Maybe this has been asked/answered, but...I bought a '11 Fit this last November. I browsed the manual and read about the oil change countdown (I'm currently at 60%, know 15's the 'target' with a little grace after). It says to use 0w30 but I've always used 5W30 in my '84 to '02 Fiero and '02 to '14 Accent. Still have some from when it was on sale.
Is there consequence other than slightly worse fuel economy to use my 5W30 during the summer months and go back to this synthetic (I was gonna say 'butter') 0w30 during the winter? I'm in central Canada so we're looking at an average -20-30 in the winter months.

I would have paid more for a newer Fit but it was heartbreaking seeing the rust and parking lot dents on my Accent. My Fiero, slight breaks in the interior plastic, somewhat hazed paint and an odometer that stopped at 30k two years in. Before that, a '77 Civic that started burning an obscene amount of 10w30 oil. Valves, if I remember right.
thanks

 

Well, you can mix synthetic oils and regular oils, but probably not great to do it routinely, i.e. service your car with synthetic and then top it up with regular throughout the year. So you'll be okay to top it up with the regular oil. It's your car. But if you're worried about it picking up dings on the outside, why are dings on the inside any different that'd mean you want to save $20 on 5l of oil? I've never used anything but the recommended for the VTEC/VVTi.

When it comes to the changes though, I'd stick with the manufacturer specification, especially for the synthetic and especially for the variable valve engines. It's not just about winter performance. It's also about cold start performance.

But it's worth remembering that these cars are Japanese, and it gets really cold in the north of Japan in the winter. It'll get down to -30c easily in some inland cities. So the oil recommendations for these cars were made with those kinds of variable conditions in mind.

Tl;dr using the non-synthetic or mixing the oils won't harm your car, but it's better to stick to the manufacturer or tuner specification because they did a lot of work determining what oil should be used.

 

You can get a 5qt jug of 0w-20 at walmart do less than $30 a filter for less than $10 so for less than $40 you change your own oil and drive 12000 miles until its time to change again and after 4 oil changes with the quart that's left over you only have to buy a filter, so for $170 you can drive roughly 60k miles -its pretty reasonable to use what's recommended so why not just use it?

 

...or for $41 here in the US, you can take it to the Dealer (at least mine) and have them do a full Mobil1 Synthetic Oil Change and not have to worry about climbing under the car, disposing of the waste oil, etc... (and you can sit in the waiting room surfing FitFreak while you get some decent coffee - at least we have Green Mountain Coffee Here in VT).

At this point, for me, I change my oil about the same time every year as my commute is quite short. Even when I changed twice/year, the $82 it cost wasn't bad at all. $22 of an oil change is the price of the oil (if purchased from EvilMart) so the remaining $20 is split among the Filter, Crush Washer, Labor, fluids topped off, (and sometimes, a touch-less car wash) Plus the oil change is on the books at the dealer for your service if you ever run into any issues. You can barely change your oil with M1 for $40 on your own, The price of the coffee and finding a location to dispose of your oil (properly) makes up the difference. For me, I also have my vehicle inspection done at the same time (Free because I bought it at that dealer) and have them install the winter wheels, bag up my summers, & Check the brakes for $20 - too cold in an unheated garage in December. It's an added bonus that I do it all at once. I swap the wheels back in the spring on my own.

I used to do my own oil changes but not any more. My suggestion is to find a decent dealer and spend 15 minutes to get to know the service manager. Remember that, the service department can be very different from the sales dept in terms of attitude so it's fairly easy to build a decent "relationship" with the service dept when you had a crappy sales experience (I've done it at two different dealers). Unlike the Sales dept, most service depts around here are more about keeping customers happier and making their profit over time vs screwing the customer for a one-time payout never to see them again.) 15 minutes with the service manager should give you a decent Idea of what to expect. Every Job I've had done at most all of the Honda/Acura Dealers has been decent (that's several in NJ, VT, PA, NY) and after owning Hondas for the last 20+ years, I've had only one less-than-stellar service experience which was corrected immediately. (wiper Cowl Clips broken during the Lost Motion Spring recall on the '09 - something which Honda came out with an updated TSB on - Plus I was the 1st LMS recall performed at my dealer - but they made good with new parts)

~SB

 

According to my 2010 owners' manual, it recommends 5W20 (for a 2010). I think 2011 was the year they switched, and it became 0W20. Can somebody with a 2011 owner's manual confirm this?

 

Yes 2011 is 0w-20 only comes as a synthetic, goes 12k miles between oil changes

 

My 2011 uses 0W20 oil. It doesn't specify 12k intervals between changes. The maintenance minder determines when it should be changed based on
the % of useful oil life remaining.


Clifton

 

Mine has historically gone about 12k between maintenance minder alerts, but I drive a lot of highway I bet Skippy lube hates maintenance minders

 

Manual refers to using the Maintenance Minder or 1 year, whichever comes first. I used to use the MM, but now the 1 year seems to come in when I'm at about 20% due to my change in commute.

As far as the 5w20 or 0w20, I don't think anything physically changed on the FIT. They just moved to a full synthetic to bump up the fuel economy numbers. (I think they changed between 2010 & 2011)

~SB

 

I'm on the annual change schedule, too. I just do it in July when the weather is decent. I used to get my oil tested and, even at a year, tests showed I still had oil life left. I also switched my 2010 to 0W-20 synthetic long ago. After the first couple of changes, if I remember correctly.

 

I have only used 5w-30 oil in the winter and 10w-30 in the summer. The only 5w-20 oil my car has seen is with the factory oil when it was new. 101,000 miles later and my engine purrs and passed with high marks while at the 100K Honda check-up. This is the oil weight recommended overseas for this same engine.
BTW.... I'm new to the forums.... at work and it's slow, so I found this site while surfing the net!

 

Off-Topic: Do we have a thread that discusses why USDM Fits are spec-ed for 0W20 while other markets are running other weight engine oils? Are the engines different or are they tuned differently?

Thanks.

 

My first thought is it may have to do with meeting fuel economy requirements here. Thinner oil will allow the engine to move more freely.

 

Got that Right!

 

I don't know if you run the L15A1 in the US, because Asian Fit/Jazz GE8 run the L15A7.

That could be a reason. But the recommended oil for my JDM L15A7 is 0w20.

Depends where you live. I don't think using 5w20 or 0w30 is going to kill the engine though.

 

You should not have any problems using up your 5W-30 oil stash. You probably won't notice the difference in MPG. (because, you will be using it during the warmer months when fuel mileage is better, anyway)

 

Thanks. I keep forgetting that. When oil or engine issues arise, posters ought say what engine they have. Not everybody lists their location in their profile. Just a thought. Now, I have to go out to my car and see what engine I have.