I love the Oil Life display, but I'm stuck in that old mode of thinking that I need an oil change every 5000 miles. Should I ignore the miles and just get it changed when Oil Life is down to 15% or so? Sometime before it hits 0%? I'm at about 4040 miles right now on the odometer and I think the Oil life is showing 70%. If it continues at this rate, I could get 8k or 10k before it gets way down to 0% or even 15%.

 

..........

 

it also depends a lot on what kind of oil you use. i don't know exactly how the maintenance minder determines oil life but i would choose an oil that is rated for the mileage you want. For instance i use Torco sr-1 its rated for a 10,000 mile interval. A lot of people will change just the filter at 5k and then top off the oil. I just buy a royal purple filter for 13 bucks and its good the whole way through. if you stick with something like purple or mobil one a lesser quality partial synthetic i would probably do a 5k change interval. i know a lot of guys that do oil every 3k miles with full synthetic (which doesn't mean 100 percent synthetic like torco or amsoil) its really up to your budget and your judgment. An oil change for me is around $70 dollars but i do it every 8-10 miles. you can do an oil change with mobile one or purple for about half the price but i would never trust it to go 10k miles. i would do it at 5 so its relative. oil is tricky and there are a lot of variables and a lot of verbage that can be confusing. do some homework pick something and stick with it. keep that engine lubricated well and it will take care of you.

 

"An oil change for me is around $70 dollars but i do it every 8-10 miles." Be kinda a hassle to do that often.

The way the oil minder works is based on number of short stop and go, how many miles driven and how hard you've been on the engine. There is no sensor in the oil so it's based on simple math.

You can't go wrong with Mobil One full syth and Honda 15400-PLM-A01 oil filter.

This 3k to 5k oil change interval is really not necessary with today's engines.

 

The Fit has been sold for some time, and isn't an unknown car. How many have you heard of having problems due to insufficiently frequent oil changes?

The maintenance minder's statistics will almost certainly keep the engine running longer than the rest of the car lasts (assuming you perform whatever other basic maintenance is also required—such as making sure the oil level is sufficient between oil changes). Every case I've seen here where someone has performed an oil analysis based on the maintenance minder, the results have indicated that the MM was pretty accurate and usually a little bit on the conservative side—that is, that it would be OK to go a little longer than it indicates between changes.

 

If you worry about your oil pull a sample next time you change it and send it off to blackstone labs. That should give you a bit of peace of mind.

 

my car hit 15% left with 13k...

 

I'm at around 9,500 miles and was at 30% at my last refuel. Plan to go ahead and change it at 10K - makes it easier to remember when it's due when it's on a regular interval. I did my TDI New Beetle at 10K intervals (full diesel synthetic) and it was running great with no sludge at 219K when I sold it.

My '99 F-250 Powerstroke takes 4 gallons of full synthetic diesel rated oil. That's an easy C-note right there!

es

 

Your truck will rust out around your diesel. You will end up ditching the truck and re-selling the engine.

 

I do very few miles on my cars, so I change the oil once a year. The amounts to a change every 6000 miles. Yes, my cars are still in great shape 10 years (60,000 miles) later.

 

Is this documented anywhere by Honda? I'm just curious about the details of this algorithm.

Agree 100%!

 

Q: How does the Honda Maintenance Minder know when the 0% trigger occurs?
A: The system counts down oil life based on engine operating conditions (both normal and severe). The on-board computer continuously monitors engine operating conditions such as speed, engine temperature, ambient temperature, time, and vehicle use to determine when an oil change and regular maintenance is necessary.




This is Honda's statement which is all over the internet. I don't think they've released any detailed information other than that though, and I don't really think it's all that important, but I am curious.

 

When I first got my '09 Fit I was changing the oil every 5k miles, since then I have gradually increased the intervals between oil changes. Lately I have been changing it at 15% oil life. It uses a little oil, but I have over 110k on it.

 

Since there seems to be no sensor that actually monitors the oil, the MM calculation above must be based on Honda's recommended oil, Genuine 0W-20.

As s0x mentions, it seems an oil designed/rated for a longer fill interval would allow you to go beyond 0% before a change is needed.

 

Members in the past have sent oil samples to Blackstone while following the MM using a variety of 5w20 oils IIRC. Oil samples showed the MM was pretty accurate, and even a little conservative.

IMO best to just follow the minder than have to fight with it over a couple thousand extra miles (resetting the light early or dealing with the light being illuminated constantly when you go over).

I'm all for getting the most out of your money, but it's more hassle than it's worth to me keeping track of everything when the minder does a pretty good job by itself. I don't really use the minder for anything other than oil changes though. Trans oil I change every 30k, air filter and tire rotations I do as needed. Plugs and coolant at 100k.

 

Exactly. That is what I do. I didn't see, or at least able to find, how often the CVT fluid needs to be changed. I know with my old 2012 Hybrid it's every 30K miles so probably the same with the 2015 Fit CVT.

I'm sure the MM will tell me that when the time comes.

 

That confirms what I thought that the MM was probably on the conservative side. I don't plan to ignore it, in fact I was already going to follow almost the same maintenance plan as you.

On my 2001 Insight CVT, the interval is 30K but I change it at 15K or close to it. The original CVT lasted 185K until an Input Shaft Bearing wore out (a common Insight problem).

On my 2004 Odyssey, I also changed the trans fluid at 15K on the recommendation of the local dealer since those units had a history of tranny issues. I traded it in at 122K and never had any problems with it.

On the Fit I think I'll stay with the 15K CVT fluid interval just to be on the conservative side.

 

This isn't anything specific to the FIT but all cars in general.
Quality of oil has become better over the years with most being synthetic or some sort of synthetic blend. 8-10kmi on a oil change is common place anymore. Follow the oil life but never exceed the mileage interval stated by the manufacture.
Just one tidbit I always give. Look under the hood. Check the oil level once in awhile. 10,000mi of driving is a year to a lot of people. A year and never looking under the hood? Just a simple check of oil level and a quick look for oil leaks can prevent a huge expense of a blown engine from no oil.
No matter when you change it. Just take 30seconds now and then when filling up for gas to look for potential problems.

 

Reminds me of a story my dad tells of his truck driving years. He came across a girl stranded with her car dead. The problem? She didn't know you had to put oil in it and it had seized up. Guess MMs were made with people like her in mind.

 

something kind of interesting to consider is that according to law even a "full synthetic" is actually just a synthetic blend. there was a big court case about this between mobil and castrol. so unless your oil is actually 100 percent synthetic its not a full. with the exception of i think mobil one actually but even then I'm not sure what the formulation these days is. that being said
5 mile oil change interval ftw