Skipping maintenance monitor services

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Klong

Klong

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I have a 2018 Clarity and the Service A129 indicator is now due.
A = Oil Change
1 = Tire rotation
2 = Dust and Pollen filter change
9 = Brake Service and multi inspections
Since my last brake service and oil change I have travelled 22,000 kms (13,500 miles) in 9 months. I have travelled approximately 5,200 kms (3,200 miles) on the gas engine. I travel mostly low speed highway miles and use the regenerative braking (paddles and soft touch on the brake) most of the time.

I am considering skipping this service as well, doing only a yearly brake service and oil change. I am very confident in doing only 1 oil change per year, even at that the mileage doesn't really warrant the change, especially for synthetic oil. I am not as confident in only doing one brake service (and multi-inspection) per year.

May I ask what other people think?

Thanks for your input.
 
Klong said:
I have a 2018 Clarity and the Service A129 indicator is now due.
A = Oil Change
1 = Tire rotation
2 = Dust and Pollen filter change
9 = Brake Service and multi inspections
Since my last brake service and oil change I have travelled 22,000 kms (13,500 miles) in 9 months. I have travelled approximately 5,200 kms (3,200 miles) on the gas engine. I travel mostly low speed highway miles and use the regenerative braking (paddles and soft touch on the brake) most of the time.

I am considering skipping this service as well, doing only a yearly brake service and oil change. I am very confident in doing only 1 oil change per year, even at that the mileage doesn't really warrant the change, especially for synthetic oil. I am not as confident in only doing one brake service (and multi-inspection) per year.

May I ask what other people think?

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

I would definitely rotate tires. 13.5 K is too far, Id rotate at about half that. A good shop will typically inspect brakes or even “ multi-point” for free with a tire rotation so that’s a twofer, but you should be fine getting that done annually with oil change at your mileage. You can typically self-service in cabin air filters, source parts yourself, and save a good sum. Dealers really gouge on these.


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Skipping services can have warranty implications if something were to go sideways in the motor/etc.

Not sure about Canada, but in the US consumers are not required to use the dealer for service in order to maintain the warranty. As long as they keep receipts/records, they are covered.
 
Klong said:
May I ask what other people think?
Click to expand...

The official oil change interval for my C-Max is 2 yrs or 20,000 miles whichever comes first.

Personally I consider these maintenance alerts as just an opportunity for a dealership to perform a wallet flush on owners.

If you live in an area where corrosion is a possibility, then cleaning and lubing the brake pad pins is a good recommendation. Light use (regen) and corrosion buildup on the pins can lead to the pads sticking.
 
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The dust/pollen filter is a huge profit center for dealers. Look it up, it's located behind the glove box. It takes 30 seconds to disengage the glove box to expose the filter housing. Another 30 seconds to open the door of the housing, slide the old filter out and slide in the replacement. Final 30 seconds to re-engage the glove box. YouTube videos are out there that illustrate the whole process.

Our Odyssey went in for an oil change and the service rep told my wife that the "filters needed replacing, should we do it?" Wife said yes, thinking they were talking about the oil filter since that was what she was there for. When she picked it up and we looked at the bill they had charged us $109 to change the dust/pollen filter. The filter itself is about $20, there have been a few threads here about brands of replacement filters members have used.
 
DucRider said:
Skipping services can have warranty implications if something were to go sideways in the motor/etc.

Not sure about Canada, but in the US consumers are not required to use the dealer for service in order to maintain the warranty. As long as they keep receipts/records, they are covered.
Click to expand...
But how does that work when service intervals are not based on a printed schedule but based on an electronic "minder"? In the traditional system they could point to the printed schedule stating say oil change every 7,500 miles or six months and ask you to produce receipts showing that you followed that schedule. What would they do in the new system, produce some type of printout showing all of the various reminders that you received in the past three years and what date you received them? I'm not sure they are even able to do that, but I have no idea unless someone has heard of that happening.

The manual says "If a Maintenance Minder message does not appear more than 12 months after the display is reset, change the engine oil every year". So unless they can prove that you ignored electronic reminders I would think that as long as you could show that you changed oil at least once a year that would suffice. But that's based on my guess they don't have a way to track the dates of your previous reminders.
 
My 2 cents:
1. Going 3 more months will still be less than 5,000 miles of engine use (3,200 + 1/3 of 3,200 + small amount for System Checks). So common sense says you’re good on engine miles and it stays within the 1 yr max oil change interval in the manual. I would not go by recommendations for other car makes; that’s an apples and oranges comparison.

2. Definitely rotate the tires since they are due. Note that when you reset the MM for that service that the oil change interval may lengthen. It did for several and it gave me 3 more months, but I only has 8,000 miles total and 700 HV. With your higher miles it may not for you. Please let us know.

3. Just pull the cabin filter and visually check it. Shake off the loose debris and if it’s still white on the top side it can go longer if your air flow is not reduced. The DIY time and cost is so trivial and you can just replace every year if you want to. Be sure to install with the air flow arrow on it pointing down and you’re good to go.

4. Since you live in the frozen north, I would do the brake service for all the good reasons listed by others when you rotate the tires since the tires will be pulled anyway.

Hopefully Canada has the equivalent of our Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act that prevents manufacturers from requiring using their products and services to keep a warranty in force. If so, any competent mechanic can service the brakes and do the inspection and save you some $. Just keep all records and receipts.
I won’t comment on the whole issue of not following the MM to the letter and potential issues with possible related warranty claims. That’s a personal decision based on your common sense/frugality/risk aversion index.

I have attached a Honda form in PDF that lists all the inspection points and services that I use as proof of servicing. (You may need to modify it a little for the small differences in the Canadian service which I think is mostly the brakes, as in replace inspect brakes with service brakes.)
This is a screen shot of it.
Hope this helps you save $ and keep your Clarity ploughing through your winters for a long time to come.
5AB02F97-DAD9-4BB4-9485-752189DE7609.webp
 

Attachments

Forum members - thank you for the input. I rotate my when I switch from summer to winter (and back) as I have dedicated winter tires and rims. I agree with the concensus and will push back the oil change to once yearly. Excellent advise on the cabin filter - I will pull it my self and "dust it off" (saving a few bucks). I will do the brake service as once yearly just after the winter is probably best. Thanks for all the helpful advice.
 
As long as you don't have a warranty issue come up in the future which may be voided if you neglect to do the maintenance or else if it was leased - it may have a return issue if you skip maintenance.

As KentuckyKen says - keep all your receipts just in case...
 
DucRider said:
Skipping services can have warranty implications if something were to go sideways in the motor/etc.

Not sure about Canada, but in the US consumers are not required to use the dealer for service in order to maintain the warranty. As long as they keep receipts/records, they are covered.
Click to expand...
DucRider said:
Skipping services can have warranty implications if something were to go sideways in the motor/etc.

Not sure about Canada, but in the US consumers are not required to use the dealer for service in order to maintain the warranty. As long as they keep receipts/records, they are covered.
Click to expand...

This is a good point for all to know. This week my son had the engine blow in his 2016 Hyundai Tuscon while 1500 miles from home in the New Mexico desert. The cause was lack of oil and all he had to do was show his receipts for oil changes and other maintenance, none of which was done by a dealer. Hyundai is covering engine replacement, a free rental car for the 1500 trip home, and will ship his repaired car to the dealer closest to his home at no charge.
 
Hi All,
I am thinking of skipping the '2' in my 'A02' Because our 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV only has 9000 miles on it.
A = Oil and Filter
0 = Chassis inspection
2 = Dust and Pollen Filter
So just do A and 0

Because of Covid-19, we've only driven it 2,500 miles in this past 12 months.
Is this a good or bad idea?
At $185 for the Dust and Pollen filter installed - it is a bit steep at this time, and I am thinking of waiting until 15,000 miles as per the manual.
 
Do not fall for the dust and pollen filter scam, it is a pure profit center for dealers. The cabin filter is not very expensive,and easily accessible by disengaging the glove box and swinging it down. Then you just open the filter door and slide the old one out and slide the new one in. For someone familiar with it this is a 2 minute operation, for someone doing it for the first time it is maybe 10 minutes. There are youtube videos that show the entire process. And if you're not inclined to do it yourself I would challenge the dealer to lower their price by letting them know that you know how simple and quick it is to change it.
 
Also the filters are available for under $25. I agree with KClark. Don't fall for the massive charge at the dealer. My 10 year old son can change the cabin filter.
 
Thanks for the info and feedback insightman, jdonalds, and KClark.
I will definitely look into doing it myself. Here is a good video about it by our Canadian friend 'Brad on Cars'

Any suggestion for a filter brand on Amazon?
 
KClark said:
Do not fall for the dust and pollen filter scam, it is a pure profit center for dealers. The cabin filter is not very expensive,and easily accessible by disengaging the glove box and swinging it down. Then you just open the filter door and slide the old one out and slide the new one in. For someone familiar with it this is a 2 minute operation, for someone doing it for the first time it is maybe 10 minutes. There are youtube videos that show the entire process. And if you're not inclined to do it yourself I would challenge the dealer to lower their price by letting them know that you know how simple and quick it is to change it.
Click to expand...

I am 74 and physically disabled and my experience is the same. Filter cost $12 on line and took me 5 minutes.
 
If you already know this, sorry for posting it again:

The service is bundled together. Oil change, and tire rotation are the two that always come together. Honda says to rotate tires at 7,500 miles so a A01 service comes up every 7,500 miles. If you rotate your own tires or take it to a place like Discount tires (who has done mine for free) then the time to take in the car for service will be extended by ONLY resetting the tire rotation and nothing else. When I did that I got another 5 months before was given the code A01 again. THIS DOES NOT affect the warranty in any way you are only doing the tire rotation and the A0 (oil change and inspection) has not been reset so no problems. You reset the tire rotation by using the button on the steering wheel and go to the Icon of the wrench. Press and hold the middle button for 10 seconds on the steering wheel and choose the tire rotation. All done.

If your oil really does need changing it will still show the A0 and the 1 will be gone – 1 is the tire rotation.
 
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