Its that time again. My E is scheduled for the 10,000 mile service. I contacted 3 separate Honda dealers in the San Diego area and I received quotes of $96, $85, and $85 :shock: . Is this just because I live in San Diego or is this the industry standard with Honda dealers?
Seams kind of steep to me.

I think its steep but I always do my own maint, brings me a better understanding of my car.

According to the manual the 10K service says change only oil and not filter (Lots of discussion on the boards about this but its what it says) so that shouldnt be more than $30 anywhere since it involves two things drain, replace.
Most likely people will opt to change at least the filter as well on this schedule but again no more than $30.

5K maint schedule says to do the following at 10K-
Replace Engine oil
Replace Oil filter
Inspect front and rear brakes
Rotate tires
Lubricate hinges
inspect tie rods
inspect suspension components
inspect driveshaft boots

So ther is definately not $85-$90 of work there
I have a huge bias against dealer service so I would challenge you to either do it yourself and learn your car (from above and now below) or just goto jiffy lube or a similar location and have it done this is not more than 45 minutes of work. If you choose the later at least reinspect the above locations yourself so you can diagnose an issue down the road.

Good luck and happy wrenching!

Don't go to Jiffy-Lube, they killed the seals on my colt by overfilling the oil by 3-4 quarts.

If the honda dealer ever made a mistake like that, you might have recourse.

-brendan

My dealer's price was like $76....then since I am registered at OwnerLink when it got close to the time for my 10K check-up they emailed me a 10% off coupon for my dealership.....then I had a coupon that the general manager had given me for a free oil change....I think I ended up paying $40 bucks or so when all was said and done.

OK so yes do it yourself!
You would notice if you put in 3-4 qts too much plus you can learn much about your car.

Rhino Ramps are easy to use and give you lots of room to crawl around under the vehicle. Got mine at WalMart. Please set the parking brake and chock the wheels...

Bill in Houston

taking mine in this weekend... its worth my hundred bucks to turn off this lil light and the accompanying chirp.

WOW How much does it cost to read your manual?
See page 70-71 With 31 words in the instruction for reseting the aforementioned items you are paying $3.33 cents per unread word!


In other words this post just cost me $100.00

WOW How much does it cost to read your manual?
See page 70-71 With 31 words in the instruction for reseting the aforementioned items you are paying $3.33 cents per unread word!
i think it's more like $1 a word after you figure in oil filter wrench thingy, oil, & my labor cost per hour. my time ain't cheap. Besides, i was doing the car-free urban thing for a short second. i'll help you with your bike if you let me watch you change your oil. maybe next time. 8)

[quote:93b4c55580=" "]Its that time again. My E is scheduled for the 10,000 mile service. I contacted 3 separate Honda dealers in the San Diego area and I received quotes of $96, $85, and $85 :shock: . Is this just because I live in San Diego or is this the industry standard with Honda dealers?
Seams kind of steep to me.[/quote:93b4c55580]

Man those prices are cheap compared to German cars. I've owned several and those prices are equivelant to just oil changes for German cars and then if you want scheduled maintanance I have to shell out $400-$500 bucks! Glad I got an Element, but still love German engineering even though they rip me off.

My comment was what it took to turn off the light and beep not to change the oil and complete the service procedures as indicated in my earlier post... Man I guess you wont read the manual even if someone gives ya the pages!

mcescher I live in Orange County and work in San Diego area if youd like help from someone who has bone the servicve etc I'd love to stop by and assist ya. Email me at ikelly@kinvaracorp.com

i'll come down off my high horse just as soon as i finish this post... jeesh.

it's not about r(ing)tfm. it's about...
5K maint schedule says to do the following at 10K-
Replace Engine oil
Replace Oil filter
Inspect front and rear brakes
Rotate tires
Lubricate hinges
inspect tie rods
inspect suspension components
inspect driveshaft boots


inspect??? not that hard you just look at it and say. "uuuuhhhhh, looks good to me?!?" right... well since i dont know what the f... excuse me... sorry... moving on...
rotate the tires??? don't they do this on their own as i drive?!? drive shaft boots??? if these are anything like shaft driving boots, i'm glad i got a pair somewhere. he was a baaaad mother f... right, right... moving on again.
lubricate???... hmmmm... that can be fun... or illegal...

my point?!? i seem to be taking offense to your tone of voice, but beyond that... reading the manual and knowing the step-by-step instructions & being able to do something right are not quite the same thing. only one way to learn right? yeah, but a book in one hand, a wrench in the other, & no idea what you are doing is a recipe for disaster in my experience. i don't doubt anything you are saying, but i'm a teeny-tiny bit amused by your apparent critical judgement of other people's unwillingness(?) to perform such a simple(?) task? what's wrong with letting qualified, competent, experienced (gawd, i'm hoping) honda techs do it? if there is a real problem hidden up in those to-be-inspected parts i would never know. an @home breast exam is fine for day-to-day, but most women go to the doctor every so often just to be on the safe side.
& you're right, since i usually only rtm on a need to know basis and i wasn't planning to do the "work" myself, i havn't read pages 70-71 yet... but i'm going to just cuz i'm an ornery cuss and you said i never would...:ppbbblllttt....

I thought, "I can live with $85. Sure, it's steep but wtf? At least it'll be done and I don't have to trust the guys at the local Jiffy Lube with it or spend any time laying on the ground in single-digit temps."

So, I dropped my Element off yesterday. Total for what amounts to little more than an oil/filter change and chasis lube = $113!!

It's really absurd. I paid the bill and was happy to be "back in my Element" (and, after driving my old volvo to work and back sans stereo and anything remotely resembling power it truly was a joy to have the peppy l'il honda back) but I don't think I'll be taking the car back to the dealer for service unless it's absolutely necessary (read: warranty item).

A few things re: this service that annoyed me:

1. Honda goes on and on about how their proprietary oil blends are superior to others, use factory honda oil for best performance, etc etc. OK, fine. I figure if I'm going to get Honda oil anywhere it would be from a honda dealer's service dept, right? Nah. There's an exxon oil sticker on my windshield, which brings me to annoying point number 2...

2. The service guys wrote on said exxon sticker that my next oil change is due @ 13,500, which given my average daily miles would be in approx. 6 weeks? I guess the fact that I brought my car to them for service tells them that I'm a rube who would ignore everything I've read in the manual and other literature that came with the car about how frequent oil changes AREN'T necessary. How they're a waste of time, money, and oil etc?

3. Even the people at Jiffy Lube take the time to vacuum a car and clean the windows when it comes in for an oil change, and they do it in 15 minutes for 30 bucks. The dealer had my car all day, charged me $96 for labor and couldn't be bothered (in spite of the fact that I have my rear seats removed and the E is totally empty right now and it would've taken all of 1 minute to vacuum out some of the dirt, wipe down the dash, etc.)

I mean, if you're going to charge in excess of a hundred bucks for an oil change and tire rotation, would it hurt to sweat the details a bit?

Anyway, there's my experience with the 10,000 mi service, FWIW.

Is it true that you only have to change the oil every 10K. I'm very skeptical about this. we just hit 10K and haven't changed the oil yet.

[quote:2b3ee74b9f=" "]Is it true that you only have to change the oil every 10K. I'm very skeptical about this. we just hit 10K and haven't changed the oil yet.[/quote:2b3ee74b9f]

I changed mine @ 4,600 mi, then again yesterday @ 10,500. You should change yours soon. If you take a look at the manual, it lists two service schedules. One for 'severe conditions' (or something to that effect) and one for 'normal' conditions. Regardless of which category you fall into, you're due for an oil change.

Personally, I'll likely continue to change mine around every 6,000. I average about 2000 miles/month, so 6,000 seems like a reasonable compromise. Most of my miles are 'highway' miles, so there's not a lot of constant stop-and-go involved, but given the extremes of hot and cold weather we see here (and my lead footed tendencies) I don't want to go much over 5,000 at a stretch.

Your mileage may vary.

thanks for the update. I have an appt to get it looked at on thursday. Also getting some nasty fumes on occasion while driving. They make you very lightheaded. Hopefully the dealer will be able to figure it out.

I ended up taking it to the local tire shop/repair station (BigO tires). They quoted me at $35 for an oil change and a FREE tire rotation since they would have it on the lift anyway. It is service like that which makes me despise dealer service.

my 10k service was nearly $100, but that also included rotating the tires

[quote:8970b5605a=" "]So, I dropped my Element off yesterday. Total for what amounts to little more than an oil/filter change and chasis lube = $113!!.[/quote:8970b5605a]
Doh! There isn't even anything to lube on a Honda, all the bearings/joints etc are sealed. They want to get your money that's for sure! I not sure there is such a thing as an honest Dealer. :(

i hate it when that happens... i didn't have a "perfect" experience the one time i dealt with my service team so far. i'm a little nervous now, but at least the work should (theoretically) be covered. is that piece of mind worth the extra $80?? if they mess it up, next roadtrip out left i'm gonna knock on isdkelly's door and beg for forgiveness for my lack of faith (or for having too much faith,depending on your perspective).

umm, too MUCH faith in the dealership, too LITLE faith in your fellow EOC members...
lets not turn this into anything remotely like a volkswagen enthusiast's website.

Hey knock on the door but I dont help people who "Trust " dealers service department. Its like giving crack adicts $20 and telling them to go get food.

No warrentee can be voided for doing your own work, nor is onerous documentation needed. All I am selling is the ability to be closer to your E and learn something about your car.
If you can wash your car you can do the 5k and 10k services actually I bet ya can do A-D on the 10K plan and A-E on the 5k plan without much instruction. If ya dont know what A-D or A-E is man read the manual!Pages 212-216 the black trimmed pages near the middle.

Robertson Honda in North Hollywood, CA charges $69.95 for the following Minor Service:

Change Oil
Replace oil filter with Genuine Honda Oil Filter
Lubrication
Inspect air filter
Service battery
Inspect & adjust idle
inspect & adjust all fluid levels
Inspect & adjust drive belts
Inspect coolant hoses
Inspect front brakes
Inspect & adjust rear brakes
Rotate tires
Inspect lights
Inspect wipers


:shock:
- Ed

[quote:ba96a9c7d2=" "]Robertson Honda in North Hollywood, CA charges $69.95 for the following Minor Service:

Change Oil
Replace oil filter with Genuine Honda Oil Filter
Lubrication
Inspect air filter
Service battery
Inspect & adjust idle
inspect & adjust all fluid levels
Inspect & adjust drive belts
Inspect coolant hoses
Inspect front brakes
Inspect & adjust rear brakes
Rotate tires
Inspect lights
Inspect wipers


:shock:
- Ed[/quote:ba96a9c7d2]
Love those dealers, there is nothing to lube, the battery is not serviceable, the only fluids to adjust (all listed in the manual w/instructions) are coolant, washer fluid, brake fluid(which you can see the level by simply raising the hood), and trans. fluid. Inspect wipers and lights, if you have eyes (which you ought to, if you drive), you can accomplich this in about 15 seconds flat. Everything else will take about 15 minutes w/oil change, then take it to a tire or brake shop for a cheap tire rotation and they will usually check your brakes for free, which will be fine at 10k unless something has gone horribly wrong with your E.

You CAN do it yourself! :D

[quote:825369ec59=" "]Robertson Honda in North Hollywood, CA charges $69.95 for the following Minor Service:

Change Oil
Replace oil filter with Genuine Honda Oil Filter
Lubrication
Inspect air filter
Service battery
Inspect & adjust idle
inspect & adjust all fluid levels
Inspect & adjust drive belts
Inspect coolant hoses
Inspect front brakes
Inspect & adjust rear brakes
Rotate tires
Inspect lights
Inspect wipers


:shock:
- Ed[/quote:825369ec59]
Hell, my 11 year old daughter will only charge you half that much and she'll even throw in a new kanuter valve for free.

:twisted:
dear sir or madame,
let me explain myself... there are places in this world where you can live, quite comfortably, without a car. there are many such places in (gasp) the usa. in some of these places, not only are cars more of a nuisance than a convenience, cars are even considered foul beasts. i'm sorry for sounding heretical, but it's true. i only owned a couple of vehicles through my late teens and early 20s. the last of those was a 71 superbeetle that had three engines, partially because i was (& occassionally still am) an idiot. idiots do stupid things. after the gentleman dropping out the first engine made me assist him while cussin my fool butt, i realized unless i wanted to go through that again i'd better wise up. when the rebuilt engine started stalling, i bought two manuals and sat behind that car for 8 hours before finally reaching in and turning 1 screw 1/8 revolution. the darn engine nearly purred, kiddy. But bikes are cheaper, faster, and more fun in the city and i was broke alot. i started doing as much of the work as i could after just a couple experiences with bike shop gouges. bikes are fairly simple after all (who out there can build a wheel?). i haven't owned a car in 10 years and a 2004 element is a little more intimidating mechanically than a 1971 bug or a bicycle. i apologize if it perturbs you that i would seriously consider taking my first new-car back to the dealership for servicing. i don't "trust" anyone, they are only human after all. however, there are times when you have to evaluate your options and take little leaps of faith (i don't really like that last word either). i knew i would be paying more at the dealer than at kwiky lube but it seemed like the safest choice. doing the work myself wasn't even an option for me. the only reason i own my E is for work, so i can't take too great a risk. that's what me, a wrench and the owner's manual appeared to be. i didn't even need to think about it for a full second.
you make assumptions about me that, frankly bob, aren't entirely accurate. i have been persuaded by the truth of your argument and not the passive aggressiveness of your arguing. so, thank you.
sincerely

Wait a minute, isdkelly.....

What do you mean "wash your car"?

We have to wash these things???

Who knew......

I went to Jiffy Lube today to get my oil change and they offered tire rotation but they said they couldn't do that with my Element. They said the vehicle's roll cage prevented it. I don't know if their lift is different than the standard lift or what. And I asked them to check my tire pressure and they couldn't even do that right. I am always having to double check everything behind them for everything. And sure enough the pressure was way off. The right rear's pressure was 16.5!!!! :shock: Luckilly I had an electric pump so I went out and made sure the pressure was adjusted in all of my tires. It was at least 7-8 lbs. off in all tires and the right rear was 18 lbs. off.

It cost me $26 with a coupon for an oil change and to top off all fluids and vacuum out the car. But if you go the Jiffy Lube route make sure you check behind them because they only had my car 10 minutes. The oil level was fine and clean, by the way, on their oil change today.

MAN you Honda guys are spoiled! Like the other guy said about German cars, This is CHEEEEP!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about doing my own maintainence. My first Rover has been to the dealer exactly once in it's lifetime, and my second one has never been. But come ON guys. A normal stop at the dealer for a Rover is about $400-$800 and my smaller maintenence on the BMW is about $500 while the larger is about $800.

You don't know how good you have it.

The benefit of dealer servicing is not that they do such a terrific job, or do something you couldn't do yourself in most cases. It's the ability to say to the next owner that the vehicle has been dealer maintained for it's entire life, here are the records, and tack another $1500 onto the selling price.

The other thing is that I seriously doubt most Element owners have the expertise to properly assess the proper movement of a steering rack, or know how to assess the proper function of a McPherson strut, or feelers and adjusters for mechanical valves, nor do they have the tools necesssary to do so. I took me over 2 years and $4k to amass those kinds of tools for my other vehicles and few people would spend the money or take the time.

Again, you guys drive WONDERFUL vehicles that are among the cheapest on the road to maintain properly. Why all the complaints about servicing costs?

that's why I got rid of my audi and got my E. Well one of the reasons. I literally dropped about $5k into it last year and when I went in because of linkage problems (and they already replaced the upper linkage in august) they said it was the lower linkage now, and it was only a mere $1700 to fix. That was it for me. It's sitting in the garage till the lease is up because the lease company won't take it back early. Let them deal with the headache. Should've never gone away from the toyotas and hondas I had growing up.

The dealer I bought from, Hopkins Honda in Fairfield California screwed up big time during my purchase (they cashed my down payment 3 weeks before they promised), so the General Manager tried to make amends by offering me the first four services free.

So I take it in for my first 10k service, and mentioned that I would like the rattling a-pillar TSB, the rocking driver's seat TSB, the oil consumption, and the gas mileage to all be addressed. The results were not very good:

1) They didn't fill the oil to a level I feel comfortable with. I realize that the level can be anywhere between the two 'holes' on the dipstick, but I would rather have it on the top hole, rather than just a little bit above the bottom hole.

2) They broke the driver seat plastic protective cover, and now I have to bring the car back just to have it replaced.

3) They told me it was tough luck that I am getting poor gas mileage and that the only way they would investigate it more was if my check engine light came on.

4) I have to bring the car in evey 1000 miles for them to do an "oil consumption" test.

[quote:6e8dd26051=" "]Why all the complaints about servicing costs?[/quote:6e8dd26051]

It's the same reason you complain about people wanting to follow the factory-recommended oil change intervals. People just have different opinions.

MAN you Honda guys are spoiled! Like the other guy said about German cars, This is CHEEEEP!
The benefit of dealer servicing is not that they do such a terrific job, or do something you couldn't do yourself in most cases. It's the ability to say to the next owner that the vehicle has been dealer maintained for it's entire life, here are the records, and tack another $1500 onto the selling price.
[/quote:69f8cce000]

That works with Range Rovers and BMW's not with Hondas, maybe tack on an extra $200 for that used Element. Not worth it.

[quote]
The other thing is that I seriously doubt most Element owners have the expertise to properly assess the proper movement of a steering rack, or know how to assess the proper function of a McPherson strut, or feelers and adjusters for mechanical valves, nor do they have the tools necesssary to do so. I took me over 2 years and $4k to amass those kinds of tools for my other vehicles and few people would spend the money or take the time.

Again, you guys drive WONDERFUL vehicles that are among the cheapest on the road to maintain properly. Why all the complaints about servicing costs?
No valve adjustments required on the maintenance schedule, in fact the only thing to do to the "engine" is change the spark plugs at 110k(?), not even a timing belt to change any more as it now has a timing chain. If slightly mechanically inclined you can do all the maintenance required by the maintenance schedule. There are no chassis/suspension points to "lube" on these either.
If I could afford a brand new BMW X5 I probably wouldn't have a problem paying the steep dealer prices, because I could probably could afford it. But I bought a Honda that is easy to maintain, and should not get reamed for an oil change and tire rotation (essentially what the 10k service is). I do it myself though, so I can only complain to myself.

Yea, I see your points... I've just wrenched SO much on my truck I don't want to bother anymore. It's gotten SO bad in fact that even though I know how to fix something, and have the tools to do so, I just take it to a local shop, buy the guys the parts and have them do the work for me. I even take them my shop manual if they need it.

I am SO looking forward to owning a Honda. I'm hoping my financing will come in favorably for me to buy a new Element. If not, it'll be a used one or a used CR-V. But I don't care if it's a used Civic at this point.

Not happy with 10k service experience? Just wait for 30k when "recommendation" from service manager is to change trans and diff fluids for additional $100 even though manual say not due till 90k and 110k

[quote:966d9b2d5e=" "]Not happy with 10k service experience? Just wait for 30k when "recommendation" from service manager is to change trans and diff fluids for additional $100 even though manual say not due till 90k and 110k[/quote:966d9b2d5e]
<sarcasm>but they just want to help us protect our investment, right?</sarcasm>