What oil should I use? 2003 Honda Accord

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Hello all! I'm new to the forum and am interested in learning more about what oil I should use in my vehicle. I took a look at the list of helpful information so I'll try to fill in as much as I can here.

-I have a 2003 Honda Accord Coupe w/ 4 cyl 2.4l engine
-I live in the Tampa area of Florida
-Most of the time I'm not too hard on the car since I plan on having it for a while, but occasionally I do like to give it a good run with quick accelerating and driving it hard.
-I work and go to school fairly close to home so a majority of my trips are short. Once in a while I do take it on long trips
-The only real issue I know about right now with my car is some issue with the clutch. A friend told me the master and/or slave cylinder may need some work.

As far as synthetic vs conventional, I myself don't have a preference, even though I've heard on many occasions to go synthetic. My mechanic swears up and down by full synthetic and tells me I should go full synthetic in my vehicle.
On my last oil change I put a synthetic blend, but I don't recall the brand.

Its almost time for another oil change and I have come to the boards of BITOG to find out what would be the best oil to put in my vehicle. I don't mind ordering or going to a store to buy my oil and I will change it as often as it needs. My main concern is to keep my car running well for as long as I possibly can since I will be doing a good bit of custom work on it.
 
I'd personally go Mobil Super 5000 5W-20 and call it a day. These engines aren't known for being terribly tough on motor oil. I would change the filter every time rather than every other change.
 
I would use PP either 5W20 or with your climate 5W30,should be good for 5000 miles in your cycle, 10,000 miles if fewer short trips. PU would also be a great oil for this engine.
 
PP , Mobil super 500 , QSUD .
dont bother taking it out less than 6k/1yr interval.

any of these weights is good
0w-30 , 0w-20 , 5w-20 , 5w-30.
the W is winter, unless you live somewhere really cold it doesnt matter that much , lower number helps engine start easier.

Honda has speced all their cars to Xw-20 now because lower viscosity means more efficient engines. dont hesitate to use it!

I have 2000 accord , realistically anything half decent is good to go for these cars. Running longer interval simply makes sense.

You can also put mobil1 exteneded performance and go 10k with p1 filter for total of 31 something out of door. Walmart sells these for 27 ish, and p1 are available on amazon for 6 dollars.


I would just not exceed the 1year no matter how much you drive.


Happy oil changing, your car will loves you for it.
 
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The benefits of a high VI oil in 0w20 will work best for you with that type of driving.
You will have much improved startup protection and maximized MPG for the short tripping.
TGMO 0w20 or MAZDA with moly 0w20 would be your best bet in that regard.
I use both and cannot believe the difference they have made in the car.
Enjoy...
 
This is a K24.
It isn't picky about oil.
If you want to give it a treat, PP or M1 in 0W-20 would be a good choice, but given the moderate climate in which you live, probably any twenty or thirty grade oil would work well.
Does this year have an IOLM, or just the mileage based MM?
If this car has the same IOLM MM my '12 has, then you can trust it to guide you on change intervals.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
This is a K24.
It isn't picky about oil.
If you want to give it a treat, PP or M1 in 0W-20 would be a good choice, but given the moderate climate in which you live, probably any twenty or thirty grade oil would work well.
Does this year have an IOLM, or just the mileage based MM?
If this car has the same IOLM MM my '12 has, then you can trust it to guide you on change intervals.


I agree to follow the oil life monitor, don't overthink this either. As new members we tend to want to run right out and buy the most expensive oil and change it out at 2k miles. Use major brands and you absolutely can't go wrong. Remember the OLM is calibrated for conventional oil. Go for the cheapest name brand you can find with sales etc. QSUD is a very good oil for a great price. 5w20 or 0w20 would work great. Read the Oil 101 article on the homepage by AEHaas. Knowledge is power. WELCOME!!
 
Originally Posted By: chubbs1
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
This is a K24.
It isn't picky about oil.
If you want to give it a treat, PP or M1 in 0W-20 would be a good choice, but given the moderate climate in which you live, probably any twenty or thirty grade oil would work well.
Does this year have an IOLM, or just the mileage based MM?
If this car has the same IOLM MM my '12 has, then you can trust it to guide you on change intervals.


I agree to follow the oil life monitor, don't overthink this either. As new members we tend to want to run right out and buy the most expensive oil and change it out at 2k miles. Use major brands and you absolutely can't go wrong. Remember the OLM is calibrated for conventional oil. Go for the cheapest name brand you can find with sales etc. QSUD is a very good oil for a great price. 5w20 or 0w20 would work great. Read the Oil 101 article on the homepage by AEHaas. Knowledge is power. WELCOME!!

A 2003 wouldn't have an OLM. That is the era of 10K/5K oil changes on 5W-20 though.
 
Welcome to BITOG! I have a 2006 Honda Accord with the K24. I have ran Castrol Edge w/ Titanium 5w20, Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 and 0w20, Pennzoil Ultra 5w20 and Toyota 0w20...So far I like the TGMO (Toyota) 0w20 best, it is the quietest running oil so far, expecially on cold start up. Seems like the K24 runs well on anything though. But since you are doing short trips I would recommend TGMO 0w20, PP 0w20, or M1 0w20. All are great choices for your car! Oh, and by the way, there is no need for a Xw30 weight oil, 0w20 is the recommended oil for your engine, and it spec'd 5w20 from the factory.
 
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Thank you all for all of your helpful knowledge! I will most likely go with PP 5W20 or 0W20 if they have it. What about for a nice filter? Or does the filter not matter as much as long as you get a decent one?
 
I have the K24 engine in my 05 CRV and i always use PP 5W20 with a Purolator PureOne filter. Inexpensive filter and good quality.
 
Nice car. The '03-'07 Coupe 4-cyl is exactly what I want for my next car, if I can actually find one in good shape. All of the ones I've looked at are pretty beat up. Sorry, I guess that wasn't much help to your original question...
smile.gif
 
I have an 03 Accord EX-L 5 spd that is a great car. Like yours, the clutch is a little wonky at times.....feels low and it creaks in warm weather.

I've used all sorts of oil since I've had it (about a year and about 138K on it) and right now it is running Maxlife 5w20. The car definitely sounds like a diesel when you first start it especially when cold. It drinks maybe a quart every 3 to 4 thousand miles....It could be a longer interval, I'll have to pay closer attention.

For the next change I will try the TGMO and see how it runs with that
 
I'd consider Mobil 1 5w-20 extended protection with a Fram Ultra or Mobil 1 filter. This oil is very quiet in our '07 Accord V6. You only need to change it annually/ 15K miles (Mobil guarantee). If you are an average driver (12-15K/yr) this is a great low cost per mile, full-synthetic option. Should be < $40 out the door w filter @ Wal-mart, plus labor.
 
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What about transmission fluid? Is everyone's knowledge as vast with this topic? I want to flush my transmission and put some nice fluid in there also. I have the 5-speed trans in that car.
 
Originally Posted By: Grkman00
What about transmission fluid? Is everyone's knowledge as vast with this topic? I want to flush my transmission and put some nice fluid in there also. I have the 5-speed trans in that car.


Go with the Honda fluid for the manual transmission.

I would put Mobil 1 5W-20 and a Fram Ultra filter.
 
Any name brand 5W20 will do the job well beyond the time when you are absolutely sick of the car and want to get rid of it....dino or synthetic. Worry about the other stuff that keeps it running properly, not the oil. Change it along with the filter at reasonable intervals, like 5K miles. No worries. The 2.4l can burn some oil as it gets up in miles so check the dipstick regularly.
 
I have a 2004 Accord with the 5-speed and I changed the tranny oil at something like 30k. The oil came out looking brand new. So the manual transmissions on these Hondas seem to be pretty easy on the oil as well. I used the Honda fluid and it seems to be of good quality. Feels super slippery to the touch and kinda green in color. Works well in my box.

Compare that to my Ford Ranger manual trans... that fluid comes out black every time I change it and Ford specs auto trans fluid in this manual transmission. Sure doesn't shift as nice as my Honda!
 
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