Honda Oil Life Percentage
You'll see "Oil Life" with a percentage number on your dashboard. This is your Oil Life indicator, a convenient and important part of your Honda's maintenance reminder system. With fresh engine oil, your percentage is 100%. It drops over time as you put miles on your Honda. So at 40%, your oil still has 40% of its lifetime remaining to do its job before it needs to be replaced. At 15%, your oil still has 15% lifetime remaining, and so on.
Oil pressure Indicator is different than Oil Life Percentage. The oil pressure indicator is a red icon (that looks like a red leaky oil can ), and it should never come on when the engine is running. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressure dropped very low for a moment, then recovered. If the oil pressure indicator stays on with the engine running, it shows that the engine has lost oil pressure and serious engine damage is possible. In either case, you should take immediate action.
What does it mean? The oil life percentage on your dashboard measures the quality of your engine's oil. It is NOT an indication of oil level, so you may NOT need to add oil to the engine. The oil life percentage is just another part of a maintenance minder system meant to save Honda owners time and money.
With fresh engine oil, your percentage starts/resets at 100%. From there, your Honda will automatically monitor engine operating conditions to measure the lubricating ability of your motor oil.
When your Honda's oil life reads 15%, then a yellow wrench icon will illuminate on your dashboard also, indicating that a service is due soon. The yellow wrench does not mean your car is unsafe to drive when you see it appear with an oil life percentage at 15% or less - instead you should know you'll soon need to take your Honda for regular car care. As you continue to drive and put additional miles on your Honda, then you'll see the percentage drop over time.
What should I do? When the maintenance minder system determines that your Honda's oil life has reached 5%, then service on your Honda is now due. At this time, we recommend a quick and convenient trip through Scott Honda's Express Service Lane, no appointment necessary. Here, our technicians will read your vehicle's maintenance minder codes to conclude which services your Honda needs.
When oil life reaches 0%, service on your vehicle's engine is now overdue. By driving with degraded oil, your Honda's engine may fail or significant damage may be caused.
Under certain driving conditions (high temperatures, short trips, frequent starts & stops, and hilly terrain) your oil life will degrade faster than under normal conditions at lower RPMs.
Finally, since Honda's maintenance minder does not sense your vehicle's oil level, it is still a good idea to check your dipstick and reference the owner's manual for proper oil level.
A chart of maintenance minder codes can be found in your Honda's owner's manual.