I wanted to wait till 7500 miles and do the oil change then. I figured HONDA put the break in additives so I will keep it as recommended. Went to AutoZone and they had Mobil 1 filters on sale and Castrol 5W-20 syntec on sale for 3.99. I bought two filters and some oil. Everything was a good deal. I figured I would wait to change the oil according to manual at 7500, and just replace the filter now. I drive a lot for my job. Short trips around town some NYC driving, some highway. Nothing unusual. It is pretty cold in NJ. When I removed the filter the oil was so bad. Dirty, black you could almost see the particles. I did a quick oil change and converted to the Castrol Synthetic 5w20. Next oil change I will go to 5W 30 I think. I am starting to think that HONDA wants us to wear our engine sooner and buy another car or something. My advice is don't put off first oil change till 7500. CHANGE IT SOONER

 

You sure you weren't seeing the additives in the initial oil from the factory?

I doubt Honda would do anything (branding-wise) to cause the cars to not last as long, since they're now fighting against 2 car lines that offer 10 year/100k warranties on everything limping out the door.

 

...As with nearly everything else, YMMV.

Mitaka, if I recall you have a fairly severe driving regime? Lots of Manhattan traffic and Jersey/LI commutes? Lots of low speed driving , stop/start (particularly with autostop), etc will always cause more wear which stresses the oil faster and the engine also generates more deposit buildup and whatnot, making the oil darken much more quickly. You're very likey safe with 7500 miles as long as you are using quality oil, but OTOH you might be well-served by a more frequent change interval, as you said.

Diesel generators I used to work with got their oil changed on an hours-of-operation and/or #-of-starts basis- whichever came first. An engine running at full load for 2 weeks straight would have much cleaner oil analysis than one that was used intermittently for those 2 weeks, but with many starts and widely varying loads.

Oil can never be changed too often- change it as much as you want. It's your investment.

Everybody's got their preference- go with what you prefer.

 

My oil came out looking like new at 5,002 miles.

 

Since we are on the topic of oil changes...I notice some of you mentioned using 5w-20 or even switching to 5w-30. The new "06 HCH recommends 0w-20 but says you can substitute 5w-20. Anyone have any luck locating a store that sells 0w-20 motor oil? I have been looking around and have had no such luck. Have been told by some stores(Autozone) that it is not a quick selling item so it costs the store money to stock their shelf with it rather than another product that will sell. Also, are there any differences between Honda's oil filters and any other brand(eg. Fram). My salesman started to metiuon something about a crush washer rather than a gasket, however we got off the topic before he could fully explain it to me.

 

Do a search for 0W-20 oil. There are several threads with information on where to get it from. Mostly, Napa has been our member's source for it.

I've always heard the basic Fram was crap. Their duraguard(?) line is supposed to be better. There are a lot of threads about this topic, as well. Personally, I'm sticking with the Honda filters. But, there are other quality filters out there as well.

Most of the HCH owners are sticking with 0W-20. Us HAH owners are using 5W-20.

 

0w20 is not easily available for general retail; Mobil stopped making it a year ago (restarting it this summer) and Pennzoil just began to distribute it. So for now, get it from your dealer or NAPA has some in inventory. There's a post here that the Pennzoil can be ordered online now.
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...light=pennzoil

Crush washers: this is the washer for the oilpan plug. Most mfg's use a gasket; Honda uses a metal washer. Can you re-use it? Sure. Should you? No- they're about 20 cents a pop from the dealer.

Filters are like Fords, Chevys, Presidential candidates, and NASCAR drivers- everyone loves one, hates the other, and gins up a host of reasons why their choice is the only correct one.
They all do the job reasonably well; nobody has ever pointed me to any evidence that one results in a higher failure rate vs another. If someone can gve me that info, I'd appreciate it. I have no doubt that a Bosch or some high-end filter does filter more and smaller particles for longer with lower pressure drop; its a matter of degree and what your tolerance is.

 

I changed my mine at 2000. Break in oil or not, no way it'll be better than mobil 1.
Actually, I get them for free. With my dealer, if you're not buying anything else, they'll give em to you.
They said it was too much trouble to invoice for 27 cents.

Also, unless you live where a climate well below freezing (NY, Chicago, NE, etc) I don't think you should sweat 0w-20 vs. 5w-20. Even then I think you'll do ok with the 5w.

 

I have read on this forum that Honda filters are made by Fram. Can anyone substantiate this?

 

I hope not. I saw an independent report that took apart filters from major companies. The Fram was the worst in the bunch.