| JC04MDX |
Hello guys. I'm fairly new to this forum - been lurking for a while. I have a '04 MDX - @ 2 months old - only @1500 miles. In the past, when I purchased a new vehicle - I always got an 'early' oil change. At @1500-2000 miles, I change the oil. Theory (although it may be an old one) - when the engine is assembled, there is an opportunity for 'crap' to get left behind. Little microscopic shreds of metal, dirt, dust, etc. Leaving that oil in the crankcase for 7500 miles is just a bad thing imo.
I called the dealer to get it done (along with a few other things - like the subwoofer rattle). They thought I was crazy - saying no one gets this done.
What do you think? |
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| eurohazard |
There really are lots of similar posts about the same topic.
My take on it is this.....wait till the dealership tells you it needs it. I actually waited 6000 miles. It was all I could stomach....just thinking about the dirty oil gave me night mares. Maybe slightly exaggerated. I was told the MDX leaves the factory with a special break-in oil additive, and that it should be left in there till 7500 miles.
I think to change it at 1500 miles is extreme. |
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| JimH |
Believe the recommendation is to not change the oil until the recommended interval . I assume the oil filter and/or drain plug magnet will gather most of the fine foreign materials.
Have faith in the folks who manufactured and put the engine together. |
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| JC04MDX |
Hmmmm - sounds like sales or mktg hype. I'll ask the dealer 'bout that one.
Yeah - the more I think about it, but more I may pass on the oil change at the 1500 mile mark.
My dealer (Marty Susman in Mt. Laurel NJ) recommends oil changes at 3750 intervals instead of 7500. Maybe it's just a money maker for them - but I believe in clean oil. The only time I went way over that was in prev owned BMWs - 8 qt oil pan, synthetic oil, and they paid for it at the recommended interval (@15k!).
This board is great - found the subwoofer 'rattle' problem through the search. It always helps when you can tell them more about the problem.
Thx - John |
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| JimH |
| Do not think there is a drain plug magnet in the oil pan---that is for the auto. trans drain plug. Thus, I would rely on the oil filter to do its job for the duration. |
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| mdxx3 |
| We have 3.6k miles and 4+ months on our new MDX. If we go by miles it will probably take us another 5 months to get to 7.5k miles. Should we wait or go to the dealer (or any oil change place) this weekend? (??) Thanks. |
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| G. COLTON |
At 1800 miles I drained all of the old oil and whatever "junk" was in the oil. Changed the filter and replaced oil with Castrol Full Synthetic oil. Been driving automobiles too many years to wait 7,500 miles for first filter and oil change, regardless of what book says. Also I wanted to get the full synthetic oil in the engine.
In the past I have run my vehicles 10,000 to 12,000 between oil changes with this Syntec Oil. Just to keep the warranty people happy I will change at 7,500 in this vehicle. |
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| RichG |
Interesting that we're hearing different things from different dealers. My service mgr said to come back at 4000 miles and they gave me a free 1st oil change. Said there was a break-in additive and I should not change it early. It was definitely sounding pretty harsh during acceleration before the change. I had them put in AMSOil (synthetic) and the difference was amazing - much smoother engine performance. I'll go with synthetic and change every 5000 mi - a compromise between 3500 recommended for regular mineral oil and 7000 some people get with synthetic.
BTW: my service people said the rear differential also has a break-in fluid which needs to come out at 7500 mi. I'm going to trust them on this... ;-) Besides, I have a foggy fog light which will need to be cleared at the same time ;-(
Best of luck!
:roadtrip: |
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| mhartwell |
Having built a number of high performance engines, each with varying degrees of metallurgical and "coating" content, I will have my first oil change at 1500 miles, and then every 3000 after that. Texas heat and all the stop-and-go driving make frequent oil changes cheap engine-life insurance for me. I'll run a high quality organic oil up to the 10K mile mark (I like Kendall) and then switch to Mobil 1 or Royal Purple synthetic. Still have to search for the magnetic drain plug, but I'm sure one is availble. Also, I'll stick with tried and true K&N for the oil filter.
I believe Honda engines have a high silicon content in the pistons and rings which makes them synthetic friendly. Those items coupled with specially coated bearings and semi-exotic metal components like valve guides that are used in high hp (245 is pretty healthy from a small V6) engines certainly extend lubricant "life" between oil changes. But I still like the 3000 mile interval for a little backup protection. Also, if I ever do have problems and the dealer is not too keen on taking responsibility, 3K oil changes make it hard for them to say I didn't take good care of the car.
I will also change the driveline oil to the proper weight Royal Purple at 15K and make sure any differential "vents" are cleaned and/or replaced. Any driveline filters (like trans) will get changed every 15K as well. We are particularly hard on our cars so this is over-the-top maintenance for most folks.
Best,
Mike H. |
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