How often do you get your oil changed? The 2006 Civic Hybrid has an oil life indicator feature, which is supposed to tell you how much more life is left in the oil, and when you need a change (100%, 80%, 50%, etc). I have gotten a three oil changes so far at the dealer that we bought the car from, going at 4,000 mile intervals, with the oil indicator still at about 60-70% each time. With this car (not sure if this is the case with other hybrids) they use a special 0W-20 oil designed for hybrids. It costs a bit more, and the oil change comes out to about $40.

I have been going on the assumption that, as long as I don't let it go to 0%, I am safe, and that 4,000 miles is a reasonable amount of driving to get out of a change. This dealer, of course, is recommending 3,750 mile intervals, which I sort of ignore, given that most of my driving is on the highway, and at low stress.

Today, I went to a different dealer (still a Honda dealer), at the 4,000-ish mile mark, with the oil life indicator at 60%. They asked me why I came for an oil change when I don't need one. They basically told me that I should wait until the oil indicator gets down to 15%, because it will prompt other required changes at the same time through letter codes. By doing changes more often (today's dealer says), these other codes are not going to appear, because the system is reset each time. They said that, in some cases, I could go over 10,000 miles between oil changes.

My question is this: Has anyone ever heard of this? Is it safe to go 10,000 miles between oil changes? Why would I get such divergent opinions from two different dealers? I have already instituted lifetime boycotts on the service departments of two local Honda dealers, so my options are limited to these two, which give such widely variable opinions on when to get an oil change.

One one hand, it is only $40. But, it is a pain to get an oil change at the dealer because they take so long, and why get an oil change that you don't need? On the other hand, if more frequent oil changes will screw up future services, it could be bad. I know that either way, the car buyer is a sucker, destined to be shortchanged somehow. I just hope to get a decent lifetime out of this car.

Either way, I like the car a lot. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Welcome and what a great first post!
A Prius owner, I wouldn't presume to address this but no doubt, our Honda owners will share their insights. That oil indicator is a great feature!

Do you know how it is implemented?

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

lumpylips,

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new HCH! I hope you love it- and I'm sure you will.

My understanding has always been that the HCH needs its oil changed every 5,000 miles. I'm pretty sure I've seen that figure from several sources- the dealer, the mechanic, the auto manual, and other posters here on GH. However, I have an HCH I and you have an HCH II- there could be a difference, though for most things there is not, and I have no reason to think that this would not be the same. The oil is the same, certainly.

As for the discrepancy, I'm sure there will always be differences of opinion between dealers- some are just trying to get you to come back for service that you don't really need, others are more honest. I don't think I've ever heard from a source that seemed authoritative to me that going 10k between oil changes regularly was a good idea, but I would tend to put the second dealer in the 'honest' group anyway. The thing they told you about the indicators is correct, for one thing. If you reset the indicators too soon, the car apparently won't give you the appropriate reminders for your tune-ups, etc. Having already done it a couple of times, though, I'm not sure there's an easy way for you to fix it.

 

I'm curious to hear what others have done too. I've only put 3k miles on my car and it's still at 60% so at this rate I'll be close to 7k before my first oil change. The sticker my dealer put on my windshield is 5k for oil change.

 

All the dealers put whatever their "recommended oil-change interval" is on their stickers. Just like the 10-minute oil-change's 3000-mile intervals. Many have given up on the "3000 miles or bust oil-change" mantra. It's just been too many years for most newer tight-tolerance engines for 3000-mile oil changes to REALLY be necessary, except in extreme driving conditions (e.g., dusty). It's really irrelevant what ANY of those guys put on the stickers. First, check your manual. Don't exceed any recommendations that are in there, if any (it could void a future warranty claim). Outside that, more frequent oil changes are a personal thing. Keep in mind, oil-changes are a money-making opportunity, so IF they could convince everyone that we needed 3000-mile oil changes, they'd love it. I'm often seeing the 3750-mile intervals touted now, which is half of 7500 (a common service interval). I go with 5K miles on most vehicles. But on the Civic HCH-2, I'm going by the oil percentage indicator. Honda knows what they are doing, and I'm covered by their standard warranty, plus a HondaCare extended warranty - all the way to 120K miles. Using the oil indicator, I changed my oil for the first time just recently - at 9000 or so miles.
If I didn't have such an indicator (or chose to disregard its suggestions), I'd change Dino oil at 5K miles, or 100% Synthetic oil at 7500 miles, or at 1 year no matter how few miles.

You'll likely hear opinions all over the place. Oil change interval is a surprisingly hot topic. Also do some searches on this forum - this topic has been discussed here before.

And welcome!

 

Steve is ABSOLUTELY right.

A dealership that recommends a fixed oil change interval is NOT a good dealership. If they get this simple fact wrong about your HCH-II, just imagine how they will do with a more serious service issue. Ouch !!!

The vehicle's Maintenance Minder feature is the authoritative indication of when the oil must be changed, please follow it diligently (as Honda intended) and you'll be a happier HCH-II owner.


Bob:
The maintenance Minder uses a variety of inputs, some of which are representative of the engine's operating regime and average RPM incurred since last service.

Cheers;

MSantos