Hi,

i went to Anderson Honda, Palo Alto today.
The service advisor mentioned that i need to to do Maintenance B ($182.90) which is Replace air cleaner element Replace dust and pollen filter Inspect drive belt which is ($137.00)

and Brake System Flush ($130.00)

I told him i dont want the brake system but he highly recommended it since it is 3 years old.

Now i found that most of these can be done like $150 in total. Did i just get fooled? What is your recommendation next time?

 

my Honda dealer runs a special for 19.99 and u get pretty much an oil change and filter and multipoint inspection free. i rotate the tires myself. air filters are cheap to diy. brakes sure maybe. but people here recommend 60k. i'm surprised they didnt suggest transmission flush at 30k since most people recommend that.

 

I change my own oil and filters and rotate my own tires. That way I get to choose what oil I use, not what the dealer got the best price on that month. I also change my own air cleaner and cabin air filter. Beyond that, there's not much to do on a modern car except, as you list there, "inspect" the various fluids and systems. Then again, there's not a lot more than this I know how to do on cars anymore. Especially since I can't get a hard copy of the shop manual anymore.

Yes, Honda recommends brake fluid changed at 3 year intervals. My dealer's service department checked mine yearly with a "test strip" that showed moisture level in the fluid, and told me I was "good" until 5 years, when I had I finally had it done.

The real "rip off" here is replacing the cabin air filter and air cleaner. You can buy them both on line for about $40 and install them yourself in under 5 minutes.

If I have the car into the dealer for any reason, they include the "multi-point" inspection for "free". And why not? It's a good way to drum up more business.

 

Unfortunately, you spent a whole lotta money for not a lot of work.
$182 for a $35 oil change and tire rotation.
$137 to change 2 very easily accessible filters that would cost about $40.
Brake flush, meh.

 

I just spent $20 on a filter and 4 quarts of 0w20.

 

I tow a 1000# trailer with my 2012 base AT fit. So whenever my oil life gets down to about 40% I change oil and filter (mobil one 0-20), and also drain out what I can from the AT, which is 3.5 to 4 qts. I use Honda AT fluid which is usually around $7 a qt on sale. (The transmission holds much more...but changing the 25% I can drain without a flush at each engine oil change is about the same as a flush and fill at 60,000. I rotate or have tires rotated between 7000+10000 miles. Simple. And since I am towing, at 50,000 miles when stock front pads were getting thin, I put in EBC semi-metallic autocross pads. Best swap I've done on the car, never liked the feel of the ceramics.

 

my '12 is coming up 25k pretty soon. I only plan to do the oil and oil filter change.
The rest is visual inspection. I will not be doing the brake fluid change either.

 

You can always suck the fluid out of the brake resevouir and replace. That way your ABS unit gets nice fresh fluid when it cycles. And its cheap to do yourself. 10 bucks and a turkey baster or mighty vac.