But perhaps not the one you'd expect... To be clear, I'm completely on board with the idea of doing the maintenance as the car indicates, i.e. somewhere around the 15% point. This is, then, more of a "what is my dealer thinking???" question.

Inside my gas door, the dealer has inserted a sticker which reads something like, "Remember to bring your car in to Nalley Honda every 5,000 miles or 15%". I hadn't really paid much attention to it until reading the arguments here over whether to trust the MM, and I've been persuaded that doing exactly that is probably what I should do.

Question is, why would the dealer suggest that "every 5,000 miles" is a reasonable alternative to the 15%, when not a scrap of the literature that I have seen from Honda seems to indicate that there IS any particular "every ____ miles" at all? Honda says nothing other than "when the maintenance minder reaches 15%". So where did the dealer get the 5,000 miles? Are they claiming to know better than Honda's guidance? Should I consider them either unscrupulous or untrustworthy or incompetent (EDIT: or excessively cautious) for recommending possibly more frequent service than the manufacturer itself recommends? Or is the "every 5,000 miles or 15%" some part of the official recommendation which I have utterly missed everywhere else I've looked?

 

Owner's manual specifically states to follow the MM, not go by miles driven. I think your dealer is either catering to people who are worried about following the MM or is trying to get you in the door so they can upsell. You take your pick as to which you think is true

 

In South Africa we don't get the MM on our Fit/Jazz, only indication is to change at 15000Km, our engines etc are the same as yours, we just don't have that option, so is following the MM as opposed to miles/Km driven make that much difference? If it did the MM would Honda not have made MM be standard on all Fits?

 

Possibly valid questions, but would be more relevant in another thread other than this one. Here, I am wanting to go on the assumption that the MM is the recommended/proper method for determining maintenance intervals (here in the US at least), and solicit thoughts from others as to why a US dealer is advising customers to follow a schedule which appears to depart from Honda's official advice.

Honda has not to my knowledge issued any mileage-based schedules for its recommendation with respect to US models, and dealerships are supposed to be following/mirroring Honda's official maintenance guidelines, so that's why I'm perplexed and looking for input on this. Whether I missed something or the dealership's practices are questionable is what I'm hoping to learn -- and if the dealership's practices are questionable, speculation as to why this might be is what I've hoped to gather.

But again, I really don't want this thread to be about whether following the MM or a mileage schedule is better. That has been argued extensively elsewhere, as I've said.

 

Because the more you are in the dealership the more chances they have to make money. If you think the dealership service department is filled with saints you are being very naive.

Follow the MM. End of story.

 

The service department at Bernardi Honda (Natick, MA, USA) insists that regular maintenance should be done on their own mileage-based schedule, and the items to be maintained are also their own list. It's like pulling teeth to get them to do recommended Honda services, e.g. "A 1" on a maintenance-minder schedule.

Yet another reason not to give them my service business.

 

Got some free oil change coupons from the day I bought my older Civic, took it in early (5 months old), and they told me to go home, because I did not need an oil change with so little miles on it, and return in another 6 months. I thought they would be happy to have me pay for an oil change, but surprised they did not take advantage of me. I had the oil changed anyway. The mileage schedule minder is what you should go by, not the dealer.

Dealer: Palm Harbor Honda, Florida. Good people from time to time.

 

My dealer told me to bring it in when I hit 7K miles or 10% reading on the MM.


On every new car I ever had the dealer always wanted to do more maintenance work then what was recommended by the manufacturer at a certain mileage reading. It's their way of making money. In fact dealerships make their profit on the maintenance costs they charge you, not on selling cars.


I go by what the manufacturer says to do so I follow the MM.

 

Ok. Simple question: When was the last time you saw an engine wear out from not changing the oil? When was the last time you saw one wear out from changing it too often? Oil is cheap. Engines are not. Take your choice

 

Most people go over. It gives a little leeway. If you follow the service schedule on point, they say you never change brake or transmission fluid which is BS. They only did it because government mandates and to make the "cost of ownership" seem lower

On my mothers Maxima they say to never touch the atf. Low and behold they had to extend the warrenty because they were blowing up. I always do a drain and fill every 30k. Guess what its gone over triple the mileage than most on the same trans.

 

Agreed. I also avoid Honda Village at Newton Corner. They flat out refused service for me not once, but twice. All I needed was the standard oil/filter change, and because I would not buy into upsells, they told me that they couldn't provide Express Service for my oil change that day, and that I'd need an appointment. For an oil change. The whole purpose of Express Service is no appointment! It has been quite a few years since that happened, so hopefully they got a new Service Manager.

I take my Hondas to Cambridge Honda for service. They follow the MM there, and they don't do high pressure service upsells. Very happy with them. Where do you go?

 

The dealer recommends it that way because they like your money and want as much of it as possible.

 

Allow me to kindly re-phrase that.

Dealerships will make a profit from both sales and service. They represent two distinct profit centers in every franchise.

Over these years, have let the sales side make the money but sparingly allowed the service depts. to do likewise.

With my previous GD and FJ, together with the wife's current Lexus RX, have been doing all the regular maintenance myself (except for the freebie oil changes given out when the cars were brand new).

Most will not have the time nor logistics to DIY. Therefore pick the dealership that treats you like your worth their business, and if not, the "Jiffy Lubes" of this world are a good alternative for regular fluid maintenance.

 

In my mind, it's a simple ploy to hook you into visiting the dealership more often then recommended, then upselling you on the "necessary service" you probably don't need. Unless your situation is extremely unusual (using the Fit as a taxi, for ex.), I'd follow the manufacturer recommended service interval over the dealer recommended.

 

It's a hook. Since most people don't think a car needs anything until it's actually on fire, it's somewhat legitimate.

If you pay attention and are somewhat knowledgeable, those hooks are a waste of your time- but they'll keep on doing it because of the other 95% of people. And it helps them sell things.

But refusing to do the quick service because you won't buy their upsells is evil.

 

You know, I thought maybe that I caught the guy on a bad day. So I gave them a second chance. Nope. What's the saying ... Once bitten, twice shy? They will never get my business. Ever. I personally would never recommend them to anyone.

They would only do the service on their terms. Since I didn't want their upsells, I'd have to schedule time for an oil change. Simple as that. I get it. They want their techs servicing the people that are buying the upsells first. That should not be a qualifier for Express Service, and I know that it isn't. I worked at a Honda Dealership. That is not how it works.

I will try to be fair and say that this was almost five years ago, so it's quite possible there has been a management or policy change of which I'm unaware. However, I was so put off by those to instances that I'll never go back.

 

On my 2009 Fit I tried to get the oil changed with the mm at 25% but the dealer suggested that i return when the MM was 10%

 

Not changing the oil? Clearly bad. But changing more often than necessary? Adds cost in time and money that probably statistically doesn't add a benefit when compared with the tiny chance of an engine problem when you've been following recommendations. And every extra oil change introduces another chance for somebody to make a mistake.

 

Nobody gets a chance to,make a mistake. I have been doing my own changes for 40 years. I can do it quicker and better than some kid at a dealer. Not to mentiona whole lot cheaper. Anyway. I will,take my chances and do it more often. If it costs more doing it more often, so be it. Peace of mind is,worth something.

 

This is my take on this whole thread. Do whatever gives you the greatest peace of mind.