It would be a lot simpler if Honda uses a scrolling LCD message instead of code one has to look up.

 

 

Is this what you're on to? link

It's suggesting that in europe normal service oil changes are all 12,000 mile intervals. That should give the 3,000 milers warm fuzzy feelings.

 

lol yep! Thats the one. So if we think about the function of the MM It's really just a system to detect if the engine has been under normal or severe duty or something in between.

 

Honda has been suggesting 10K miles oil and 20K miles filter change in their owner's manual since 2004 or earlier. Overall, engine oil has also improved too.

People can change their oil anytime they want, just don't tell others it is bad to change at 10K miles under normal driving condition for the newer cars without prove.

My O4 Civic followed Honda's schedule for 90K+ miles without problem.

 

True. And this should give the nonbelievers something to sink their teeth into. Or not. My wife insisted on getting her oil changed every 3,000 miles ("But the dealer told me to!") and putting premium gas in a Toyota Camry. I've convinced her otherwise, but it took 10 years and 225K on my Honda following manufacturer guidelines to carry any weight. The only major failures we've had on either car have been non-oil related: CV joints, radiator, ABS (Honda); alternator, starter, power steering pump (Toyota); engine mounts (both).

 

I too would like to have some of the old maintenance intervals. Last time the little wrench came on, I changed the oil and reset it. But honestly, I can't remember what letter came up. My car is around 20,000 miles now, so I'm wondering whether it told me to change the air filter and I just didn't notice. There's no way to know this based on the maintenance minder, but a maintenance interval would tell me what I need to know.

On an unrelated note, my wife's Buick has a maintenance minder too (and it does actually tell you what to do in words, rather than codes). But the thing says to change the oil probably about every 4,000 miles, it's ridiculous. I don't understand how my car can go 12,000 and hers only goes 4,000, especially since hers is a big V6 that turns slower. I seriously wonder if GM is shortening the intervals to pad service revenue at the dealer?

Or maybe the GM 3800 V6 needs more frequent oil changes because the design is so ridiculously ancient. Maybe the bearings are made of whalebone or something.

 

 

On my '07 the MM codes to change the air filter as milage approaches 30K miles intervals. It coded to change the tranny fluid on the first change after 60K miles. Personally I don't see the big deal about the codes as they are explained in the manual and are not that complicated at all.

 

Has anyone changed their fuel filter yet?

 

I realise this thread is more than a year old now, but was hoping that someone here could help me with the maintenance minder. I have a used 2009 Fit, bought from a Honda dealer 6 months ago. In the last couple of weeks I've noticed the little wrench icon show up on the dashboard every time I start the car, but no maintenance code shows up! Should I take it in for service? In the 6 months I've had it, I've put about 2000km (1242 miles) on it (the car already had about 90,000km/56,00mi on it when I bought it) and the oil life is at 90%.

 

Push the tripmeter/reset button repeatedly until the %oil life remaining screen is displayed. The service codes should be displayed there if the wrench is appearing on startup.

 

I like the maintenance minder system.
And IMO it's easy to use and understand.

But I also understand that for a lot of owners it might be nerve wracking. A lot of people are use to the printed and inflexible maintenance schedule.

It was hard for me to wait for my first Oil Change.....

 

rtfm......

 

I can't believe Honda would actually recommend draining the oil only and skipping the filter for the A service . Yes, these motors do stay pretty clean internally. But as long as we're gonna burn low grade ethanol-laden organic hydrocarbon fuels which leave behind residues, carbon etc, along with any other combustion by-products (especially if you're on dino oil) why would anyone who treasures their car do an oil change and leave a dirty filter in place? Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

 

You're right, in practice it's always going to get changed in the US.

But why?
Because Honda engineers determined it is not necessary.
Saving resources and not wasting is a good thing, no matter how small the savings, it adds up.

It is more in the culture especially of our car maker friends in Germany as well as Japan. That's why you also see those manufacturers move to use filter cartridges even though they way less convenient to service than spin-on.

 

Because modern detergent oil gets saturated with contaminants long before the filter is full. Theoretically 5w20 has the one of the highest contaminant holding capacities out of most oils due to fewer viscosity enhancers being added. Viscosity enhancers take up room that might otherwise hold contaminants in suspension. This is probably why other countries have shorter intervals since they aren't afraid to admit to, say Indonesians, that 0w20, 5w30, or even 10w30 will work fine but the intervals are shorter. Americans can't handle that kind of 'complex' thinking all they see is shorter intervals and call it 'high maintainence'

My 2 cents

 

Gotta remove the center console and pull out the fuel pump from the top to change the fuel filter on this car... What a hassle.

 

I think that the other intervals in other countries are more because the fuel and conditions suck, as well as the lower availability of 20w oil. Not because of a conspiracy theory or other agenda.

If anything as seen on this forum, Americans are freaking out because the intervals are too long. If they were really treating Americans like idiots they could have just put down 5000miles on the MM and manual and happily collect the service money and avoid the customer calls.

 

Don't confuse the manufacturer with the dealer. Honda Corp doesn't make any money from some petty oil changes from a dealer service dept in America. However if even 100 more people get swayed to buy a fit by seeing the long change interval, then it's good for Honda Corp. All I'm saying is that if you used 5w40 instead of 5w20 you should shorten your intervals. But in 'merica there is no mention that any oil but 5w20 is acceptable. Only with the international service manual would you know the full range of acceptable visocsities.