Paid too much?

[ksarin]

Guys -

I took my 04 Honda Pilot to a Honda dealer for 60K service. They charged me $324 (Including tax) for the service. However, after the work was done, I noticed that they don't do some of the services (such as replace brake fluid, change rear differential fluid) that are listed at Edmunds.com for a Pilot 60K maintenance schedule. When I asked the dealer about it, they said those services will cost extra. In fact, they took it a step further and asked me to get $800 worth of work done. I DECLINED!!!

Then I took my Pilot to a Meinke (a guys there I trust) and he inspected the Pilot. Came up with the following recommendations:

-> Replace Spark Plugs (Honda dealership did not recommend)
-> Change Brake Fluid (dealership recommended)
-> Replace Front & Rear Brake Pads (dealership recommended)
-> Flush Transmission Fluid (dealership recommended)
-> Fuel Injection Cleaning (Honda dealership did not recommend)

I asked the Meinke guy to hold off doing the last two items and do the first three only. The total (with tax) that he is charging me is around $630.

So in all of this, do you think I have been ripped? I just spent close to a $1000 and feel kinda stupid. When it comes to cars, I don't know much about them. And I kinda feel taken advantage of.

Any help would be appreciated..

[jestmaty]

Lots of 'inspecting' done at the 60k service.....

Crucial things to have serviced in my opinion are:

Replace air filter, VTM-4 fluid change, and a brake fluid flush. That is it aside from inspections.

Plugs are good for about 100k. Brake pads just need to be inspected to see how much pad is left. ( I tow a boat with my Pilot, which uses up the brakes faster, and I still have a LOT of pad left front and rear at 57k )

Transmission fluid should have already been changed at 45k, if the manual has been followed. It has been frowned upon to "flush" the tranny... just do a drain/fill. Some folks feel that the pressures used to flush out fluid could damage internals of the tranny.

Fuel injection cleaning? My Pilot has been run on grocery store gas for the last 4 1/2 years with no problems. Some forum members feel like a 'twice-a-year' can of Chevron Techron dumped into the fuel tank is good preventative maintanence.

Almost forgot the cabin air filter, which is on the 60k schedule. It is very similiar to a home a/c filter change. They get very, very dirty and moldy after a while and changing it seems to freshen up the a/c and heating system in my Pilot.

IMO, all the other 'inspection' stuff in the maintanence schedule is just a money grab. Anyone, I mean anyone, can look at the items on the list and see if there is a problem or not.

Find another dealer, the VTM4 fluid is clearly on the schedule and should have been done!

[jestmaty]

Forgot to add that the brake fluid replacment is every 3 years, independent of mileage.

That being said.... my Pilot is an '04 like yours and I haven't done the replacement yet. Even though it says to change every 3 years, I've never done it on any of my cars ( probably owned 10 cars in my life ) and haven't had a problem that I can remember.

The brake system 'could' absorb moisture and lose it's braking efficiency. Also, the rubber components could degrade when exposed to moisture in the fluid. I guess I'll do it one of these weekends, when the weather gets cooler.

[rocky]

This story is a great reminder to all of us to look in the owners manual and to dictate what actually needs to be done by the book not by the dealer.

The 60k normal scheduled service per the ownerslink says

60,000 mi/96,000 km Scheduled Maintenance
Recommended service for your 2005 Honda Pilot:

Inspect idle speed


Rotate tires (follow pattern on page 190 of your Owner's Manual)


Replace air cleaner element


Replace VTM-4 rear differential fluid*2


*2: At every 15,000 miles (24,000 km) up to 30,000 miles (48,000 km) or every 1 year, then every 30,000 miles (48,000 km) or 2 years.

[ctobio]

Originally posted by jestmaty

The brake system 'could' absorb moisture and lose it's braking efficiency. Also, the rubber components could degrade when exposed to moisture in the fluid. I guess I'll do it one of these weekends, when the weather gets cooler.

The rubber won't degrade when exposed to water. Rubber doesn't do that.

What can happen is that you could get a rust spot on a hydraulic cylinder bore that abrades the rubber.

I would venture that a brake hydraulic components would be lifetime if regular fluid changes were in effect.