90,000 mile maintenance

hey does anybody have an idea what the figure would be to do scheduled maintenance at 90,000 miles if I were to take it to the Honda Dealership? Should I do this or is it just as good to take it to a mechanic of my choice?

i have a 98 accord v6 with 113k miles on it

this is my story....
i took my car to the honda dealership to do a 90,000 mile maintenance just as you plan to....that was the BIGGEST MISTAKE of my life !!!!

they didnt do shyt ! if you read the list carefully they dont do anything !!
all they did to my car was replace the spark plugs and change the oil !!!
and it costed me $682.00!!!! THEY DO NOT EVEN REPLACE THE SPARK PLUG WIRES , PC VALVE, OIL FILTER, DISTRIBUTOR CAP, OR ROTOR!!

believe me it was the biggest waste of money, i am still paying for it!!

if i were you i would go to honda dealer parts department buy all the parts needed for a tune up and take them to your prefered mechanic and let him install them, that way your car has all honda parts and all the important things are taken care of.

this is my story, the decision is up to you.....just read the list of the 90,000 mile carefully, all it says is CHECK THIS AND CHECK THAT AND CHECK THIS....

You should change your Timing belt for your car, very important at 90K miles. Is not going to be cheap but if it breaks, it will cost you a lot more to fix it. You could always take it to the mechanic that specialize in japanese car.

Don't go to the Honda dealership. Their tech skills tend to be average at best and their prices VERY high. I agree that Honda parts are probably a good idea (although I've used many aftermarket parts for maintenance - wiper blades are the most obvious example).

Choose your mechanic carefully. Hondas (and I suppose most other cars) are quirky. Make sure he (or she, I guess, although that'd be a first in my experience) is actually knowledgeable about Hondas.

:iagree: more important is the timing belt & WATER PUMP replacement. Its senseless not to replace the water pump with the timing belt since it's only few more bolts & little bit more money. Say that water pump starts leaking on your new t/belt you'll have to pay all that labor again plus another t/belt.

DjHackStyle if they changed your oil they changed the filter. Cmon the dealer isn't that bad. They do a lot more than oil change & spark plugs. I suggest you look at the receipt and you'll more parts than oil & plugs.

I did much of the 90k stuff myself, like plugs, wires, filters,etc. Just grab your service manual and go through the list. A lot of the 90k service is eyeball stuff. They are supposed to check thoroughly for any problems. If you don't know what to look for, you could have a mechanic at least do an good inspection. My dealership did eyeball service only and found that my power steering pump was leaking.
You must do the timing belt service, as others have stated. It's absolutely required.

On a final note... the 30/60/90k services are consider "cash cows" by dealerships. If you don't know what that means, it's a very high profit item.

how much of a job is it to change the timing belt on a 96 accord v6?

pain in the ass - i think it's about 5.0hrs book time

is there a place online that gives the info how to?

don't know of any - www.helminc.com factory repair manuals

The Chilton's repait manual gives you a part by part instructions on how to replace the timing belt and such. I was impressed when reading it over.

I agree that the timing belt AND water pump should be replaced at 90,000 miles. Book time depends on which gen Accord you have. My 6th gen (2000) books at 7 hours since you have to remove a motor mount and support the engine. Honda dealer wanted $700.00 for the t-belt (and balancer belt). I went to my Toyota dealer instead. One of the mechanics used to be a Honda Master Tech at the Honda dealer that quoted me the $700.00. The Toyota dealer quoted me $550.00 including:

Timing belt, balancer belt, water pump, coolant replacement, valve adjusment (I supplied the gaskets).

All parts used were genuine Honda. I hope this helps.

:iagree: more important is the timing belt & WATER PUMP replacement. Its senseless not to replace the water pump with the timing belt since it's only few more bolts & little bit more money. Say that water pump starts leaking on your new t/belt you'll have to pay all that labor again plus another t/belt.

DjHackStyle if they changed your oil they changed the filter. Cmon the dealer isn't that bad. They do a lot more than oil change & spark plugs. I suggest you look at the receipt and you'll more parts than oil & plugs.

I got a 1989 accord that kept failing emission co at motor vehicle inspection sta., what is there to replace, as far as getting the car passes, it just had a tune-up and there is no check engine light.

Thanks
Roy

Roy - you would be smart to start a new thread, not revive an old, dead one. Your post has nothing to do with the subject line.

I got my timing belt and water pump replaced on my 94 accord for right at $200 parts included. I did get my parts from advanced auto though. My mechanic is great and has always given me great deals.