Yep, because that's EXACTLY what I said.... Do whatever you want, it's your car but changing out the oil early isn't going to hurt anything. The "special break in oil" honda fills it with isn't any better quality of oil than Mobile 1 full synthetic. This dont change the oil too early is the same kind of nonsense as people who think they can feel a difference between differant brands of gasoline or think it's bad to put synthetic oil in a motor "too soon" (ignoring that fact that tons of cars come with synthetic straight from the factory).

I'm going by what I've heard directly from the factory engineers in Japan - which is that the Honda engines are considered broken in at about 10-12k miles depending on conditions.

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According the the HCHII manual, there are only 3 things that need to be done as part of the break-in schedule. They are:

1. Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration.<
2. Do not change the oil until the scheduled maintenance time.<
3. Avoid hard braking for the first 200 miles. <

You say #2 is not important. I say, why did they even bother including it? It's not like they have a complex list of break-in recommendations.

I am not saying it will make a huge difference, but I'm sure there are also many people who could say "I did full-throttle starts from the day I got my car and she's still runnin' like a champ." Does this mean that we should ignore #1 as well? If you want to ignore Honda's recommended break-in schedule and instead go by your own "instinct", that is fine.


For me, I'll switch to Mobil 1 after the scheduled maintenance time for the first oil change.

Obviously there is somethign for Honda to gain (and for the consumer) when Honda can point out to people how long the service interval is on new Hondas, especially if they're comparing it against another brand.

If you want to wait until 7.5k, 8-9k or even 10k to change out your oil, fine, you'll save a little money on the extra oil change that I did. Your car's engine isn't going to "blow up" at 100k, 200k, 300k because of it. Nor will anyone else's engine because they changed the oil at 2k, 2.5k or 3k. The engine gets broken in well before the maintance minder/oil life monitor gets to 10% or 0%. An engine will continue to loosen up over it's ENTIRE life, that does NOT mean that the engine is "break in" over it's entire life.

You are right. There is something for Honda and the consumer to gain when they advise us on how to best maintain our vehicle. The vehicles last longer.

The old "every 3,000 miles" is a waste of money and may actually increase engine wear. There are studies that show engine wear is highest just after you change the oil. As a matter of fact, I have not been able to find a mileage number for the oil change interval anywhere in the manual.

interesting link on engine wear

Very interesting link on the Mobil 1 longevity test!
I've always thought 7.5-10K oil changes for synthetics is about right.
Dyno oil has always been thought to break down much quicker, which I also believe.

When I get my HCH-II, I will change the original oil when the car tells me to. After that, I'll probably change it at 7.5K, or sooner if the car tells me to. I think any sooner with a full synthetic is a waste of money. Although, it's not a terribly expensive waste of money, and I have no issue with folks changing it every 3K. I believe changing the filter with EVERY oil change is more important than whether the (full-synthetic) oil is changed out at 3K or 10K.

Steve

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I've never said anything at all about changing the oil every 3,000 miles. And I'd say engine wear is highest when the engine is brand spanking new when they drive it around the factory/docks/ports and those first few miles you put on it. When you change the oil you're not sucking the engine bone dry. There is still going to be oil on the various engine parts, just as there would be if you turned the engine off and restarted 30-60 minutes later.

I didn't mean to imply that you did. I got a little bit sidetracked.