You don't HAVE to do anything. You can use whatever oil change interval you want. If you run into an issue prior to warranty being up you might run into a problem if you haven't been doing the oil changes when the maintenance minder specifies.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It is likely tracking hours, miles, temperatures, etc. and coming up with the interval it thinks is best.

 

I agree with John. If you're concerned about causing warranty issues, then you should keep changing the oil as the Maintenance Minder recommends. Besides, fresh oil is fresh oil - regardless of the fact that so many people and companies claim that you can now get these incredibly long oil change intervals, getting the crap the oil cleans out of the engine on a regular basis is not a bad thing at all. Especially for you, who is driving a ton.

However, I also agree with you that the cost could become very significant. If the MM tells you to change the oil every 3,000 miles, that works out to once every 5-6 weeks. If you are going to change the oil that frequently, then finding a less expensive way to do that should be a priority.

You do not have to keep going to the dealership for oil changes to keep the warranty muckety-mucks happy. You only need to prove that you've been doing the oil changes as needed and recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you find a less expensive shop for oil changes, keep all of the receipts you get from them.

If you choose to do the changes yourself in your driveway or garage, keep the receipts for the supplies you buy. I often stockpile engine oil when I can find it on a good sale, but I buy the oil filters as I need them (the savings on them when they go on sale usually aren't much anyway). That way I have a dated receipt documenting when the oil change was done. Don't spend a ton on the highest quality filters or the "Extended Life" oils. You'd be changing the oil and filter so often that the benefits of these things would be largely lost. Go middle-of-the-road and look for the best prices.

There probably isn't anything wrong with the Maintenance Minder itself. I'd say your van certainly falls into the "severe service" driving conditions category. It'll need a little extra TLC to keep it happy and healthy.

 

You could do a Blackstone oil analysis at your next oil change and see what the condition is. The report includes a comment on whether you could have run the oil longer.

 

Thanks for the inputs guys.

I was just wondering if the oil life reader is some sort of HIGH TECH which analyzes my current oil condition that it'll tell me exactly when to change. Turned out it's just reader of my mileage and driving hours combined; when actual driving miles is low, my city-driving and idle time is some what high. I guess that's why the reader tells me to change my oil around 2800 miles/~5 weeks interval.
I did research on other sites as well, and most of them lean toward 'stick with mileage' which is 5000 miles.
So I decided to just reset the reader myself (which is very easy to do for 2015 odyssey) and change oil @ 5000 point at dealer shop. Local honda dealer charges $35 +tax for oil change which isn't bad at all.
For my old 2007 odyssey, I always used conventional oil for $19.99 unfortunately, for newer odyssey, 0W-20 is required so I just gotta stick with what it says.

 

I guess that's why the reader tells me to change my oil around 2800 miles/~5 weeks interval.
I did research on other sites as well, and most of them lean toward 'stick with mileage' which is 5000 miles.

If I had to choose to change my engine oil based on either the Maintenance Minder (developed by Honda for this vehicle) and the internet (generic application), I would bet my engine on the former.

Dave

 

The only way to know for sure is to send a sample off to Blackstone Labs. You can go to their website, Blackstone Labs and request a free sample kit. Then just have whoever is changing the oil take a sample about mid-stream and give it to you to send in. It's $28 for the standard analysis and for $10 more you can also have the TBN's checked to see how your active additives are doing and see how far you can go on oil change intervals.

So, you can either try changing at the maintenance minder and sending it in or go 5000 miles and send it in. Either way they will give you the information specific to your engine and driving habits and you will have some "science" to back up whatever you decide to do. Otherwise, you're just going on what "the Internet" says to do which is not always a good idea.

 

Thanks for your input Dave.

Just want to point out that I didn't just go random internet forum for the information. It was inputs from pretty well knowledged group like 'odyclub.com' sites including official websites for other types of vehicles that are treating fairly new models. Just want to make sure how 'reliable' this MM is.
And I'm not pulling crazy high miles/long intervals between each oil change. It will be within 5000 miles with 0W-20 from Honda dealers; most likely be around 8~10 weeks range which is far sooner than Honda's suggested 5 months interval.

I really didn't think 2600~2800 miles or 4~5 weeks for each oil change from 0W-20 synthetic oil is viable for my car. But I wanted some other opinions from respected knowledge groups like odyclub.
Maybe if I'm a taxi driver in NYC, then I might.

 

While "odyclub.com" is a great forum and we all try to give as accurate information as we can, it's still just everyone's guess. I would either change at the maintenance minder, as Honda recommends, or send in an oil sample and get a verified report. Extended idling in stop and go traffic is very hard on the engine and the oil, so I'm inclined to believe it but, again, it's just my "guess." The oil analysis is cheap and will give you the confirmed answers you want.

 

It doesn't add up. Most of your commute is highway. Of course, as the others have said, we don't know what the real conditions are. The OLM is calibrated for Honda 0W-20 synthetic blend oil. It cannot 'know' what oil is actually in it. In your situation I would probably use full synthetic and go about two months (+- 7200 mi). A possible important factor would be what the oil currently looks like when the OLM gets to 20%. Oil appearance can be deceptive but if you are still seeing the dipstick through it (still see the amber color maybe partly brown but still can see the metal of the stick through it) at 3000 miles, I would be inclined to not change it. OTOH, if it has become dark in color and opaque (where you can't see the metal through it), it would appear the OLM is on the money. You might try full syn one time how it lasts but remember the OLM does not know you're using a better oil so you'll have to go by the appearance for lack of a better indicator.
Anytime your oil seems to get dark fast it can also indicate engine problems, the most common of which would be running rich (using too much fuel). This can be caused by a clogged air filter or even a rodent nest in the air tube or filter housing. It can be the result of poor fuel or problems in the fuel system including the injectors and throttle body. The OLM can react to this by predicting the time of oil failure sooner than normal because it 'knows' how much fuel is consumed versus miles traveled. Just throwing out some possibilities. A lot of these possibilities can go away depending on the oil level and appearance when the OLM is down to 20%.