Taffy had her second service yesterday. A B 1 code showing at 15% remaining oil life. 30,000 kms

Not sure if I am happy or not. Honda's fee here is $182. Oil and filter, inspect and lube brake calipers. The rest is top up fluids and visual inspection with a report with a lot of check marks. In addition they called and said need both air and cabin filters. I went with air one at $18. The cabin I will do.

Nice to know after 2 1/2 years I still have 70% pads remaining on front pads and 80% on rears shoes.

Now this may seem high but then it has been almost a year and a half since the first oil change. On my Dodge van I have oil and filter done every 6 months @ $45-50 so more or less the same when you total it.

Anyways it is still running like new and I enjoy it. I do not baby it but do not drive the crap out of it and I average 36 mpg (Imperial)

Other than this bill the only other maintenance expenses have been for wipers, replace broken bug deflector, repair stone chip on windshield.

 

Wild Bill, I find it hard to believe that a guy as intelligent, resourceful, creative and mechanically inclined would have anything to do with the damned dealership.... My Fit hasn't been to the dealership for any repair or servicing since I got it in 2006.... It is becoming more and more difficult to do things due to arthritis and a seriously screwed up back but I gave those thieving bastards all of the money they are going to get from me when I drove off of the lot in the car...I love the cool modifications you have done to your car.. All of your work is top notch and way better than what I can do, so it seems to me servicing your car at home would be very gratifying to you.. The money saved by doing it yourself is money you can use for other custom projects, gasoline or buying pretty things for your girlfriends and grand children.... Merry Christmas and Happy Easter Egg you rascal.+

 

Hey Wily

For whatever reason changing oil and filter does not appeal to me as something I need to do myself. I will do the cabin filter.

GF ain't getting nuthin for Xmas. It is the wife's turn to get a gift this year - I got her a book of car wash tickets for the van - lol.

Well I am pretty much modded out. White wheels in same style as Amanda would be nice but so damn expensive to bring across the border. We will see come Spring.

I do need some white bulbs for headlights as the yellow glow of the current Nighthawks clash with the LEDs I just put on.

Merry Xmas to you to and the family.

bill

 

Just picked up a cabin filter at Canadian Tire - a Fram. $30 plus tax vs $36 + tax at Honda.

I went in yesterday and they had to order one in. Picked it up this morning and it is too small. Took it back and the puter said it was right one. Luckily I took the holder in with me so I just went through the shelf until I found the correct one. A piece of cake to put in.

Anyhow Honda was not kidding on Wed when I had it in. I will post a pic of the used one. Looks like chipmunk was storing seeds plus a couple of garden snails and dust. Pretty ugly.

So it makes me wonder when Honda called and said $110 to replace both. What the eff where they charging me for? The air filter was $19 and a Cabin at $36 is only $55. Another $55 then to install? When I declined the cabin they must have put the air in for free.

Well here is the pic. Seeds look like they came from the lilies we have growing in flower beds. Chipmunk maybe?

 

Hey.

Quick question. I know you have added seat warmers to the Fit and Caravan. What brand/model do you recommend? Canadian tire has some on sale and I'm curious as to what you have used. Do you like the seat warmers? Easy to install? I wouldn't mind one that has an on/off switch and one that can fit under my seat covers. Also, if it warms the seat and back, that would be ideal. Thanks for the help.

Ash

 

Hi Ash. We have one from Crappy Tire. Don't like it. The ones we have in the front seats of the Caravan are from Cargo Express. It is a Discount Store here. Only $18 or so. Very nice. They had a lot of them.We do not have seat covers in the van so just sit on them.

The ones in the Fit are meant to be installed under the seat covering or seat covers. I got them on Ebay for around $90 from some place in China. If you scroll back in this thread there should be some pics of the install or here
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ted-seats.html

It may look complicated but it is rather easy to do if you know what you are doing. Now that I have done it I could do it in a couple hours.

Here are the heaters on Ebay - heated seat kit,2 seats installed round switch seat heater,carbon fiber heat pad | eBay


bill

 

Good job on the DIY, thinking I might do the passenger side for the girlfriend, knowing her she'd run it all yr round... Clazzio's get cold in the winter.

 

Well if you have Clazzios it is not much more truble t do both

 

Not sure I really need it, from my experience driving/owning cars that had heated seats, after a few minutes the seat gets too warm for my liking (even the low setting), and it (cold Clazzio's) doesn't really bother me too much, because within a few minutes of driving they warm up. I really wished it was this easy to add cooling fans, cause that's a feature I'd use all year round myself. From what I've read the only way to add cooling fans is to remove the factory fabric, and cut the fans in to the foam. I was thinking on saving up and getting one of those climate controlled Recaro's like the one Chad installed in his Fit. But, damn that's an expensive seat $$$$.

How's the low setting on the ones you got?

 

My first experience with heated seats. Let's face it those Clazzios are ice cubes in the morning.

On my longer Friday night drives I just turn it down to Low setting and it is OK. The odd time I will just turn it off. I suggested doing both as not much more in the way of wiring to do. Maybe just get the GF one of those plug ins I mention above.

After what I paid for my Clazzios no way will I replace them. I got nailed with import duties etc.

 

I'll probably just get the pair and install mine too, and then if I ever decide to swap my seat I'll maybe move my heater to one of the rear seats as a novelty.
I'd love one of those Recaro's just for my side, the gf like the stock seats, and has no problem dozing off on long trips, if I add the heater to her seat she'll be more than happy.
Not really a fan of the plug in's, definitely easier to install, but I like the clean look of the style that you got, and I have no problems doing the install. I also saw ones that had the heater control like the factory heated seats, with a 0-5 setting. Maybe I'll go with something like that.

 

You shouldn't let it go below 30%

 

Why ??? The recommended change is at 15%. If Honda recommends 15% I will go with them. There has been much discussion on when to change.

 

Hey Bill... If I was living in an environment that has the low temperatures that you have to deal with I would be doing oil changes earlier than the mileage minder says to.... Your air fuel ratios are rich for longer every time you have to start the car and unless you are driving 2Km before shutting the engine down there is going to be fuel and dilution of your oil.. My wife understands this and will drive a longer route to and from work to allow the moisture that occurs during warm up to be dissipated...All kinds of corrosion occurs due to the different metals used in an engine as well as automatic transmissions... I never use my car for drives of less the 20 miles when it is very cold outside and park it in the barn so it cools down slowly to prevent moisture from forming in the engine.... I treat my car well like that so I can make up for the wear I put on it when I get a little crazy and drive at WOT at full boost to the elevated rev limit...+

 

I will agree to disagree Wily. Again using the argument Honda would recommend more frequent changes if they thought it was necessary even in our cold climate.

Hey it is 15F here this morning. Yesterday I had to let it sit and idle to warm up enough to be able to scrape windows. We had a mess of freezing rain/snow the night before. Normally I never let it sit and warm up. Start and drive slower that usual.

AND I don't beat the crap out of it like some old farts I know.

 

Had the dreaded dash rattle last Fri night.

I had gone racing. It was snowing a bit and while I was parked it melted then froze the small wiper to windshield and trim area. When I turned the wipers on it pull free but somehow loosened the trim piece as well. I was on major hwy and unable to stop so had to listen to it for almost an hour.

Yesterday I remedied by putting a small piece of shop towel under it.

 

I really like the paint idea! Smart move! Will paint fade or peel ever be a problem if I do the same?

 

I like the paint idea! If i do the same will peeling or fade of colour be a problem? And yes just like Spiritborn said the pillars are a bit odd. The colour skeem of the car is black and white would look good if you took pillars off and tinted windows! but the car is a beuty

 

What paint are you talking about? The diffuser? If so it is just fine so far.

The colour scheme is blue and white not black and white. My windows are tinted so?? I like the stainless piller covers. That is why I put them on.

 

Went to garage and had them switch out wheels and tires to summer ones. My powder coated steelies developed a lot of rust spots especially around the holes. I took them back to place and i had them done and he is redoing with a primer first this time. No charge.