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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
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%.
