Clubjazz - Honda Jazz & HR-V Forums
Honda Jazz Forums => Honda Jazz Mk2 2008-2015 => Topic started by: kaader bhai on September 14, 2022, 09:37:07 PM
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Hi all,
i went to Crown Honda near London to get Honda genuine engine 0w20 oil for my 2009 Jazz.
Surprised and somewhat shocked to note that they being the Honda dealer and authorized service center , have not been using the Honda Genuine engine oil which the car manual recommends for many years. They use 0w20 of a less heard brand called Morris.
Are customers generally aware of this? I mean why take your car to an authorized service when they don't use the genuine engine oil. Might as well take it to a local garage and get serviced with a reputed brand oil like Castrol or Mobil.
Don't know about other Honda dealers. Has anyone else observed this?
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Morris's are good quality oils. I use Morris single grade 40 in my classic motorbike.
The matter of Honda dealers not using Honda branded oils is surprising but almost certainly down to the exhorbitant price of manufacturers branded oils. I found this out with our previous car, a BMW One Series, (Mini Cooper S in disguise) when I asked the official BMW dealership to carry out an early oil change for me when our car had covered its first 1000 miles. I was quoted £250! I did the oil and filter change myself with non BMW branded equivalent Mobil oil and saved loads-a-money.
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There is Honda Parts Direct, an official Honda outlet 4 litres of oil by
Honda is between £45 and £55 depending on viscosity etc
https://hondadirectparts.co.uk/parts/category/oil-fluids/
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Two different Honda dealers use Morris oil for the engine and on my 4th service Morris CVT oil was used for the CVT oil change
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My dealer also uses Morris Oils.
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What's the betting Honda oil is Morris oil in a different tin?
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What's the betting Honda oil is Morris oil in a different tin?
:)...
As a footnote to this, my Honda dealer use 0w-20 which they confirm is the Honda recommended oil spec. I have just spoken with Morris oils and they think it should be 0W-30 but feel that 20 will not do any harm on an annual mileage of @ 8,000. They politely suggested that bulk purchasing might have something to do with it bearing in mind most 'modern' cars are using lower and lower viscosity down to 16 in some cases. I followed this up and spoke with Honda who said they would be happy to use 30 in the next service. We do want to look after our beasts...
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These are just tricks of the dealerships to cut costs. As an authorized service center they are expected to use genuine engine oil.
If they can compromise on engine oil, I'm sure they must be compromising on filters, plugs, and other spares. The vast majority of customers are not aware of this trickery and probably trust the dealerships blindly.
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It seems strange that 3 unconnected dealerships all use Morris oil
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Is that OK for the warranty?
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Warranty issues will simply be passed on to the manufacturer if any.
Most likely the manufacturer (Honda) is not aware of this dirty game played by the dealership. They should be informed about this.
The dealers know that only less than 1% of customers go into the details and specifications, which is why they continue to service with third-party oil (cheaper for them) under the heading of "Honda authorized service"
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Most likely the manufacturer (Honda) is not aware of this dirty game played by the dealership.
Honda will most likely be fully aware of the practice and as long as the oils and parts used meet Honda's specs for the engine it will be happy for the procedure to continue.
My service manual states the oil spec and viscosity but says nothing of the oil manufacturer.
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Before folk get too carried away with speculation, Honda is a vehicle/engine manufacturer with a reputation for high standards of engineering. Morris Oils have a very good and well earned reputation in lubricants. Visit their website or telephone them (yes, they do answer the telephone) with any questions and you will get informed answers. Just remember the usual caveat that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing so be sure to ask the right questions. Dumbing down is incredibly frustrating to professionals who know and carry out their job to a standard.
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Car manufacturers are not oil companies. They source their 'own brand' oil from various oil refineries around the world. These can change regularly depending on who offers the best deal at the time and despite apparent advertised endorsement of a particular oil brand. They tend to source from local refineries , so Honda oil sold in Asia will not be exactly the same as Honda oil sold in Europe,or America. (this is also true of well known oil brands) It could be packaged with Hondas own label in 1 litre and 4/5 litre consumer sizes by quite small companies. But they might not bother with large drums, and savvy main dealers might cut out the middle man and buy direct from the actual oil supplier.
Morris and other smaller independent oil blenders buy base oil from a limited number of oil refineries by the tanker load, or 500 litre containers. They blend in additives made by leading chemical companies such as BASF. Quite possibly the same additives used by better known oil brands, who give it some fancy name to impress consumers. Their renowned reputation may all be due to advertising budget ,not because they have developed and made their own additives, or exclusive superior oil base stock that they do not sell to other oil blenders.
Its quite possible that Morris oil would package their oil with the Honda label. I dont know.
But Comma oil (not exactly know as a top brand) say on their website they supplied oil labelled as Comma, Mobil and Toyota. (among others) Comma were at one time owned by mobil so its possible the oil differed for each branding, but would they bother? Easier to use the same stuff, selling it as Comma for the budget market, or at a premium price as Mobil or Toyota. Maybe not quite the same as the likes of Morris and Millers who are smaller independent blenders but they do have their own laboratories, and as long as the oil meets the correct exacting international specification I am happy to accept they have used the correct base oil and additives to achieve it.
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When I worked for Lexmark we made ink cartridges which were labelled for various brands. It was the same cartridge, ink and chip. Just different labels and different quantities of ink. Lexmark had 100% others 90% and the cheapos 75%. And they were all QA tested before going for labelling and packing.
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Similarly, Walkers also make crisps for various supermarket brands, as was highlighted when their computer control systems failed last year, causing supply shortages.
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Although personally, I don't have a problem with using another branded engine oil in my car as long as it's of equivalent quality but the reason I take my car to Honda to have a service is for the peace of mind through knowing that the Honda mechanics will do things by the book, using parts and consumables as recommended by Honda. This is something I'm happy to pay a little extra for.
However, I have an old FRV which I just take to a local independent garage who uses Shell oil and other OEM quality parts for servicing which has been just as good except they don't change nearly as much as Honda.
If Honda are charging that extra premium for an oil service, they ought to give you Honda branded oil, it's what you paid for, whether or not Morris oils are as good as Honda is irrelevant. What's stopping them putting ASDA's own branded oil in your car and telling you that it's just as good as Honda's oil?
I would be curious to find out what it says on the receipt, does it say Honda oil? If they charged you the price for Honda's oil (can check with their parts dept) and then put Morris oil in, I would take it up with them.
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You can be pretty much confident Honda will use the correct specification oil, even if its its not branded as Honda. They will have oil drums full of it. When I looked for the correct 0w20 oil for my mk 4 (of the the correct specification not just any old 0w20 ) I found it easy enough to find,but not available everywhere, and more expensive than similar oils in more common use.
(I only wanted a litre just in case I ever needed to top up -I havnt needed to. I bought Millers oil. )
Independent garages will have drums full of similar oil . Some may be tempted to use that rather than take the trouble of sourcing a less common and more expensive oil.
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Morris's are good quality oils. I use Morris single grade 40 in my classic motorbike.
The matter of Honda dealers not using Honda branded oils is surprising but almost certainly down to the exhorbitant price of manufacturers branded oils. I found this out with our previous car, a BMW One Series, (Mini Cooper S in disguise) when I asked the official BMW dealership to carry out an early oil change for me when our car had covered its first 1000 miles. I was quoted £250! I did the oil and filter change myself with non BMW branded equivalent Mobil oil and saved loads-a-money.
Honda dont make oil just great vehicles the oil side is left to oil companies Morris is a well known company that have been producing good spec oils for years just like castrol ,i use exol optima 0/20 and 0/30 in both our Mk 3 and Mk 2 jazz without problem and have been for a long time its quality is great