Afternoon all
As with all the cars I've owned, I like to keep a litre or two of spare engine oil lying around, in case a top-up is needed. Haven't yet had a car that didn't need this in its first 5,000 miles or so and never usually have any trouble figuring out what sort I need.
Bit stumped with the Civic, though.
Owner's manual is absolutely no help at all - says you can put any one of about 8 different grades in it, but doesn't mention whether it should be mineral, semi-synth or fully synth.
Rang the dealer - they told me to use Castrol 10W40 fully synth. No, they can't sell me a tin of it, they keep a big ol' drum of it out the back and decant it off as needed.
Checked Castrol's site to see where this thing might be stocked - no such oil (unless it's Magnatec, with which I have had a bad experience in the past).
Can someone please enlighten me? All advice gratefully received...
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Used to put 10W40 semi synth in mine. Fully synth OTT for the standard 1.6 VTEC IMHO. Mind it used VERY little oil, and no I didn't used to hang about. Any oil that meets or exceeds the API rating in the handbook will do.
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Thanks for this. Having experienced VW TDI PD engines' thirst for VW 505 01-standard oil at £7.50 a litre in the past, I'm relieved to hear that the Honda engine doesn't use much!
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Last summer I bought an eight month old Honda Accord 2.0 from a main Honda dealer who uses Mobil oils.
As my preference is to use Mobil 1, which I change every 4,500 miles, this seemed like a very happy arrangement.
After the first drain of the factory-fitted semi-synthetic, I had them use Mobil 1. 4,500 miles later, I had Kwik-Fit do the same.
But I wasn't entirely happy. The Honda engine that had so impressed me on the test drive was starting to irritate with its rattling starts. It isn't encouraging when one of Mr. Honda's highly-regarded VTEC engines (never had one fail under warranty and all that) starts to sound like an old Massey-Fegusson so, a couple of weeks ago, at the 18,000 mile service, I complained about the noise.
'Ah, now that's because your oil is too thin,' I was told. 'Use a semi-synthetic 10/40 - that's what we recommend and it's what Honda tells us to use.
In went their preferred Mobil 10/40 and out I drove with an engine sounding like the one that had sold me the car on a test drive.
But I'm slow to trust so I made a point of checking with Swindon. Indeed, Mobil 1 isn't Honda's choice. Use a good 10/40 semi-synthetic, I was told.
There are lot of issues raised here but that, apparently, is the answer to your question.
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That'll do for me! Many thanks.
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The Accord runs fine on Shell Helix semi-synthetic oil (without a rattle ;-]). Stick with that and the engine will be fine.
Same goes for the Civic, probably.
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"I had Kwik-Fit do the same" - did you see them put it in? Why would the same viscosity oil make any difference after two changes in 9000 miles, unless something unexpected happened? Like the mech. nicking yours, and putting in el cheapo from the tank:) I doubt there is anything wrong with Mobil 1. I've used it in Honda engines with no problem, and I extended oil change intervals from 6000 to 10000 with garage agreement to honour their warranty. The less interference the better, including unnecessary oil changes!
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Yes, I did see them put it in. And use the genuine Honda filter and sump washer I supplied.
I think we're at cross-purposes regarding the noise issue. It didn't suddenly get worse,it was worse from the switch to the thinner Mobil 1, but I didn't raise the question until the next service. I had forgotten how much nicer the VTEC sounded when I originally test-drove the car, when it had the benefit of the factory fitted oil.
As for using Mobil 1, it's your choice. Personally, I'll stick to the advice from Honda's technical department and follow the (generally accepted) principle that frequent oil and filter changes are best.
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That was my old Honda engined Rover: I stick to what our local garage puts into the current Honda i-VTEC, which is also a semi-synth 10w/40 Castrol, with a 12000 change interval, as recommended by Honda!
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I came across an exercise in checking out Mobil oil longevity. You might find this link interesting: neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html re oil change intervals. Haven't got access to SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119, where it states apparently, that frequent changes increases engine wear.
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Interesting, yes. But not sufficiently so to go against the official Honda advice for my Accord, which calls for 9,000 mile oil changes given 'normal' use and 4,500 under adverse conditions.
There is a lot of doubt about the advisability of extended oil change intervals and it is regularly aired on this site. My experience and the advice of those I trust, is to stick to 4,500ish changes, which makes sense to me.
As for Mobil 1, despite having used it for years, the increased noise from my engine wasn't imagined (and was something the dealer had previously observed, aparently). They, presumably, have no axe to grind, selling Mobil anyway and, no doubt, making a greater profit on Mobil 1.
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I agree competely with earlier changes, if running under adverse conditions, as Honda advises. But not as a matter of course.
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