I bought a used 07 Accord EXL v6 in late April 2012. Since then I have put about 4800 miles on the car.... mostly city driving. My maintenance minder thing says the oil life is 20%. Should I get an oil change right away (people say you should change every 3-4 k miles) or do I still have time (few weeks or so) since it still says 20%.

I guess my question is... how do you guys handle your maintenance? Do you go strictly by maintenance minder or by mileage you put on?

I also plan on getting my tires rotated... anything else I should do? Car has 59k miles on it.

 

When I had an 07 Accord Lx, I went by maintenance light. It would usually run ~7500 miles. This was couple times per year.

That's purpose of the maintenance indicator; to allow use-dependent oil change intervals.

It takes some courage when 3k/3mo is pushed by everyone nearly.

good luck

 

In Jan 2012 I bought a '92 with 202,000 miles.
Maintenance records showed the prior owner (Boeing aeronautical engineer) had changed oil every 3500 miles.
Uses 1/2 qt every 1800 miles. I'm doing the same change interval, because it has worked.

Hope this helps.

 

The only people who say you should change every three to four thousand miles don't know what they're talking about. Changing oil that often is akin to pouring out perfectly good oil.

 

I read this article: Stop Changing Your Oil! - Edmunds.com

What do you think?

 

In my 03 Accord owner's manual, for the V6 engine, under severe conditions it gives 3,750 miles for the oil change interval. In 07, the Accord had the Maintenance Minder, which will go between 7,000 and 8,000 miles, between oil changes, on the same engine. So my question is, did Honda have no idea how long the oil would last in 03, or are they extending the intervals too far with the maintenance minder? I'm sure most owners are easily convinced that 8,000 miles is safe, because hey it's saving them money. Is it just a coincidence, that I'm seeing more posts about engines consuming oil like crazy? Or is it because the engines are not doing so well with the extended intervals? I'm willing to go as far as 5,000 miles, but 7-8,000 miles is out of the question. I do a lot of short distances (less than 5 miles) between oil changes.

 

No way to be sure, but my observation is the oil looks good at 7-8K miles. I have not performed any oil analysis, but I bet Honda did.

My wifes 06 Acura TSX has very similar engine to Accord and has same maintenance indicator system. Oil at change time looks very good.

Some things have changed over the years; oil is better, filtration systems are better, improved engine tolerances, and engines warm very quickly to prevent short trip water contamination. I suspect these are some of the reasons oil change intervals have been increased.

No right or wrong answer here, and each should make their own personal choice.

good luck

 

I would say you can probably get 4-5k out of the oil. I still don't know about the 7-8k. I personally don't wait that long.

And on my rotary I don't go a mile over 3,000. Some even change it every 2,000

 

I've done oil analysis a number of times over the last seven years. I typically use Mobil 1 and have yet to see results which indicate anything less than 12,000 miles before the oil would be close to the "need to change" condition.

 

all im sayin is that if you look in the service manual provided by Honda for my 1996 accord it says the recommended interval is 6000 miles and thats in 1996. Technology has come a long way, not only with the engines but the oil its self. im not gonna tell anyone what they should or have to do but i will provide my experience and info, and as a mechanic and ex diesel mechanic, ive seen numerous oil analysis showing that you can well extend the "3000 mile rule"