[pjaymac]

It's been just shy of 6,000 miles and 10 months since my last oil change, and all of the car's oil changes have been done at the Honda dealership from which I bought the car new.

Today, during an hour and a half, about 60-mile trip, I checked the remaining oil life on the MID, and it said 50 percent.

A few hours later, I made the same trip home and checked the remaining oil life, and it had dropped to 40 percent.

Forty percent is still fine, of course, but I don't think I've ever seen it drop by that much that quickly. (It had been at 50 percent for a few months.) Anyone have any thoughts on whether it's reason for concern? I've had no problems with the car mechanically, and mileage seems normal (I hand calculate it at every fill-up). Thanks in advance.

 

[ilovemyhonda88]

I would say 6000 miles at 10 months you should be due for an oil change. My MM typically comes on at 5000 miles or so. When I change it at that time it is jet black already. The CRV gets a lot of short trips. Just let the MM do the calculation for you and change it when it said so.

 

[pjaymac]

I would say 6000 miles at 10 months you should be due for an oil change. My MM typically comes on at 5000 miles or so. When I change it at that time it is jet black already. The CRV gets a lot of short trips. Just let the MM do the calculation for you and change it when it said so.

Thanks much. Actually, I think my owner's manual says the recommended interval between oil changes is 10,000 miles, but the dealership's tech has always put a 5,000-mile interval on the windshield oil-change-reminder sticker.

Maybe I will go in sooner than I had planned (which was at the 12-month mark, given that I don't plan to do much more than 1,000 miles of driving before then).

 

[Wrascal]

The MM only reports in 10% increments; if it was months dropping from 50 to 40 chances are it'll be months again before dropping to 30%. Then to 20, 10, etc.

I'm one of those that (previously) changed oil every 3K miles. Then 5K. I'm now trusting the MM and following its recommendations. YMMV.

About 4-5 years ago I traded my 11 RidgeLine, it typically ran 10-12K MM intervals. It never presented a problem.

 

[pjaymac]

The MM only reports in 10% increments; if it was months dropping from 50 to 40 chances are it'll be months again before dropping to 30%. Then to 20, 10, etc.

I'm one of those that (previously) changed oil every 3K miles. Then 5K. I'm now trusting the MM and following its recommendations. YMMV.

That's interesting, Wrascal; I don't think I had noticed that the MM reports in increments of 10 percent, but now that I think about it, I remember the last reported percentage before 50 was 60.

You're probably right, then, that it would stay at 40 percent for a while before it dropped to 30 percent and so on.

Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, with previous vehicles over the years, I generally changed the oil at around 3,000 miles, and then given what Honda's technicians were advising, I let it go to 5,000 miles. I've yet to let it go to 10,000 miles as the 2012 V's owner's manual recommends. That to me seems a bit much.

 

[ilovemyhonda88]

The CRV MM uses different measurements to calculate oil life as I was told. It is not based solely on mileage. So if you drive mostly highways, 10k may not be that bad. But if you drive short distances, stop and go traffic, many cold starts, etc... it will shorten the oil life, thus it is different for everyone.

 

[pjaymac]

Interesting. Thanks. The other question I had was, if I had in theory never checked the MID to see what the remaining oil life was, would it eventually flash a message on the dashboard (or on the MID) that my oil life had expired and that the oil needed to be changed? In cell-phone terms, is it a push notification?

The CRV MM uses different measurements to calculate oil life as I was told. It is not based solely on mileage. So if you drive mostly highways, 10k may not be that bad. But if you drive short distances, stop and go traffic, many cold starts, etc... it will shorten the oil life, thus it is different for everyone.

 

[ilovemyhonda88]

Yes it will pop up.

 

[pjaymac]

Yes it will pop up.

OK, thanks.

 

[wlong01]

It's been just shy of 6,000 miles and 10 months since my last oil change, and all of the car's oil changes have been done at the Honda dealership from which I bought the car new.

Today, during an hour and a half, about 60-mile trip, I checked the remaining oil life on the MID, and it said 50 percent.

A few hours later, I made the same trip home and checked the remaining oil life, and it had dropped to 40 percent.

Forty percent is still fine, of course, but I don't think I've ever seen it drop by that much that quickly. (It had been at 50 percent for a few months.) Anyone have any thoughts on whether it's reason for concern? I've had no problems with the car mechanically, and mileage seems normal (I hand calculate it at every fill-up). Thanks in advance.

You may of been misinterpreting what you were seeing. Since the MM doesn't show each percent remaining and doesn't drop until it hits the next increment of ten you could of reality been sitting at 43% (although it was still showing 50%) when you started your trip and the return dropped it to 40%.

And no, I don't think it's a concern.

 

[pjaymac]

Thanks, wlong01, but I also wonder if there's a difference between the maintenance minder and the MID. Are they one and the same? Does the maintenance minder display on the MID or elsewhere?

 

[golfer]

It drops in intervals of 10%. On my 2012 it usually drops 10% per 1,000 miles.

 

[pjaymac]

Thanks, golfer.

It drops in intervals of 10%. On my 2012 it usually drops 10% per 1,000 miles.