xela9000

I know that a dealer can reset an individual maintenance item using HDS. Can they reset only an item which code is shown on the display or any item? For example, if a dealer changes a transmission fluid at 45000 miles when maintenance minder does not show code 3, can he reset this individual item so that the internal counter is set to zero and code 3 does not pop up 10000 miles later? If yes, how? This is for 2010 Pilot.

Advisors from the dealership said “no” but they told me so much bs recently that I don't trust them any more. I just found that they changed transmission and differential fluid every 15000 miles on my wife's 2010 Pilot. However they never changed transfer or brake fluid in 5 years and 55000 miles. And they defended themselves that everything was done right. One of them even said there is no separate transfer fluid pan on this car. What a... I want to switch to a Honda recommended maintenance schedule and I am trying to figure out how to do it next time transmission fluid is changed. Thanks for your help.

speedlever

For 2003-2005, the Pilot's transfer assembly was lubed with tranny fluid. Beginning in 2006, the transfer assembly was lubed with hypoid gear oil and is separate from the tranny.

If your dealer still thinks the transfer assembly is lubed by tranny fluid, they are way behind the times.

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Honda Pilot - Honda Pilot Forums - View Single Post - Confused about Transfer Case Fluid

xela9000

I know, transfer assembly is separate. Service manual is very clear about it and it is enough to look under the car. I mentioned it here to say one of "advisers" on the dealership was so bad I cannot trust them any more. The question I have is whether or not the dealer can reset a maintenance item which is not currently shown on the display.

WanaBeFaster

Short answer is yes. Long answer is that technicians want to be paid for doing something like that. advisor don't want to charge you for something like that so they tell you no.

lazlong

OK, talked to the local independent Honda mechanic. He said that maintenance reminders are directly tied to mileage and neither one are changeable with the HDS. He said you would need a new cluster with the appropriate mileage but, he cautions that it's illegal to not disclose actual mileage when selling it. To find one with appropriate mileage your looking at salvage. Or you could order a new one from Honda with zero miles.

WanaBeFaster

It can be reset with HDS. I've done it. When you're car calls for A123 and all you want is an oil change, I do have option to leave the maintenance minder on for the 123.

lazlong

OK. I bow to your superior knowledge. I was just going by what he told me. Guess he didn't want to do it either. Don't know why when money is money.

WanaBeFaster

He probably can't unless he has HDS. the maintenance minder also isn't tied to mileage, it varies from car to car and depends on driving habits. if you drive like me, in traffic, in high heat, you're oil changes are due around every 4k miles. cars driven in milder weather, or alot of highway miles, they will go 6-8k miles before saying service due.so if you go to wal-mart or jiffy lube and they put a sticker in the window for 3k miles, tear it off and throw it away, and go by what the car tells you. (of course only assuming you at least use synthetic blend oil )

lazlong

All his mechanics have one. I've seen 'em use it. He just didn't want to do it. I can't believe someone who has made a living working exclusively on Hondas for 20 years wouldn't know about that.

speedlever

Seems to me that if you're not using the MM for your service alerts, then the easy way to keep up with everything is to log all your maintenance in a notebook.

Personally, I use the MM mostly for OCIs, tire rotations, rear diff, TA fluid changes, and air filter changes. I do tranny fluid changes more frequently than the MM calls for. I also do some maintenance that the MM doesn't call for... like brake fluid changes and power steering fluid changes. So I keep a notebook for all maintenance and also document it at owners.honda.com. My OCI's tend to run around 6500-7000 miles and I'm a DIYer.

xela9000

WanaBeFaster, thanks for explanations. My scenario is different though. MM shows A1 however the dealer decides (and persuades my wife) to change transmission fluid. Can he reset item 3, which is transmission fluid, so that it does not pop up 10000 miles later? In this scenario, an item to be reset is not lit on MM? Service manual is not clear about it.

Your explanation of different interests of a mechanic and an adviser seems to apply in my case. When I showed the adviser a copy of the service manual page, the answer was: oh, they need to use a computer for this, it takes a lot of time and I would need to charge you for an hour work for that. I cannot believe it is an hour. How long does it take? 5 minutes? I understand, it takes some time of a qualified person and they don’t want to do it for free. But wait, it is not free. They charged my wife for transmission and differential fluid change every 15000 miles on a car which does not see any heavy load. At least, they should reset a maintenance minder, if it is possible, so that it does not confuse her. So, is it possible?

speedlever

Honda builds vehicles with the MM as a functional part of the design. Dealers (independent of Honda) have their own maintenance programs, irrespective of the MM. It becomes a confusing mess when the manufacturer provides one means of determining maintenance intervals and the dealer insists on using something altogether different.

The dealer's interests may or may not align with the owner's interests.

There are some maintenance schedules that float around the 'net if you find that helpful to keep up with scheduled maintenance when the shop performs maintenance outside the MM callouts.

I don't know about resetting individual sub-codes on the MM. I think that may further confuse things.

I can post a generic schedule if you find that helpful. In my experience in normal service conditions (not severe service conditions), I find the schedule slightly more conservative in a few areas than the MM callouts.

WanaBeFaster

Again, yes it can be done but that in no way means it will be practical for you to pay to have it done. I agree with speedlever, write it down and keep notes of, when your 3 service pops up, just reset it yourself and start fresh. I know that Honda/Acura says change the fluid every 30k and i would recommend doing so. However, read a bottle of honda/acura trans fluid and it will tell you tested and good up to 100k miles. they recommend changing it more often due to known transmission problems. If it bothers you so much that the schedule is off, just start fresh with it. no sense in paying someone to manually reset the service item.