Engine Oil Change
2013–2017 Honda Accord - 2.4L I4 / K24W1
Straightforward job. Twenty to forty-five minutes, and you'll have fresh 0W-20 in the K24W1. The only trap is the oil shooting rearward when you crack the drain plug—position the pan accordingly.
How Rough Is This Going to Be? Know what you're getting into.
You're lifting the front end, draining 4.4 quarts of hot oil, swapping the spin-on filter, and torquing a drain bolt to exactly 30 lb-ft on an aluminum pan that will let you know if you mess up. This is beginner work, but aluminum oil pans don't forgive sloppy torque specs.
Save Another Trip to the Parts Store Clips, seals, fluids, and the little stuff people forget.
The new 14mm crush washer (P/N 94109-14000) goes on every time—reusing the old flattened one is how you get slow weeping leaks. Also: after lowering the car back down, wait three minutes before checking the dipstick, or you'll read it wrong and either overfill or underfill.
Here's Where It Gets Greasy The procedure, pain points, and common ways this job fights back.
One: pouring a full 5-quart bottle at once instead of stopping at 4.0 quarts initially—the K24W hates overfilling. Two: forgetting to verify the old filter gasket actually came off the engine (not stuck to the block), which causes catastrophic double-gasketing on startup. Three: yanking the drain plug too fast and letting hot oil paint the driveway.
Procedure
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1
Engine
Warm the engine to normal operating temperature (2–5 minutes of idling or after driving), park on a level surface, set the parking brake, and shut off the engine.
Engine components and oil will be hot. Exercise caution to avoid burns.
Warm oil drains more quickly and carries suspended contaminants out of the sump.
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2
Chassis / Lift Points
Raise the front of the vehicle using a hydraulic floor jack at the approved front center jack point, and securely lower it onto heavy-duty jack stands at the pinch weld points (or drive up vehicle ramps).
Never get under a vehicle supported only by a hydraulic jack. Always verify stability on stands.
Chock the rear wheels before lifting the front.
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3
Oil filler cap and dipstick
Open the hood, locate and remove the engine oil filler cap, and pull the dipstick out slightly to facilitate smooth oil drainage.
Venting the crankcase prevents glugging and erratic oil discharge when the drain bolt is removed.
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4
Oil pan drain bolt
Position the oil drain pan underneath the oil pan drain bolt (located facing rearward/downward on the aluminum oil pan). Using a 17mm socket and ratchet, break the drain plug loose counter-clockwise, then unscrew it by hand while maintaining inward pressure until clear.
Oil will shoot outward toward the rear of the vehicle initially. Position the drain pan accordingly to catch the initial trajectory.
Keep horizontal inward pressure on the bolt as you turn the final threads to avoid oil running down your arm.
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5
Oil pan and drain bolt
Allow the engine oil to completely drain until it slows to a light drip (approx. 5–10 minutes). Remove the old aluminum crush washer from the drain bolt or inspect the pan mating face to ensure the old washer did not stick.
Do not reuse the old crush washer; an old deformed washer is prone to slow oil weeping.
Inspect the magnetic or standard tip of the drain plug for abnormal metallic debris.
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6
Oil filter
Position the drain pan under the spin-on oil filter (located on the front/passenger lower side of the engine block near the oil pan). Loosen the filter counter-clockwise using an oil filter wrench if necessary, then spin it off by hand.
Residual hot oil will spill from the filter mounting base and filter body upon loosening.
Place a shop rag directly beneath the filter mounting boss to catch runoff and prevent oil from wetting the subframe.
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7
Engine oil filter mounting boss
Wipe the oil filter mounting adapter face clean on the engine block with a lint-free rag. Verify 100% that the old rubber O-ring gasket came off with the old filter and did not stick to the engine block.
Double gasketing will cause catastrophic oil blowout and total engine failure upon starting.
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8
New oil filter
Apply a thin film of clean 0W-20 engine oil to the rubber gasket of the new oil filter. Thread the new filter onto the mounting stud by hand until the gasket makes firm contact with the engine base, then tighten an additional 3/4 to 1 full turn by hand (or torque to 8.7–12 lb-ft / 12–16 N·m).
Do not over-tighten the filter with a tool or wrench, which can distort the O-ring or crush the filter canister.
Hand-tight is sufficient when torqued firmly with clean, dry gloves.
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9
Oil pan drain bolt and crush washer
Clean the oil pan drain hole threads and mating surface. Install a new 14mm aluminum crush washer (P/N 94109-14000) onto the drain bolt. Thread the bolt in by hand to prevent cross-threading, then torque to 30 lb-ft (40 N·m) using a torque wrench and 17mm socket.
Do not exceed 30 lb-ft; over-torquing will strip the aluminum threads in the oil pan.
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10
Engine oil fill neck
Insert the funnel into the oil fill neck on the engine valve cover. Pour in 4.0 quarts of 0W-20 synthetic engine oil. Reinstall the oil fill cap securely.
Adding 4.0 quarts initially avoids accidental overfilling; the final 0.4 quart can be added after circulating.
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11
Engine lubrication system
Start the engine and verify that the red oil pressure warning light extinguishes within 2–3 seconds. Idle the engine for 1–2 minutes while inspecting underneath the vehicle for leaks at the drain plug and oil filter.
If the oil pressure indicator does not shut off within 5 seconds, shut down the engine immediately and verify oil level and filter seating.
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12
Chassis
Shut off the engine. Safely lower the vehicle back onto level ground. Wait 3 minutes for oil to drain down into the oil pan.
Checking the dipstick while the vehicle is tilted on stands will yield an inaccurate reading.
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13
Dipstick
Pull out the engine dipstick, wipe it clean with a lint-free cloth, reinsert it fully, and pull it out again. Verify that the oil level is between the upper and lower indicator marks (near the top dot). Add the remaining required oil (~0.2 to 0.4 qt) to bring the level to the upper hash/dot.
Do not overfill past the top mark. Direct-injected K24W engines can experience oil aeration and increased crankcase pressure if overfilled.
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14
Maintenance Minder system
Reset the Maintenance Minder oil life indicator to 100% via the instrument cluster or touchscreen display.
On base/LX models: Turn ignition ON (Position II / engine off), press SELECT/RESET knob until 'Oil Life' displays, press and hold for 10 seconds until it blinks, then press and hold for 5 seconds until it resets to 100%. On touchscreen EX/EX-L models: Navigate to Settings > Vehicle > Maintenance Info > Select Reset > Oil Life.
Gotchas
- The oil drain plug shoots horizontally rearward when pulled; without holding a broad pan close, hot oil will spray onto the driveway or garage floor.
- Double-gasketing: the factory filter gasket can stick to the aluminum engine mating boss. Always visually verify that the old gasket came off attached to the old filter before installing the new one.
- Stripping the aluminum oil pan: the 2.4L K24W oil pan is aluminum. Overtightening the 17mm drain bolt past the 30 lb-ft spec will strip pan threads, requiring an expensive thread insert (Time-Sert) or pan replacement.
Common mistakes
- Reusing the crushed aluminum drain plug washer instead of installing a fresh 14mm washer (P/N 94109-14000), causing weeping leaks.
- Overfilling the crankcase by pouring a full 5-quart jug at once. Total refill capacity is 4.4 quarts; overfilling causes aeration and frothing.
- Checking the oil level on the dipstick while the front of the car is still raised on ramps or jack stands, resulting in a falsely low reading.
- Forgetting to reset the Honda Maintenance Minder, which prevents the vehicle computer from tracking future oil dilution and degradation accurately.
It's a Good Idea To... Greasy tips and useful while-you're-in-there advice.
When the filter comes off, catch the runoff with a shop rag held directly under the mounting boss. Saves your subframe and your mood. And when you reinstall the drain bolt, thread it in by hand first to avoid cross-threading the aluminum pan.
You Already Have a Screw Loose. Your Car Shouldn't. Final checks before you call it done.
Reset the Maintenance Minder when you're done, or Honda's system won't track oil condition going forward. Start the engine, check for leaks at the drain plug and filter for a minute, then call it a win.