I've had a fairly busy weekend. Did my first oil and filter change on the Accord which was also my first oil and filter change on a car, ever. I wish I'd had the space to do it on previous cars because it really is quite simple. Got myself a decent pair of ramps (makes the whole process much easier/safer) and got to work early Saturday morning to avoid the heat. Previous owner had genuine Honda filter and I'd already bought the removal tool so getting the old, hugely over-torqued filter off was a breeze. To be honest, the hardest part of the whole process was getting the old filter, which was covered in old oil after removal, out of the tool! Thanks to
@SayamaAccord for
recommending the right oil. Got myself a 20L to bring down the cost in the long run. I plan on doing the oil every 6K to half year and the filter every 12K to year.
Whilst I had the car up on the ramps I decided I may as well get the grille removed and respray the satin finished surround in the same Crystal Black Pearl as the body, as I feel it's the only point of design that let's the car down; why have all the trim in chrome apart from the grille surround in satin? I found
this guide on the American Acura TSX (same as an 8th Accord) for removing the bumper and grille super helpful as it is spot on. You do have to remove the entire front bumper and with my EX disconnect the wiring harnesses for the front fogs and parking sensors too; all quite easy, but note there are no shortcuts here, the bumper must be removed. Before and after pics below.
Before
After - subtle but worth it.
Next time I'll be getting the fantastic local bodyshop to paint for me, as this was a massive pain in the arse and they'd do a much better job.
One thing I've got left to do is change the in-tank fuel filter.
@F6HAD your post on the FR-V is really helpful. I've already got the filter delivered, but need the proper tool to remove it. Do you know where I can buy this from?