At my last oil change I switched to 0W40, my Fit seems happy with it.
Already bought another jug of it to use again for the next oil change.

Am I the only one here, or is anyone else also running 0W40?

 

Yes. I certainly use the 0W40 oil. It is excelllent. My oil changes are getting close to the 10 000 mile mark.

 

What does your oil weight have to do with duration? Are you going off what the computer's suggested oil life is telling you?

 

Manual says to use 0W20, which was written by the company who designed the engine. Why would I use something else?

 

My car sounded very unhappy on 0w20, so i was using 5w30 in it.
Because of needing 0w40 in some other things I own, decided to try it in my Fit, and it seems to like it.


I'll bet that you have sped, despite the signs saying what the maximum speed limit is.

 

I wouldn't do it, but it's your car. Just curious, why did you make the change? Just a whim or something you read somewhere? When you say your car seems happy, what do you mean? Better fuel economy? Better performance (that you've measured)? Anything quantifiable or just a feeling?

In the old days, folks often went with a heavier oil as their engine wore out or started to leak, with the idea being that heavier, thicker oil took up some of the slack and didn't drip out of worn seals as quickly.

Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances and use low viscosity oil to properly lubricate all the expensive spinning bits and maximize fuel economy. For example, my parent's new Toyota Rav4 Hybrid takes 0w16 oil which blew my retired mechanic dad's mind.

I suspect that you're reducing your fuel economy and potentially increasing engine wear, especially in winter temperatures. But, like I said, it's your car.

As far as oil change intervals go, they have nothing to do with what brand or weight of oil you use. How would the car know? The maintenance minder is tied to how you drive (e.g., rpms, trip count, trip duration, etc.).

To use myself as an example, I change my 0w20 synthetic oil annually after roughly 5000 miles of infrequent but almost exclusively long highway drives. I've yet to see my oil percentage drop below 70%. Would anyone honestly recommend that I follow the maintenance minder and extend my changes out to 3 years/15,000 miles? I hope not.

 

New Fit Owner and New Forum Member Here.
Speaking of Oil and Viscosity, can anyone explain why the 2009 Owners Manual and the Oil Filler Cap on the engine of my 09 Fit says " 5W-20" while the
Factory Service Manual (and many forum members) state "0W -20" Viscosity. I fully understand the difference in the oils, but am curious as to why the
official honda literature would differ??
BTW, I use 5W-20 Synthetic Blend , every 3-4000 miles.

Cheers,
Julian R.
2009 Fit Base 5spd Manual 125000 miles.

 

Drew, just for your info, manual states that oil must be changed every year, even if maintenance minder does not say to.

When I drove a lot more, I could do 16 000 km per year, and the maintenance minder still showed 20-30 % oil life left...

 

You asked why I say it likes it...sound...when its hot after a long drive, its quieter on 5w30 and 0w40, than 0w20.
The local honda dealer doesn't even recommend 0w20 oil, they say its too thin.
0w20 is only for fuel mileage, I'll give up 0.01 mpg for longer engine life.

When cold starting 0 is 0, but when worked hard and long trips, the 40 protects better than the 20.

My Wrangler, Fit, ATV, Jetski, and both motorcycles are now on 0w40, and running great.
When I Change the oil again, will be taking a sample and get it analyzed.

 

I wasn't suggesting that I would ever go over a year between oil changes, I was (perhaps obtusely) trying to make the point that someone telling us how many miles they drive between Maintenance Minder-directed oil changes doesn't say anything about whether a specific brand or grade of oil is suitable for the Fit, it just tells us something about how they drive.

You can reset the Maintenance Minder without changing your oil, but that doesn't mean you magically have another year or 10K miles until your next oil change.

 

Breezer, just curious how many miles/kms are on your Fit? Have you done a recent valve adjustment? If your valvetrain is on the loose side a thicker oil might quiet it a bit.

My 2010 has (only) 115K miles (a bit under 200K KMs). My brother owned it for 8 years/100K miles and then I bought it from him. It's had 5w-20 and then 0w-20 synthetic at roughly 5000 mile or annual intervals since new and makes no noise at startup or when warm. You can barely tell it's running at idle.

There are a few Fit owners around here with pretty extreme mileage - 400K or more miles. It would be interesting to hear if they the Honda-recommended oil grade or a higher weight oil.

 

I had originally considered using 0W40 long-term within a few months after buying Fits new from the dealership. 0W40 either didn't exist at the time or was limited availability, but I expected it would be available by the time I wanted / needed to switch. Fuel dilution was a problem due to short trips back then, but still switched one Fit to 0W20 within a few years.

With climate change and my locale, I'm more interested in -5W40 or similar long-term, but 0W30 or 0W40 might be a possibility depending on the driving, temps, and lab results. I deal with so much slow traffic that high load, and 2mi/gal feels less fun than I'd like.



Hard copy literature is outdated as soon as it is printed.
Various Honda USA literature will mention both 0W20 and 5W20 for the 2009. See also Bernardi Honda's table. Various Honda literature for the Jazz / Fit ranges includes 0W20, 0W30, 5W30, and 10W30 depending on the countries operating conditions, regulatory requirements (typ fuel economy), and MM / maintenance intervals.

 

Would be interested on any substantial results here.
First, following manufacturers guidelines, those are guidelines, not necessarily what's best for you and your drive style/circumstance. A number of vehicles suggest "lifetime" transmission fluid, which, could be the lifetime of the fluid... following you'll need a new transmission sooner than expected.
Second, oil mix is more important as shown here
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/th...erdict.269010/

I'm no expert, it's a heck of a science, but I do know for fact that vehicle manufacturers as well as oil companies engineer in planned obsolescence to keep the money coffers churning (thank you banks for that too), so if you find something definitively discernable, I'd be interested as well. Thanks.

 

Which is more important, the grade of the oil or the frequency with which you change it?

 

Woof,
IMHO, both the grade and the frequency are important but for different reasons.
Both are important and both can ruin your engine.
Consider, For example,, the WRONG Grade/Type of oil used for a short INTERVAL (3000mi)damage your engine.
likewise the CORRECT oil used for a very long INTERVAL(say 3 years, 30,000 miles) could also damage your engine.

So considering that an oil/filter change done DIY will cost you around $30.00 , it is quite cost effective for the longevity of your engine
to follow the recommendations of the mfg.
Again, just my humble opinion here.

 

My Fit has 167,000 kms on it.
I change the oil roughly every 9000 to 10000 kms.
Compression on all 4 cylinders was good about 6000 kms ago when I checked it, replaced the spark plugs, and checked but didn't adjust the valves, as all were within specs.
The valve adjustment i did before that I had to adjust 3, but not sure how longbit had been since the previous adjustment, as I bought it used.
It gets hot as hell here in the summer, and I sometimes do long road trips in it, working it hard up steep mountains, welcome to BC driving.

I wasn't happy with 0w20, so had been using 5w30, and now 0w40.
Mobil1 0w40 European formula is what is called a thin 40, more like a 35 if they made a 35.
I recently had my best ever fuel mileage for a tank full, and that was on 0w40 oil.
People call it thicker, which is actually not correct.
When cold, and at moderate oil temps 0w40 is no thicker than 0w20 is. But when on a long drive and the oil gets really hot, it will not thin out as badly as 0w20, so it offer better protection.
For anyone who only ever does short drives, and especially if they live where its cold 36t days a year, 0w20 makes sense. For me, and my use, and climate, I prefer 0w40.
Also I don't need to carry multiple oils in the garage, everything we own, my boyfriend and I, is fine on 0w40. So the oil shelf now has exclusively mobil 1 0w40 on it, beside our collection of oil and air filters. I hate shopping, so if I need to get a filter, i just buy 3 or 4 at a time, not 1.
If it's hurting my fuel economy at all, its so insignificant that it's untraceable. As I said in my 3 years of owning this Fit, i got my best measured tank yet according to my fuelly app i use, yes better than when I used 0w20 in it even.
My jeep wrangler rubicon recently got its best measured tank according to the fuelly app to, again on 0w40 oil.

My car runs great by the way, and barely uses any oil.
As an interesting side note, every couple of months i drive a route that takes me through a couple of tunnels, both going and coming,
I roll the front windows down and listen to my cars sound as it echos through the tunnel, which is 2 hours into my drive, and that is a part of when i noticed that it was louder on 0w20. Its really hot by then, and the tunnel going north is uphill, so the engine is under load. I like to put it on cruise control at 100 kms/hr and just listen, and it sounds better on 0w40. My boyfriend said the same thing, its quieter in the tunnels on 0w40. I call it happy!
I like making my car happy!
I'm pretty sensitive about my vehicles.
If i hit a pothole hard, i gently tap her on the dash, and say sorry sweetheart.
Maybe I'm weird, but I feel in touch with my car.
I plan to still be driving her in another decade to.

 

Here is my current fuelly app screenshot.
Last couple of tanks got 6.0 liters per 100 kms.
I never ever had a 6.0 tank on 0w20 full synthetic when I used it.
My lifetime average is 6.7, but my mileage takes a beating in the winter is why.

 

If 0W-40 is working for you and you're all-around happy (e.g., simplification of your purchasing of auto supplies) then go with it.

I was curious about your mileage so did some conversions. 6 L/100 km = 39.2 mpg US - that is at the lower end of what my typical long-trip tank in three season driving. Winter is a bit lower as you also noted.

As an example, every two to three months I drive 800 miles round-trip (~1280 km) to visit my sister and her family. The drive has lots of hills, with the ups and down getting bigger the closer I get to her. I wouldn't call them mountains, but it is Pennsylvania and the grades can be steep. Overall it's a net uphill going to her house and downhill coming back. The last time I went to visit in April I got 39.3 mpg (basically 6L/100km) on the way there and 44.2 mpg (5.3 L/100 km) on the return (all values calculated at the pump). Those values are within +/- 1 mpg of what I normally see on that drive.

So, it seems like we can get roughly similar highway mileage with either 0W-20 and 0W-40 synthetic. To add another data point, my brother who owned my Fit for 8 years/100K miles and always used Mobil-1 synthetic oil and filters (5W-20 and then 0W-20) had a lifetime fuel efficiency in flatter Midwestern US terrain of 33.6 mpg (7 L/100 km), which is not that far off from your lifetime mileage but far below mine in the same car. I personally drive like my late grandmother, except I use my mirrors and look both ways before pulling onto the highway.

 

Good to know.

And glad you use your mirrors lol

 

It would seem that you are not at all in the wrong for using 0w-40.. Only in the US they push hard for vehicles using 0w-20.. it is due to CAFE standards and regulations. In other countries in the manual they recommend these type of oils.

Jazz 1.5 i-VTEC (2008 – 2011) L15A7
0w-40
5w-30
10w-40

I also browse the boards for Toyota 4Runners... The guys there debate about oil use.. and in the US the manuals say to use 0w-20. While in Puerto Rico the manual say to use 10w-40 / 10w-30.

So unless Toyota builds engines specific to the US (which they do not).. they print the manual to say 0w-20 for CAFE standards and regulations.