Brake Service? - MM Code 9

My apologies, I forgot that I promised to update everyone here. I got a call back from Honda Canada on June 27th in response to my email (over a month later). The person I spoke with agreed that the brake service did not make sense so early. They were surprised that I had already taken it to another shop to have the oil change and brake service done (was I supposed to wait 5 weeks for them to get back to me?) and they said that it would be difficult to troubleshoot now since the code had been cleared. We had some back and forth conversations while they spoke with technical people at Honda. Here is an excerpt from their last email:

"Upon further consultation with our technical specialist, I have found that your vehicle may have shown a brake service at 10,000 kms due to the way in which the Maintenance Minder is set up in the vehicle. When the vehicle predicts that the next service is more than 30 days away, it will only display the estimated time until the next service, whereas when the vehicle predicts that the next service is less than 30 days away, it will begin to display every item that will be required in the next 180 days (6 months). Therefore, in cases where an A1 service is due in 1 week and the next 9 service is due in 5 months, the vehicle will show A19 to ensure that the 9 service is being performed earlier rather than pushing it to the next oil change and risking it being overdue.

In terms of maintaining the validity of your warranties on the vehicle, we would advise that you continue to follow the maintenance requirements listed on the owner's manual or indicated by the Maintenance Minder. It is not mandatory to get your maintenance completed at the dealership.

Please note that failure to reset the Maintenance Minder display after a maintenance service results in the system showing incorrect maintenance intervals, which may lead to serious mechanical problems. Authorized Honda Clarity Hybrid dealers will reset the Maintenance Minder display after completion of the service, but if someone other than a dealer performs the service, please ensure that the display is being reset."

So in the end they weren't very helpful but I think I made a safe decision going to the independent mechanic. I didn't get any additional information on doing my own maintenance other than to read the owner's manual which was disappointing but not surprising. I'm approaching 20,000km now and apparently service will be due again in 5 weeks, so we will soon see what it asks for this time. I'll likely end up taking it back to my own mechanic again.

ResilientMtl said:
Hi ClarityAlex, I bought my Clarity PHEV on March 23rd, I'm at 11,000 km and my MM was indicating that I go for service soon and then all of sudden went to "Service Now" with a A 1 9 code. I'm on holiday, and will take this in to a local dealer as I have a long drive to get home and also have the extended warranty which I need to preserve. Same code, same low mileage (brakes only saw a week of winter), lot's of electric km's. Still waiting on a replacement windshield (on back order) as it cracked after a stone chip. My insurance will be paying the $2700 Canadian to replace, with the windshield itself at just over $2000 (the rest is installation and tax). Cost of ownership is not looking good, not to mention that Honda hasn't advised me if they fixed the software glitches for the "pre-conditioning" that turns off the satellite radio. Do you think that they sold this vehicle at a super skinny margin (given the high cost of batteries) and are going to make it all up on service costs? The overall driving experience is great, but the service end of things is disappointing.
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It is frustrating that the windshield is such a big deal, but apparently people have had enough similar experiences that my insurance went up this year. I've heard rumblings that the software glitches will be fixed but that's all, I didn't inquire when I was speaking to them. I have no idea what the margins are on these cars but I doubt they are planning to profit on basic stuff like oil/brakes etc., especially since you can get those done anywhere. Maybe they'll make more on major repairs after the warranty is up, but hopefully there will be independent shops to take those on by then. My personal cost of ownership so far has been very good as I expected. My only issue was this stupid brake service question. I also hate how the washer fluid tank is so tiny, it's a quarter of the size of my last vehicle's. But overall I've been very happy with the car - it fits my family perfectly, is comfortable on long trips, and I feel is very modern and luxurious without being ostentatious. Good luck, keep us posted with your experience.
 
ClarityAlex said:
I didn't get any additional information on doing my own maintenance other than to read the owner's manual which was disappointing but not surprising.
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In one of the Honda warranty documents that have been posted on here (maybe by me in a post involving extended warranties) it clearly states that you can do your own maintenance but you should document dates and save receipts. I'll try to find where I read that and post if I find it.

geo
 
These are just periodic checks to make sure nothing is falling off the car.
Not saying it's unnecessary; it's a new car and someone could have forgotten to tighten something.
Are you required to have Honda do these checks? Hmmmm
Should someone do them? Absolutely!
Ask yourself if you will continue having Honda check things like the driveshaft boots, hoses, exhaust, etc. at 100K and 200K miles.
Will you have Honda do all your oil changes and tire rotations as long as you own the car?
If you do the checks carefully or you pay someone to get them done and it is documented, that should be fine.
Which brings us to the cost.
If your mechanic charges significantly less for doing the checks, why not approach the Honda dealership service manager and ask if he/she can match the price?
The checks probably take no time at all, and if it were me, I would take the easy business rather than letting it go to someone else.
 
To all, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in the US specifically prevents manufacturers from forcing you to use their service dept or products to maintain your warranty. You can have service done any where and even by yourself if you document it thoroughly. Same for parts and fluids; as long a they are the equivalent and meet or beat the same Honda specifications they can be used and cannot be a reason to deny your warranty.
The only thing I plan on paying the dealer to do is the coolant change and then just for the inverter battery loops as they are hard to get to. And, heaven forbid, if anything goes wrong with the electronics.
Know your rights and save some $!
After the fiasco I had with the dealership’s faulty PID, I trust my mechanic way more than theirs.
 
You saw those battery coolant hoses, huh?
Bleeding coolant inside the car (with the seats out) sounds like a mess waiting to happen.
 
Easy solution - do the inspections yourself, document what you did on a computer file, and then reset the maintenance minder.

Honda can't say you didn't do the service.
 
I also vote for Local Mechanic and keeping a cloud-copy of the service record.
Technically, most people could do this themselves with the right instructions as it it not exactly rocket science to perform those maintenance tasks.
I would tell the dealer service dept wanting to charge 2hrs labor that they are a parasite, and to "ef" off.
 
ResilientMtl said:
Hi ClarityAlex, I bought my Clarity PHEV on March 23rd, I'm at 11,000 km and my MM was indicating that I go for service soon and then all of sudden went to "Service Now" with a A 1 9 code. I'm on holiday, and will take this in to a local dealer as I have a long drive to get home and also have the extended warranty which I need to preserve. Same code, same low mileage (brakes only saw a week of winter), lot's of electric km's. Still waiting on a replacement windshield (on back order) as it cracked after a stone chip. My insurance will be paying the $2700 Canadian to replace, with the windshield itself at just over $2000 (the rest is installation and tax). Cost of ownership is not looking good, not to mention that Honda hasn't advised me if they fixed the software glitches for the "pre-conditioning" that turns off the satellite radio. Do you think that they sold this vehicle at a super skinny margin (given the high cost of batteries) and are going to make it all up on service costs? The overall driving experience is great, but the service end of things is disappointing.
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....update on what happened at the dealership. So I took it in and the dealership agreed that a "9" code (Canada) was unusual, they said they would look at it. In the end they billed me for an oil change and filter, didn't rotate the tires as the tread was perfectly even. So I was happy with the dealership.
 
Another data point - my Clarity had 10,900km and the service "A19" code came up. I took it to the dealer and asked for only an oil change and the two service bulletins mentioned on the forum: 10-069 (multiple dash warnings) and 18-079 (incorrect HV range). I was told that the 18-069 service bulletin does not exist in Canada and as the multiple dash warnings only happened once, they would make a note in my file but they would not do anything - they did not find any fault codes in the electronic controller. They changed the oil (although I estimate that I have driven a maximum of approx 3,000km on gas and the rest on electricity) and applied the 18-079 software update for the HV range, which now reads a reasonable number. The software took a long time (2 hrs) to load so my oil change and service took the whole morning to do. I also asked them to check the rubber noise attenuation plugs which some people have said were not installed during the pre delivery inspection, but the tech showed me the plugs and they were installed.
 
Hi Fidzio
Interesting - almost same km - but the software update took about 10 minutes (Smith Falls) - the time at the dealership was me waiting for the car to charge :-) - got back home after 87 km drive with A/C and 7 klicks left. Left a 'problem' message on the US Honda site about unreasonable oil change interval (but dealer did it for free) told them not to rotate tires as winter is coming; and the plugs were in. Dealership told me no problem doing my own oil - just keep receipts - so I bought Honda oil and filter for 2 future changes. Tried to change my horns - but didn't work - so ordered the proper plugs and will try again later. Cheers!
 
Hi I'm here in the U.S. and have approached 16,000 miles and the MM A019 came up. Is this specific to Canadian cars or was wondering if any U.S. owners have had this code come up.
 
AL-B said:
Hi I'm here in the U.S. and have approached 16,000 miles and the MM A019 came up. Is this specific to Canadian cars or was wondering if any U.S. owners have had this code come up.
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That's odd - there should be no "9" on the US Clarity's Maintenance Minder. Are you sure it is not A018? The "8" would mean change the air filter which is recommended for every 15,000 miles for dusty environments.

http://owners.honda.com/vehicles/in...-In-Hybrid/features/Maintenance-Minder-System
 
Thanks I double checked and it was actually A012. For a minute to here I thought maybe they shipped a Canadian model to me by mistake :eek:
 
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