BahstonCivic

Hello and thanks for helping us Civic owners.

My ride: 2008 EX, 31K miles, about 40/60 mix city/highway.

At last maintenance dealer advised (among other things) replacing
- power steering fluid said to be "dirty/contaminated"
- engine air filter said to be "dirty"

Maybe so, or maybe premature. Manual says you get a subitem #2 for the air filter. Nothing about replacing power steering fluid. All I've done so far is to pop the cap on pwr steering reservoir and the fluid looks clear, not cloudy.

So.....what are reliable signs that this work needs to be done, beyond a "we say so" from the dealer.

Thanks!

ezone

You read the manual, +1 for you.


Do you change the oil when the minder says to, or at a certain mileage?

If you let the minder go until it says 15% for the oil change due, the reminder item numbers automatically show for the driver.
If you don't let it go that long, the reminder numbers don't show until the minder is about to be reset.

If the minder HAD reminder numbers pop up in the past, they get erased when the oil change reset is done.
Filters are easy, DIY that.
It should be due for them if never done before.
4 clips to get the lid off the engine air filter box.
Look and see how dirty that one is.
The maintenance minder should have popped that number up sometime after 20k.
Cabin filter should be done with it at the same time.
Also super easy.
Flop the glovebox down, pull out the drawer behind it.
We get something like $120 to do both, takes less than 5 minutes on that car.
You can get both of the filters at Autozone for about $30.

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PS fluid?
Oh. Hell. No. Bullpoop.
The manual says nothing about it.
Reason: Almost zero problems with power steering no matter if anything was ever done to the fluid or not.

Don't be a sucka.
Google: Wallet flush.
We now know what sort of dealer you have.
Flushes are easy money, hard for rookies to screw up, and if they are sold and not performed then most users wouldn't have a clue an can't tell any difference.
It's all about generating revenue for the shop, and lining the pockets of certain people.
The rookies probably get an extra $2 for each flush they upsell, so that is all they can see needing to be done, no matter what is wrong with the car.
(FYI My service manager is one of these that wants the rookies to do needless flushes. Some of us try super hard to never let that happen. Some of us actually care about the car and the customer.)

There are probably other things the dealer should be trying to get you to buy that would be more beneficial for the car.
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What else are they trying to push on you?
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I personally would be doing the ATF every 30k or more often. This is based on my experience and the general history of the issues with the cars.
(My own 12 Civic will get ATF changed with every oil change.
My moms 02 Accord gets ATF done with every other oil change. I may step that up in the future.)

Is it chopping the rear tires?
Noisy tires?
Common problem, surprised they missed it if it has noisy tires (Bulletin for upper rear control arms)... Not exactly cheap, but would be beneficial if you are going to keep the car a long time.

Keep track of what maintenance items you have done. Keep track of everything done to the car.
Don't let the dealer sucker you. Once you buckle to junk services, the game is over for you.


/rant

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i do ps fluid when it gets dark, usually once a year (3x drain and fills of the reservoir). air filter once a year, or once every 6 months if its reusable. never hurts to have newer fluids and filters (except for new engine oil, which can harm the cat when the additives burn off).

BahstonCivic

Thanks, ezone, for your detailed reply.

Your question re: oil changes: I've never (as far as I can remember) let the "oil life" get to the point where the maintenance minder nags me. It seems a bit odd that resetting the oil life would also reset the logic / algorithm for other items like engine air filter. But for me the whole minder thing is pretty opaque; guess I'm just an old fart who prefers "do this every xx miles or yy months."

Filter changes DIY sound very straightforward & hard to screw up. Yes I'm going to have auto trans fluid "replaced" (which I'll confirm with dealer is drain & top up, and not a flush). Also brake fluid, which now that I read the manual, says do it at least every 3 years; I'm beyond that now and wish that dealer had mentioned it when they serviced it at the 3-year mark. The trans fluid & brake fluid were the other things they pushed. To do them plus pwr steering fluid plus the 2 filters they quoted $480.

So thanks to your help for now I'll skip the pwr steering and look at doing the 2 filters myself.

BTW didn't grok your comment "Is it chopping the rear tires?" - maybe for some other thread...

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

You can look at what the MM will read by holding in button as if you want to reset MM, and when the codes flash release it (and don't press it again, just turn off key)

The brake fluid interval is 3 years regardless of mileage.

Some early models had trouble where the rear tires would wear uneven, scallop etc... they improved a part to resolve.

I would say 5 years on power steering fluid.

ezone

One big reason to go that long on oil change is to reduce operating costs.
We use excellent quality oil, there is no problem letting it go until the minder says to change it. Depending on driving habits and conditions, I see them go anywhere from 4000 to 12,000 miles on an oil change before the minder pops up.
(If your oil changers are using a lower quality oil, I wouldn't let it go that far at all.)


For some things it is set up to spread out the maint items so you aren't hit with a large maintenance bill all at once, like you would with 30/60/90k services.
SOME of the newer Hondas can have individual maint items selectively reset, but that takes a bunch of time and an HDS scantool.


Not a problem doing services either way, whatever you choose. Just keep your own records so you don't get suckered. KNOW ahead of time what you want/need done.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

In my 05s owners manual it had a maintenance log that is at 5k mile intervals, ideal for my schedule. I zoom enough to fit 8.5 x 11 sheets. Keep this and the receipts with a binder clip in folder.