[zoomylurch]

Please forgive my ignorance about this issue, my knowledge about cars ends upon opening the hood of the engine (or whatever that thing under there is called.) Also I tried to find a thread about this but couldn't.

I need to change the oil. Does the insight have an unusual procedure to do this that is very different from a 'regular' car? Can one of the usual oil change shops do this for me or should I go to some place that knows insights well? (Or should I <shudder> try to do this myself?)

-zoomy

 

[kapps]

It's not hard but it is a bit more invloved than most cars. The Insight has an underbody that keeps the airflow smooth under the car. The front part of this will need to be removed. It's comprised of a metal piece in the middle that holds two plastic pieces along the sides. I found the easiest was to do this is to remove the whole 3 piece assembly as one piece. Part of it is held together by bolts and part is held in by plastic pop rivets. For these, you will have to pry the middle part with a flathead screwdriver until it pops out. The outer part can then be pulled out. Once the underbody is off, it's just like any other car except the Insight needs 2.6 quarts of 0w-20 oil. I highly doubt most shops will carry that light an oil.


I say do it yourself. Once you've done it a couple times, it gets real easy (and your saving money too). The description might sound a little nasty now but once you get under there and start taking things out, it'll make sense.

 

[learjet]

be careful w the oil drain plug...read up on stripped out oil pans. gonna post now about my experience today


lear

 

[kapps]

Oh yeah, and pick up some aluminum crush washers from Honda. They're like $.50 each and you need to use a new one on the drain plug every oil change. As for stripping threads, use your fingers to tighten the drain bolt. This will prevent crossthreading. Once snug, use a wrench to get it firm. The crush washer will prevent oil from escaping even if you don't tighten it enough. Remember, the gorilla behind the wrench at the oil change shop is not going to be very ginger about tightening things. The Insight has a magnesium oil pan that will strip threads much easier than other cars. This is one of the reasons why I do my own maintenance.

 

[zoomylurch]

woah

sounds a bit complicated but maybe I'll give it a shot... thanks for the excellent reply!
-z

 

[bretthans]

zoomylurch,

It sounds like you are uncomfortable doing it yourself. In that case, I suggest finding a good dealer or service station in your area. Maybe someone on this board or on the Yahoo Insight board can give you a recommendation for the SF area. You will likely need to find a good service shop for other maintenance anyway.

There is some care that must be taken with the Insight due to the magnesium pan as well as the underbody covers. Common things to watch out for:
1) Overfilling - the Insight uses at most 2.6 quarts
2) Wrong oil - 0W-20 is recommended, although others are also OK
3) Stripping oil pan threads - document the oil changes so you know whom to blame if it happens
4) Not using a new oil drain plug crush washer - can lead to (3) due to overtightening

HTH

 

[zoomylurch]

thanks brett

I found a mechanic near me on that yahoo board, if I end up going there I'll print this out!

 

[trunkout]

man....

i'm not touching this thing!
i will stay with getting my own mobil1 full syn and taking it to honda....

 

[figgy]

Be aware that whoever put your oil filter on before you probably put it one way too tight.

Also, it is 99.9999999999% certain that if you have a dealer change your oil they will overfill and you will want to take some oil out or try to force them to fill it properly by giving them the proper amount in advance and/or demanding the extra if you give them 3 qts. That seemed a way that worked for some folks.

If left to their own devices it seems that every dealer or mechanic on the planet just dumps in 3 quarts and never bothers to check that it is 1/4 inch over the max fill line...

 

[trunkout]

well....

they always give me back 1/3 a quart so my guy is all good....

 

[trunkout]

man

If left to their own devices it seems that every dealer or mechanic on the planet just dumps in 3 quarts and never bothers to check that it is 1/4 inch over the max fill line...

so i take it you don't like dealerships????