previous owner never changed oil?
 

So I went to Atlanta this weekend to purchase an '05 Honda Accord V6 coupe. Its a pretty slick car I must say. A few days before I arrived to purchase the car, I had it inspected by Honda/Acura specialists and they told me what needed to be fixed. Their list included new tires, alignment, oil change and some minor break work.

So I thought it would be a good idea to get the oil changed before I made my journey back to Iowa from Atlanta on old oil. When I arrived a local Wal-mart, the serviceman checked my oil and said it had never been changed. He said he could tell this because the oil on the upper portion of the dipstick was lighter (having regular color oil) and on the bottom there was dark sediment each time he checked it.

He recommended an engine flush but I held off on that. I was wondering if you guys think this dude was full of it or could this be the case and the previous owner just added oil when it was low - if so what could this have done to the engine and what should I do?

Thanks

I would be hesitant to do a quick engine flush. The guys on BITOG seem to really like Auto-Rx but I've never tried it. Synthetic oils also seem to do a good job with cleaning sludge. Pennzoil Platinum is another BITOG favourite and claims to have good detergency. Heavy Duty Engine Oils (HDEOs) generally have stronger detergents than Starburst oils. The main differences between Starburst Oils and HDEOs is that HDEOs contain higher levels of phosphorus (anti-wear additive) and no friction modifiers (for 1-2% improved fuel economy).

I would just use a good engine oil and initially stay within the recommended oil change intervals recommended by my owner's manual.

The oil in the pan gets pretty well-mixed when you drive. So I wouldn't think the stratification means that it was never changed.

But just in case he was correct about the presence of sludge in the bottom of the pan, I'd change oil now. Then change it AGAIN when you get home. At that time, take a wire or coathanger or something, & poke it into the drain hole. Root around the bottom of the pan to check for sludge.

If you see sludge, then do the Auto-RX stuff. I've never used it myself, but I've seen good reports about it.

Thanks for the advice guys. I went to change the oil again today and replaced with penzoil synthetic. Really hoping this helps. I have been reading up on the Auto-RX product it seems to be pretty helpful. Wonder if anyone has any testimonials on here.