I'm new to this and haven't had to change the oil yet...

How much does Honda charge for an oil change ('03 Civic Hybrid)?

Are there alternative places to get the oil changed?

I take my Jeep to Walmart to get the oil changed but am willing to learn to do it myself for the Civic... Is this an easy task?

Thanks,

-Aimee (California)

 

Hi Aimee and welcome!
I have a 2003 as well that I purchased in 2005. I have done all of the oil changes on it myself. It is easy if you don't mind getting a little bit dirty. I would stick with the Honda filter and either get some 5W20 or 0W20 oil. I always cheat on the oil. I use 1 liter of
0W20 and 3 liters of 5W20 in the winter. In the summer I only use 5W20. I find that the
0W20 is just so expensive. I can't justify the cost.
You next have to take off the engine cover underneath of the engine. That is the dirty part! Then simply use your socket on the oil drain plug and let it all drain out. Replace crush washer on the oil plug if you want. I have had the same one in for at least five oil changes. No leaks yet! Remove and change your oil filter. Coat the rubber gasket of the filter with oil prior to installation. Then pour in whatever brand golden oil you want to purchase.
Check out all of the posts on Bob Is The Oil Guy site. They go into great detail of dino verses synthetic. Put your bottom cover back on and you are all set. It can take as little as 15 minutes or an hour. It all depends on how long you let it drain. Have fun, it is a great car.

 

Sometimes the dealerships have a decent price. My dealer sent an e-mail offer with a coupon for an oil change for the price of $25.95.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, you should look into buying a shop manual. Some folks have recently found those pretty cheap on e-Bay. You could also buy one from Helm, Inc. They are a bit expensive, but very informative shop manuals.

 

Where are you DIY'ers getting your 0W20 nowadays? My local WalMart stopped carrying it so I am kind of at a loss. I suppose I could use 5W20, but if someone has a lead on places that carry the "right" weigh oil it would be awesome. FWIW, I was using the Mobil 1, but seem to remember others like Penzoil maybe were to start making 0W20 right?

 

I understand that Penzoil Platinun now comes in 0W20 but I have never seen it anywhere.

 

Hi,

You can order oil from bernardi parts, it's like 6$ per quart.

 

I get it done at the dealer. They used to charge me $42, which is about $10 more than jiffy shops, but now they charge me $52.95 plus tax, and I'm not going to do it there anymore. I can stomach an extra ten bucks, but I won't pay double again.

 

I just ran into this issue as well. A few days ago, I tried to locate this stuff. I tried Wal-Mart (where I first purchased more than a year ago), AutoZone, Advanced Auto, and Checker Auto. None of them had it in stock and all said they could not special order it.

I was about ready to place an order at autobarn.com (they were cheaper for 12 shipped than Bernardi's), when I thought of NAPA Auto Parts. My local store did not have it in stock but said they could order it and have it there the same day. It was only ~$5.39 per quart which came to $70 for 12 after tax.

It will depend on if your regional NAPA warehouse stocks the stuff, but it's certainly worth a phone call.

Good Luck!

 

Good call! I will give them a call Monday and see what they can do.

 

Bringing back an old thread. Also try Amazon.com $38.88 for 6 w/free shipping.