Why Does Honda Frown on Synthetic Oil for my Civic

[Grinche]

I have just purchased a Honda Civic Si an 06 with 20K in miles. I asked the dealer about changing over to synthetic as I have run Mobil One on all of my Audis with good results. The dealer stated that Honda does not recommend synthetic il for this engine, somehting to do with the v-tec.

Can you fine folks give me the straight skinny on this. I would like to make the change if it has merit.

What is the story??

 

[oilboy123]

It's called his opinion. They want to sell you a car sooner the next time.

Also you will spend more money at the Service Department. It's a win win situation for them at least.

By the way any car Dealer Service Department can say the manufacturer does not recommend synthetic.

 

[oilboy123]

I just noticed first post! Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Quest]

The story is, your dealership provides you with biased information.

I would go to another Honda dealership if I were you, provided that you found a good, honest one.

My 2c's worth.

Q.

 

[TimVipond]

Call Honda and ask them what the factory fill was for your car.
Call your dealer and ask if they sell synthetic oil. Maybe he doesn't and that is why he doesn't recommend it.

From the Amsoil site:

2006 HONDA CIVIC 2.0L 4-cyl Engine Code K20Z3

Engine Oil
Grade 1......API*
Series 2000 Synthetic 0W-30 Motor Oil
SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil
SAE 5W-30 XL Synthetic Motor Oil
All Temps......5W-30

We switched to Amsoil 5W30 with the EaO13 oil filter in my son's 2006 Si at the first oil change when the OLM zeroed out at 6,000 miles. I'm not sure he has noticed any difference in the performance of his car. I think he has 10,000 total miles now. We plan to change his oil and filter only once a year, up to 15,000 miles as his driving is considered severe service with lots of short trips to school, church and girlfriend.

If you notice poor shifting in your car like my son did in his, change out the MTF to:

Transmission,.....GLS[1]
AMSOIL Synthetic Synchromesh Transmission Fluid
1. Honda MT fluid, P/N 08798-9016

He (and the Honda mechanic who originally thought the synchronizers were bad and need replacement)notice MUCH better shifting and the grinding into second and the bumping out of third gear was eliminated. I think we changed that out at around 6,000 miles and we plan to change it 50,000 miles or longer if the OLM doesn't come on by then.

 

[double vanos]

Go to Mobil's web site and fill out their oil application section and specify that you want the best protection and I'll bet Mobil recommends M1 in whatever range your Honda uses.

Besides that, there are so many M1 users on this site that I'll bet there are Hondas' in use right now with M1 in the crankcase.

Your dealer is full of $$$$hit.

Cheers DV

 

[BrianWC]

Yep, 0W20 Mobil1 went into my 02 CR-V (along with 5W30 when I couldn't find 20 weight) as soon as I ran out of free dealer oil changes.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Quote:

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He (and the Honda mechanic who originally thought the synchronizers were bad and need replacement)notice MUCH better shifting and the grinding into second and the bumping out of third gear was eliminated. I think we changed that out at around 6,000 miles and we plan to change it 50,000 miles or longer if the OLM doesn't come on by then.

---

If I were in your place, I would be specifically NOT trying to fix marginal synchros on a brand new car with different fluids. If they're defective and don't work properly on Honda's factory fill, get them replaced now under warranty instead of on your own dime when they finally #@$%! out anyways just after your warranty is up.

 

[Boomer01]

My 2007 CRV Manual says its fine to run syn. I think if you go to the UOA threads & browse around you may want to change your mind on using syn anyways. Pretty sure that's your dealer talking, not Honda.

 

[Pablo]

Funny. My Honda dealer sells M1.

 

[TimVipond]

Craig, many Si owners have noticed improvement in shift quality when switching from the Honda MTF to Amsoil or other quality synthetic MTF's. Plus Honda has reformulated their MTF so the problem has been lessened or gone away. So I think the problem was likely that the original formulation Honda MTF just did not perform well in the Si. The mechanic changed his mind about the synchros after driving it before and after the fluid switch. Plus we've got the documentation. Maybe right before the warranty runs out in a couple of years, we will have them checked. But for now, the less a mechanic touches the car, the more I like it.

Pablo - our Honda dealer also sells M1!

 

[buster]

I use Amsoil's MTF and have noticed no improvement in shifting at all.

 

[TeslasLightning]

My Honda dealer pushes Mobil 1. They have their brochures all over the service dept. They also sell BG MOA oil additive.

 

[TimVipond]

Buster - you have a 2006 Honda Civic Si? I brought it up to see if he had similar problems with the same car model and would like to try it.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I'm having Amsoil ATF put in my car sometime tonight or tomorrow, i'll let you know how that goes

The transmission shifts perfectly right now though, so i'm not expecting any increase in performance. As for the synthetic oil in your civic, i'd recommend that over dino in that type of engine especially. I know lots of Honda drivers that use Mobil 1, PP, etc.

 

[Mr Nice]

No need for expensive synthetic in a Honda that will last 300K miles with the cheapest dino.

 

[warchildindy]

We bought a Acura Rsx-Base in 2004 and the dealer told us that it was ok to use synthetic oil.

We have used amsoil xl7500 5w-20 and mobil-1 5w-20 with no problems.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Quote:

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No need for expensive synthetic in a Honda that will last 300K miles with the cheapest dino.

---

Why go 300k when you can go 600k?!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Hey ThirdeYe,have you ever driven an Acura NSX? Man,I bet those cars ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! I never even see those any more. They must be very rare!

 

[ThirdeYe]

Unfortunately I haven't

I haven't even seen any in person, even at the Acura dealership I go to sometimes to pick up parts. I'd love one though! Fastest car i've driven was my sister's Formula Firebird V8 w/custom header & exhaust (around 300hp) The real thing I envy about the NSX however, is the handling and also the reliability.