I have a 2016 Pilot Elite, purchased in January 2016. I just took my car in to the dealership for an oil change (31K miles), as the car was showing a 'B1' service.

The service techs 'recommended' that I do the following as well:
1) Fuel System Induction Service
2) Brake Fluid Exchange
3) Transmission Fluid Flush

They wanted a ton of money ($400-500+) for this. I declined given that I didn't think it was necessary to do this and they were just trying to upsell.

My question is: Is there a 'true' maintenance schedule I should be following that you all recommend, that includes things like the above items (and more)? Prior to this particular service, I've been taking my car to the shop for whatever the car/maintenance minder is saying, but don't know how 'smart' the car is to tell me if/when I need a 'Fuel System Induction Service', for example.

The "true" maintenance schedule is whatever the maintenance minder indicates at each oil change.
An exception is the brake fluid service, which is recommended to be performed every three years - so, for you, it could probably be done at the next oil change.

A fuel system induction service is not part of the normal maintenance, and should not needed if the car is running well, passes any emissions tests and you haven't noticed a drop off in gas mileage.

A transmission fluid flush is not part of the normal maintenance, just a drain and refill when indicated by the maintenance minder - typically first at about 45K miles and then every 30K thereafter.

 

Thanks for the response. The dealership provides an 'X-point inspection report', and funny enough, the same things on the inspection report are listed as 'yellow' (Future Attention): Transmission Oil, Brake Fluid Level/Condition, and Fuel System.

The service rep tried to sell me on these prior to them running the point inspection report, so are they fudging the report to 'convince' me that this work has to be done, or is it report accurate?

Thanks again.

 

The dealership provides an 'X-point inspection report', and funny enough, the same things on the inspection report are listed as 'yellow' (Future Attention): Transmission Oil, Brake Fluid Level/Condition, and Fuel System.
The service rep tried to sell me on these prior to them running the point inspection report, so are they fudging the report to 'convince' me that this work has to be done, or is it report accurate?

One might suggest that the multi-point inspection report is accurate to the extent that the brake fluid and the transmission fluid will require "attention" in the relatively near "future" (as explained in my previous post), while the fuel induction system may require "attention" - but only in the far distant "future", if at all.

I also have a GM vehicle and the dealer provides a similar report with each oil change.
About the only really useful information on it is the condition of the brake pads.

 

That's the great thing about the MM. It tells you what needs doing.follow that and hopefully no dealer BS.
(Except for brake pads etc. )

 

The smart way to service your car

Here’s all you need to do when setting up an appointment at a dealership’s service department:

1.Find your maintenance schedule. You can get this either from your owners manual or online by doing a Google search such as “2014 Toyota RAV4 owners manual.” Here is a listing of all service manuals.
2.Photocopy or print out the schedule. You’ll see why in a few seconds.

3.Schedule a service appointment. Ask for the service department and tell them exactly what is needed. Don’t say, “I’m ready for my 15,000-mile service visit.” Just read them what the owners manual says.

4..Be ready for the upsell. When you get to the dealership, the service advisor will probably say, “You have 15,000 miles on your car. Here’s what we recommend,” and hand you a sheet of services. Pull out your copy of the maintenance schedule, hand it to the service advisor and say, “But my manual says I only need this work done.”

5.Handling extra recommendations. Sometime later, you’re settled in the service lounge, eating free doughnuts, when your service advisor reappears and says something like, “We checked your car over and it looks like you also need …” — fill in the blank. The advisor could be recommending a brake job, a fluid change or the replacement of some part you’ve never heard of. If you have a good relationship with your service advisor and trust him or her, you could just go ahead and have the work done. But if it is not a safety-related issue, it doesn’t hurt to say, “I’d like to hold off on that until my next visit.”

Sorry,I copy it on google.

 

Here are the 2016 Pilot manuals:

Owner's Manual | 2016 Honda Pilot | Honda Owners Site

Also, here are the Maintenance Minder meanings (if you need them:

Letters: SM
Numbers: SM

 

I went for my B1 a few months ago and yes they had a list of "recommended" service of which when i questioned them, did not get a satisfactory answer.

1) Brake fluid flush (they call it under different names to make you think they are doing something magical) I am sorry to say this is one of the easiest things one can do themselve (tones of video on youtube)and yes you need to do it every 3 years as air forms in the brake liquid as well it does become dirty over time.
2) Throttle body clean-- Well... my car acceleration is performing well and so is the fuel economy, so asked them if anyone looked inside to see if it needs cleaning and the answer was no yet Honda does not recommend it unless the car shows symptoms of the above mentioned. The throttle body is fly-by-wire hence, one has to be careful cleaning it as you should NOT open the flap manually
3) Engine filter and cabin filter- went out and looked at it with the service adviser and no it does not need to be replaced as it was 50% clean and the MM did not call for it.

Total cost at Stealership $500
Total cost for me to do it $180 (brake fluid, filters, throttle body cleaner and yes some sweat equity)

 

First thing i generally do is, figure out what the service means, searching online or searching owners manuals or even directly calling the dealership-service departments. Then i call different dealer-service departments about the price and what is included in the service.
Some times they offer coupons of some sort. Then finally schedule the appointment.

 

Every dealership service department attempts to up sell customers to do extra services or more frequent services. It's where most, if not all, of their profit lies.
Think of it as the same pitch you got for fabric protection, paint sealer, and wheel/tire insurance when you bought the car.

And as others have said, these recommendations should always be ignored. All required maintenance is dictated by the MM and listed in the OM.

The issue you'll find is that many dealers figure a way to price their ala carte services in a way that makes it about the same price as their one-price bundle with the extra unnecessary services. If this is the case and you have other dealerships within reasonable distance to choose from, I'd shop around. And you always want to check online to see what coupons or service specials are available.

- Mark

 

I was bummed out when I did my service that included the first of rear diff fluid change, as my dealer uses BG products and that makes this service expensive.

I had them do it the first time because i had not researched enough and didn't want to tackle it on my own. I will going forward because I don't want to keep paying out the nose.

 

High pressure fuel pump rattle?