Hey there guys. I purchased my 2001 Max GLE from a honda dealership here in Omaha, NE about 1.5 months ago. They gave me a free oil change (no telling what kind they used) and sent me off on my way. Long story short, I've been getting fairly poor gas mileage (have posted about this in the 5th gen forums). Getting roughly a little over 200 miles on a single tank of gas. Took it back to the dealer and they said coils look fine, no misfire and can't really find a problem. The SES light has never come on.

I just have a question for those of you who have switched over to synthetic. I've been reading quite extensively in the Lubrication forum about the mileage benefits of using a synthetic, particularly the 5W-30's. In regards to the milage gains those of you have seen, have they been significantly better? My concern would be that the dealership poured in the crappiest oil possible and that is what is effecting the mileage. Thanks if you have any replies!

 

Unless they really screwed up and put 1,000W in it, it should have no bearing on mileage.

 

I won't be of much help to you , but would like to know why you don't want to get some dino oil like Castrol GTX when you already know that the dealer poured in the crappiest oil ??? It won't harm to do an oil change now even if you didn't put 3000 miles yet on the current oil.

You can then slowly do all your research on synthetic oil, meanwhile checking any improvement in mileage with Castrol.

 

That's actually a really good point and have actually considered doing it. Thanks!

 

Synthetic may have a marginal effect on gas economy, and one that most people won't be able to tell. If you're getting 200 miles/tank and this is while driving combined city/highway and you're not ragging on the engine and everything else is normal I can assure you that bad oil is not the cause unless, as mentioned above, they put glue in there. In real terms the money saved on gas going to synthetic is unlikely to match the price premium that syn demands.

 

I can't imagine getting 200 miles on a tank of gas. I have had close to 550 miles on a tank on the highway before, albeit with the idiot light on for quite some time. I routinely get 500 miles on a tank on the highway and can get 350 in city commuting, ie. no faster than 38 mph and lots of lights. There is something wrong with your car that the oil has absolutely nothing to do with. I usually use Castrol 5W-30 but when I go to the stealerhsip they toss in whatever they get in bulk and I can't say that it makes one iota of difference. I don't put enough miles on in a year to justify synthetic.

 

Synthetic oil and tranny fluid should improve your gas mileage by 1-2 mpg. But with your current mileage I'd say there is something else going on. I would do an Auto-Rx engine cleaning and a Seafoam intake cleaning. Look at cleaning the throttle body out. Depending on your odometer it could be your plugs and/or oxygen sensors.

Also, keep a decent amount of air in your tires, I use around 35psi for proper wear and drivability.

 

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I really do appreciate it!

O