My Fit's maintenance minder is advising that a B12 service is due. (Well under 30k on the odometer.)

The manual shows B 1 2 service includes:

B service:
replace engine oil and filter
inspect front and rear brakes
check parking brake adjustment
inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
inspect suspension components
inspect driveshaft boots
inspect brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
inspect all fluid levels and condition of fluids
inspect exhaust system
inspect fuel lines and connections

1 service:
rotate tires

2 service:
replace air ceaner element
replace dust and pollen filter
inspect drive belt

Several of these tasks listed above I can do myself or get done at low cost, but there are certain inspections that I don't feel qualified to do and I would feel more comfortable taking to a dealership to have done.

What would be a reasonable price for having just the following inspections done, rather than the full B12?:

• inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots
• inspect driveshaft boots
• inspect drive belt
• inspect front and rear brakes
• inspect brake hoses and lines (including ABS)
• inspect fuel lines and connections
• check parking brake adjustment
• inspect suspension components

I realize prices vary widely based on location, so I am just interested in getting some ballpark numbers. If you know how much time it should typically take to do all of these inspections (when done for routine maintenance in a car with no apparent problems), that would also help, since I can try to calculate how much they might charge based on their labor rates.

 

Come to think of it, maybe I should also have asked, If you've had a B12 service done, how much did it cost?

 

Basically, this is just the oil change and replacement of the air filters. Those inspections should generally be done by any reputable place when they do the oil change. They aren't hard to do yourself:

• Tie rod ends and steering gear box: if your car is steering fine, these are probably okay. There should be no looseness in the tie rods where they attach on the outboard end.
• Various boots: if they're not cracked or punctured or torn, they're okay.
• Drive belt: Look at the serpentine belt, and make sure it's not worn.
• Brakes: Check the pad thickness with the tire removed; if they aren't making unusual noises and you have normal stopping power they're probably OK. You likely will never ever have to replace the rear brake shoes, so just a quick look-see of what you can is probably sufficient.
• Brake hoses and lines: Look at them, make sure they're solid and not leaking. You'd know quite quickly if they are leaky.
• Fuel lines: look at them. Should be OK; failure is pretty rare, and fairly obvious from the smells and puddles and bad gas mileage.
• Parking brake adjustment: so long as you have a few clicks before it engages, but not lots of clicks, it's okay. I suspect the service manual has some specific numbers for it.
• Suspension components: Look at them for signs of leakage, bending, etc.; bounce the car and listen for clunks and whatnot. If they're bad, you'd probably notice it in the handling of the car.

Basically, it just boils down to looking things over and making sure everything appears decent and in proper shape.

Although Honda doesn't list it, this would also be a good time to check the tread depth on your tires. I'd also spin the wheels by hand and listen/feel for crunchy/noisy bearings, and try to wiggle them in and out, up and down, and left and right—any looseness in the spindle indicates bad bearings. (Of course, the front tires and spindles will rock left and right to steer, but the bearings themselves should be free of any play.) There may be a bit of noise and slight scraping from the brakes dragging ever so slightly, but there should be none from the bearings; it's sometimes not the easiest to discern the difference.

 

Oops, I forgot to answer your question. I think my dealer charges something like $80 or so for this service, or something equally steep. I don't know what they'd charge minus the filter and oil changes—perhaps a half hour of labor, or about $50-60?

 

well put drew, I think 95% of that should be from a competent driver knowing that his car is behaving well and a 10 minute common sense inspection with the car up on drive on ramps. The only one that is hard with that approach is the tie rod end links, that is something you would want to be able to tug on the tire a bit suspended to confirm (common sense that you think your car is driving right and your mpgs are holding should be the best indicator for this).

 

Well, I'd like to be able to do all those checks myself, but not knowing what normal looks like and (the bigger problem) living in a cramped condo complex without good lighting and even the most basic equipment, it might be easier to just have a professional do them.... Just trying to not get completely taken for a ride in the process.

I could live with $60 for the service.

I've been trying to see from past posts what prices people were charged/quoted. Looks like for the full B12, the prices ran mostly $170-400. But there are a few more outrageous cases

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gene...e-service.html

So just trying to see what the prices have been more recently.

 

About $40 for all the parts and do it yourself. Oil and filter (ST/WPP 5w-20 full synthetic and prolator filter - $21), air filter ~$10 online, cabin filter ~$9 online. Crawl under the car and look at all the stuff on the list.