I bought my Civic 2008 in August 2008, and just yesterday I drove it past the 5,000 miles mark. Today I took the car into Hardin Honda for an oil change1, because it has traditionally been recommended by the dealer to get an oil change every 5k miles. To my surprise, John Spears, the service technician told me I didn’t need an oil change! He told me the oil life indicator in my car only shows 40%. He estimated that’s about another 2,000 more miles to go. According to him, there’s an on-board computer that calculates oil life requirement based on my driving habits, such as velocity, acceleration, idle time, etc.
He also told me the service requirements should also be based on-board computer indicator. I don’t have to follow the clockwork service schedule (10k, 30k, etc.) In fact, he said to ignore the mileage altogether. Also, he did tell me there’s a possibility the computer might tell me to bring it for a service sooner. It just means my next service will not happen for a while.
It’s the first time I’ve ever come across an honest service guy who told me not to waste my money on frequent maintenance services, and oil changes. I should not be changing oil too frequently, anyway. That’s good to know. No more clockwork maintenance schedule for me. It just reassuring car maintenance doesn’t have to be a costly commitment.
- I’ll need 4 quarts of 5W-20 oil. [↩]
Building IT
Jot It Down
Hey Rudy,
Honda amazes me. I hadn’t heard about the computer monitoring the oil though. That is incredible.
My wife’s 1994 Honda Civic still runs like a charm, which is why we keep it as a second vehicle. To be honest though, we did need to get it repainted a few years ago because the paint flaked. I think that happened to other brands too, but it was a sore spot with me.
As to the honest mechanic, they are uncommon I think. But that is why we go to my “tire guy”, because the dealership told me I needed new brakes but I went to him and he said I still had 30% of the brake life left. He’s had my business ever since.
~ Steve, aka “trade show displays”
PS. I hope they get the fire out soon.
Hey Steve,
It’s always nice to have a “guy” to go to for a mechanic, handyman, etc. So difficult to find someone I can trust these days.
A billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.