10K scheduled maintenance at dealers

[CL39]

Hello,
What do you think about doing 10K interval scheduled
maintenance at Honda dealers, which includes oil change,
tire rotation, and other things on their to-do list.

I have taken in my 03 Civic do my dealer at 10,20 and 30K. Now
at 40K I am not sure if I should continue that
or just have oil change/tire rotation and not worry
about other things, or take to local independent shop
and ask them to do their equivalent.

Thank you.

[BrodyP]

Honda should have a scheduled maintence sheet at the dealer. Or if you regularly bring your car there then you should know they send you a letter in the mail every 3k for an oil change. No major work should be needed to your car. At 30k tire rotation brakes fluids could be done. Doesnt your SRS light come on if an oil change is not done within 3k? Using synthetic oil will give you the ability to go much longer before your next oil change. So in response to your question no work should be needed. I'd recommend bringing your car to Honda if you will not be performing maintenance yourself. The car should only require oil and filter and normal routines.

[hxgaser]

Check your owner's manual. It should list 2 conditions for your service interval, severe and normal. If you drive your car like an average joe, just follow the normal schedule interval. The manual will tell you what needs to be done.

And where you get it serviced does not really matter. As long as you can document what you have done to your car, and when, and what you did meets all manufacturer's spec, a car company or dealer really can't void your warranty. They might argue, they technically can't.

But for 40K miles, simple oil change, tire rotation, and visually checking fluid levels should be alright. You might want to check the brakes though...

[BrodyP]

Echooooooooooo

[BullShifter]

SRS light is air bags not for an oil change. Maint. Req'd will come on about every 7500 miles. You should follow the sevre schedule, IMO, "normal" conditions do not exist. The major services are every 30K. At 45K you get an air filter, coolant flushed on top of the normal, brake inspection/service, tire rotation, & oil/filter change. Any shop can maintain a Honda there is nothing special besides knowing what to do and most shops should be able to access maintenance schedules for all cars.

[jlj]

So what is the "normal" maintenance for a Honda Civic that has 34k on it? We've had the normal oil changes, air filter, tires rotated--but what should be be doing at the time as preventive maintenance--any help would be appreciated as it is going in tomorrow for an air conditioning problem and I have asked them to check the hoses and belts.

[duodad]

A/C filters also get changed at the 30K mark.

[coalminer]

I would think that the 03 maintenance schedule is the same as my 05. The normal oil change interval is 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. The severe duty is 5,000 miles or 6 months. The maint reqd light will flash for 30 seconds at 9000 miles after it was reset, and stay on at 10,000, until it is reset after the oil change.

I remember reading on here when I found this site where someone had posted a story that was done about the whole 3,000 mile oil changes. They used taxi cabs in New York city (which would fall under severe duty) They took rebuilt engines and half were changed at 3,000 and the other half at 7,500 which was what GM recommended. After about 60,000 or so miles, the same number of each batch had failed, and after tearing the rest down, found no difference in wear between the engines.

I have had my 05 for 14 months and have 37,000 miles on it, and after the first oil change, I used the synthetic oil in my car, and I probably could go 15,000 miles with that, but I still change it at 10,000 like the manual says.

Oh, one other thing, if you read the manual, it says you only need to change the oil filter every other change!!!!!! I do change mine each time.