first oil change
 

i got a 06 civic coupe and the dealer said i should do my oil change when my oil life reaches 15%. i have like 4,000 kms and 70% oil life. should i follow the oil life % or change it by kms? i'm not sure if that oil life crap is accurate. :confused:

I would change it.

I don't know how that oil life gauge works.. but 4,000km and 70% oil life left, seems odd to me

personally i would change the oil based on the kms that you have travelled

Usually oil changes are done by accumulated kms, right? For the new Civics, that should be every 8000kms? It is for mine 02.

for the newer model cars oil changes can be done at a later time intervals. they no longer require the 5k or 8k oil changes the book recommends something around 12 or 15k.

^^^ Whoa.. Thats insane! Is that on dino oil or synthetic?

regular oil as stated in the owners manual.
when i bought my 03 accord brand new (first year of the k24) i was told not to replace oil till about 15k or whatever.
but i still went ahead and did it tho.

i heard when you break in the motor the oil has to be kept for a longer period of time or vise versa dont remember,

The 06 Civics manual states that the break in oil should be left in for as long as it takes for the maintenance minder to get down to 15%. A special break in oil is used during that period. The minder calculates the % by recording oil and engine temp, cold start ups, etc. My car had just under 7000 when it needed its first oil change. Maybe the amound and type of driving is lengthening the interval time.

So the oil they add to the engine coming off the assembly line is different/grade than the oil they use at the dealerships?

Even the 5th Gen Civics say oil change every 12K.

Says right on the stock airbox.

^ Then why do we do it so often? Every 5k or 8k.
:shrugs:

Well, most people have to cuz their oil would not last past 8K. High mileage motors tend to burn it all away before that.

I don't change my oil every 5K.. I check it, if the oil seems dirty enough then I do, otherwise anywhere after 8K or how ever many months.

My GF's CX was bought at 140K, now at 270K.. Oil changes easily every 8K-12K and still runs 100% perfect..

It depends on many factors.. Like if you kick the **** out of your car a lot, the oil will breakdown much faster.

i guess i'll wait for my first oil change.... i didn't know they have break in oil

after that i'll do it by kms

The time intervals for the new maintence minder system is mainly based on the driving conditions of the car. and it bases it on highway and city driving and you will see when it comes for the following services such as the brakes ( highway driving you do not use the brakes as often or shouldnt be as you woudl city driving this helps determine when the minder light should come on)