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Hello All,
I am sorry to bother you all with such a silly question, but when I bought my car used it had no owners manual.
When should I be changing the oil. The car had 32,000 miles on it when I bought it and I changed the oil on it at 35K, what a bummer to change, I mean, my ramps were too steep, then I finally got it about 12" off the ground and then had to pull the plastic guards off the thing, WOW !!!!
Also, while I have you here, how often do I change the CVT transmission oil.
Anything else as far as Maint. I need to be aware of?
Thanks all in advance,
Rick
Hybrids: '00 Insight, had an '03 HCH for 41k miles
Posts: 589
Re: How often to change oil on 2004 Civic Hybrid
Your manual states:
5,000 normal
10,000 severe
It's been argued into the ground about what the definition of "Severe" is according to Honda. For me, I do my oil every 7,000 to 8,000 miles and my CVT fluid every 16,000 miles though the manuals states much more (30,000? going off memory).
'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles '03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06) "I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."
My mileage is almost entirely highway, though the highways in NJ can be pretty congested.
I change my oil at 10k, religiously. I use Mobil 0w-20, and change it myself.
I have a MT, so I don't do the transmission change, but if you search the threads on the CVT fluid, I would strongly recommend you follow their advice and change it AT LEAST as often as the 30k mile recommendation and use ONLY the Honda fluid.
Good luck, enjoy your fuel savings machine.
Also, you might want to check the air filters in the car. The manual recommends changing them at 30k, but they are ususally dirty at 25k or less. There are pollen filters (behind the glove box) that should be changed at 30k, too. I keep them on the same schedule as my air filter.
Hybrids: '00 Insight, had an '03 HCH for 41k miles
Posts: 589
Re: How often to change oil on 2004 Civic Hybrid
Good catch! I had a senior moment yet I'm sooo young, OK not that young. Thanks for correcting me. DOH!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElanC
It's the other way around:
5,000 severe
10,000 normal
'00 Insight "Wazabi" -75,000+ miles
'03 Toyota Matrix - 81,000+ miles '03 HCH-CVT-OSBM-41,000+ miles (retired 04-10-06) "I'm very secure with my little Insight, no Prius envy here."
How often to change oil on 2004 Civic Hybrid
!!!!
I had a senior moment yet I'm sooo young, OK not that young. 
Thanks for correcting me. DOH!!
