Break-in Oil Change & NAV screen protection

[norm27]

Just got my 07 CRV EXL with NAV yesterday. The manual appears to be silent on changing the oil in the break-in period or do I just change it every 300 miles?

Has anyone tried screen protectors on the NAV screen. I had many scratches on my 03 Accord.

[spdrcr5]

With newer motor oils especially synthetic you can extend your change intervals to at least 5,000 miles.

There really isn't anything called break-in oil anymore, hasn't been for many many years. With so many new cars/trucks coming with Mobil1 synthetic from the factory there isn't any need to "break in the engine". Engines today are built with such better tolerances and machined much better that you can leave the factory fill in to a normal change interval, or you can change it out whenever you want and replace it with a synthetic which I've always done. Been using Mobile 1 in my Element since the 1,000 mile mark and am about to roll 62,000 over the next couple weeks.

[Tarhead]

My 2007 EX-L manual is very clear on not changing the oil until the oil life monitor calls for it during the break-in period. This will be the first new car I've owned where I'll be following this recommendation. I will be changing the filter and topping off at the 50% mark because I'm just not comfortable with casting garbage clogging up my filter. The discussion and the factory fill oil analysis data over at: www.bobistheoilguy.com is pretty interesting. Most are speculating that the factory fill oil is nothing special but the boost in moly and other additives are probably a result of liberal use of assembly lube.

[2RedV's]

Tarhead is correct - Your manual is VERY specific on not changing the factory fill of oil until it is due. Wait and change it when the light comes on. Changing oil sooner than 5k miles is a waste of effort and money. Over at the bobistheoilguy forums, numerous people have had an oil analysis done that showed great life left in their Honda's oil even at 10k miles. Modern engines combined with modern oils do not need oil changes with near the frequency they used to.

[vettman]

Noticed on my daughter's 2007 CR-V, that the oil viscosity is 5W-20. I will switch to Mobil-1 at the first fill, but was wondering if everyone is sticking with 5W-20 or 5W-30.

[2RedV's]

Noticed on my daughter's 2007 CR-V, that the oil viscosity is 5W-20. I will switch to Mobil-1 at the first fill, but was wondering if everyone is sticking with 5W-20 or 5W-30.

5w20 is the way to go, but Mobil1 5w20 is tough to find.

BTW, don't change it out early. Wait until at least 5k miles per the manual's suggestions. The factory fill contains a high level of moly to help with break-in.

[Black Bird]

2005 CRV oil change with the filter is 4.4 quarts (4.2 quarts without the filter) but the engine holds a total of 5.6 quarts per the specifications in the owner's manual. Doing the math, after any oil change there will be 1.2 quarts of old and dirty oil left in the engine (21% of the engine's total oil).

If I follow the Honda spec of 10K to change the oil, before I change the oil at 20K there will be 1.2 quarts in the engine with a full 20K miles on it. Am I missing something here? This just seems like a lot of miles on oil even if it is full synthetic. Also if I change brands, the oil will be mixed and I thought that was generally a bad thing, the general rule being don't mix oil brands, weights, or types.

[2RedV's]

Every year, engines get better, oil gets better, and filters get better. The factory oil is not synthetic. Honda is the NUMBER ONE manufacturer of engines in the world (not just cars). If this was a Ford from 1980, I sure wouldn't do it. Mixing weights and brands is an old wives tale. It won't hurt a thing. Check out bobistheoilguy.com

I own a couple of old muscle cars. I wouldn't dream of 10k miles on them before a change (it would take years, anyway) and I rebuilt the motors with tolerances the original makers couldn't even dream about. But I have no issues with following Honda's engineers on oil changes. I do have an issue with the tranny fluid and rear diff change intervals. Those are every 30k miles for me.

[perfchris]

I believe that the February 2007 newsletter explains the reasons why the oil might appear dark but does not require changing.

[2RedV's]

Here it is. I should have posted this when I read it the other day:
This is from the August 2006 Honda ServiceNews

Factory-Fill Engine Oil Looks Dark? It’s Normal

At PDI, does the factory-fill engine oil look less
like Texas Tea and more like Oklahoma Crude?
Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with the
engine. The engine oil looks that way because of
molybdenum (that’s “moly” for short), a special
lubricant applied by the factory to critical engine
components during assembly.
When the engine is test-run, that molybdenum
mixes with the engine oil, turning it a dark
metallic color often within the first 5 minutes of
running. And just how dark that engine oil turns
seems to vary between vehicle models, engine
types, and engine assembly plants.
What’s really important to remember here is this:
Don’t change the factory-fill engine oil because it
looks dark; just make sure it’s at the right fluid
level. To ensure proper engine break-in, the
factory-fill engine oil needs to remain in the
engine until the first scheduled maintenance
interval.

There are a couple of pics in it, but I can't get them to copy over.
They showed "dark oil".

[Vaios]

Here in Cyprus the official representative of Honda change the oil at the first service on 1500 km. We have the british built CR-V, it doesn`t have an electronic reminder and the manual doesn`t say anything about the changes of the oil during break in period. It says to follow the instructions on the warranty booklet that the local company gave. And the first service is free of charge. (the second only the labour). So if they had an instruction not to change the oil , it would be in their benefit. I just asked them if they do change oil, to put Mobil 1, but they replied that they don`t have this and I should bring it myself. But they have the Honda original fully synthetic oil made in Japan and they put that one . I just payed 12CYP for the difference on the price of the oil. It seemed a little cheaper than Mobil 1. I don`t know which to prefer next time.
Here there is Mobil1 0w40.

[jbird]

I've been using screen protectors from NuSHIELD. Go to their website for more info: http://www.nushield.com/products.htm