Easiest oil change car ever!....for me.

[stevej37]

The Honda Fit was showing 20% of oil life remaining today and it's at 10,000 miles since the last change. (a little early...but today I had the time)

Pull it into the garage..slide a 4X4ft piece of cardboard and drain pan under from the front. With a 15mm wrench and a new filter...it's only a matter of about 5 minutes and the oil is drained and new filter installed. (no lifting or ramps needed)
Open the hood and pour the whole 5qt jug of Valvoline Syn in and it's done.
Most of the time, I don't even check the dipstick when done...it works out perfect.


10 minutes or less...every time.

The sad part is...it might be close to the last change...next one will come at over 250,000 miles.

[pwd72s]

What's the fun in that? I mean, aren't oil & filter changes supposed to be difficult and messy?

[stevej37]

^^^ I didn't count it as part of the time...but the transfer of oil (from the drain pan) to a disposal container is the worst part. I have a few 2.5 gal jugs I use...but it's still messy.

[stevej37]

With 20% oil life left (according to the minder), I could have prob driven it to 12,000 miles between changes.

[john70t]

yes but did you drop the oil drain pan at least once?

[stevej37]

^^^ Never with the Fit....but I have lost control of the pan with the 10qts from the 911 and dumped about a qt on the floor! Such fun to clean that up.

[Bill Douglas]

Corolla is similarly easy.

Around my place I have oil change day. All vehicles get oil changes whether they need it or not or not. If I'm going to have spilt oil on my arms and clothes I might as well do the lot.

[stevej37]

^^^ That's a good idea. Saves getting everything ready at any day of the week.

Always a good feeling after 'getting it done'
Almost feels like the car runs/drives better.

[porsche tech]

I have a drain pan similar to this that a customer left at our garage door for disposal of used oil and never came back to claim it…so I kept it. No transfer mess. Carry it to the local recycle center here and pour it straight into their big vat. No fuss no muss…spray it off with a little brake clean and wipe with a paper towel.

[stevej37]

^^^ What's the capacity? I can't quite read it on the pic.

[fastfredracing]

You are clearly missing out on the joy of having to remove 3 different splash shields with 46 fasteners of 3 different types and sizes. Then , no dipstick, so it takes you a ride around the block and 10 minutes of idle time to check the oil level.
Honda engineers are weak.

[stevej37]

^^^
I love missing out on stuff like that!

[Jrboulder]

On my old Tiguan you could just extract the oil through the dipstick tube and the filter was at the top of the engine. Once it's in the extractor you have a sealed can full of oil that can be taken to the disposal site. I don't think I spilled a drop of oil the whole time I owned that car .

Still didn't make up for having to do the water pump every 45k miles.

[aschen]

hondas have definitely been the easiest cars to work on that I have owned

my wife had an 07 accord at one point, it was the 4 cyl version but the engine bay is sized for 6 cyl upmodel as well. Hardly had to do any work on it, but when It was comically easy.

[stevej37]

^^^ Same here

My Prelude is equally easy for oil changes.

[URY914]

Remember the old days when you just let the oil run onto the ground and you kicked the dirt over it to cover the spot?

[stevej37]

I remember the old days when my 66 Chevelle had a canister that held the oil filter.
If I didn't get the gasket in there correctly....oil was a drippin.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

Do these drain pans came manufactured in metal. I have one with a screw on top to close the container. The entire product is flimsy. I would prefer a more robust material

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by aschen

hondas have definitely been the easiest cars to work on that I have owned

Is it true Honda car engines spin the other way?

[stevej37]

No...they spin the same way as the toilets.....the correct way