It is, Mobile 1 makes a 0W20 weight full synthetic.

I just got my oil changed this week. I don't know when it was changed before I owned it, but this was the first time we've had it changed, and I've put ~9k miles on it. I've got a little window kling on my windshield that suggests changing the oil again in 3k miles. I wouldn't think I'd really have to change it again so soon. Does anyone know if the Honda dealership uses synthetic oil?

all commercially avaiable 0W20 is synthetic. If you specify for them to use 0W20 (which is what the manual syas for the HCH?) it will be synthetic. That's why their lube specials always exclude hybrids.

Thanks. I had a feeling that might be the case. I had to pay extra for an "Insight" oil change, 0W-20.

Good info. Are you sure it's a full synthetic and not "just" a synthetic blend? My old '03 Ranger 4cyl called for a 5W20 "synthetic blend".

I don't think there's any magic to the oil life indicator. It's set to go down 10% every 1,000 miles until you reach 10,000 miles just as the manual recommends.

dshelman,

I disagree with your analysis of the oil life indicator (assuming you weren't trying just to be funny - hard to read sarcasm on a website sometimes) I have a much heavier city / short trip mix than many of the members here and my oil life indicator tends to go down 10% about every 650 miles give or take. And my 2006 Civic Hybrid owner's manual doesn't say anything about 10K service interval - it says to use the maintenance minder.

Eric

I believe that you are right. I believe that the computer takes in account RPM, engine load and maybe other factors to determine the oil life.

I think it takes in engine temperature as a big part of the equation, how long the engine is run before it's fully up to normal operating temps. Lots of short trips in the city will bring the oil life meter down quicker than lots of long highway driving where the engine is rarely cold.

Since the OLM has come into question, I thought I'd post my observations on the OLM built into the '06 Hondas...my car has been exposed to rather cold temps (up to -10F) since I've taken delivery, and I drive it lightly, for mileage, but I also drive a lot of miles (about 3900 in 9 weeks of ownership).


I happened to just catch the first two 10% decreases. The first was at 750mi almost exactly. At that point, I wondered... "will it decrease 10% every 750mi, to show 0% at 7500mi ?" (7500mi is the mileage at which the old system would flash and stay lit as a reminder to change the oil - but it wasn't an 'intelligent' system, the way this one is supposed to be.

As the car approached 1500mi, I kept my eye on the OLM. Right about 1550mi, it dropped from 90% to 80%. I started wondering how 'intelligent' the OLM really was, and figured I'd see the next change at about 2100-2400mi.

70% came along at....2508mi So far, the reductions were looking pretty darned linear to me - every 800mi on average. Temps had been increasing a little bit, but no higher than about 40-45F on average.

A few days ago, the OLM dropped to 60% - at about 3350mi., or about 850mi since the last decrease.

So, to recap:
100 > 90% = 750mi
90 > 80% = 1550mi (800mi elapsed)
80 > 70% = 2508mi (958mi " )
70 > 60% = 3350mi (842mi " )

From what I remember, the following criteria are evaluated to calculate the oil life:
Avg Trip length (shorter depletes oil life % remaining faster)
Avg RPM (higher depletes % faster)
Avg Temperature (lower depletes faster)

Now...given that the 1st 10% came during some of the coldest part of our winter up here... at about 1700mi, initial break-in occurred...an additional break-in at about 2200-2300mi, initial tire tread wore off and decreased rolling resistance somewhere along the line...and it's gotten warmer out in the last few days...

What approximate mileage will the OLM in my car decrease to 50% ? (I'm going with 4000mi, myself)

Mark

Sometimes we could all use a little less

My hybrid automobiles:

Current:
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid (CVT, w/o Nav)
Magnetic Pearl / Blue - 008661, born 12/28/05
Mods: Neck pillows, Garmin C330 Nav, Draw-tite 1.25" hitch (for bikes, not towing!), Pioneer Inno XM receiver via Aux jack, OEM mud flaps, more to come!

Hypermiler status on 3/12/06 @ 3077mi.

Previous:
2005 Honda Accord Hybrid (5AT/Navi)
Desert Mist / Ivory - 001254
Retired 1/21/06 - LMPG 34.1

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