I recently bought a '13 certified pre-owned Fit, with 29,500 miles. The dealer told me that the 30,000-mile service was done (as per pre-owned certification requirements), but I don't have any written record of it. Today I took my Fit into another dealer (closer to me) for a factory recall airbag replacement, and the service guy was insisting that I should get the oil changed every six months, and that my car should have the 30,000-mile service done because "pre-owned certification doesn't include any servicing, just a checklist". Now I am confused. I have never owned a 'smart' car before that tells me what I should do and when (Maintenance Minder)--I've only owned older cars and I've done all the maintenance myself on a regular schedule. I am a bit skeptical of new-fangled electronics, but I am willing to follow what the Maintenance minder tells me (also, I can't even find an old-fashioned maintenance chart for the Fit). But I am loathe to take my car into a dealer for mundane service, especially since I can't trust what they tell me. Can I do my own maintenance and reset the Maintenance minder myself, or does that have to be done at a dealer? And which dealer do I believe? Was my car serviced or not?

 

1. Can't trust a dealer.
2. Follow the maintenance minder. It is true that may be they just reset the maintenance minder and they did nothing to it. I would just do an oil change myself now so you know that it has been done.
3. Resetting the maintenance minder is easy. It just involves pressing the select button down for 10 seconds, then pressing it again to reset it.

 

It's not a 'smart' car at all. The minder system is basically a flexible service reminder system. There are no provisions for the system to directly monitor anything in the car at all.



By 30k the minder system will have asked for oil changes (A or B) and tire rotations (#1) every so often up to this point.
Sometime between 24k and now it would have asked for a set of air and cabin filters (#2).

What % does the minder say right now? (oil life remaining)


Pull the oil dipstick out and check it. Is the oil halfway clean and full? Is there a sticker on the windshield telling you when it's due next?
Filters are super easy to check. Pull both of them out and check if they are clean or not.

 

Agree. The cabin air filter is very easy to check and if there's crud in it then it hasn't been changed. I have 16k miles on my car. Just pulled the filter- was dirty and had leaves and stuff in it. If they didn't change the filter you'll know.

As far as a written record, can you ask the dealer to put in writing what he told you about maintenance? If he did it, shouldn't it be on the Honda computer system? He should be able to print out all the work that was done.

Oil and filter changes are easy but you'll need jack stands or ramps. I use Rhino ramps and am happy with them.

 

This is what https://www.wilderhonda.com/port-ang...tenance-minder says (direct quote):

Maintenance Minder
To help vehicle owners know when scheduled maintenance is due, Honda has introduced the maintenance minder system.


Q: How does the Honda Maintenance Minder know when the 0% trigger occurs?

A: The system counts down oil life based on engine operating conditions (both normal and severe). The on-board computer continuously monitors engine operating conditions such as speed, engine temperature, ambient temperature, time, and vehicle use to determine when an oil change and regular maintenance is necessary.

This system seems to be quite accurate provided the proper grade/viscosity of oil is used . When I opened a valve cover gasket for valve lash inspection after 9 years of "abusive" driving, I saw no sludge or varnish deposits inside (to my surprise).

 

Yep that's correct.
But the minder system cannot actually check the oil.

It has no clue if the wrong oil is used, it can't check the level, it can't check the condition of the oil, and it can't know if anyone actually changes the oil when it turns on the wrench light and 15% messages.

It cannot directly monitor engine air nor cabin filters. It doesn't know if you just drove through a sandstorm or a cottonwood tree cloud.
It cannot monitor trans fluid, coolant, tune up parts, or anything else.

The entire maintenance minder system is based on a model. That model relies entirely on the user doing what they are supposed to do, when they are told to do it. Many people don't.


IMHO Some Hondas really should have the oil changed more frequently than the minder suggests (K engines!). Same for trans fluid services.

 

And changing the oil every 5000 miles requires the same thing of the user, or the mechanic. I trust a model based on data more than someone making up a mileage number with no consideration to any factors other than mileage.

Even if the MM is just based on total engine rotations that's way better than mileage.

 

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the input. I checked the oil and both filters, and they all looked very clean. When I bought the car, the MM said 100% oil life, so I am going to assume that the first dealer did do the maintenance that they said they did.

The more I thought about what the service guy at the local dealer (Glendale, CA) told me about all the service I should do on the car, the angrier I got, so I called the service manager. I asked him what he thought about oil changes, and he recommended following the MM. So then I told the manager what the service guy told me about getting all the [unnecessary] service done. The manager came up with an excuse about how the service guy used to work for another place (not Honda) and must have gotten mixed up, and said that he would talk to the service guy so that he wasn't giving out bad advice. The manager also said I should contact him before I come in next time, and he would make sure my car got a nice cleaning job. Even though the manager did all the right 'customer service' things, I still don't trust dealerships.

I'll try following the MM, and keep all my own records so I can make sure that everything gets done that should be done (and I can see if the MM jives with a typical maintenance schedule).