That's what I was thinking, but it's always helpful to have someone confirm. I managed to negotiate the price down to $13,500, probably because it had been on their lot so long and they just wanted it gone. Based on all the research I did beforehand, I feel like a got a very good deal.

 

That's an amazing price. I don't think you could get a 12' Fit base manual with 20000 miles for that much! At least here in LA. There have been some unofficial and semi-official reports that Honda uses special break-in oil that has an additive to help smoother break in. Oil analysis lab supposedly has shown elevated levels of one of these chemicals (some metal, I forgot the name, molybdenum perhaps) as was reported by one of the members here. But I've also heard that other manufacturers do not use any special break-in oil per their official public comments.
Other members will probably mention this issue in consequent replies.
I wonder why it sat that long on the lot, geez, Portland is a big, progressive city. Makes me want to hunt for similar deals before GE8 disappear.

By the way, what was your main reason to pass on the new version and to get the 2013?

 

One year on the lot?!

Look for a battery failure come the fall. Sitting isn't good for them.

Manual calls for an oil change @ a year or when the MM calls for it, whichever comes first. I'd ask the dealer to do it (and possibly swap the battery for a new one).

 

I think that, given the circumstances, you have a good case to ask the dealer to replace the oil with Honda's BREAK-IN oil. And I think you'll find that they don't have any, won't want to go through the trouble of getting any, and may "yeah, yeah" you and use regular oil anyway...

 

I was looking at the 2015 model, but found exactly what I wanted in the 2013 so I thought I'd see how far I could talk the dealer down on price. Turns out they were very willing to negotiate so I ended up with a brand new car for the price of a used one.