2000 Acura 3.2 TL Oil Recommendation

[2K2AcuraTL]

Congrats on your new purchase fellow TL'er... My '02 TL has seen a variety of oil since its puchase: 1-Honda 5W20 (Semi-synth I believe..), then Valoline 5W30 Synth, then 2 X RP 5W30. I have now got GC 0-30 in it now and drove about 1000km before it became a hangar queen for the winter. I realise its not much road time on the GC, but up to date, RP has given me the best performance so far. Even though my book says 5W20, I believe we have both the same engine. depending on how Swepco 5W30 performs in my GM minivan(change due when the snow goes..), it may become staple in my oil cabinet. Jean

 

[2K2AcuraTL]

 

[TR3-2001SE]

The first post by uconn1150 is the best advise you could ask for. I personally use the mobil 1 10w-30 in my fairly new miata. I believe it is the best oil for japanese cars.

 

[thrace]

Enjoy the ride. It may be just as important to take care of the transmission. You probably know how to change the ATF. It is easier than the oil change because no filter change is possible. Remove the trans drain plug with a 3/8 in drive wrench with no socket on it. Replace plug. Fill from the dipstick tube or fill bolt hole. Use Z1 ATF, that expensive stuff sold by the manufacturer. About 3.5 quarts. In the event your trans has a problem, the trans warranty has been extended to 7 yrs/100,000 miles. http://world.honda.com/news/2002/4020920.html "AutomobileSeptember 20, 2002 "American Honda Extends Warranties on Select Automatic Transmissions "Torrance, Calif., September 20, 2002 --- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced today it will provide extended warranties on approximately 1.2 million Honda and Acura models equipped with automatic transmissions due to problems that may result in premature wear or failure. The extended warranty will cover affected transmissions for seven years or 100,000 miles. "Vehicles covered by the extended warranty include: 2000 - 2001 Honda Accord, Odyssey and Prelude 2000 - 2002 and some 2003 Acura 3.2 TL 2001 - 2002 and some 2003 Acura 3.2 CL " Have fun.

 

[CLguy]

yup like thrace said above, you should worry about the transmission more than the engine. those honda transmission are prone to break. honda extended the warranty to 100k and 7yr, but what happen if you make it pass that? you are still driving around with a bad tranmission design. i would rather break it at 99k, and get a new transmission, but of course that is just a thought.

 

[STSinNYC]

In our experience, Honda (thus Acura) engines specced for 5W-30 run very well, and for a long long time, on dino. oil. So you should be good with either dino or synthetic, or a blend, which many people here think does just as well as synthetic. The blends cost much less than the pure synthetics. Shaeffers Supreme Blend seems to be well regarded here. We have changed the oil in our Hondas (both 4 and 6 cylinders) every 3-4,000 miles (always with dino)and none have ever burned oil or had oil-related problems. I agree with everyone here about maintaining your transmission carefully. Change the fluid before it gets worn out, use the right fluid, maybe add a little Lube Control in it to reduce oxidation.

 

[Hankrr]

I had the 2000 TL until mine got totalled in an accident last summer. I used Mobil-1 0w30 in the winter and 5w30 in the summer. Concerning the transmission several people I've heard from at different Honda forums babied those transmissions only to make it JUST PAST the 100k extended warrenty and get stuck with the bill. It's a design weakness or flaw and changing the fluid more often probably won't help. I've currently got the same problem with my 2000 Honda Accord v6. The transmission is already acting up and I only have 20k on the car. The TL has the five speed but I think they both share in the same design or flaw. Personally I've chosen NOT to baby mine as it will fail at some point and I'd rather it do so BEFORE I get to the seven years which in my case will be coming long before the 100k miles. Just my 2cents.

 

[S2000driver]

I had a 2000 TL and beat the heck out of it from time to time with no problems with the automatic transmission (hey, you didn't buy mine I hope LOL) Most people I know who had problems with their transmissions had them when the car was still just a few months old. My biggest problem with the car was that I always grabbed the keys to the 1992 MR2 I had at the time, so I couldn't see paying on the TL when I hardly drove it. The leather driver's seat bottom was replaced at only 15,000 miles under warranty because the top layer was peeling off As for oil, go for a good quality oil of the viscosity in the owner's manual and change it every 5,000 with the filter. The filter is easy to get to on this vehicle. Change your transmission fluid NOW and every 30,000 miles in the future. Only use Honda's ATF-Z1 for this. Unless you have a very good reason to do so and are advised by an Acura technician, DON'T go adding cleaners or additives to ANY of you vehicle's systems (fuel, oil, coolant, tranny, p/s). Plenty of people would love to tell you you need this stuff but won't be paying for repairs when your systems go *blink* Read your owner's manual, you will see it agrees. [ February 11, 2004, 10:50 PM: Message edited by: S2000driver ]

 

[pacers1994]

Hi Again Oil Gurus! I just purchased a 2000 Acura TL with the 3.2 liter V-6. The car has 45,000 miles on it and is a joy to drive. Anyhow, the manual calls for 5w-30 with 7500 mile OCIs for normal driving. It also says that synthetics are OK, but only at the same OCI. Will a good 5w30 dino such as Havoline or Castrol GTX hold up for 7500 miles? Should I use M1 at this interval? Dino but dial it down to a 5000 mile OCI? I really want an oil that I can buy from Wally or AutoZone. I want this car to last and I will put 30,000 miles per year on it. Thanks!

 

[uconn1150]

I would recommend a Auto-RX Flush first, then pick your oil...maybe GC or Mobil1 10w-30 or even their new 0-30 Racing oil...

 

[dagmando]

The car already has been running 45K with dino and I'll assume it doesn't need a rebuild. It's a Honda, take to the Acura dealer every 5K for their $25 oil change/inspection, do the major service every 30K and enjoy the car for a very loooong time.

 

[haley10]

I'm not an expert, but I've used GTX and M1. This engine may be very easy on oil, but I personally wouldn't push GTX beyond 5K max. M1 sounds like the better idea to me, if you want to go to the manufacturer's limit.

 

[Blokey]

I have a 2000 3.2TL and absolutely love it, best car I ever owned. I’ve been running M1 0W-30 in the winter (‘cause it gets sooo cold here in GA) and I’m planning on using RL 5W-30 in the summer. No issues with the engine at all and I‘m in the habit now of doing a trans drain & fill at each oil change to hopefully stave off any trans problems; heck a d&f only requires 3 qts ATF-Z1! The car is definitely built for highway cruising; 4th and 5th gears are both overdrives, the engine spins at about 1800 rpm @ 60 mph so it’s definitely easy on oil. Check acura-tl dot com (mods: ) for lots of info on this great car. Enjoy!!