[ak_element]

Just got my 2008 E in December (then went out of town for 2 weeks, so only have been driving it for 2-3 weeks) It has 9838 miles and the maintenance reminder says B1 and 15% oil life.

The dealer (new car dealer in Juneau got it as a trade-in) says they changed the oil. Admits they may not have reset the reminder. It does have a sticker in the window for the next oil change so I believe they did change the oil. The only thing I'm not sure of is if they used 5W-20 oil - couldn't get an answer on that (they claimed the maintenance records were confidential to the other owner by policy)

I'm assuming that they just forgot to reset the reminder. My plan was to change the oil again when I have the studded tires taken off (in March or April - thinking of changing them for All-Season tires so I can avoid the tire change in the future) and get all the other "B" stuff done then too, just for the heck of it.

Any alternative thoughts????

So assuming they just forgot to reset the maintenance reminder - does it make sense for the B1 reminder to appear at ~10,000 miles??

Also (too) - is there a maintenance schedule anywhere? I find it scattered through the manual - has anyone compiled a simple list of "at xxxxx miles do this"???

 

[desinia]

My first thought is that any dealer who wants to hide the previous owner's maintainance records is up to no good. My second thought is that any dealer that doesn't know how to reset the maintainance minder is demonstrating a reason why they want to hide the records.

You figure out what they really did and what they told you they did. Hope to golly that they at least didn't try to top off any of the other fluids (tranny, differentials, etc) with non-Honda fluids.

Maintenance Minder B Scheduled Maintenance
Recommended service for your 2008 Honda Element:

Replace engine oil*1 and oil filter

Inspect front and rear brakes

Check parking brake adjustment

Inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots

Inspect suspension components

Inspect driveshaft boots

Inspect brake hoses and lines (including ABS)

Inspect all fluid levels and condition of fluids

Inspect exhaust system#

Inspect fuel lines and connections#

 

[mkh]

Yeah, to be safe, just have a new oil change done, and the inspection above.

 

[MNtoaster]

Check the oil. If it looks clean, it probably has been changed. Unless the dealership is a Honda dealerr, they would never know to do the reset!

 

[mkh]

Check the oil. If it looks clean, it probably has been changed. Unless the dealership is a Honda dealerr, they would never know to do the reset!

Have to be pretty lame mechanics not to know (or care?) how to do the reset, but could have been just an oversight.

 

[MikeQBF]

As a matter of course: with any used vehicle you should at least change ALL fluids and do (or have done) a thorough inspection of all running wear items such as brakes, coolant hoses and belts. That way you know what you're starting with and there are no mysteries about where you stand with service intervals.

Car technologies are at the point now that you can buy a new vehicle and drive it reliably for 30,000 or more miles without touching a thing. So never assume on a near-new vehicle that all services have been done - do your own, you'll sleep better.

 

[Tim Vance]

Check the oil. If it looks clean, it probably has been changed. Unless the dealership is a Honda dealerr, they would never know to do the reset!

It's not that difficult to find out how, and EVERY vehicle has Maint reminders now.
My local garage/oil change/tire shop always resets the reminder for me - they only have to input make and model, and their computer prints out the instructions for the tech. All Shop programs do this now....

As Mike says tho, I'd be taking it to a reputable Honda Tech and having it checked out, just to be on the safe side...too many domestic dealers don't understand or care about Honda's, so I wouldn't trust what they've done...

 

[ak_element]

It's not a Honda Dealer, per se, but they do sell Hondas (as well as various GM, Jeep, Toyota and Subaru). Juneau's too small to specialize. They sold the Element originally to the previous owners who decided it was too small. Maybe they had a 3rd kid or got a new boat. Sitka's even smaller so we don't have any new car dealers, let alone Honda Techs.

Yeah - the not showing maintenance records is bogus but they say its a "privacy policy". I'm guessing they say that in all cases even when nothing is wrong so that they can get away with saying it when there is something wrong.

We do have a good shop in town so I'll get it checked out. Was planning to do it in March or so anyway. If they missed the maintenance reminder they might have got the oil weight wrong.