2010 Civic LX: 30,000 Mile Service: "E Service": Ripoff?

Honda had a well-documented issue with premature failures of automatic transmissions in vehicles with V6 engines in certain model years. They ultimately wound up extending the warranty for these vehicles, and in many cases covered the cost of a remanufactured transmission for owners so afflicted (they did this for me even though my car was not technically part of the warranty extension, and at any rate would have been slightly outside of the extended warranty period if it had been). They quit doing this some time ago, and the entire debacle has left a bad taste in the mouths of many former Honda loyalists who used to be able to rely upon superior engineering as an unquestioned quality of the Honda brand.

Lots more info if you Google (my search string only covers 99-02 model years, but the tranny problems persisted well beyond that):

why do/did you focus on "by mileage"?

No, it doesn't give you a mileage-based service schedule. It gives you a service schedule that follows the maintenance minder.

But it *does* tell you what "A1" means, right? It tells you exactly what services are to be performed when that shows up on the maintenance minder, right?

So my point stands: what you NEED to do is to START with your owner's manual, and do EXACTLY what it specifies. And it DOES specify exactly what services are required.

So what are those services?

The two Honda dealerships near where I work and live do not do this.

That is okay. The phone calls I have made as a result of this event showed me that the original Honda Dealership ( near where I work ) is not the cheapest or most competent.

The one near where I live made a good impression on me and their labor rate is only $3/hr more than the the independent mechanic across the street from where I work.

From now on I am taking my maintenance to either them or the Honda dealership near where I live.

Steve

The key is the dealership. I live in a small southern town in GA and am retired military. The local Honda dealer is excellent with top-notch mechanics. The dealership is privately owned and has been in business since the early 80s. When you take you Honda in for service -- i.e. the 30k service, they cover the factory recommendations, the cost and so forth... no padding.

Great idea. Seriously, write to Honda

Steve

Conclusion.

1. Went back for another oil change at Honda Dealership 1 earlier this week. Again, got a list of to-dos, 0. Shopped around via phone to other dealerships. Went with an independent mechanic who did the to-dos for about 0.

1. It is safe and necessary to let the maintenance minder hit 15% between oil changes. Icons for scheduled maintenance items aside from oil changes will not light up otherwise.

Steve

It's not a countdown to self-destruct, it's a countdown to call the dealer for an appointment, or make an appointment with your shade-tree and do it yourself.

J.

LOL

Conclusion.

1. Went back for another oil change at Honda Dealership 1 earlier this week. Again, got a list of to-dos, 0. Shopped around via phone to other dealerships. Went with an independent mechanic who did the to-dos for about 0.

1. It is safe and necessary to let the maintenance minder hit 15% between oil changes. Icons for scheduled maintenance items aside from oil changes will not light up otherwise.

Steve

I would also recommend you keep a summary account of service done and when. You may need this when they try to sell you service already done. I had a recent situation where the Honda mechanic stated on the recommended maintenance found in their inspection that my plugs were in poor condition -- after they had changed them only 5k miles ago.

On 5/8/2013 3:24 PM, tww1491 wrote: [snip]

Don't we all keep a record of some sort? If not just the receipt, at least "in our heads?" If the mechanic tried that with me, I would not bother with any records (what do I have to prove to him?) I'd just tell him...

"FAIL! Those plugs were changed out 5,000 miles back (perhaps by THIS shop) and you know they're good! I'm gone and going to be busy telling everyone I know that this shop is a rip-off and to avoid you like the plague." That's the only explanation that the rip off's understand.

On 5/8/2013 3:24 PM, tww1491 wrote: [snip]

Don't we all keep a record of some sort? If not just the receipt, at least "in our heads?" If the mechanic tried that with me, I would not bother with any records (what do I have to prove to him?) I'd just tell him...

"FAIL! Those plugs were changed out 5,000 miles back (perhaps by THIS shop) and you know they're good! I'm gone and going to be busy telling everyone I know that this shop is a rip-off and to avoid you like the plague." That's the only explanation that the rip off's understand.

The saving grace was the service advisor who knew what had been done and did not press the issue. On balance, I think I will take this to the service mgr, He needs to know this mechanic is sloppy.

That the mechanic told you, "...that my plugs were in poor condition" is NOT sloppy, it's dishonest. He lied to you. Either he didn't examine the plugs and just tried to sell you a, what?, $100+ upcharge you did not need, or he DID examine the plugs and decided to stick it to you regardless. Maybe I'm just old fashioned or maybe I'm anal about integrity, but in your case if that mechanic was still working for the dealership that tells me they condone such actions and are not worthy of my business.

but before you condemn mechanic #2, how can you be sure, based on the original post, that mechanic #1 actually did install new spark plugs?

That's a point but insignificant in the overall scheme of things.

If we can agree that the work was supposed to have been done at the same dealership, we now have a situation where either Mechanic #1 (likely in collusion with the service manager and/or parts manager) claimed to have done the service and charged for it or #2 blew smoke up the customer's ass and tried to sell him the same service 5,000 miles later.

Do you feel better that it was #1 who lied to you and cheated you? Or would you feel better that it #2 who tried to cheat you and the service manager backed you when he saw that the jig was up?

It's basic dishonesty any way you look at it. Perjury is a dishonest act. It's simply two differing stories, under oath, that are material to the issue at hand. It makes no difference WHICH version is true, only that the two stories (in perjury cases, made by the same person) are materially different. In this dealership it makes no difference which mechanic was lying, the problem is that ONE of them is lying and the dealership is responsible. That is the important point.