Friends: I’ve read a fair amount on this board but the lack of any clearly defined maintenance schedule for this vehicle is driving me nuts. It is a 2021 AWD CR-V (Touring) owned by a widow neighbor in her ‘80s whose late husband I promised I’d help babysit the car and see she’s not getting ripped off at the dealer. I fear that is the case. I have looked through her records on this ~20k-mile car, built apparently in 8/2020 and delivered in early June 2021. The roughly 20k miles have been accumulated over 36 months, or just shy of 7k a year. She had routine BS Honda software-driven items done so far, including having the differential fluid changed at about 15k.

Questions: 1) her current dealer service writer is pushing, at the bizarre rate of a mere $452, a CVT tranny flush two months from now (i.e. 48 months since manufacture). She’ll have probably 21k on the car at that point. What is the generally accepted period in miles/months for a CVT fluid flush? $452 for 5 qts of Honda-branded ATF and an hour of labor? I wasn’t born yesterday and it sure as heck wasn’t in the dark!

2: given that the initial dose of differential oil was swapped out probably a year ago in the vicinity of 15k miles, what is the generally accepted period for differential oil change? One service writer at another dealership told me I could let that go another 30k (to 50k) without issue. The Honda software —designed allegedly to factor in driving habits, sell fluids and parts, keep up Honda’s reputation, and make some money for dealers — borders on unintelligible to the layman.

3: Can someone confirm that the Honda recommendation on brake fluid changes is three years? Her Honda dealer’s price for a brake flush (Lordy, 1q of branded brake fluid and maybe 30 minutes using a power flushing machine) was $200. My Indy does mine for $75 plus fluid. The second dealership I checked was at $180.

4) what’s the time period for a coolant flush?

5) are there any BG product services that are worth a damn on these cars? The only product I’ve ever seen touted as being worth a hoot is injector cleaner administered via the fuel tank, which my Jag friends tout. Her existing dealer was also pushing a BS “A/C evap system cleaner” I’m going to steer her away from.

In a perfect world, I’d just take the car to my Indy who does my Jags and my Prius, but my neighbor’s late husband instilled the “take it to the dealer” mantra in her, so I need a little guidance to assist me as her automotive advisor.

I thank everyone in advance for any help. (Just FYI, her driving habits generally include trips long enough to warm up fluids, i.e. 7-10 miles in a single trip on suburban streets … except when she’s taking me to the nearby Indy shop to reclaim my Jag! She’s never out on interstates any more.)

Eliot Brenner
Annandale, Va.

 

Before I reference all the previous threads on this subject I have two questions;

Are you familiar with the function and operation of the Maintenance Minder?

and

Do you have a copy of the owners manual available for reference?

 

Just Ducky: Thank you for responding. I have access to the owner's manual. And while I have not used the Maintenance Minder, I am capable of getting to it and looking at it on the car screen. However, the owner panics if the "Home Screen" is manipulated because she past the point of being able to figure out how to get it back to the Home Screen without me to walk her through it! She accidentally screwed it up once and I had to come over and figure out how to get her back to square one. If I follow the Maintenance Minder's construction it's a logic tree built on data from the car on its operation, triggering built-in alerts based on various criteria. I am, however, a tad old school.

If you're suggesting I simply have her follow the Minder, does it contain "nice but not necessary" stuff that lets a dealer try to scare the heck out of her with bogus, overpriced and unnecessary stuff (evap cleaner foam, etc.)?

Thank you again for taking a moment to respond.

 

I understand the angst however the CR-V has a high tech computer system that is fully capable of determining service items. It will also tell you what is broken via the OBDII port.

So turn in your hymnal to about page 580 (mine is a 22 so it is slightly different), sit down with your neighbor and be that chargé d'affaires.

The maintenance minder (MM) is simple. A or B followed by number(s) 1-7. Each Letter/number combination has specific meaning that is clearly defined in the owners manual (hymnal). There are also recommendations for items that fall outside the MM triggers.

These are all recommendations designed to enhance reliability of the vehicle.

When the CR-V is taken in for service a written note stating exactly what is requested should be presented to the service writer. It should also contain a statement that no other service is authorized without the express consent of the owner. The shop will likely to continue to attempt up-sell for profiteering. Here is where you come in. You must convince your neighbor that she must repeatedly point to the note and say: No thank you, just this.

Sooo, trust the CR-V (Honda and its engineers) and follow the manual.

”The dealer says” should fall on deaf ears. If she gets confused I suggest having her tell the dealer to call you.

YMMV

Edit: If there is an extended service policy in place there my be certain requirements to keep that in force.

 

Do you have a trusted local shop? We thankfully do and they have told me no more than once when I've gone in to inquire about some service or another. They could have done it and pocketed extra money but they don't work that way. I only go to the dealer if it is something warranty paid or that rare unicorn when they offer something for free. Good luck.

 

Thanks very much for the guidance. I appreciate the effort you put into the replies. I will be seeing the owner Thursday. I think what will probably work is every oil change period if I can get her to let me rummage through the Maintenance Minder in advance I can tell her what is a must. I’ll share the crux of your guidance with her.

Again many thanks kind sir.

 

LDB — She’s one of these “only the dealer” sorts because of 50 years of lecturing from her late husband. I do have an independent shop which could handle everything, but she’s fixated on doing what she’s done for decades and decades. I’ll do all I can to steer her away from any profit-padding work. It sure would be easier if Honda had retained written guidance. Thanks very much for checking in and pitching in.

 

You do not need to thrash with the MM unless you want to see oil life.

The MM will display the reminder on the instrument cluster when something is due or an oil change is within 15% or both. All she has to do is tell you when it lights up.

Example: A 1 is oil change and rotate tires. B 1 is oil change + filter and rotate tires. On a personal note, I have the filter changed with every oil change but thats just me.

Happy Motoring