Detailed Info on Honda/Acura's Maintenance Minder System

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quote:

Taking the Mystery Out of the Maintenance Minder System

To help vehicle owners know when scheduled maintenance is due, Honda has introduced the maintenance minder system in these models.

• '06 Accord
• '06 Civic
• '05–06 Odyssey
• '06 Pilot
• '06 Ridgeline
• '06 S2000

The maintenance minder system shows engine oil life in the information display to let you know when it's time to have the engine oil replaced and regular maintenance done. There's no longer a maintenance schedule in the O/M. The system shows engine oil life as a percentage, which drops over time as the vehicle racks up miles. It starts out at 100% with fresh engine oil, and winds down to 0%, signaling the oil life is over. The system counts down oil life based on engine operating conditions (both normal and severe). If the engine runs at higher temperatures and rpm, or at low temperatures during short trips, the oil life will deplete faster than an engine running under more normal conditions. Depending on the oil life percentage, the system shows three different messages when you turn the ignition switch to ON (II). Here's what you could see:

Oil Life Message

15% SERVICE DUE SOON
Plan to take your vehicle in for scheduled maintenance
5% SERVICE DUE NOW
Take your vehicle in now for scheduled maintenance
0% SERVICE PAST DUE (Mileage past due is also shown)
Service is overdue. Take your vehicle in now for scheduled maintenance

When the oil life reaches 15%, you'll also see a two-part maintenance item code. This code tells you what items need servicing when you have the engine oil replaced. The first part of the code is the main code. It's either A or B, never both. Here's what they mean:

A Replace just the engine oil.
B Replace the engine oil and the oil filter, rotate the tires, inspect the front and rear brakes, check the parking brake adjustment, and inspect several other items listed in the O/M.

The second part of the code is the subcode. It's numbered 1 thru 5 in vehicles without 4WD, and 1 thru 6 in vehicles with 4WD. These subcodes can show up in any combination. Here's what they mean:

Subcode
1 Rotate the tires.
2 Replace the air cleaner element, check the drive belt, and replace the dust and pollen filter.
3 Replace the transmission fluid and transfer
fluid (if equipped).
4 Replace the spark plugs, replace the timing belt (if equipped), inspect the water pump, and inspect valve clearance.
5 Replace the engine coolant.
6 Replace the rear differential fluid (if equipped).

The system automatically moves up maintenance items or delays them so they get done along with engine oil replacement. For example, if tire rotation is normally done at 7,500 miles, but the oil life ends around 6,000 miles, the system will move up tire rotation. Or, if the oil life appears to be ending around 9,000 miles, the system will delay tire rotation. In either case, you would see the maintenance item code A1 in the information
display.

Some scheduled maintenance items are independent of the maintenance minder system. The brake fluid should be replaced every 3 years, the idle speed should be inspected every 160,000 miles, and the valves adjusted if they're noisy.

And there are driving situations where a few maintenance items deviate from the maintenance
minder system. These items are affected:

• Air filters - the air cleaner element and dust and pollen filter should be replaced every
15,000 miles if you drive the vehicle often in areas that are regularly dusty or dirty (high
concentration of soot from industry or diesel powered vehicles).

• ATF - the ATF should be replaced every 30,000 miles if you use the vehicle mostly for towing or you drive in mountainous areas. This doesn't apply if the vehicle has ATF life monitoring. The '06 Civic is the only vehicle that monitors ATF life at this time.

• Timing belt (if equipped) - the timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles if you
drive the vehicle often in areas that commonly have temperatures above 110°F or below
-20°F.

Keep in mind, only a small percentage of vehicle owners are actually involved in these driving situations. All other vehicle owners should follow the maintenance minder system. For owners who only drive their vehicles occasionally, and the oil life never reaches 15% at the end a 12-month period since the engine oil was last replaced, the engine oil should be replaced and the oil life indicator reset to 100%. When resetting the oil life indicator, the system will flash the maintenance item code that would have come up when the oil life reached 15%. Make sure all maintenance is done according to that maintenance item code.

The maintenance minder info is stored in the ECM/PCM and in the gauge control module. The ECM/PCM keeps track of the oil life, while the gauge control module handles the service items. If you replace the ECM/PCM, make sure you transfer the maintenance minder info from the old ECM/PCM to the new one. And if you replace the gauge control module, remember to transfer the odometer reading from the old gauge control module to the new one. When replacing the ECM/PCM, if you run into any problems transferring the maintenance minder info, replace the engine oil. The system will start the oil life at 100%.

 
Hmm, no PM schedule in the owner's manual and a bunch of obscure codes and percentages showing on my dash? (Where's the warning about voiding my warranty?) I give up. I guess I'm taking it to the stealer. Is that the Honda reasoning?
 
quote:

Originally posted by LarryL:
If you do some or all of your own maintenance, do you have to pay the dealer to reset the Maintenance Minder?

No, the system can easily be reset by the vehicle owner.

Not sure what you mean, Tosh, this seems like a very easy to understand system to me, to maximize service intervals...
 
When will they tie the air filter to the computer and let it tell you when there is a restriction?

I add the $5 guage and then only change the $15 filter when it shows reduced air flow.
 
quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:
That was the Honda reasoning behind the placement of the oil filter on their 4-bangers, apparently.

The oil filter on my '06 Civic LX sedan R18 engine couldn't be easier to reach. You can literally reach back under the front bumper cover on the passenger side and put your hand right on it. Points straight down, no mess doing a change. I know that the filter placement on the K20 engine in the '06 Civic Si is a different story, but mine makes oil and filter changes a pleasure.

The Maintenance Minder is very clearly explained in the OM, no big confusion or mystery about how it works and how to use it.

Of course every car maker wants you to have service done at their dealers. But those of us who are tool-using primates that can read will get around that fairly easily in most cases.
wink.gif
 
If you do some or all of your own maintenance, do you have to pay the dealer to reset the Maintenance Minder?
 
The older ones, it was on the backside of the engine and you could only get to it from the bottom. And, if I recall correctly, it dripped all over a half-shaft too.
 
I have an '06 Accord, and I'm less than impressed with what I've seen so far of this system.

It's trivial for the owner to reset the system after an oil change. If you, say, change the air filter ahead of schedule (which they tell you to do if you drive in dusty conditions) - I have no idea how to tell the car you did that.

Our car is still on the factory oil, and it looks like the Maintenance Minder will instruct me to change it at somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 miles.
 
I like the maintenance minder, but I keep a written record in a mini-composition book in the glovebox as well.

Heck, I do a tranny drain and fill every oil change as well on my '05 Ody.
 
At first, I didn't want no stinking computer telling me or "reminding" me that I need to change oil. But since, I've chilled and now I actually like it. I had to go to a happier medium. I chose to put M1 EP in it and then let the maintenance minder have at it. I took that same oil out to 10K on our 02 Accord V6, and it held up quite well so on our 06 Accord, I'm not even going to worry about it. Sure, this particular oil is a little more pricey than others, but remember, I've been a die hard 3K oil changer for a long time, and with this, I'm in a happy place. Now, the owners manual makes no mention of using synthetic or mineral oil in regards to the maintenance minder, so I took this route.
 
One thing I forgot to note. I checked it this morning and it's showing I have 50% oil life left. Currently have about 4200 miles on this oil, so it's about on track for me. I had planned to run the oil out to around 10 to 12K. But I have wondered if there would be a percentage different if those were all city miles as opposed to highway miles which is about 85% of the cars life now.
 
quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:
The older ones, it was on the backside of the engine and you could only get to it from the bottom. And, if I recall correctly, it dripped all over a half-shaft too.

This describes my wife's former '99 Civic to a tee. What a bear that was. Our new '05 Terraza is an absolute pleasure in comparison.
 
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