I agree that people do not maintain their cars right and they are the first to complain about problems and bad mpg but just because the light is on does not mean they neglected the car. Its just like the wrench coming on at 15 percent and you still have time. They also could have maintained their car but forgot to reset the MM. Both happened on this forum.

Dealers and oil change places still say every 3000 miles. I just got my oil changed and I still had 30 percent on the MM with 7000 miles on the oil. The sticker they put in says 3000 miles till next oil change. I keep an eye on the oil and if the mpg changes for no reason or needed to add oil I change the oil. So far no oil usage and only a few mpg drop lead me to the dealer probably due to weather changing. Its semi synthetic oil and is good for at least 7500 miles. Oil getting dirty means the oil is working and there is little or no sulfur in oil and gas which is the leading cause to engine wear and sludge.

 

Fan control switch? There is TSB on replacing the fan motor and resistor pack.

 

AMEN! I've been bitching and pushing this for years. I also think people should have to have more rigorous driving standards (such as skid training, wet road maneuvering, etc). I also think there should be "safety" inspections on vehicles every few years, too (because we've all seen the hillbilly driving the Chevy Astro van that is rusted out and bobbing all over the place because the shocks/struts are shot with bald tires)!

 

I'm with you guys!!! Add to the safety - burned out tail/brake lights!!!
Add to driving techniques, freeway merging and lane changing!!! (Sigh) I feel better now.

 

I think there should be an additional course/license for soccer moms before they can pilot land barges of more than 4500lb curb weight.

 

yup. last night I had to merge on a VERY SHORT on ramp... the guy in front of me brakes instead of speeding up just as he's merging... forcing a rapidly approaching car to slam on their brakes... causing a chain reaction of braking (fast moving traffic, lots of traffic).

I thought for a moment, I was about to be involved in a 50 car pile up or something.

I squeezed myself out of that nightmare and took off.

 

All people that want to become drivers should be required to escort funerals for deceased bootleggers in a large metropolitan area during rush hour on 72 Harley Davidsons with foot clutch and hand shift... Everyone should have to ride a bike or scooter in an urban area for at least a year before being allowed the drive anything with 4 or more wheels.

 

YES SIR!!! I'd give you a 3x thumbs up but there's only one button. Yup they upgrade to land yachts but never switch their driving skills from subcompact mode... Dangerous!!!

 

Yeah, and let's not forget those soccer dads, too...

 

They also need a defensive driving course but that would lower the insurance rates too much.

 

Yup yup yup. I'm with you there too SB!

 

I just got the van running again for my 17 year old son to drive. I cant drive with him because that is what I do(drive). I try to drive perfect because when driving a truck you cant make mistakes and I have no patents to teach him. I do try to teach him about situations and look at the jerks that wasted 5 dollars to go nowhere.

 

I just ordered these tail-lights for my Honda Fit.

Buy.com - XHONDA 2009-2010 HONDA FIT LED TAIL LIGHTS /LAMPS

Led lights come on in 1 millisecond where as it takes standard lights to go on in 250 milliseconds. What does this mean? The sooner the lights come on then the faster the people behind you can react. 250 milliseconds means 20 feet for a car traveling at 55 mph. The led light could turn an accident into a near miss or mitigate the effects of the accident. Led lights also tend to be brighter and more visible then regular lights.

Let me get mine first before you order from the link. I will do an in-depth comparison between the leds and regular lights both by day and night.

 

I am right now at 24000 miles on my third oil change. I have changed the oil each time the Maintenance Minder has reached 15% without fail. This time I went to my local Honda dealer, Mahwah Honda in Mahwah NJ, and told them exactly what I wanted. I wanted the oil changed (with my Honda full-synthetic oil), a new oil filter and the tires rotated...they charged me $50. There are many threads on here of guys getting their oil changed at the dealer for a really low amount, but I have not been able to find any cheap Honda dealers...and I have been to 4 of them by now. Dont believe what you read in the forums...if you pull your vehicle into the Honda dealer then be prepared to spend. Firestone dealerships use the same oil which Honda markets and it costs you $60 with fully synthetic oil (not the semi-synthetic bulk stuff the dealership uses). My concern is keeping the Carfax clean showing maintenance consistently at the dealership in the event I need to sell it.

As I left the dealership snow was coming down...the first of the season and it was a mess outside. I thought that with my half-worn Dunlops, the original stock tires, which every forum has spewed venom upon would not be good in traveling in this weather. The Dunlops have 6/32nds of tread left which is the bare minimum recommended by most tire manufacturers for snow climates. I traveled about 30 miles while it was coming down hard and I found the vehicle to handle the snow better then other cars on the road. The stability assist kept kicking in and never did I feel like I was going to get stuck. There were other vehicles on the road traveling with their hazard lights on, but I just went around them laughing.

I have the Base fit which has the skinny 175s on steel wheels which handle a lot better in the snow then the Honda Fit Sport which has 185s on alloys. I imagine if I had the newer Yokos then the car would have handled even better. I didnt need four wheel drive, emergency lighting systems or an SUV...I just needed the Honda Fit with its traction control/stability assist.

 

So Mahwah Honda is still going. Those guys were the first in the region I believe and always good on customer service. My mother bought a car there way back when Honda had active owners clubs with group meetings.

You lucked on the stability assist. On the 2010's it only came w/ Sport Navi set-up.

 

Most dealers offer coupons and I get my oil change for and tires rotated plus inspection for 30 dollars using their mainline semi-synthetic oil. You can buy M1 for under 30 dollars at Walmart and they even sell Mobil super synthetic for cheaper than that but is hard to find. The Walmart by my house had it for 14 dollars for 5 quarts and they sold out and never restocked. 50 dollars for the oil change and tire rotation is better than what I paid for M1 at the dealer with coupon.

I appreciated the info you shared but to say dont believe in what you read is a broad statement that needs to proven. If you asked me a month ago I would say use synthetic but not now it cheaper to change the oil with semi synthetic twice a year. The info you shown proves that the Group II oil is almost as good synthetic.

You wont get the money on the trade in, the dealer does so using synthetic is great for the long run but no help in the trade in. Saving receipts for private sale is good but not necessary.

 

Well,I just could not resist the urge,changed the oil after only 3 months and 1200 miles.Mobil 1 synthetic 0-20.The little engine has been feeling 7000 rpms over short periods of time too often,I could not help myself.Now just today I got a service reminder from HONDA.Strange, I was told there was no service schedule for this car when I bought it,ah well what the heck they are going to have to wait. JJ

 

My dealer did that until they caught on to MY schedule of service.

12K to the first oil change is incredible. Did you take it all the way to 15%? My first change was 9K @ 20%, so possibly I could have gotten there.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...il-change.html

 

Was that for jjsifo ? man I really went to extremes, meant 1200.0 miles not 12,000 just could not let it go past three months in 90 degree weather,stop and go traffic, short expressway hops to work ,6 to 7K rpms obscene driving every day.

 

what % was the MM at when you changed it at 1200 miles? 80%?

As for oil change costs, I've said it before. My Local Honda Dealer here in VT charges me under $40 for a Full M1 Synthetic oil change. They advertise a package deal as well for $53 on any vehicle (up to 5 Qts which is most any honda) which includes a few extras. It's on their web page...

Severe... Please stop posting info like it is Gospel. Posting your experiences is one thing but posting them as if they were cold hard facts is another.

Why is this thread in the GE General section anyway? Shouldn't it be under the reader's rides section?

~SB