15k Maintenance

[sjlee]

I just got our Pilot back from the dealer tonight after taking it in for the 15k mile maintenance.

I was surprised to find out that they only charged us $108.50. After looking closely, however, I realized that they do not follow the maintenance schedule that is in the owner's manual.

It appears that they only did the following:

1. Rotated tires
2. Replaced wiper inserts
3. Cleaned and tested battery
4. Replaced air filter
5. Cleaned, inspected and lubed brakes
6. Washed it

I had them skip the oil change as I like to do my own (saved $6).

According to the owner's manual, they should have replaced the VTM-4 rear differential fluid. Seems odd to me, since they could have easily done it without getting any arguments from me and charged me more but instead, they did not.

Anyone have any opinions on this?

[Rapid Rob]

I think the dealers are trying to show us how "low maint." Hondas are.

I see they lubed your brakes. Be careful & watch your stopping distance.

[iglesias]

Originally posted by sjlee
I just got our Pilot back from the dealer tonight after taking it in for the 15k mile maintenance.

[snip]
According to the owner's manual, they should have replaced the VTM-4 rear differential fluid. Seems odd to me, since they could have easily done it without getting any arguments from me and charged me more but instead, they did not.

Anyone have any opinions on this?

My dealer did the same thing. I think it's because they're automatons that write up "15k service" and forget that the Pilot (and Ridgeline) need the VTM-4 fluid changed. When I pointed that out after the service was done, they took my Pilot back and did the change (for an additional $60).

Shortly after that I got an email from the service manager with a "survey" about my service. I pointed out the VTM-4 discrepancy and that they should be more careful when writing up Pilot scheduled maintenance, but I never heard anything back. I wasn't too surprised.

[CMasten]

Here is dusty So Cal, at 15K I did the following myself

air filter
tire rotation
oil change
trans fluid change
vtm fluid change
cabin filter
fuel treatment
double checked all fluids ,brakes, hoses and belts etc, and found my spare was totally flat...
lubed the doors, hood, rear hatch and sunroof
wash, wax

all in all about half a day and about 100 bucks... got to enjoy a good cigar, and a few episodes of Click and Clack (CarTalk on NPR)

[rocky]

If you can change your own oil, you can rotate your own tires.

Mine failed to do the vtm 4 change, so I went back a few days later and got them to do it. DId ask the service guy for consideration got none.

So when Honda called me for a survey a few days later I told them about this and rece'd a call from the service manager who offered to give me $100 towards the next service.

So my 22500 oil change/tire rotate was free.

[fjwagner]

I have learned to point to the service schedule in the manual and to be very specific about what I want done. Invariably, they try to talk me into more but I resist. My come back is typically, "if Honda felt like that needed to be done, they would have listed it in the manual". That is usually the end of the discussion.

[sjlee]

Originally posted by Rapid Rob
I think the dealers are trying to show us how "low maint." Hondas are.

I see they lubed your brakes. Be careful & watch your stopping distance.

Very funny... I meant lubed the brake calipers.

[sjlee]

Originally posted by iglesias

My dealer did the same thing. I think it's because they're automatons that write up "15k service" and forget that the Pilot (and Ridgeline) need the VTM-4 fluid changed. When I pointed that out after the service was done, they took my Pilot back and did the change (for an additional $60).

Shortly after that I got an email from the service manager with a "survey" about my service. I pointed out the VTM-4 discrepancy and that they should be more careful when writing up Pilot scheduled maintenance, but I never heard anything back. I wasn't too surprised.

Actually, the dealership I took it gave me a printout of their own maintenance schedule... it specifically states that they do not change the VTM-4 fluid until 30k. In other words, they are making a conscious decision to not follow the owner's manual.

My big question is this... will it hurt to skip changing the VTM-4 fluid until 30k miles?

I plan on calling the dealership back today and ask them about the discrepancy.

[sjlee]

Update...

I called the dealership, and they said that they even though the owner's manual clearly states that the VTM-4 fluid should be changed every 15k miles, they only recommend doing it every 30k miles. They also stated that by following their schedule, I would not be voiding my warranty. They did, however, say that they would change out the VTM-4 fluid if I wanted, but that they did not recommend it.

I then called Honda Customer Relations and explained the situation to them. They said that since I was taking it to an authorized Honda dealership, there would not be any warranty issues even though they were not following their recommendation. They did, however, ask for the dealership's information. It will be interesting to see if the dealership suddenly decides to start changing the VTM-4 fluid more often.

I wonder why the dealership doesn't follow the owner's manual... is it truly because they do not think it is necessary and want to help their customers save money?

At this point, I'm going to follow the dealership's recommendation and leave the VTM-4 fluid until 30k... which translates roughly into another year.

[sjlee]

Originally posted by rocky
If you can change your own oil, you can rotate your own tires.

True... except that rotating the tires requires raising the Pilot up. I'm fine with paying someone $15-20 to do it since it means I don't have to mess around with getting a jack strong enough to lift the Pilot, using jackstands and taking off/putting on the lug nuts.

Going forward, I'll probably take it to the dealership every 15k miles and do the oil changes in-between myself. I'll let them do the oil changes when I take it in, since it only saves me $6 if I do it myself.

[lcong]

Interestingly, my wife brought our 2005 Pilot to a dealer today for 15k maint. The total charge was $157 and they didn't change VTM-4 fluid either. I was thinking that maybe they forgot it's a 4WD, then I saw this thread.

[ikkoku]

Originally posted by sjlee


True... except that rotating the tires requires raising the Pilot up. I'm fine with paying someone $15-20 to do it since it means I don't have to mess around with getting a jack strong enough to lift the Pilot, using jackstands and taking off/putting on the lug nuts.

My stealer charges 39.99 just to rotate tires...

[sjlee]

Originally posted by ikkoku


My stealer charges 39.99 just to rotate tires...

Wow... that does seem a little ridiculous. I'm not sure what my dealership charges, but the last time we had the tires rotated on the Pilot it cost us less than $20 at the neighborhood mechanic.

[GreenMachine]

Originally posted by sjlee
Update...

I called the dealership, and they said that they even though the owner's manual clearly states that the VTM-4 fluid should be changed every 15k miles, they only recommend doing it every 30k miles.

Shocking since most would expect the dealer to say it needs changing every 7,500 miles.

Make sure you check what their state for scheduled maintenance because it usually has services that don't need to be done. In this case things were not done that should have been based on Honda's recommendations.

[nobby]

I was just at the dealer today asking about notification of upcoming maintenance visits on my 2006 Pilot. The service manager told me the onboard maintenance minder is all I should follow.