One piece of info to add to this. Honda do not make their own oils. In fact no motor vehicle manufacturer does. (20 plus years in the Oil Industry in both manufacturing and marketing taught me this.) Their engineers work with the major oil company's, who have the necessary test labs etc to test how their oils measure up to the task of satisfactorily lubricating the automotive manufacturers equipment and then make changes to the blends as required. The automotive manufacturing company then puts out a tender for supplying lubricants with that auto manufacturers name on the container, for sale though their spare parts outlets. The tender winner then slaps that automotive manufacturers sticker on small containers of those oils that meet that automotive manufacturers specifications. For example, Shell has the Ferrari contract. (world wide)
In Australia, the company that currently has Honda's contract is....Caltex. So when you walk out of your local Honda Dealers spare parts section with either a 500ml, 1 litre or 5 litre container of "Honda Oil", it is in fact one of Caltex's Havoline range.
But does that mean that each and every Honda dealer uses Caltex oils across the board in their workshop?
In regards to what goes into the engine crankcase... No. But when it comes to more specialist applications, like the Auto tranny. Usually Yes.
I know that John Blair Honda in Prahan, Victoria, uses Fuchs oil for engine oil changes and the latest Caltex Havoline Tranny Fluid that meets Honda's ATF DW-1 Specs.
( I wrote the Caltex name down in the service log of my newly aquired Accord Euro, but as I write this, the wife is off driving around in it, so I will post the correct name later when I can get a hold of the car!)
You could probably get the stuff cheaper at your nearest Caltex Lubricants distributor, than buying the stuff with the Honda label on the container.
You can locate them here:
http://www.caltex.com.au/ProductsAnd...nterprise.aspx
Snoop around your nearest dealer and take note of the oil company name on the bulk oil drums they have in their workshop area. Or just ask the service manager directly, like I did.