[JB in AZ]

Women are not the only ones who get upsold at dealers.

My wife and I have been friends with another couple for over 20 years. They always come to me when considering buying new vehicles.

Their most recent purchase (about 3 years ago) is a Toyota product. BUT, when the husband brought their Toyota into the local Toyota dealership for it's first "free 24,000 mile maintenance" visit at 5,000 miles, he was told he needed a bunch of additional recommended items at a large additional fee. (He thought the service visit was supposed to be free) After he dutifully paid these extras over the years on the previous car, he finally had a light bulb lite up over his head, and he called me from the dealer's service drive. I advised him not to do these extras. He had always paid for these extras in the past. So, men can also be duped. No shame, as not all men are "car guys".

 

[Nuke]

I learned my lesson with my first car..an old $400.00 vw beetle and I was 17 fortunately with no money. Clipped a coupon in the paper for a free oil change and multi point inspection at a vw dealer….they had all sorts of extras they wanted to do and charge me for..what did I know then? Most may have believed them but I told them I had no money so that shut them down. After that point I researched and did my own maitenence. Anyone can be “duped”. This is definitely not a new phenonemom. This is not just an automotive issue. The well informed on any issue, male or female are always in a better position.

 

[fdthird]

We had a very new 2013 Hyundai Sonata that I returned to the dealer to get a recall done on the shift lever. Next thing I know they’re strapping devices on each wheel and tell me the car is in bad need of a wheel alignment! I returned to my regular mechanic who checked the alignment and said it was perfect! Some dealers think this is the way to do business!

 

[SVTfocusO3]

Yeah, those year Sonatas had bad alignment issues and many recalls on it as well.

Good to bring up though, that many problems like this are covered under the 12k/1 year adjustment warranty, although I don't see Honda has one in manual, but many others do. Warranty booklet is more good info additional to the owners manual.

 

[CrazyMind2017]

I'm confused. I recently checked the engine air filter on my 2019 LX AWD and the cover is simply held in with two clamps that can be unlatched and latched with my fingers. Is a screw driver needed to access the filter element on the 1.5T?

 

[sirwired]

I'm confused. I recently checked the engine air filter on my 2019 LX AWD and the cover is simply held in with two clamps that can be unlatched and latched with my fingers. Is a screw driver needed to access the filter element on the 1.5T?

Yes, you must loosen some captive screws to get the filter cover off. And it helps to pop the intake hose off, which also needs a screw.

 

[Kazoo2U]

Yes, you must loosen some captive screws to get the filter cover off. And it helps to pop the intake hose off, which also needs a screw.

Better bet is to use a socket & rachet to loosen the screws. Sometimes you can strip out the heads of the screws using only a Philips / JIS screwdriver to remove the screws.

 

[D2s]

I was asking because you are approaching the mileage where mine called for a B6 which includes differential fluid change

You were spot on. B16 popped up on mine, but oil still at 30%. will wait fill it hits 15% before heading to the dealer.
Thanks to this forum and thread, I'll be replacing the filters by myself and for tire rotation, I will take V to near by AT/DT.

PS: My search for the full size spare on OEM rim continues, without much progress.

 

[waynorth]

wait til you hit service 01679 (honda canada codes) @ 36,700 km's for me ☹

628$
oil change+ filter , differential fluid , brake fluid change/flush , brake service

 

[Buck Turgidson]

wait til you hit service 01679 (honda canada codes) @ 36,700 km's for me ☹

628$
oil change+ filter , differential fluid , brake fluid change/flush , brake service

Yikes!

 

[sirwired]

wait til you hit service 01679 (honda canada codes) @ 36,700 km's for me ☹

628$
oil change+ filter , differential fluid , brake fluid change/flush , brake service

Your dealer really reamed you there; in no way should that be $629, even in CAN. (That last item really isn't a "brake service"; that's to make it sound expensive... if you read Item 9 on Honda Canada's website, it's just a bunch of eyeball inspections. (At my dealer, they literally do this every time a vehicle rolls through the door, gratis, along with doing a battery check.) All those services combined should be closer to $350 or so.

 

[CrazyMind2017]

Your dealer really reamed you there; in no way should that be $629, even in CAN. (That last item really isn't a "brake service"; that's to make it sound expensive... if you read Item 9 on Honda Canada's website, it's just a bunch of eyeball inspections. (At my dealer, they literally do this every time a vehicle rolls through the door, gratis, along with doing a battery check.) All those services combined should be closer to $350 or so.

Even that's a bit high. If you price shop multiple dealer service departments, you can probably get those combined services done for around $275-300 at most. It will be different for people who don't have a large number of Honda dealers to choose from, so those people may get stuck paying higher prices. Of course, there's always the option of an independent mechanic, who should also be able to handle these simple fluid changes without running into or causing problems.

 

[Nuke]

Thats what a dealer in Canada would charge, maybe $350. at a good independent. ”service front and rear brakes” in Canada should include lubing callipers, scraping off any accumulated rust etc. The good independents will actually use a grinder, unsure if a dealer would.

 

[HollyTiggy]

So, follow up after I decided to drive out there and tear the Service Manager a new one rather than calling. I figured that 6'4" angry guy makes a better impression than random fool on the phone.

I spoke with the manager (whose name now escapes me) and told him what I thought about the excess, unnecessary charges, adding that the only item they failed to charge her for was Blinker Fluid! I stated that this whole thing was wildly unethical and I fully expected them to refund every cent over the original estimate. He was very accommodating in his tone, and he told me he understood why I was upset, and asked me to wait in his office for a few minutes.

When he came back, he apologized for his employee (while obliquely blaming him for what is probably a fairly common practice) and said he would have a discussion with him about this kind of thing. Then he told me he had refunded the entire amount. So the $280 invoice ended up being $0.00!! Getting a B 1 service for free took the sting out of taking time out of my workday to drive out there and bitch them out.

Sometimes good things happen. Thanks for all the responses and have an awesome day!

And on that happy note I would not take the vehicle back there for service. Not sure if this is the car dealership but I never take either of my CRV's back to the dealer unless it is for warranty/recall or service notice work. They are simply too expensive, try to upsell and have a terrible reputation in town. All other routine such as oil and filters etc go to my local Speedy Muffler near my house, who's staff I have known for years and trust. I have never felt they were taking me for a ride, esp. as a female; they never have done anything other than what I go there for unless they call and explain (that has only happened 1 time in 14 years of CRV ownership).

 

[waynorth]

Your dealer really reamed you there; in no way should that be $629, even in CAN. (That last item really isn't a "brake service"; that's to make it sound expensive... if you read Item 9 on Honda Canada's website, it's just a bunch of eyeball inspections. (At my dealer, they literally do this every time a vehicle rolls through the door, gratis, along with doing a battery check.) All those services combined should be closer to $350 or so.

when ticking off the boxes of the dealers website in order to book app. online the grand total of the 01679 code was 499$ , add 13% tax and its 575$ . I suppose I could call them tommorrow to ask why it was a tad higher.

code 0 = 99.18/oil+filter
code 6 =76.96/rear diff fluid
code 9 =212.05/brake service w/o parking brake service
code 7 =140.72 brake fluid flush
parts =145.24
labour = 383.67
then a ''supplies'' charge of 26.86
total before taxes 555.77
total with taxes 628.02

whats the supplies charge ?

 

[steveabooey]

Yikes!!! As I already noted, I'm no mechanic, but I was able to very easily change the oil, filter, rear differential fluid, and brake fluid.
I did the oil, filter, and rear differential with no help. My wife helped with the brake fluid change. She pumped the brakes.
I had no problems doing any of this work, and I spent less than $50 for all of the fluids, the oil filter, and the crush washers.

 

[384763]

That oil/filter charge is definitely nutz. It costs me $40CDN to do it myself, my dealer would charge $64 CDN

 

[waynorth]

I know you guys mean well when saying that you do your own maintenance and how much money is saved by doing so but not all of us are equipped to do this for a variety of reasons .

 

[williamsji]

Your dealer really reamed you there; in no way should that be $629, even in CAN. (That last item really isn't a "brake service"; that's to make it sound expensive... if you read Item 9 on Honda Canada's website, it's just a bunch of eyeball inspections. (At my dealer, they literally do this every time a vehicle rolls through the door, gratis, along with doing a battery check.) All those services combined should be closer to $350 or so.

1) prices for service DO vary by region and state. Labor prices being what they are and how they vary by state and region.

2) most service for vehicles now days in well regulated states require that each service have a specified labor time and price for labor in a table which must be submitted and approved by the state entity in charge of regulating such things. Sadly, years of bad services and charges have driven many states to step in and force these things into fixed price tables. That limits and quantifies costs to consumers, but if the service takes less time, the price remains the same. Of course if the service takes more time, the price remains the same as well.

3) I have a reasonable understanding of the ranges of prices from Honda dealers for defined MM services (you can look them up at many dealership websites). B oil service will be somewhere between 79 and 139 dollars at dealerships (depending on what they include in that service) and depending on state/region, and many dealers include the brake service and other inspections as part of that (mine does). For differential service, it will be 150-225, and brake fluid service will be 175-225.

And of course you have taxes, shop supplies, and disposal fees that are typically above and beyond. Like it or not... taxes exist.. and shop supplies is a common and legal "peanut butter" that some shops use (not just dealers) to cover any incidental parts or supplies used during service (rather than nickel and dime charges for screws, other fasteners, shop towels, cleaning supplies, etc). Disposal fees would be any state mandated "pay as you consumer" fees to dispose of old components, fluids, etc. Why do states impose disposal fees, you ask? To encourage these items to be properly disposed of in state approve recycle and recovery services, instead of just tossing/dumping them into local land fills or out in empty fields somewhere.

So really, 629 is on the high side of what I have observed for dealer service pricing, but it is not unusual. It is however unusual to need MM codes 1679 all at one service visit, so the total here for one service visit is atypical for routine service work like this.

The other factor to consider, is if you are a long standing customer of a dealership they very often give you discounts on their list price fees as part of loyalty recognition. Normally, my dealer discounts from their list prices for services ~ 20% for my vehciles. One of the advantages of sticking with a dealer who you trust to perform service work well.

 

[williamsji]

I know you guys mean well when saying that you do your own maintenance and how much money is saved by doing so but not all of us are equipped to do this for a variety of reasons .

Any time these discussions come up.. there is always a race to see who can out do the rest of the pack with a "lowest price result". It tends to muddy up the discussion, because not all service providers (including DIY) are of the same caliber and results in apples to oranges comparisons as well.

Then there is the ever popular theme of "all dealerships are crooks" here in the forum. While I agree that some dealers seem to be on the shady side of business and should be reported by owners to Honda, early and often.... there are a lot of really good dealers also and the burden rests with the owner to find a service provider they trust and can rely on.

Personally, I have my Honda's serviced by one of the half a dozen dealer in my area... a dealer I have trusted for years for service, and they continue to perform well for me. I don't buy from them, I buy from another dealer... but only because the other dealer offers better pricing on new vehicles. I am much more focused on trustworthy and reputable service rather than squeezing every nickel in the process. Money alone, is not everything in the value proposition when having routine service performed on motor vehicles.