First oil change

[hciv1472]

Hi everyone,
I have a 14' Ex Coupe. I bought the car new in June of 14' and it says it was manufactured in April of 14'. I currently have 4,100 miles only and still have the factory fill. I know honda says to leave it in for a while and I know that some say don't change it until the MM gets to 15% but since the car is ten months old without the first oil change yet, should I change it now? I know it's a special break in oil but I have driven it at different speeds during the 4100 miles and I'm getting nervous leaving oil in that long. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You

 

[lethal6]

What does it say in the owner's manual? Follow what it says, they put the information in there for a reason. Might want to contact the dealer though, some manufactures are VERY strict about their warranty coverage and maintenance.

 

[hciv1472]

I should've added that the owners manual doesn't go into detail about the factory fill and when to get the first oil change and I have called several dealerships and they all had different answeres which is pretty amazing. Like I said I have had the car since last June and it has 4100 miles on it and I haven't changed the oil yet and I want to because technically it was manufactured in April of last year and I think waiting too long is no good. What I want to know is when did you do your first oil change on a brand new civic that hasn't been driven much but have had for many months
Thank you

 

[lethal6]

When in doubt, change it. You are asking the wrong guy if you want justification for the 4k miles without a change. I would have changed it at around 1,000 for the first and then every 3,000 or so since. So by your mileage, I would have already done it twice.

Yes, I change my oil that much. In fact, I change it less than 3,000. Full synthetic, always. You have nothing to lose when it comes to oil changes. There is no downfall to changing early except money, but changing it too late can be catastrophic. I am VERY BIG on doing maintenance on time or early for my vehicles.

For example, I change the oil in my motorcycle twice a year even though it only has 2900 miles on it and hasn't even been ridden for the last 3 years. It has only gotten 2900 miles on it in 10 years but has has the oil changed over 20 times. It's cheap and fresh oil keeps things clean.

 

[hciv1472]

When in doubt, change it. You are asking the wrong guy if you want justification for the 4k miles without a change. I would have changed it at around 1,000 for the first and then every 3,000 or so since. So by your mileage, I would have already done it twice.

Yes, I change my oil that much. In fact, I change it less than 3,000. Full synthetic, always. You have nothing to lose when it comes to oil changes. There is no downfall to changing early except money, but changing it too late can be catastrophic. I am VERY BIG on doing maintenance on time or early for my vehicles.

For example, I change the oil in my motorcycle twice a year even though it only has 2900 miles on it and hasn't even been ridden for the last 3 years. It has only gotten 2900 miles on it in 10 years but has has the oil changed over 20 times. It's cheap and fresh oil keeps things clean.

Thanks for getting back to me. I totally agree with you but Honda says their factory fill has special conditioners and you need to keep it in for a while but they don't say how long! Do u think 4100 miles is long enough?
Thanks,

 

[ej_swag]

This may sound crazy but have you ever considered calling Honda's customer service toll free line? If dealerships each give you different answers it seems like a reasonable route to go if you can't get the answer you are looking for (assuming they answer these sorts of questions).

 

[MJB]

hciv1472 You're not alone in not knowing what to do. I have a little over 4000 on my 2014 civic too. Got different answers. I was really upset that the manual didn't have the answer. The dealer service dept just said 3000. When I questioned them about what the Honda web page says about waiting for 15% of first mainance - they didn't know that and said that can't be right. I found them on Twitter or you can call them, no email. So I sent them 3 tweets asking them point blank. I'll let you know if I get an answer.

 

[MJB]

I got an answer from Honda Cust Ser on Twitter:
@HondaCustSvc
Me: Why is it so hard to get a correct answer from the manual from the service dealer from web page for first oil change?
Me: @HondaCustSvc I have a new 2014 Honda Civic Sdn - Can you tell me when the first oil change is? How many miles?


Direct Messages › with Honda Customer Svc
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The maintenance minder in your vehicle will provide you with the oil life. Once the oil life is less than 15% a message will appear. ^MS

Once the oil life is at 15% it would be recommended to change the oil. ^MS

 

[XpL0d3r]

just to clarify...

5. When you buy a new car, change your oil at 3,000 miles to remove metal particles from the engine break-in process. There might be a grain of truth to this, according to the experts at Blackstone. Oil samples from engines during the first 3,000 miles of driving show elevated "wear-in" metal levels, coming from the pistons and camshafts, says Ryan Stark, Blackstone's president. But he added, "To me, it doesn't make that much difference because if the filings are big enough to cause damage, they will be taken out by the oil filter."

However, a Honda spokesman says its cars come from the factory with a special oil formulation for the break-in period. Honda advises owners to not change the oil early. Stark said Blackstone Laboratories' test of Honda's break-in oil shows it contains molybdenum-disulfide, an anti-wear additive. But Stark said Honda is the only manufacturer he knows that's using special break-in oil. The take-away? If there are any special break-in recommendations from the manufacturer, follow them. And consider analyzing the oil at 3,000 mile

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-7-urban-legends-about-motor-oil.html


AND click the link below from Honda. Expand the "Why should I wait to change the oil the first time" section.

http://owners.honda.com/help/faqs#faq-2

 

[SabaII]

Hey guys. I used to sell Hondas and still own one. For your 1st oil change 15% or 1 year whatever comes first. Every oil change after that 15% or 6 months. My 1st Civic went to around 6k before its 1st change and that was a 2012 now my 2015 is a tick over 8k and it just hit 15%. Oils and filters are not what they used to be, in my opinion do not waste money on them. If you are a nervous nancy and want to be sure you are not damaging your engine you can buy oil test kits from most heavy truck shops and send the oil sample in to have it analyzed. I just do what the manufacturer recommends, they put the time and effort in to the R&D, they should know what is best. Also before being a Honda salesman I turned wrenches for a few years, went to school for that and was ASE certified so I am not just a dumb salesman drone who did what the manufacturer said because that is all he knew. Hope this helps.

 

[HeX]

15% of what?

 

[SabaII]

15% of what?

Sorry, should have been more clear, 15% oil life remaining. Your maintenance minder should pop up on your screen at this point.

 

[HeX]

Oh. I have a '97 so I don't have any of those sensors.

 

[SabaII]

Oh. I have a '97 so I don't have any of those sensors.

What I have done and what I would recommend is do your normal oil change at the interval you habitually change it at and buy and oil test kit. CAT sells them and you send the sample in to them and they will run their analysis on it. They send you back the results with how much of each metal they find it it along with other contaminants and give you a estimated life left. I see you are in to running your vehicle efficiently, well another part of that would be to not create extra oil waste and filter waste. Hope this helps.

 

[XpL0d3r]

What I have done and what I would recommend is do your normal oil change at the interval you habitually change it at and buy and oil test kit. CAT sells them and you send the sample in to them and they will run their analysis on it. They send you back the results with how much of each metal they find it it along with other contaminants and give you a estimated life left. I see you are in to running your vehicle efficiently, well another part of that would be to not create extra oil waste and filter waste. Hope this helps.

How much is the kit? Blackstone will send you a kit for free, and only charge you for analysis. I have a kit from them, just have yet to turn it in. I wanted to do this test twice, once with Mobil1 syntheic, and once with my mechanic's house synthetic, to compare them.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php

 

[SabaII]

How much is the kit? Blackstone will send you a kit for free, and only charge you for analysis. I have a kit from them, just have yet to turn it in. I wanted to do this test twice, once with Mobil1 syntheic, and once with my mechanic's house synthetic, to compare them.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php

I believe the test kits we used a Freightliner were CAT branded and were $30 but that included the cost of the analysis. Very similar to the blackstone kit you referenced.

 

[HockeyZombies]

Hey guys. Just bought new 2015 Civic with 24mi on odometer and I was told to leave fill in till around 15% also because of molybdenum break in. Already added weathertech floorliners, a KN cabin filter(VF2001) and AEM dryflow air filter (28-20468). Gonna take my free 5 oil changes and then go valvoline 0w20 and at 75000..change to 0w20 maxlife synthetic. I love the car so far. Its got 2 usb ports,bluetooth,HDMI port and the new car smell is still intact.

 

[HockeyZombies]

 

[HockeyZombies]

 

[HockeyZombies]