We had planned a trip to Denver today and since we have a free first oil change at the dealership where we bought the HCH, we planned on getting it changed while we were up there. Roughly 20 miles away from the dealership, the oil status went to 15% and the wrench icon came on--talk about timing!

Anticdotally, it feels easier to get the car up to the higher MPGs on the FE meter, and my glide speeds seem 2-3 mph faster for a given road. Has anyone else noticed this, or is it all in my head? I had planned on going to Mobil 1, but couldn't find any so I let the dealer use Honda 0w-20.

BTW, we don't drive that much and our 15% came at 6499 miles--much less than some of the 10k reports I've seen here so the maintenance minder must take time since the last change into effect somehow.

 

I have almost 4500 miles on mine, and I think I'm at 60-70% still, I think. I havn't checked recently Most of my miles are 7 hour trips though. I don't have a commute or anything. I just drive to go see my parents in Ohio every other month or so. If you are doing short trips to the grocery store etc that could have done it.

 

If I remember correctly, the oil "timer" is based on engine revs. Being in the Denver area, you'll be spiking those revs every time you climb a mountain, so only getting 6500mi out of a change isn't too surprising.

 

I had my first oil change at ~6950 miles. I think it was at 20%. I switched to the Mobil 1, which I take it to the dealer. The stuff can be quite hard to find. Luckily, I have enough stocked up for my next (3rd) oil change.

Where did you buy your Honda? I bought mine at John Elway Honda, which is now Go Honda. My first two Hondas were bought at Fisher Honda in Boulder, but John Elway was thousands better in price for my trade in and purchase this time.

 

Kristian,

Same product sold ....

I thought I read here in these pgs. that "Mobil supplied Honda" their 0w-20 for Honda's stock. Some folks that made the search to find their own where haveing a tough go-of-it to save a few bucks. Also put a search on for "Oil Filters" for threads with-in this web-site. The dealers use 2 different brands, one being somewhat better than the other by what I read.

.... Hope this helps.

John

p.s.

Another "Huh, how about That". Amazing, the thought process & engineering feats that went into the development of the "HCH II". Makes sense of why my 1st & 2nd oil changes were approximately 1,200 miles different. The 1st was pretty much all use of the foot pedal. And the 2nd. was pretty much all use with cruise control. Makes sense, "Revs being consistant during "CC". Another worth the watch item as time rolls on with this car.

 

Based on my driving style in the HCH, the revs aren't what caused my oil change. There are two ski trips on that change where I let the engine rev freely, but otherwise it's a rare occurance when I see more than 2k on the tach.

My thought is that since we've had the car for 10 months and only driven 6499 miles, it decided that it was time for a change due to something other than a rev count. Of course I have nothing to back that up with though...

BTW, I am NOT complaining about a 6500 mile oil change--I've never run a car that long before without a change.

 

We got it at Burt Kuni. The purchase was totally spontanious after my wife fell in love with the car. There were a few 07's on the lot and one lonely 06 so we were able to negotiate a little.

Where did you find the Mobil 1? I called every auto parts store in town and no one had it (well, one Advance SAID they had it, but it turned out to be 0w-40 when I got there). I even tried two Walmarts (which for me is about like Ghandi eating at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse) and neither of them had it. I was planning on doing Amsol for the next change since NOBODY in suburbia-retail land (Colorado Springs) stocks Mobil 1 0w-20.

 

[quote=nitrojohnny;133158]Kristian,

Same product sold ....

I thought I read here in these pgs. that "Mobil supplied Honda" their 0w-20 for Honda's stock. Some folks that made the search to find their own where haveing a tough go-of-it to save a few bucks. Also put a search on for "Oil Filters" for threads with-in this web-site. The dealers use 2 different brands, one being somewhat better than the other by what I read.

.... Hope this helps.

John

/quote]

The dealer where we got ours changed uses Honda 0w-20 which he tried to sell me on (vs. bringing my own oil) as being a semi-synthetic blend so my guess is that it was not supplied by Mobil. I don't know if there are variations on the Honda oils between dealerships.

 

I bought some of it at the Broomfield Walmart, but I was there yesterday and they did not have any or even a place for any. I may have bought some at the Thornton Walmart as well (near 100th and Grant) some time ago. I'm not sure if they have any now. I'll check one of these days. It is definitely hard to find.

 

My civic didn't come with an owner's manual. How many quarts do these cars take? Has anyone ever tried Royal Purple oil? This oil got me a DYNO PROVEN 8hp gain after using it and I got 4mpg better in my old car.