15% Oil Life

[pdc02]

I have a 2009 Honda CRV and the other day I noticed that the 15% Oil Life reminder light came on (this is the first time I've seen it) as well as the maintenance (wrench) reminder. So far my car has gone a little over 8300 miles and I had my first oil change about 5300 miles. My first oil change was done by my brother and I didn't do it because of any reminders from the car (so nothing was reset), I just did it because you're supposed to do it every 5000 miles.

I've read around and does this mean that I just need an oil change? It took 3000 more miles for the oil life life reminder to come on, so I'm wondering what caused it to come on so fast only 3000 miles after the first oil change (the oil does meat the standards stated by the drivers manual)? Also, is it possible to reset the oil life light ourselves and will this oil change get rid of the maintenance light as well?


Sorry for all the questions, thanks for your reply, greatly appreciated!!

[cdbma]

Based on your question, it appears that you did not reset your MM to 100% after the first oil change. The procedure is in the manual. If you find the manual confusing, search this forum for extensive discussion on the topic.

If I were in your situation, I'd reset now (otherwise, you'll get nag warnings as the percent approaches zero) and change the oil based on a mileage target (perhaps another 4-5k miles). Reset the MM again at the next oil change and you'll be back in sync.

[harold]

You should not have change the oil at 5000 miles. Your M/M tells you when to service your V so why change when its not called for. Go down to 5% or less before caring out the service require and you will save allot of money on unnecessary changes! I don't think Honda wants you to over due the oil and service, so why not follow there recommendation and put money in the bank. The day of 3 and 5 thou. oil changes are history with Honda products! I think the oil company's do well enough without us over doing things, so don't be old school and read all about the M/M system in your V!!! It is a great tool,[M/M] probably the best thing to happen in the auto industry in a long time? Hal

[aslguy]

My first oil change was done by my brother and I didn't do it because of any reminders from the car (so nothing was reset), I just did it because you're supposed to do it every 5000 miles.

Welcome to the Honda CR-V. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and read your manual cover to cover. It might sound corny, but you'll learn a lot about your car and likely learn to love it more than you already do.

Manufacturers usually add a special additive to the oil to aid with engine break-in, and the owners' manual tells you NOT to change your oil early.

I'm at 45k miles on mine and the Maintenance Minder has been fantastic. I've had about five maintenance appointments at the dealer, all of them reasonably priced.

Again, welcome. :-)

[Happy43]

I concur with Harold, if I hadn't been fortunate enough to stumble on this forum I would probably have changed my oil the first time at around at 1500 miles or so. I've done this in the past with new cars. However, I was educated by the members here including a posting of the Bulletin sent to the Honda dealers in which they specifically recommend waiting on that first change. I intend to follow the MM up to a point, that is, I may not wait all the way down till the wrench comes on but will extend my intervals drastically compared to what Ive been used to on previous vehicles. I feel completely confident about this, more so because I use full synthetic oil and change the filter every time.

[pdc02]

Thanks everyone for your reply. So, just to get things straight since I had multiple replies, I should just reset my Oil Life and wait until it notifies me again to change my oil? How many miles do you guys normally drive until you think it's time for a change?

I wasn't aware that people are holding off on the oil changes these days, I always got the impression that it's best to it at least every 5000. Because, I when I didn't my first oil change I could see the oil and how it resembled tar when it came out of my car so from then on I thought I gotta be on top of it.

[aslguy]

How many miles do you guys normally drive until you think it's time for a change?

Again, read your owner's manual. The Maintenance Minder monitors your driving habits and will tell you when you need an oil change. Typically it's about every 10k miles or so for normal conditions, more frequent if you do a lot of stop-and-go driving or short trips.

[harold]

pdc02- Probably a good Idea to service and start over! The oil change intervals very. It depends on your style of driving , type of driving ie city versus long distance and so on. The PC keeps track of everything for you. I normally get about 10,000 thousand miles with my Hybrid. The person that sold you your V should have filled you in on the features of this auto. It has allot of them! Hal

[Happy43]

Thanks everyone for your reply. So, just to get things straight since I had multiple replies, I should just reset my Oil Life and wait until it notifies me again to change my oil? How many miles do you guys normally drive until you think it's time for a change?

I wasn't aware that people are holding off on the oil changes these days, I always got the impression that it's best to it at least every 5000. Because, I when I didn't my first oil change I could see the oil and how it resembled tar when it came out of my car so from then on I thought I gotta be on top of it.

I changed mine the first time at 8500 or so and 30% on the MM because I was going on a long trip. It still didn't look bad on the stick, I can't imagine yours looking like tar. It always looks dark draining out of the pan. If you follow the tutorial on here re: resetting the MM it's a cinch. Good luck!

[pdc02]

I realized I kinda over exaggerated with the tar thing, but it just looked pretty bad. Anyways, it sounds like a lot miles to be putting on your car before you guys do your oil change. I was told before that the manual only tells you to follow them because by that time all the gunk has built up in your car and it forces you to have to put in extra money to maintain and more profit for Honda. Is that true?