First A01 service at 6870 miles @ Honda dealer = $0

craze1cars said:
Yes there is an awful large number of misconceptions about oil change frequency among Clarity owners and participants on this forum. And the dealers are clueless profit centers too. It’s why I do my own maintenance.

Honda stupidly makes A01 pop up every time a tire rotation is needed. Usually an oil change is not yet needed, but as others have said you must first clear the tire rotation code to confirm this...then the oil change interval is NOT reset fully, but be pushed out to when it actually needs it. For most t will be annually, but this depends on mileage you drive obviously.

Mine now has 20,000 miles on it, A01 has popped up 3 time so far, I have only changed the oil twice, and the first was unnecessarily done by me early because I’m just a break-in oil type of guy and we did a 4,500 mile road trip thru mountains with engine screaming for mercy much of the time when the car was new. So I got home from that trip and happily freshened the oil and filter. But I found the second true oil change wasn’t requested by MM for another 11,000 miles, and we do many road trips and run our ICE a LOT!

Anyway 3 years of oil changes and tire rotations for me will cost me less than $100 of course I’m counting my labor for free...and I can do it at home in 15 minutes. My nearest Honda dealer is 25 minutes away one way lol...so I’m saving large quantities of time AND money and some unnecessary mileage on the car ....
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^^^This^^^

I run a 15,000 mi odo reading or 1 year OCI.

Why? I understand the ICE in the Clarity I drive runs 28% of the time and my driving conditions/habits. Modern ICE engines in mom n' pop sedans n' mini vans across the board call for 6000k to 10k OCI...the ICE in the Clarity is no different for purposes of this discussion. Yes, I understand driving conditions and habits will influence the above which is why every owner has to understand the car they drive. I've collected data off multiple Clarity's...the RPM's run very similar to a typical 4 cylinder car >85% of the time...I don't buy the "super high revs because its a generator" necessitates mo' frequent OCI's reasoning.

As for the Honda maintenance minder (MM)...I recently got involved with a 2017 Honda CR-V 1.5 DI turbo which has known fuel dilution issues. After a minor front end incident, I offered to check all the fluids in this vehicle for leaks etc. The oil on the dipstick was slightly above full and the fuel smell knocked me over. Dealer changed oil Dec 2018...I changed oil June 2019. Sent off for oil analysis and the UOA shows 2% fuel in oil after 6 months. The Honda MM? Gleefully informs the owner 6 more months to oil change. The MM has no more of a clue what condition the oil is in for this particular vehicle/engine then the man on the moon. Appears to this cub reporter its based on time n'miles n' perhaps some temps reached etc.

I personally have 0 confidence in the Honda MM for oil condition. I rotate tires on my own schedule like I've done for years n' years...so really wish I could turn off the dang thing. Que the thinly veiled threats from Honda about warranty.
 
Clarity_Newbie said:
really wish I could turn off the dang thing. Que the thinly veiled threats from Honda about warranty.
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The still unanswered question is whether Honda would even know if you have ever ignored the minder. That would mean the system stores several years worth of minder date/mileage stamps. Just seems unlikely. Obviously they can point to the one-year oil change interval stated in the manual, but as long as you are meeting that has anyone ever experienced on any car with a minder that the service person pulls out a printout showing all of the minders that you have received in the past five years, and the dates that you received them, and asks for proof that you did the required maintenance each time the minder popped up?
 
2002 said:
The still unanswered question is whether Honda would even know if you have ever ignored the minder. That would mean the system stores several years worth of minder date/mileage stamps. Just seems unlikely. Obviously they can point to the one-year oil change interval stated in the manual, but as long as you are meeting that has anyone ever experienced on any car with a minder that the service person pulls out a printout showing all of the minders that you have received in the past five years, and the dates that you received them, and asks for proof that you did the required maintenance each time the minder popped up?
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Yes, Honda does receive MM data.
I know because as soon as my MM said A01, I got a call from my dealer asking to schedule the service appt.

Since I leased the car, I have to follow what ever the strict MM says otherwise I may end up nullifying the contract...

After the 3 years if the car is great I will buy her out and then do whatever maintenance schedule I deem fit...
 
You're
4sallypat said:
Yes, Honda does receive MM data.
I know because as soon as my MM said A01, I got a call from my dealer asking to schedule the service appt.

Since I leased the car, I have to follow what ever the strict MM says otherwise I may end up nullifying the contract...

After the 3 years if the car is great I will buy her out and then do whatever maintenance schedule I deem fit...
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Are you sure he got it from your MM and not from his calendar? Even if he got it from your MM I still have never heard of someone being turned down for warranty work because they didn't follow the minder to the letter. I'm not suggesting that you be the guinea pig and try it out for us I'm just saying I haven't heard of actual incidents.
 
4sallypat said:
Since I leased the car, I have to follow what ever the strict MM says otherwise I may end up nullifying the contract...
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That's a sales tactic. Companies will find ways to convince you the warranty is void if you break the seal, or dont bring it to a "certified" facility for maintenance, but that never holds up in court. Manguson-Moss Act
 
AlAl said:
That's a sales tactic. Companies will find ways to convince you the warranty is void if you break the seal, or dont bring it to a "certified" facility for maintenance, but that never holds up in court. Manguson-Moss Act
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Well aware of having service done by an independent versus dealer. Or DIY with receipts to prove service was done.
I had the Honda Care maintenance and since it's pre-paid, I would follow along whatever the MM said.
When the 3 year lease is up, and if I decide to buyout the car then I can follow what ever schedule I wish - as if I bought the car for cash or financed it.

Leases can be tricky....
I had a recent BMW lease and upon returning the vehicle, the bank (BMWFS) assessed a penalty for late service and showed me where on the contract where I violated the lease.
 
2002 said:
If the cap by itself can be fitted onto the filter but there just isn't room to get a socket wrench in there, the cap has sort of a bolt that you can turn with pliers.


That's what I do, in fact by hand I don't always make it quite to 3/4, and yet by the next oil change the filter is extremely tight and requires a wrench to remove. I thought I read once that oil filters are self-tightening although I don't know if that is true, could be just that the gasket is attached firmly after all of those miles and all of that heat.


I remember watching someone change their oil filter and when it wouldn't budge by hand they hammered a screwdriver through it then used it as a handle to turn the filter!
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I’m a little baffled by some of the comments...not picking on you 2002...just want to clarify for others.

Cap wrench works super easy in Clarity. It is the tool to buy. It’s all I have used on all my Honda’s. Clarity is no different and access is super easy. But you MUST put a 3/8” drive extension on it (6” or 12” works great), then any ratchet of your choosing. I don’t have any wrench clearance problems because I’m using an extension...obviously if I just put a ratchet directly on the cap wrench there will be clearance issues. So I don’t. Clearance problems are caused by improper use of cap wrench...user error. But the tool is great. Generic cap from any auto part store is fine. Put all other strap and gripper type wrenches away...they will work poorly if at all.

As for the screwdriver pounded thru the filter thing...this is a classic old mechanics trick, and anyone who has done a fair amount of mechanic work in his/her lifetime has been forced to resort to this method at least a dozen times...I certainly have done it fairly often usually on poorly maintained tractor hydraulic systems the have had the factory filter in place for 20 years...sometimes on cars that have had overly aggressive quick oil change grease monkeys wrench a filter on too tight. It’s a valid method that solves problems...

Happy oil changing, all...
 
craze1cars said:
I’m a little baffled by some of the comments...not picking on you 2002...just want to clarify for others.

Cap wrench works super easy in Clarity. It is the tool to buy. It’s all I have used on all my Honda’s. Clarity is no different and access is super easy. But you MUST put a 3/8” drive extension on it (6” or 12” works great), then any ratchet of your choosing. I don’t have any wrench clearance problems because I’m using an extension...obviously if I just put a ratchet directly on the cap wrench there will be clearance issues. So I don’t. Clearance problems are caused by improper use of cap wrench...user error. But the tool is great. Generic cap from any auto part store is fine. Put all other strap and gripper type wrenches away...they will work poorly if at all.

As for the screwdriver pounded thru the filter thing...this is a classic old mechanics trick, and anyone who has done a fair amount of mechanic work in his/her lifetime has been forced to resort to this method at least a dozen times...I certainly have done it fairly often usually on poorly maintained tractor hydraulic systems the have had the factory filter in place for 20 years...sometimes on cars that have had overly aggressive quick oil change grease monkeys wrench a filter on too tight. It’s a valid method that solves problems...

Happy oil changing, all...
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That's how I did it with my Toyotas, I used the cap wrench with a socket wrench and extension. I haven't changed the oil yet on my Clarity, somehow some of the comments gave me the impression that the filter was wedged up in there somehow. I just realized you can see the oil filter by looking down through the engine compartment and yeah looks to be a piece of cake with a cap wrench and extension.

One tthing I learned using the cap wrench especially if it fits the filter tightly, sometimes after loosening the filter the cap wrench doesn't want to come off the filter very easily and with an oily and slippery filter things can get messy trying to pull it off the filter. I found the best way is once I've broken the filter free that's the best time to pull the cap wrench off. It might take a little effort and you are in a slighty awkward position but that's still the best time to remove it, then continue unscrewing the filter by hand.
 
4sallypat said:
Leases can be tricky....
I had a recent BMW lease and upon returning the vehicle, the bank (BMWFS) assessed a penalty for late service and showed me where on the contract where I violated the lease.
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That's what I am interested in, actual stories of people being penalized. I am guessing what was written into the service contract was identical to what was in the BMW maintenance schedule, i.e. months and miles? Presumably they looked at your service history at the dealer and saw gaps or late service. I am guessing you could have only gotten them to reverse the penalty if you could have showed them receipts from DIY or independent? Or were you supposed to report DIY and independent service at the time of service and reporting it at the end of the lease was too late?

One day I guess I should lease a car so I won't have to keep asking questions about leases from people who have leased :)
 
2002 said:
That's how I did it with my Toyotas, I used the cap wrench with a socket wrench and extension. I haven't changed the oil yet on my Clarity, somehow some of the comments gave me the impression that the filter was wedged up in there somehow. I just realized you can see the oil filter by looking down through the engine compartment and yeah looks to be a piece of cake with a cap wrench and extension.

One tthing I learned using the cap wrench especially if it fits the filter tightly, sometimes after loosening the filter the cap wrench doesn't want to come off the filter very easily and with an oily and slippery filter things can get messy trying to pull it off the filter. I found the best way is once I've broken the filter free that's the best time to pull the cap wrench off. It might take a little effort and you are in a slighty awkward position but that's still the best time to remove it, then continue unscrewing the filter by hand.
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Yes 100% to all of this. Your experience is evident. You are exactly correct access to clarity is super easy with an extension with no interference and indeed cap wrenches can sometimes get stuck. So after just cracking it loose go back a touch the other direction toward right then wiggle the cap off while it’s still bone and holding tight to the car. Then finish removal with bare hands. And I will add NEVER use wrench to install filter unless you are truly arthritic with a disability or something. Just tighten with bare hand that’s all it needs....
 
ClarityBill said:
Oil runs from the filter while removing it. Any tricks to reducing the mess of oil?
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Wear disposable gloves. Drain the oil before removing the oil filter. Put an oil pan below the oil filter. Put paper towels around the oil filter. Unscrew the oil filter enough to have some oil come out and let it drain into the pan for a while. When it slows or stop you can remove the oil filter.
 
It’s also good practice to pre-fill the new filter with oil. It slightly decreases the time during which the engine operates without oil pressure.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
It’s also good practice to pre-fill the new filter with oil. It slightly decreases the time during which the engine operates without oil pressure.
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Might depend on the car, if the filter is vertical seems like the filter will fill anyway when you add oil to the engine?
 
ClarityBill said:
Oil runs from the filter while removing it. Any tricks to reducing the mess of oil?
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Larger pan. Most DIYers buy these little pans with small openings and they miss all the time. Get a giant pan with an opening that’s a solid 2 to 3 feet in diameter. Reaches plug and under filter at same time no need to move it around. I don’t wear gloves just use finger tips to spin it off as fast as possible with just thumb and forefinger and let it drop in the large pan, then wipe off 2 fingertips. Speed is your friend with that operation. I also remove the filter first, letting it drop into a dry pan. Rookies always seem to pull the plug first for unknown reasons, then their filter later has to do a cannonball into a pool of dirty oil splashing everywhere. Also engine gains nothing by prefilling new oil filter it’s just another opportunity for accidental spill.
 
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ClarityBill said:
Oil runs from the filter while removing it. Any tricks to reducing the mess of oil?
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I keep one of those metal drip pans under my cars. Catches AC water which I guess is of minimal benefit, but it also helps catch and detect any unexpected leaks that may develop over time. When I change the oil the oil drain pan goes on top of the drip pan so any "misses" go onto the drip pan instead of the floor. If you don't need or want to keep a drip pan under your car all the time you could get a smaller one and just keep it stored off to the side to be used for oil changes, and if a leak ever develops you already have a drip pan ready to put in place.
 
Just weighing in on my first experience with the maintenance minder A01 notification...

8/'18 manufacture date
11/3/18 purchase date
7/15/19 MM Notification of A01 (details state 'due in 4 weeks'), total miles ~6800
7/16/19 Rotated tires, and reset just the '1' (tire rotation)
Alfer tire rotation reset, the MM now indicates 'service due in 3 months'

My estimate is that out of the 6800 odometer miles, ~4900 are EV, and ~1900 are ICE.

As reported elsewhere here, the MM aggregated the tire rotation with the oil change.
Performing the rotation gave a 'better' result for the oil change schedule.
Although not warranted by miles on the ICE, an annual oil change has merit and is usually recommended.

With the extension (now due in 3 months) that would be roughly 10/16/19 (almost a year from the purchase date).
I'm not sure precisely how the MM determines this (nobody is), but for my driving scenario it is not unreasonable.
 
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