Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

New vehicle break-in?

34K views 206 replies 38 participants last post by  EFICTION 
#1 ·
Things appear to be quite different since I last bought a new vehicle. Back in the day, it was customary to drive a new vehicle about 1,000 miles or so then have the first service done. The oil and filter were changed and other items checked. It was considered a good idea to have the oil and filter changed at that 1,000 mile mark since there was thought to be the most wear in the beginning until parts were broken in.

Now, the salesman tells me there is no special break-in procedure. My first oil change is free and I am not to take the vehicle in until the oil life monitor shows that the oil is due for change. This might be several thousand miles, depending on driving conditions/habits. I am wondering if this is the proper procedure these days. If it is, OK, but I want to be sure. Salesmen and even service advisors are not always right.

I do not want to do anything to affect the warranty. Nevertheless, can there be any harm in changing oil earlier and more frequently than recommended? In the past, after first oil change, I went about 5,000 miles between changes on any vehicle I owned, except for my motorcycle, which was done about every 4,000 miles. I never had an oil related failure of any kind. My old truck had an oil life monitor system and that system usually called for an oil change at around 6,000 miles. So, I did the oil changes a bit more frequently than recommended but it was not an inconvenience to do it more often. Maybe I wasted a bit of money and oil but at least I always had clean oil.

No doubt metallurgy has improved, lubricants have improved, but I wonder about going that far before first oil change on a new engine. Any comments about this?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
1. There IS a break-in procedure. It's outlined in the full Owner's Manual. Basically, don't floor it. accelerate suddenly, or tow for the first 600 miles. Don't brake hard for the first 200 miles.

2. Honda advises dealers not to change the oil until the Maintenance Minder prompts for an oil change. For the average driver, this occurs at approximately every 8,500 miles, but will vary depending on how the vehicle is driven.

3. Changing the oil prematurely may extend the time it takes for the engine to reach its peak efficiency and lowest amount of oil consumption.

You won't damage the vehicle by changing the oil early. The only damage is to your pocketbook and the environment.

There are dozens of threads on here and every other forum oversaturated with opinions and experiences about oil change intervals and the type of oil to use. Ridgeline owners on this very forum have exceeded 300,000 miles by changing the oil only when prompted by the Maintenance Minder and using inexpensive, bulk oil from dealerships. Oil analyses of owners' oil have confirmed that Honda's Maintenance Minder is more than adequate.
 
#21 ·
zroger73, I have read many of your posts concerning this issue and found you very knowledgable. My question is this. When I purchased my ridgeline I was not familiar with the MM. I have had a couple of oil changed at the dealer and they did not bother to tell me to just follow the MM and changed the oil. My understanding is having done this it has messed up the MM for future maintenance references and cannot be adjusted to where it will be current. Reading some of your previous posts am I correct that the following should be done at these approximate mileages if one has messed up the MM. Differential fluid at 15000 mile and again at 45000 mile. Transfer case and transmission around 45000 miles. Sorry if this is not exactly fo;;owing ths thread, but may be of help to others like myself.
 
#7 ·
Honda doesn't use "break-in" oil - they use the same Honda-branded oil that is sold in quarts at dealers except it comes from a tank instead of a plastic jug.

The factory fill will have a high moly content, but that doesn't come from the oil. Instead, it is a leftover component from the assembly lube that is used to protect the moving parts before the engine is filled with oil and started for the very first time after which the moly has no further function.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Junopapa57
#4 ·
Thanks for your post, zroger 73. I saw nothing about break-in in the owner's "guide" but I just found that "manual" on line. The manual is much better than the abbreviated guide.

I have always taken it easy on a new vehicle. I guess some things such as avoiding sudden acceleration, hard braking, etc. never change.

I will wait for the oil monitor to tell me to change oil for the first time. Of course, I will check oil level regularly to be aware of consumption.
 
#6 ·
Bill, I am going back about 30 years or more when it was common to have "break-in" oil in a new engine. I remember an old Datsun pickup that had to be serviced at the 1,000 mile mark. I think my Ranger was the same. Since I have not had to buy a new vehicle for a long time, I was not sure if this break-in procedure was still in existence or had been changed.
 
#12 ·
I’m not even going to wade into the oil discussion. I did swap mine out for the reasons you stated, at 1100 miles. But that’s about all I want to speak about it since I don’t want to get into a 2 page quote fest.

I will comment on break in. As zroger said, don’t floor it. For the first 1000 miles don’t floor it, and never let the RPM’s sit at the same place. That means constant (mild) acceleration, or deceleration, just vary the RPM’s constantly. You can leave it at the same RPM’s for 5 seconds or something, it just means to remember to vary them some, and don’t use the cruise control.

After a few hundred miles of taking it easy on the brakes.....I would find a safe place to do some panic stops to finish bedding in the rotors. 50 or 60 mph, then full stop, full pressure. I feel like it’s part of the bed in process but more importantly it’s training the trainer, you the driver, on what the full power of braking force can do for you if you have a real life panic stop. I do this once a month just for practice with all these people on the road that wanna surf their phone while they drive.

These are my opinions, and not the opinions of Honda Motor Company. They are my opinions only and I do not wish to engage in a 3 page debate about them. :)
 
#17 ·
I'm going to stir the pot here. Has anyone read about "Motoman's" recommended break-in procedure?
In some respects it makes a lot of sense. In others, it flies right in the face of reason. I am not suggesting that you try this - I am just putting it out there for conversation's sake. Rather than posting a link directly to his page, I am linking to a quote with follow-up discussion.

 
#18 ·
It’s been debated for many, many years. You won’t get a concrete answer one way or another. I am friends with a number of mechanics, an ex AMA tuner/crew chief. I’ve asked them all about this and each one said that method is fine for a race engine, and that would be a preferred method, but not on their private car for daily use.
 
#23 ·
I have changed my oil twice,once a year and had 40% left on the MM.The manual states when the MM comes on or once a year.I am driving the truck about 6K miles a year.
Is it ok to drive it past a year without changing the oil?It may take 16 months before the MM signals a oil change.
 
#27 ·
I was always of the opinion to baby it and change the oil early with a new engine. Now Honda says to leave the oil in there for a year (I'm a low mileage driver). I really don't think it matters though. I remember in 1986 when my sister got a Prelude Si, her boyfriend (now husband) redlined it every gear and that engine was perfect when they got rid of it with 160k. Those were the days when Honda built some high quality stuff. That's the only car I ever drove that felt like it was wired to your inputs. Instant response, tight steering smooth and great brake feel. It didn't have a lot of pull though.
 
#28 ·
My guess is that Honda wants you to leave that dirty oil in the engine longer so that it can help scrub in the components... sort of a controlled "engine-wearing" process that will help to break-in the engine quicker (remember years ago when you were told not to use synthetic oil during break-in because it wasn't 'dirty' enough?). It could also have to do with keeping the moly from the first oil-washing of the components to ensure proper and consistent break-in. Change the oil early and you lose the moly.
 
#37 ·
Sounds like this could be an issue for those who drive so little they just do annual oil changes (per the OM). I'm not aware of any instructions to NOT reset the MM when doing annual oil changes. Interesting...
 
#38 ·
That's exactly a potential conundrum! :)

Based on my experience and others I've seen on here, the average driver will be prompted for an oil change about every 8,000 miles.

Assuming someone who drives less than 8,000 miles per year tends to make short trips which will accelerate the decrease of calculated oil life, the MM should prompt for oil changes sooner - perhaps in the 5-6,000 mile range.

If a person drives less than 5-6,000 miles per year, they may no longer own the vehicle by the time other maintenance items become too neglected. For example, it may take nine years before the transmission fluid needs changed.

We also have to consider how many of those who drive such a short distance in a year actually change their oil every year as instructed. Unless someone else tells them, they might not know to do that. Eventually, the MM will prompt for an oil change.

Another factor is how the vehicle is driven during that year - a 100-mile round trip each weekend results in much less wear and oil deterioration than a 5-mile round trip to work every day. Towing an RV 2,500 miles twice a year is yet another potential scenario.

The footnote regarding oil changes reads, "If the message Maintenance Due Now does not appear more than 12 months after the display is reset, change the engine oil every year." It does not read, "...change the engine oil every year and reset the display." This could suggest that Honda expects the oil to be changed, but without resetting the MM even though it seems to be in conflict with the notice that says, "Failure to reset the engine oil life after a maintenance service results in the system showing incorrect maintenance intervals, which can lead to serious mechanical problems."
 
  • Like
Reactions: speedlever
#39 · (Edited)
'Tis a pity that Honda apparently doesn't incorporate both miles and time (whichever comes first) in it's MM algorithm.

All the more since Honda seems loath to provide a simple comprehensive standard / severe duty maintenance schedule table in the Owner's Guide / Manual.

Hate to mention Other-Than-Honda but my lowly '14 Ford Escape did just that. Yeah, probably required addition of a $0.50 a non-volatile clock-chip (maybe with a capacitor?) to accommodate that consideration. However they did it the MM covered both aspects of maintenance 'triggers' and wasn't 'lost' when the vehicle battery was disconnected.

We also got that comprehensive olde-skoole maintenance table in the Ford Owner's Manual.

Love my RL but there's always room for improvement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DOB
#40 · (Edited)
Having a 2WD and drive 6k miles a year and have 40% on the monitor i do my own oil changes and tire rotations and fluid changes,I will change my tranny fluid at 45k miles and the coolant at 50k miles and the timing belt at 100k miles,plugs at 60k miles.I in no way will change the oil and not reset the oil monitor.Honda dropped the ball on the MM.It should have a old school schedule for the owners who drive fewer miles.
I have worked on autos for 48 years and this Honda is no different the any auto when it comes keeping it running for many years.(y)
 
#52 ·
This is why I think the maintenance minder is lame and a waste of time to me. I drive 6k-7.5k per year as it's not my daily driver. It's used mostly on weekends. The MM does not cover all drivers so it's essentially useless to me. Time as in years will likely dictate when I changed fluids. I hit 5 years the transmission and diff fluid is getting changed I don't care what the mileage is. Same for the brake fluid. And if my lab reports indicate I'm good at 18 months on my oil quality I'll change the damn oil once every 2 years.
 
#41 ·
I'll go ahead and display my ignorance and ask....why is time a factor? It doesn't "go bad" on the shelf like milk or other perishable substance, right? Didn't the dinosaurs who gave their lives to make oil do so tens of millions of years ago?

Before someone scolds me, I'm not saying time isn't a factor; just asking why.

TIA
 
#42 ·
Excellent question.

Unlike brake fluid, engine oil is not hygroscopic so it doesn't "suck up" moisture from the atmosphere. And, it's true that engine oil doesn't spoil, per se, at least not before the vehicle rusts away.

Annual oil change recommendations appear to be based on the premise that low-mileage vehicles are driven for periods of time too short to evaporate any fuel or moisture that may have made its way into the crankcase.

As long as you drive the vehicle long enough to get it good and hot on occasion, I don't see any harm in letting the oil go longer than a year, but the manufacturer must issue a boilerplate recommendation based on the worst-case scenario. Otherwise, you'd end up with pages of different scenarios.

Some of GM's vehicles do include time as a factor in calculating engine oil life. If you don't start the engine in a Corvette or Colorado, for example, the oil life monitor will decrease from 100% to 0% over a year.
 
#46 ·
What other assumption can there be?

The MM does not prompt for sub codes 1-6 unless the oil life is allowed to reach 15%.

If you keep resetting the oil life to 100% before it reaches 15%, you'll never see the sub codes.

If you never see the sub codes and since Honda doesn't publish a maintenance schedule, you'll never know what needs to be done.

Therefore, if you drove 2,000 miles per year, changed your own oil every year, and reset the MM each time, you'll never be prompted for any non-engine oil service. Eventually, the cabin and engine air filters would clog, the transmission, transfer case, and differential would fail, the timing belt would break, the tires would wear unevenly, the water pump would leak, the cooling system would corrode - all because you kept resetting the MM and weren't aware of when to perform those other services.
 
#49 ·
I think you may be assuming too much, but that just my opinion. I contacted corp on three separate occasions all with the same scenario...and they all told me the same thing- reset your engine oil life display after changing your own oil (given its been 12 months, you only have ~3000 miles and there are no codes showing).
 
#50 ·
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a ?.

:)

I have a challenge for you... Can you find me one report of a Honda owner who was prompted by the Maintenance Minder to perform service without allowing the oil life to reach 15%?
 
#51 ·
Ive been following the conversations on the MM since I bought my 2019 RL. I've owned a fleet of Honda's over the years, but I'm one of those guys that keep them forever! My last purchase was in 2006 when they still printed a maintenance schedule. I get what they are doing...having spent many years in the petroleum industry. They use the same sort of algorithms for equipment maintenance. But its still hard to change what we are used to...
With that said... Continue with the discussion. We are ALL learning allot through this type of dialog...
(I cant say for sure what my plan is...i still have time, but these discussions help...)
:)
 
#55 ·
I emailed a friend of mine who has been the service manager of a Honda dealer for many years and this was his reply...

Hey Roger!

You would reset it. When you go to reset it early, it should give you the code that it would call for on upcoming alert. You would need to do the maint listed at the time of reset. I am on vacation until Monday so I can’t go test that theory on a Ridgeline but you can try. Let me know if this doesn’t help and I will look into it Monday.

Thanks, Cory H*****
Based on the information we have so far, we can conclude that the Maintenance Minder will not prompt for maintenance on its own if you keep resetting it early, but it will display all upcoming maintenance items at the time of reset. So, pay attention to the codes that appear during the annual reset and perform those additional services.
 
#57 ·
Based on the information we have so far, we can conclude that the Maintenance Minder will not prompt for maintenance on its own if you keep resetting it early, but it will display all upcoming maintenance items at the time of reset. So, pay attention to the codes that appear during the annual reset and perform those additional services.
So a year has gone by and, as Honda recommends, you've changed the oil before the MM prompted you. You reset the oil life display and made note of the upcoming maintenance items which you then proceed to perform. But once you perform these additional services, you won't be able to reset the codes for them because the MM did not actually prompt for them yet. You have two choices: pay a dealer to do the work and reset the individual codes with his tool, or do the work yourself and only pay a dealer to reset the codes. They got you one way or another.
 
#63 ·
To the "break-in procedures???" question, we recently bought a 2019 Passport which I have yet to drive, and one needs to wade-thru the manual all-the-way to Page 452 before there is any discussion of actually how to start and drive the vehicle!?!?!?!!!! And nothing at all about break-in period or treatment.

I'm pretty sure it would be easier to learn to fly a Boeing 787 than to take-on a modern automobile!?
 
#71 ·
I think Honda should clarify better their break-in maintenance advice for new vehicles that will be driven more sparingly—or could be sold as new after being stored for a year—.

In my case my Accord 2017 only just now turned 5,000 miles. But it was built well over two years ago, so I might still have not gotten a service warning even now, if I hadn’t already done the oil change (and reset it).

Unfortunately, I changed the oil at 3,500 miles already, since I was concerned it was almost 2 years old. Only then did I read about this issue of relying strictly on the Maintenance Minder. On the other hand, while the car was built about July 2017, it was 10 months before I bought it and started to drive it.

Once I read about this issue of not changing the oil too soon, I did quickly shove some moly additive in the engine, hoping this might help (at least I doubt this could do any harm). It’s too late to do anything now, but from some of the advice here, it sounds like this won’t be too harmful to the life of the engine.
 
#72 ·
I wouldn’t worry about moly. The biggest thing it’s gonna do is the first few hundred miles the motor is running.

Like you I bought my truck after it sat on the lot for almost a year. After 1100 miles it was time to toss the oil and the metallic particles in it.

This is also why the MM won’t work right for every owner. Too many assumptions.
 
#73 · (Edited)
We had the first oil change done at 5,000 miles per dealer recommendation, (we received a lifetime oil change plan with purchase), now, for the upcoming second oil change if we allow the oil monitor to drop down to 15%, should all of the other maintenance recommendations show as intended?

(I need to agree with others that it would be reassuring if we had an actual document of service requirements to refer to.)

Bill
 
#74 · (Edited)
We had the first oil change done at 5,000 miles per dealer recommendation, (we received a lifetime oil change plan with purchase), now, for the upcoming second oil change if we allow the oil monitor to drop down to 15%, will all of the other maintenance recommendations show as intended?

Bill
In this case, yes. The first set of codes that always appears is A1 (oil change only and tire rotation) which occurs around 8,000 miles on average. The second set of codes that usually appears is B16 (oil and filter change, tire rotation, and differential fluid change) at the next 8,000 miles.

If the dealer reset the Maintenance Minder using the vehicle while codes A and 1 were pending, then the system was told that the oil was changed and the tires were rotated at 5,000 miles and will base its next set of codes on that information. What the dealer should have done (and may have done) is either: 1) Reset only code A using the HDS or 2) Rotate the tires at the same time.

Getting tire rotations (code 1) out of sync is is relatively minor. Getting differential or transmission fluid changes out of sync with the actual needs of the vehicle is another. If you or anyone else keeps resetting the Maintenance Minder early at every oil change without performing the other services at the same time that are pending, they'll be lost forever which can result in a failure to perform the correct maintenance.

If it is realized or suspected that a required maintenance item was not done, each maintenance item should be performed and the HDS should be used to reset the individual maintenance codes so that the Maintenance Minder can work properly as designed.
 
#75 ·
Thanks, now that brings us to another question where tire rotation is a perfect example. We will not be having our dealer rotating out tires, but rather Discount Tire doing this service because they do it for free. How will this affect the Maintenance Minder?

(As I am reminding myself that there are no preventative maintenance items that require absolute time/mileage compliance.)

Bill
 
#76 ·
There's no harm in rotating the tires more frequently than indicated by the MM, but technically an HDS should be used to reset only MM code 1 (tire rotation) so that it stays in sync with what is done. You can't reset code 1 yourself (on the Ridgeline, anyway, but you can on some other Honda models) without also resetting all the other pending codes.
 
#80 ·
:) yep...i get it.
But the only thing they will ever blame me for is OVER maintaining my vehicles.
5k oil/filter-tire rotations, 30k tranny drain-n-fills, on all my Hondas...
For what we pay for these vehicles, and since I keep vehicles a long time, I'll waste a little $ to take better care of them. Im more worried about whats going on inside at 110k, than at 55k...Im sure if i didnt nothing to the tranny, it will last at least the 60k warranty. Im more worried about after the warranty runs out... ya know.

If i traded every three years..I'd take everything to the limit and follow the MM's, and let the next guy deal with it. haha
 
#81 ·
If i traded every three years..I'd take everything to the limit and follow the MM's, and let the next guy deal with it. haha
If I've told this story before, please forgive me.

The captain on my shift used to trade his vehicles every other year. He would purchase the lowest trim level and literally only put gasoline into the vehicle. No oil change, no tire rotation or no tire purchase. His rationale was "why maintain the vehicle for the next owner". Kind of made a certain capitalist logic in my mind.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top