New Accord: First Oil Change Question ?

Hello:

Have a new Accord, 6 cyl., LX.

Was wondering about the oil change interval stated in their manual that cam
with the car:

It shows that the first one for a 6 cyl. is due, for normal driving, at
7,500 miles.

Really surprised; would have thought that the first one would be much sooner
than that.

Remember in the "old" days, they always seemed to want the first one quite
early so as to remove any grit, crud, etc. that the engine might have
initially due to the mfg. process.

Is 7,500 for the first correct ?

Any thoughts on ?

Thanks,
Bob

 

I also thought this was high, but I am told by the local service department
that there are special additives in the original oil for the initial "break
in" period, and should not be changed before then (I also have a V6 Accord).

 

Yes.
Engine assembly rooms are as clean as surgeries, not as dirty as a
blacksmiths shop.

 

I'm not sure thats what he meant. In the past, engines have not always been
precision engineered. On tanks made up until the 50s (in europe) and at
least the 70s (in russia) it wasn't unusual for a good pound or so of
shavings to be ground into the sump pans, due to roughly manufactured
engines. Its only in the last 7-8 years that precision CNc manufacturing has
made high precision mass manufacturing of engines possible. There was always
thermal expansion of the engine to worry about (unequal expansion etc) which
lead to more parts grond off. I know it was a problem even back in the mid
80's for cars, as we remmber taking the pile of shavings from the sump of a
vauxhall Cavalier (who's engine was made the same place ALL GM V6 engines
are made nowadays).

On a fianl note - surgeries are not THAT clean. Even an operating theatre is
only a class 100 clean room IIRC. an intel CPU plant for instance is about a
class 500 (and the satelite assembly suites at places like the JPL are many
magnitudes cleaner again. same with the level 4 labs at Fort Detrick or CDC.
Any place where yuo don't have to wear a full respirator, or Racal suit to
work, isn't that clean.

 

There is supposedly a break-in oil in the crankcase when you first get the
car. It needs to be there for the 7,500 miles. That was the case with my
2000 Odyssey.

But ask you dealer.

Bearman

 

Hi Bob,

You need to trust Honda and the owners manual. You're gonna hear allot of
opinions on oil changes, timing belts, and just about anything else from
people. Yes it's correct on the oil changing interval. Allot of people
(non Honda people) are gonna tell you otherwise. They're gonna tell you to
the 1st oil change should be at 600 miles or at 3000 or 3500. Then they're
gonna tell you 3000 miles between oil changes. I follow the severe driving
service interval documented in the owners manual as apposed to normal
driving interval. It's Hondas car and they wrote the service guide. It's
also Hondas warranty so they are gonna tell you what's best for the car.
The last thing Honda wants is to provide warranty service. Unless you have
a need to only have your car serviced at the Honda dealership I would find a
qualified ASE Honda/Acura service shop in your city i.e. the shop follows
Hondas service guides and uses Honda parts. Talk to the owners, get a tour
of the service bays and ask for references. There's no need to take the car
back to the Honda dealership for service unless it's warranty or recall
work. Qualified Honda shops will save you money on just about everything.
It will not void your warranty. I've had 8 Hondas dating back to 1977
everyone of them went over 150,000 miles and would've gone allot further had
I not wanted a newer Honda.

Cheers,

Rick

 

These aluminum-block, no-liner engines are just high tech. Dealer
claims they do the basic break-in before they drop the engine into the
car. Could be true, for all I know.

The new 4 cyl cars have two different schedules, normal and severe,
described in the handbook. Dealer recommended that city driving means
severe, so I should have my first oil change at *only* 5,000 miles,
instead of 10,000.

Wow. This ain't my grandfather's Honda.

J.

 

Aluminum block engines (properly designed) were harder than
steel. Lapping processes even on the 1970 Chevy Vega was so
good that after 120,000 miles, there was no ridge to ream when
removing a piston (ridge - the little part at top of block
that does not get scrapped by piston rings - and therefore had
to be cut off on those softer, faster wearing, steel block
engines).

Iron block engines were smoothed by piston rings resulting
in contaminated oil. Aluminum block engines are finished in
the factory - nothing to quickly contaminate the oil.

As for all that contamination in the bottom of a GM engine
of those days: monetary costs and not vehicle reliability
decided how much ended up inside the sump. Its not about high
tech. Its about whether the top guy even drives.

 

You should take your car to the dealer. Only they have the knowledge to
answer this question correctly.