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So I'm reading my Owner's Link from Honda's website it goes on to say this in their maintenance FAQ about oil:

Why should I wait to change the oil the first time?
Your Honda engine was delivered with an oil that is specially formulated for new engines that have not yet developed their "natural" wear patterns and may contain minute particles from the manufacturing process.

American Honda strongly recommends this special oil be left in the engine long enough for these wear patterns to develop, usually until the first maintenance interval specified in your Owner's Manual, based on your specific driving conditions.

So I was thinking about changing my oil this weekend, but since I follow the normal maintenance schedule, I should wait until 10,000 miles? Sounds a little high to me... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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IT'S o.k. to change it around 7,500 miles.

I switched to 5W30 Amsoil full synthetic

 
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Yea i heard the same thing when i left my dealer..

IMO,


No, change your oil for the first time @ like 2000 at the max, dont go any further if you can..

Stick with Mobil from now on since that is what honda is already using..

Try to avoid synthetic also..

Change your oil 2000 miles because this is what your car will survive off of..

 
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This has been beaten to death. Honda's special oil isn't special at all. It's just regular dino oil (non-synthetic).

 
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tada

 
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Why do you say to avoid synthetic, i don't use it but just curious as to why you would tell people to stay away from it?

 
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That is the first time I saw an official explanation from Honda on the break in oil. The owner's manual is vague about it.

If that is what Honda is saying, then maybe it would be good to leave it in for at least 5,000 mi. I don't see why Honda would be making the whole thing up.

 
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since were on the topic ill ask. i got my oil change today and they used 20w-50. i know its just a thicker oil than 5w-20. is it ok to use that or stick to 5w-20?

 
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Road & track
Technical Correspondence — April 2002
On break-ins, boost and batteries

Edited by Tom Wilson
page 1 of 3

Honda Break-In Oil

As the first oil change for my 2001 Honda Civic, the dealer recommends 10,000 miles (5000 miles for severe driving conditions). The salesman said this extended time is due to a special break-in oil that Honda uses, and if that oil is removed too early, the engine will not get necessary protection or proper break-in. My aircraft mechanic husband has always changed the oil in a new car engine at 500 to 1000 miles. What do you recommend?
Sue Spincic
Eldora, New Jersey

This one sounds like an old fish story to us. We could uncover nothing unusual about Honda oil after talking with both Honda and aftermarket tuners. We confirmed the change intervals you cite are Honda's recommendations, and that rather thin 5W-20 mineral oil is being used, but nothing about any mouse milk in the oil that improves the break-in process. We would feel comfortable changing the break-in oil at 500 and 1000 miles while continuing to use Honda-specified oil. It's likely overkill, but frequent oil changes are still the least expensive engine insurance going. Once past break-in, we'd defer to the factory-specified change interval. There certainly would be no harm in changing the oil at 5000 miles on a regular basis if you wanted to maintain an aggressive stance on oil cleanliness.




http://www.roadandtrack.com/technica...?articleID=180

"Can you feel a 5-horsepower increase? In a Briggs & Stratton lawn mower, you bet. In a car? No"

Heh. So true. So true.

 
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Do what the dealer says, if the engine explodes before 10K they'll fix it, if they dont sue the hell out of them and buy an S2000. Duh.

 
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20w50 ??? Are you sure about that? Where did you go get your oil changed?

If I'm not mistaken, 20w50 is mighty thick ... maybe a bit too thick for our engines which were made to run on thin 5w20 oil. You may want to consider taking that stuff out of your engine right now.

 
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Thanks for the replies. I'll just change it at 5000 miles.

About using 20w50, I would get that out like Ronin mentioned. Sounds way too thick especially if its cold in your area. Your engine is going to have to work harder, not to mention your oil pump...

 
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Not only is it to "thick" his milage will take a huge nose dive, but it won't hurt the engine.

 
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I dont know how true this is, but I've read that using an oil that is to thick can cause the gears on the oil pump to wear quicker or even shear off. I'm not a mechanic but it seems like a possibility. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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Maybe over many years using 20w-50 this could be true, but not likely.

 
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Really? I thought using a super thick oil in an engine built to use thin oil would lead to improper lubrication of engine parts which would lead to premature wear and tear, since the thicker oil would not be properly circulating throughout the engine.

 
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Ronin, 20w-50 is heavier than 5w-20, but 20w-50 isn't like mollasis or honey, its still very smooth moving oil. Now 20-50 could be a big problem in very cold temps up North, but I doubt it would cause any problem with engine wear in normal temps (above 35°F). IMO he should replace the oil with 5w-20 or just straight 30weight at his next oil change.

 
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i changed at 4000, still running smoothly......just like stolen!

 
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Yeah I changed my "Honda Special Oil" at 2000 miles and everything is still running smoothly.

 
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Here's a thread that some of the members state that Honda uses more moly in the factory oil fill, so I'm assuming that this is the "special oil" used for break in. Not sure, but these doods take their oil pretty serious.. heh. Good to know though... anyways here's the link: honda oil has more moly

FWIW

 
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Believe what you want, really, as long as you change your oil regularly you'll be fine.


IMO though, how would a additive or "specail" oil help break in a engine? I can see using a light weight oil and keeping the RPM's low on a brand new engine for the first 1000 miles, but, is there really a magic additve, or blend, that helps in the break-in process? Maybe on some high performance hand tuned engine there may be certain weights of oil you need for break-in, but not on a cookie cutter type engines that come in our Hondas.

 
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Break-in oil, or no break-in oil ...... we all have our own opinions and resources and all sorts of web links to back up our opinions. Some people swear by what Honda says, others say its total BS. Unless we have access to a Honda engineer or somebody who actually puts these engines together at the Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio, I don't think any of us will know for sure.

But I gotta wonder about something ....... if we do NOT have break in oil, in which case we should be changing our oil earlier at 500 miles, wouldn't Honda be telling us this so that they can make more money off of these earlier oil changes?

In other words, Honda wouldn't be going out of their way to tell us to wait until 5000-8000 miles, if they can actually make more money by making their customers going in really early at 500 miles to get rid of so-called "metal shavings".

 
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I agree with everything you said, but I think the owner's manual could use some improvement in this area. In the maintenance section it only mentions the recommended intervals i.e every 5,000 mi/6 months or 10,000 mi/12 months. In the breaking in your car section, it says to follow certain instructions for the breaking in period which I believe is 600 miles. I think three paragraphs follow, the last is to not change the oil until the recommended intervals in the owners manual. The dealer I bought the car from did not inform me of this requirement and in fact recommended an oil change at 3,750. From their actions, I don't think they were aware of, or forgot about the special oil, at least as of November 2001. Since this may be so vital to the proper functioning of the engine, and since it seems to be a new and unique automative innovation for not just the 7th gen, but for all cars, I think Honda should make the instruction much more emphatic, perhaps by printing it in bold type, with some red warning exclamations, and putting the warning in the inside cover of the manual, and maybe on the oil change cap.

 
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Agreed..... there is waaaaay too much speculation from everybody on this subject. The least they can do is make it more clear for their customers.

 
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I like the link that "JOE GURU" put up on this thread from Road and Track, it states that they talked to a Honda engineer and theres no specail oil. As far as 5000 miles goes for the first change, ??, They have to tell you some type of milage so why not 5000, good oil is good oil period. I've had 5 vehicles in my life that have gone over 200,000 miles that I bought new, I changed the oil every 3000 miles from the get go. 4 of the vehicles were Vans that were driven by delivery drivers, which were beat to hell everyday, and the other was a Mitsubishi Mirage.

Bottom line: change your oil regularly every 3000 miles or with in the manufactures specs and you'll be fine. You can't change your oil to much.[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]