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Quick Reference:

• Factory Drain Bolt – 17mm
• 0W-20 Oil Weight (Full Synthetic)
• To reset oil life display : Switch display to show oil life %. Hold Odometer Button until display flashes, then press and hold Odometer button again till it shows 100%

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Since I learned how to do an oil change myself a LOOOOOONG time ago, I’ve continued to do so to all my cars since (and some other people’s cars too when they asked). This is one of those times where the general idea of an oil change can be applied easily to other cars even if I’ve never done it before.

I dunno… I can’t say that I particularly enjoy oil changes, but there’s something enticing about doing an oil change on cars that I’ve never done before…

Enter my second car – the family car – a 3rd generation Honda Fit with the GK chassis code. I fortunately purchased this car second hand from an owner with only ~1,300 miles on the clock. Not only would this be my first time changing oil on a Fit, but it’d be the Fit’s first oil change ever.

I attacked it head-on only to encounter my first slow down almost immediately – a plastic splash guard and no jacking point in site.

Upon further inspection, I found it waaaaaaaay further in, pretty much behind the front axles.

Yeah…. there was no way in hell my jack was going to work. It could reach, but there was no space to pump the jack handle. So, I improvised…

Ended up jacking the car up by its pinch welds with what remained of the rubber padding and set it on the jack stands. I was told a long time ago that a hockey puck was a cheap, durable, and malleable alternate to the stock rubbery pad on the floor jack, but it’s a bit challenging to find those here in Hawaii…

Anyway, I did the same on the other side.

One odd thing I had to do was remove that under carriage plastic shield. No biggie with 8 bolts but it was just… unfamiliar. ALL cars I’ve owned never had something like that before…

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I then saw to my delight just how easy oil changes were going to be from now on. The original, straight of the assembly line, filter was right there. This is similar to a Scion xA I owned for a little while…

Loosened the oil cap so the oil would easily drain, then unscrewed the drain bolt into my catch can. I couldn’t take of the factory filter by hand… guess I’m too weak, but luckily had a small tool to help.

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I always end up getting the 5 quart bottle – cheaper per quart. I pour about a quart and a half of fresh oil as sort of a flush for the old oil before putting the drain bolt back on. Coated the new filter gasket with some oil too before hand tightening it on. I use whatever premium oil filter I can get my hands on – this time being one from K&N.

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I pour a little oil into the engine first with the car still in the air to check for leaks. It’s just incase I may have forgotten to tighten something or put something back – better with the car still in the air. If all is well, then the car goes back on the ground (after putting the splash shield back on of course) and I pour the remaining 3.5 quarts of oil into the engine.

The last thing is to reset the oil light. It’s really simple:

1. Make sure the display shows the oil life
2. Hold the odometer button down till the screen starts flashing
3. Press and hold the button again until the oil life resets back to 100%

All pau 🙂