krazymatt

I was noticing that my oil is marking half a quart low. I change the oil every 5,000 and the computer says it's still at 40%. It's been about 4800 since the last oil change. The car has around 9700 miles. Should I worry about this?
Anyone else experience this?

rocksinger45

Don't believe the owners manual, change the oil every 3000, I too found my levels low.
Better safe than sorry.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

oil should not be low, unless the previous shop left it like that. believe it or not, alot of techs do not know how to change oil properly. you have to lube up the filter (alot of people forget) and then check the level again once the car has been driven and oil circulated. so its not uncommon for many shop monkeys to get the oil level wrong. just one more reason to do it yourself. oh and changing oil any less than 5k miles is a waste of money.

krazymatt

Hey, I'm the shop monkey here!!!

No but really, before the first oil change I checked it and it was fine. I even noticed the factory oil not too dark at 5k miles, but the level was perfect. Fast forward to now at 9900 miles and it is half a quart low. And yes I did all the right things for the first oil change--that's why I do my own is to assure it's done right. I don't trust some zit faced kid with my oil. Perhaps I should try a different oil?? I use Mobile 5000 currently. What company makes Honda oil anyway?

I don't really buy the 3k mile oil change anymore. Maybe if you're running an old 350 chevy engine, but not on most cars newer than like 2000. My Civic's computer still says 40% but I'm going to go ahead and just do it every 5k regardless of the computer. I talked to a Honda service manager yesterday and he said that Honda says it's okay as long as it's under a quart every 5k-10k mile oil changes. I'm probably going to just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse just trade it in. Thanks.

krazymatt

Hey, I'm the shop monkey here!!!

No but really, before the first oil change I checked it and it was fine. I even noticed the factory oil not too dark at 5k miles, but the level was perfect. Fast forward to now at 9900 miles and it is half a quart low. And yes I did all the right things for the first oil change--that's why I do my own is to assure it's done right. I don't trust some zit faced kid with my oil. Perhaps I should try a different oil?? I use Mobile 5000 currently. What company makes Honda oil anyway?

I don't really buy the 3k mile oil change anymore. Maybe if you're running an old 350 chevy engine, but not on most cars newer than like 2000. My Civic's computer still says 40% but I'm going to go ahead and just do it every 5k regardless of the computer. I talked to a Honda service manager yesterday and he said that Honda says it's okay as long as it's under a quart every 5k-10k mile oil changes. I'm probably going to just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse just trade it in. Thanks.

krazymatt

I wonder if the drive this car goes through daily has anything to do with it? It's a commuter car seeing about 100 miles per day involving a few steep inclines on a freeway doing 80+ MPH at times? I know the rpms reach 5k at times when going up inclines at high speeds.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

its normal to burn oil at high rpms, so maybe its not a big deal. 1/2 qt every oil change isnt bad and may be due to the driving style like you said. honda oil is regular exxon/mobil (not synthetic). you may want to switch to a thicker oil next time instead of the 5w20 i believe is recommended. with the driving you do, oil will shear down quickly and may become too thin. a 5w30 is usually the perfect weight. i already switched last year and it fixed an expensive engine leak. after a few trips, the 30 weight will shear down to a 20 weight anyway.

krazymatt

Thanks Gearbox. I will try that. Do you suppose that it would affect fuel economy? I wouldn't think that there would be that much difference in the two oil weights once the car is up at running temp right? I'll probably use the 5/20 this time as I already have it, but next time I'll use 5/30. It'll be closer to summer then in June. I've heard of people with cars that used a little oil since new and they go many many miles (200k+) with no problems. Thanks!

What brand of oil do you use?