Oil Changes every 8000km

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Jamco, Jan 10, 2005.

  1. Jamco

    Jamco Guest

    Hi I have a new Honda Civic.
    With all my pasts cars I always changed the oil every 5000km's (I live in
    canada)
    With my new civic it says to change it every 8000km's. Is this safe to do
    or should i stick with every 5000km's? The oil looks pretty dirty already
    at 5000km's

    Thanks
     
    Jamco, Jan 10, 2005
    #1
  2. Looking dirty doesn't mean a thing.

    Where did the 5000km figure come from?
     
    Steve Bigelow, Jan 10, 2005
    #2
  3. Jamco

    jasonp Guest

    These guys say 5000:
    http://668tech.laverda-nz.org/maintenance_check_sheet.html

    And this guy...
    http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-4607.html

    and this guy...
    http://www.harrysautopro.ca/oil.htm

    and these guys...
    http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000327024141/

    granted these aren't honda's, but he never said his last cars were honda's

    And oil that looks dirty doesn't matter? Can you explain that to me?
     
    jasonp, Jan 10, 2005
    #3
  4. Jamco

    Jamco Guest

    all the previous cars I've owned said to change the oil every 5000km so
    thats where I came up with that. And when my brother went into a lubex
    place to get his oil changed at 8000km like the manual says to do, the
    people said his oil was really dirty and he should get his engine flushed
    cause he went over 5000km
     
    Jamco, Jan 10, 2005
    #4
  5. Jamco

    Brian Smith Guest

    I change my vehicle's oil and filtre every 5000 km. If it makes you feel
    more comfortable doing so, then by all means do it. It doesn't matter to me
    what other people say about the frequency of oil changes, because when you
    get right down to it, it's your vehicle and they're not going to be found if
    something happens to your vehicle following their advice.

    Brian
     
    Brian Smith, Jan 10, 2005
    #5
  6. Laverda Motorcycles?
    Aussies driving French cars. What more needs to be said.
    He sells oil changes!
    From the first paragraph- "Maybe I'm old fashioned, but my father has stuck
    to the "3000 mile" rule and has never had a problem with any of his engines.
    And I know that it is faulty cause-and-effect logic - he over-maintains all
    his vehicles - but if it has caused no problems, then what the heck."

    "What the heck?"
    Yep. Just because it looks dirty, doesn't mean it is, or that it isn't doing
    it's job.
     
    Steve Bigelow, Jan 10, 2005
    #6
  7. Lubex?
    Let me guess...they sell oil changes and flushes, right?

    Why are you trying to out engineer Honda?
     
    Steve Bigelow, Jan 10, 2005
    #7
  8. Jamco

    Woody Guest

    And you really think the people on this forum know more than the Honda
    engineers. DUH Follow your users manual. Tomes have changed from the old
    days when oil would turn to jelly in 3000 miles. Fuel is cleaner, engines
    are better, oil is better and the engineers know what the engine needs....
     
    Woody, Jan 10, 2005
    #8
  9. Jamco

    jasonp Guest

    everything I've ever been told has said that if the oil looks dirty it is...
     
    jasonp, Jan 10, 2005
    #9
  10. From oil analysis?

    Or from people selling you oil?
     
    Steve Bigelow, Jan 11, 2005
    #10
  11. Jamco

    R. P. Guest

    Heck, even my '94 Honda's Owner Manual says so: 5,000 km or 3,750 miles.
    Must be all right 'cause I'm aproaching 195,000 miles with it and it
    still runs like new (well, almost ;-)

    R. P.
     
    R. P., Jan 11, 2005
    #11
  12. Jamco

    Cosmin N. Guest

    Honda's new recommendation of 8000km is not out of line, due to
    improvements in engine technology, cleaner gas and better oils. My 01
    Prelude's manual recommends oil changes every 6000km. But that's
    probably because all H22 engines burn oil when in VTEC, so if I would go
    by that interval without toping it once in a while, I would be at least
    1-2l short in 6000km.

    A friend's 01 BMW 330ci only needs oil changes every 20000km (no, that's
    not a typo, it's twenty thousand) as long as he uses BMW's own oil. He
    could not believe it at first, but the dealer did not want to change it
    any sooner, even though the car is still under warranty.

    Cosmin
     
    Cosmin N., Jan 11, 2005
    #12
  13. Jamco

    R Thompson Guest

    Be sure to read the manual. Do your driving conditions meet all the criteria
    for the 8K service? That probably precludes any short trips, very cold or
    hot weather, dusty conditions, or whatever constitutes 'Severe Service.'
    Many newer cars have had oil gelling problems from extended service
    intervals.
     
    R Thompson, Jan 11, 2005
    #13
  14. Jamco

    Jamco Guest

    I'm not trying to out enginer honda, but come on, magically in 2001+ the
    engines can now go 8000km between oil changes, where as in 2000 they could
    only go 5000km. Think about it, less oil changes means more major($$$)
    repairs, which means more business for the honda repair shop, which is where
    they make all their money.
     
    Jamco, Jan 11, 2005
    #14
  15. Jamco

    Cosmin N. Guest

    So by that rationale, had Honda had incremented the oil change interval
    by 100km every 6 months (or some other random number), it would have
    made sense to you.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm still changing the oil every 6000km in my 01
    Prelude, but not because the oil would break down (I'm using synthetic,
    so it should last at least 10000km), but because all H22 engines burn
    oil in VTEC.

    Maybe with the 01-05 Civic Honda decided that engine quality, gas and
    oil have ALL improved enough to extend the interval to 8000km. It's the
    same with the timing belts. My 94 Accord had an interval of 96000km or 7
    years. New Hondas have longer intervals, even though on the surface
    nothing changed.

    Cosmin
     
    Cosmin N., Jan 11, 2005
    #15
  16. Jamco

    jasonp Guest

    From wrenchers I've worked with. I do my own service, I just feel more
    comfortable when the oil looks like oil, not pitch
     
    jasonp, Jan 11, 2005
    #16
  17. Ahh. So it's based on just a guess?

    Gotcha.
     
    Steve Bigelow, Jan 12, 2005
    #17
  18. Jamco

    Jasonp Guest

    No it's based on looking at the oil, if it's dirty it should be changed, my
    opinion not yours. If I'm wrong, so be it, I;m erroring on the side of
    caution.
     
    Jasonp, Jan 12, 2005
    #18
  19. why 8000 km ? why not 20 k km, I have been changing at 20 K km on all
    Hondas, mostly Accords for some 25 years now and worked great, currently
    have 91 Accord with 250 K km and the engine is perfect, using synthetic of
    course as I live in north alberta
     
    Andrew Ostrowski, Jan 13, 2005
    #19
  20. On my EP3 Civic EUDM Manual the oil change it's every 20000Km and 10000Km in
    severe use conditions.
     
    Akira Norimaki, Jan 15, 2005
    #20
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