My local Honda service centre told me not to bother buying any oil for my civic since it won't need a top up /change until its next service (its had its first 1000k service a few months ago, next one isn't until 10,000 k).
Seems a fair distance to drive without any new oil .. wrong? right?

 

Depends on how you drive it.

 

Well first off, there is a BIG difference between making sure the oil level is sufficient versus doing an oil change. If the oil is low on the dipstick, ADD OIL NOW! The engine will burn up and stop running if you run it out of oil. Secondly, did they recently change the service schedules? It used to be that every Honda was listed as requesting oil changes every 7500 miles in "normal" duty, and 3750 miles in "severe" duty, which is classified as using the car in very cold weather, short trips, or all stop & go driving. This would be the first I've heard of any 10,000 mile interval. That's really beyond what any non-synthetic oil is capable of providing protection for.

 

You had a 1k check up? How much did they steal, er charge, for that?

 

I'm confused-
why did you take it in for service at 1000 miles? my civic owners manual says first service is at 10,000 miles.
I had an oil change done at 5000, when I took it in for the 'update' recall- but that was considered an extra/un necessary change. (put in mobil 1) I don't think I'd change out the break-in oil at 1000 miles.
AZ Civic is right- absolutely check the level, but even that should be fine- the car's brand new!

 

Barry, I mean Luke, Should I be talking to the car or its owner. I am confused.

I am with KLC. My 2004 HCH owners manual calls for initial service/oil change at 10,000 miles, and every 10,000 thereafter. My dealer offered a free oil change/service at 5,000 (probably just to get me in the habit of letting them do it at 5,000 mile intervals). I took the free 5,000 mile change, and now I get it changed every 10,000 miles whether it needs it or not.

The dealer reminder sticker on the windshield tries to remind me to do it every 5,000, but I think that is just so they can double their share of my money.

If every 10,000 is what the factory says, then any less often would be ill advised. Any more often is, well, cautious. Nothing wrong with that, it is your money and your health, er, car.

I have never known a manufacturer to recommend maintenance less often than is advisable. Oh, maybe the less frequent maintenance schedule would be a selling point, but I don't know that anyone would buy a car for this reason unless it was every 100,000 miles or so. They may have an interest in your car dying early, but only if you are stupid enough to buy from the same manufacturer after the last car they sold you dies prematurely. On the other hand, they may want more frequent maintenance to put more money in the dealer's pockets, or to make their cars last longer and gain a good reputation for longevity and resale value, thus enhancing the brand image in the marketplace (but if every 10,000 miles is more frequent than necessary, I can live with that.)

It seems to me most likely, though, if the manufacturer suggests every 10,000 miles, then they probably know something about their design and the oil that will go into it.

 

My manual also recommends service and oil every 10k miles. I posted a poll about this awhile back and it looks like many are changing at 3-5k. I think this is crazy since most manuals say to change every 3k but you can truly stretch to 5k, ours says 10k so I would go at least 10k (personally, I wouldnt go over that).

My dealer gave me 2 free oil change coupons...lol...this will take care of my first 1.5-2 years of driving this car...I wonder if they realize that?

 

The manual states 10,000 miles under normal driving conditions (normal defined by Honda). The oil recommened (Mobil 1) is 100% synthetic and is designed to make the 10,000 miles with no problems under normal schedule service. I've read that hybrid car owners using a 50/50 synthetic blend should follow severe schedule maintenance services if they want to play it safe.

I believe 5,000-7,000 miles would be a more ideal for oil changes instead of 10,000. I would only consider the full 10,000 if I were using a full synthetic blend of oil. My oil gets changed every 5,000 miles (using the Mobil 1 0w-20 oil) for now due to the conditions I drive in but will probably change it to every 7,000. When 0w-20 is no longer available and I'm forced to use 5w-20, I'll probably go back to 5,000 intervals.

 

Guys bit of confusion - i'm talking about kilometers not miles (Australia here). First 1000 k service is free then the next is at 10,000 k or about 6200 miles. The tech at the free first (more tune-up then service) said I wouldn't need to put anymore oil in until the next service.

 

That's correct, you should not need any oil between servicing, when they change the oil.

You might want to check the oil level occasionally, but it's up to you... A new car should be no problem.