Hi everyone.
First of all thanks for passing by and I'll be short and clear.

My car has reached 40000kms (25000miles) and service is scheduled. I live in Mexico, and warranty is optional on many real cases, meaning, they will try to refuse any warranty job or will take 20 to 30 days to complete a simple job.

So, I'm not interested on keeping the "warranty" and so far this car has been a tough mule. The other problem with service here is.. prices. It costs around $400 US, and the following is "done": oil change, oil and fuel filter change, spark plugs changed(cleaned), valves checked and adjusted and MT oil change.

$400 may not be that much in the US, about 2 weeks of work, but here in Mexico is like if you were paying a month of salary for this service.

So what would you guys do? I come from owning many German cars and this is my first Honda so I don't know if trusting the car to the stealership is the way to go.

Thanks for all the advice and time.

 

If your car is the same as the US model, you don't need most of that done yet. You don't need fuel filter change, you don't need anything changed or cleaned with spark plugs, you probably don't need valves checked and I don't know about MT oil change.


What does the owners manual say? Here in the US we have the car's computer telling us when to change the oil, etc.

 

Thanks. That was my initial thought as well. The car is built in Brazil. There are only a few changes, mostly in the optional equipment, fit and finish, and suspension. Everything else is the same.

I've been told that the dealer doesn't change spark plugs, they just clean them. The process to check the valves is they open the hood, turn engine on, and check for clacking noise @ valves (like a diesel).

We didn't get the ECU for services check. I don't see any problems with ignition, neither fuel consumption. I thought the US cars had a similar services but I guess this is a way for dealerships to recover some money on reliable cars.

 

Wolfang, skip those unnecessary services and go and watch the red devils win this week. Vamos Los Diablos Rojos !! Woohoo

 

Well i'm from one of the most expensive states in the United States and $400 is still a lot of money to me, especially for a "service" I could do myself for an hour's time and $30.

At 25k miles you don't need anything unless you need to change the oil or your brake fluid is over three years old (it should be changed, but even then, nothing catastrophic will happen if you don't, just change it as soon as it's feasible).

Sounds like a pretty scientific maintenance regimen they've got going on down there

Here's a post I found and IIRC it jives with the online schedule i've seen before for cars without a maintenance minder (or computer like you referenced)

If I can find the actual web link i'll post it here.

 

It's unsettling to learn dealers in Mexico are overcharging and over-maintaining as much or more as they are here...

The dealer recommended service priority is maximizing their profits. Your car's health is secondary.

Read your owner's manual and go by what Honda recommends for maintenance. Your warranty is based on this, and not what the dealer tells you.

 

Thanks a lot people.

I feel more at easy taking this route. I lived most of my life in Canada, and usually when it comes to German cars you really need to take services by the book otherwise they can become nightmare cars.

Honda always had a great reputation and mostly among mechanics. So I'll be ordering some filters and do what I know I do better than a rushed mechanic at the dealership.

 

Just an update on the service done.

I went to the dealer to buy whatever I needed to have the service done. The rep confirmed that the spark plugs needed to be changed @ 100K kms. Transmission oil to be changed @ 120K kms, and apparently, the fuel filter was in the tank????? !!

Anyways.. I went to change to Synthetic oil, and while looking at the manual to see how many oil the car it takes.. the manual states that Honda does not recommend to use synthetic fluids. Very vague, but I don't see why it should be bad to use synthetic oil. After all, Honda changes the dyno oil every 10K kms(6000 miles).

Apparently, Honda changed the air filter 6000 miles ago.. I bought a new one from autozone for $10US instead of $40 from the dealership... and I was surprised to see the condition of the air filter.



I have never seen an air filter this dirty... I felt bad cause I should have it checked before.. but I trusted the dealer to have it changed since they charged $40 plus .5hrs of labor.

So now.. I'll change the synthetic oil once a year and definitely change the air filter more often.

 

Looks like your driving is dusty conditions. I would check your air filter every few months. Oh, and never go back to that dealership.