Honda Maintenance Minder?

[JTK]

Our new Honda basically lists no maintenance schedule. Honda wants you to rely solely on the dash “Maintenance Minder”. This device is very basic on my Odyssey LX. Toggle with the trip ODO reset button and it shows you % oil life remaining on the odometer LCD. Apparently at magical calculated intervals a code will also show up, much of which is redundant. The code consists simply of the letter A or B in conjunction with a 1-5. You refer to your owners manual to decipher what the code means. For instance; A means replace engine oil, B means replace oil AND filter and do a bunch of safety inspections. 1 means rotate tires, 2, change engine and cabin air filters, 3 is replace transaxle fluid, 4 is replace timing belt and spark plugs and 5 is coolant. The only fine print is; Change your engine oil/filter once a year if not prompted, change brake fluid every 3 yrs and change the timing belt and check water pump at 60Kmi if you consistently drive in temps below -20degF or above 110degF. Valve clearances are only to be checked if noisy. Apparently the 3.5L is a valve crasher. I can't figure out if this is a 'dummy it down' marketing ploy, or is it to push dealer service? The code reset procedure is right in the manual?

Joel

 

[The Critic]

Yes, the code reset procedure is right in the manual.

The 3.5L V6 is an interference engine, but Honda timing belts are extremely overbuilt unlike the VWs. We've had members go 150k+ (some even 200k) on their original timing belt over on AcuraZine and I can't ever remember anyone experiencing a failure. As for the valve adjustment, that usually isn't necessary unless it is noisy.

It isn't a marketing ploy. It allows Joe Blow to be better informed of what maintenance items need to be done, assuming that he/she reads the manual. The OLM is accurate and is very conservative compared to the GM system.