Fit Maint Minder: 70% oil life at 5k miles?

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Pajamarama

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Our 09 Honda Fit last had its oil changed almost 5000 miles ago. It was done at the Honda dealer and they used the spec'd 5w-20. I assume it was synthetic but I do not know for sure.

I noticed that the Oil Life indicator on the Maintenance Minder says that there is still 70% oil life remaining. This seems awfully high. Does anyone know how Honda's car computers determine the remaining oil life? Would you advise I change it before it gets to the recommended 20% life remaining.
 
Look up your oil change receipt, if it costs you less than $40 then it is dino oil, if the cost is more than $40 then it is syn oil. If it is dino then I would change the oil at no more than 8-9k miles, if it is syn then I go with Maintenance Minder and change oil when it downs to 10-15%.
 
I would assume that your drives tend to be very long freeway trips? say, 100 miles round trip? if Honda's OLM actually calculates its Oil life, than, long distance drives at higher speeds count the OLM down slower than if you drove 200 miles in the city. the reason is, there is more engine ignition events per mile driven during city driving than freeway driving. check your owners manual regarding what oil Honda calls for. Honda may only require 5w20 conventional SN.
How many Months has it been since you had your oil changed?
 
My wife drives the car mostly. Her commute is about 50 miles round trip each day and involves about 1/3 highway driving. Her driving style is easier on the car than mine (i.e. acceleration, speed, etc.)

I checked the receipt and the oil change was $29.95 in early April.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Look up your oil change receipt, if it costs you less than $40 then it is dino oil, if the cost is more than $40 then it is syn oil. If it is dino then I would change the oil at no more than 8-9k miles, if it is syn then I go with Maintenance Minder and change oil when it downs to 10-15%.


Not true! Avg around here

17-19$ dino, 21-25$ "High Mileage" usually a syn blend concoction or a HM oil, 25$ and ^ synthetic...
 
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Honda dealers in Orange County charge $39.95 for conventional + filter and $59.95 for synthetic + filter.

Most likely conventional oil was used in OP case, I would not go more than 8-9k miles.
 
One of the most important things is to be sure the oil level is correct and the oil type required by the manufacture is used. Dealers tend to use the cheapest oil they can find.
 
Yes, the Fit I've previously serviced goes about 11k between services on 5w-20.

One of the 2012 Civics I service seems to have similar intervals, on syn-blend 0w-20.
 
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Think you should read this. A guy with a 09 Pilot that used his OLM and ended up with engine problems. Yeah, different engine. But same year Honda, so likely the same OLM programming.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2675186


Bingo! I'd ignore that OLM, settle on an OCI based on a UOA report, or some other sane interval you establish and totally ignore the OLM. The problem is everything is all fine and dandy until something goes wrong and it costs a lot to fix. The poster in the thread mentioned above learned the hard way. During the life of a vehicle another 5 or even 10 more oil changes isn't going to break the bank, or hurt the environment. But it will avert problems and save $$ on costly repairs if the OLM proves to be wrong like it was in the Pilot. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Our 09 Honda Fit last had its oil changed almost 5000 miles ago. It was done at the Honda dealer and they used the spec'd 5w-20. I assume it was synthetic but I do not know for sure.

I noticed that the Oil Life indicator on the Maintenance Minder says that there is still 70% oil life remaining. This seems awfully high. Does anyone know how Honda's car computers determine the remaining oil life? Would you advise I change it before it gets to the recommended 20% life remaining.

I see nothing wrong. It's funny how people on here have differing opinions on these monitors. You should check out the Honda Fit forums for more specific expert advice on the Fit. You'll see how many folks on there simply go by the monitor and have a relatively trouble free experience. It's not uncommon to see OCI of over 10k miles.
 
Originally Posted By: GumbyJarvis
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Look up your oil change receipt, if it costs you less than $40 then it is dino oil, if the cost is more than $40 then it is syn oil. If it is dino then I would change the oil at no more than 8-9k miles, if it is syn then I go with Maintenance Minder and change oil when it downs to 10-15%.


Not true! Avg around here

17-19$ dino, 21-25$ "High Mileage" usually a syn blend concoction or a HM oil, 25$ and ^ synthetic...

Your Honda dealers charge that? Wow, that's super cheap! Our Honda dealers charge $29.95 for dino. And the OP said he took it to a Honda dealer as well.
 
It's funny to me how people will use one of the 3 cars for which the programming in the OLM is off to then find fault with the entire concept. That's ridiculous. Some people will always look at things through a lens which fits their preconceived bias. Honda's OLM has been demonstrated to work well is all except one of its engines. Since you don't have that engine, I'd listen to the OLM rather than go on time or mileage, neither of which are going to be as representative of the oil's condition.

If you want to change it early, I'd go on a % of the OLM, say 20% or so, but it's really not necessary. Given the length of the OCI though, I'd make sure to consistently check the oil level (that's a good idea anyway).
 
On a 4 cylinder,the OLM should be fine. I had similar behavior on my TSX, but the values dropped quickly and I don't think we broke 10k on that OC.

Unless you have a rare FrankenFit with v6 vcm, don't worry.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
It's funny to me how people will use one of the 3 cars for which the programming in the OLM is off to then find fault with the entire concept. That's ridiculous. Some people will always look at things through a lens which fits their preconceived bias. Honda's OLM has been demonstrated to work well is all except one of its engines. Since you don't have that engine, I'd listen to the OLM rather than go on time or mileage, neither of which are going to be as representative of the oil's condition.

If you want to change it early, I'd go on a % of the OLM, say 20% or so, but it's really not necessary. Given the length of the OCI though, I'd make sure to consistently check the oil level (that's a good idea anyway).


Some people would rather be safe than sorry. Engine repairs cost a lot of money, how much does an extra 5-10 oil changes cost over the life of a vehicle? I bet it's a lot less than a tear down and clean up, or a rebuild of an engine. Blind faith IMO is not good, nor is dumb luck. If you plan on following the OLM at least obtain some data to back up that the oil is holding up, and you're not harming the engine.

As far as the Honda OLM working well in all of its engines except one, I'd rather not find out I was the guy who owned that one engine the OLM didn't work for. Or an owner of a GM DI engine that had to have the OLM reprogrammed because the OCI was too long. Sorry I respectfully disagree, especially when it might only cost me another $200-$300 extra {if that] over the life of the vehicle to change the oil a little sooner. Opinions vary.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Opinions vary.


Opinions certainly vary, but bringing up one model of Honda engine which is completely different than this one, or mentioning DI engines as a reason for ignoring the OLM just doesn't have any validity to it, and using that to justify that opinion makes no sense to me.

I get what you're saying about the cost of oil changes vs. the cost of engine repair, but in almost all applications where the engine is mechanically sound the OLMs have demonstrated they work well. That's certainly the case for Honda's 4-bangers. This is no longer uncharted, risky territory. If there truly is some mechanical problem causing the oil to break down more quickly than normal, it seems like the best strategy would be to fix the engine.

So, I understand part of your argument, but using the outlier engines to demonstrate this doesn't hold much water to me.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Opinions vary.


Opinions certainly vary, but bringing up one model of Honda engine which is completely different than this one, or mentioning DI engines as a reason for ignoring the OLM just doesn't have any validity to it, and using that to justify that opinion makes no sense to me.

I get what you're saying about the cost of oil changes vs. the cost of engine repair, but in almost all applications where the engine is mechanically sound the OLMs have demonstrated they work well. That's certainly the case for Honda's 4-bangers. This is no longer uncharted, risky territory. If there truly is some mechanical problem causing the oil to break down more quickly than normal, it seems like the best strategy would be to fix the engine.

So, I understand part of your argument, but using the outlier engines to demonstrate this doesn't hold much water to me.


I call it insurance. Poor engine design, or engines that are hard on oil for various reasons that can't be fixed. Engines that are sludge prone due to poor design can't be fixed either, and if its a first generation newly designed engine then what? An early OCI might help. People buying first generation engines, have no clue how they are going to perform. They'd be betting pretty heavy on the OLM wouldn't they? Do you think the automakers truly test newly designed engines enough to know the quirks and pitfalls? Honda didn't in the case of the Pilot I referenced, as did many other auto makers over the years. In the end its the consumer who ends up on the short end of the stick. Sorry another $200-$300 over the life of the vehicle is cheap insurance for me.
 
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