Rep Power: 0

My wife has a new civic and only drives about 5000 miles a year ,should I used regular oil and change every 6 months or go with full synthetic and change once a year ?

 
Rep Power: 518

Read the freekin owners manual.

Let the first oil change go until the maintenance minder pops up with the 15% service reminder or you are over 5000 miles. Or one year.

ALL 0w20 is very high quality oil (Group IV and Group V base stocks), no need to pay even more extra for a label that says "full synthetic" (the term is nearly meaningless in North America anyway).

Your owners manual will say maximum length of time for an oil service is once per year. The type of oil (syn or not) does not matter here. All 0w20 is high quality oil.

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My daily commute is pretty short, and I have other things to drive. My first oil change on my '12 Civic was at about 15 months, 5000 miles. My 15% light came on just before I hit 5k (4800 ish miles).

Your % reminder mileage will vary depending on how the car is driven. I have seen the minder come on anywhere from 4k to over 12k. As long as you use proper oil of proper specs, you can trust the minder system. The only thing you really need to do is check the oil level now and then, don't let it run low.


HTH