Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner
81 - 100 of 207 Posts
If i traded every three years..I'd take everything to the limit and follow the MM's, and let the next guy deal with it. haha
If I've told this story before, please forgive me.

The captain on my shift used to trade his vehicles every other year. He would purchase the lowest trim level and literally only put gasoline into the vehicle. No oil change, no tire rotation or no tire purchase. His rationale was "why maintain the vehicle for the next owner". Kind of made a certain capitalist logic in my mind.
 
I'm probably opening up a hornets nest with this comment about the A service...
I have and will NEVER change oil only...This is the dumbest thing i have ever heard of...
Especially the first oil change! I dont care about what the experts say about the life of these filters and there lab test, when you change your oil.... you change your FILTER!
I gotta agree in principle where any time you change the oil without changing the filter you are introducing the amount of the dirty oil being held in the filter back into the system, which just reeks of doing a slipshod job.

Bill
 
:) yep...i get it.
But the only thing they will ever blame me for is OVER maintaining my vehicles.
5k oil/filter-tire rotations, 30k tranny drain-n-fills, on all my Hondas...
For what we pay for these vehicles, and since I keep vehicles a long time, I'll waste a little $ to take better care of them. Im more worried about whats going on inside at 110k, than at 55k...Im sure if i didnt nothing to the tranny, it will last at least the 60k warranty. Im more worried about after the warranty runs out... ya know.

If i traded every three years..I'd take everything to the limit and follow the MM's, and let the next guy deal with it. haha
...yet we still have transmissions overheating well before the first fluid change becomes due and injectors clogging or leaking right after the 36K warranty is up even when fuel system cleaners are used. :)

On the other hand, we have examples of Ridgelines sailing past 300K when following the MM using cheap and Honda-branded oil.

We've even seen examples of misused and grossly neglected Ridgelines sailing past 100K with NO transmission or differential fluid changes.

Gosh, so many choices to make. Wouldn't it be nice if Honda invented some way to simplify maintenance needs, reduce waste, lower ownership costs, and lessen inconvenience while still allowing the vehicle to live beyond a quarter of a million miles? Oh, wait... They did! :D :D :D

I gotta agree in principle where any time you change the oil without changing the filter you are introducing the amount of the dirty oil being held in the filter back into the system, which just reeks of doing a slipshod job.

Bill
The Maintenance Minder's algorithm accounts for some old oil remaining in the system. It also assumes the use of "minimum-quality" oil. It also contains a safety margin to account for potential error. Enjoy the attached research papers from the engineers at Honda R&D in Japan. :)
 

Attachments

What I got out of Bill's comment is that he is an old dude and has antiquated opinions on vehicle maintenance. ;)

Just kidding, I'm an old dude too with similar opinions.
You are absolutely correct, Farther. Not changing the oil filter and leaving that dirty oil in the system feels the same as not worrying about keeping a clean environment when you overhaul something, who cares if it's dirty when you put it back together?

Bill
 
You are absolutely correct, Farther. Not changing the oil filter and leaving that dirty oil in the system feels the same as not worrying about keeping a clean environment when you overhaul something, who cares if it's dirty when you put it back together?

Bill
That dirty oil filter will actually filter as well or better than a new filter as it becomes loaded...at least until it becomes clogged to the point that it begins to overcome the spring pressure of the bypass valve. Loading to the point of bypassing must not be a concern when changing the filter at every other oil change or I would expect Honda to have specified replacing the filter at every oil change so they could sell more filters. :)
 
That dirty oil filter will actually filter as well or better than a new filter as it becomes loaded...at least until it becomes clogged to the point that it begins to overcome the spring pressure of the bypass valve........................................................
Yes, zroger73, we understand that, and the same holds true for the air filter, but that is not what we are referring to........................:rolleyes:

Bill
 
Or, just change the oil every year and leave the Maintenance Minder alone so that the oil life reaches 15% and let it prompt you for what is actually due based on actual driving conditions and distance traveled. Have all of those services except for the oil change performed then reset the Maintenance Minder. As long as you keep running out of time before the MM reaches 15%, then there will never be a situation where any maintenance item will be past due.
This is what I did on my most recent oil change on the Ridge. Since it's only getting 3500 miles or so a year, I left the MM alone and will reset it next oil change... which coincidentally will align with my (internal) schedule to do the timing belt and tensioner, serpentine belt and tensioner, spark plugs, water pump, radiator, valve adjustment, etc. Yay.
 
This is an very good question... One Ive thought about but have not asked.

I always rotate my tires at 5kmiles...with oil changes. I havent decided yet how i will handle the MM's, but i will not be waiting until the 8k mile time to rotate tires...or will I be letting the dealership rotate my tires.
I have had multiple set of wheels from both Honda and Ford dealerships damage and have to replace both wheels, and cross-threaded lug nuts. So for the past 10 years or so, i just do it myself. It gives me a chance to inspect brake pads, etc while the wheels are off and the trucks is lifted.
(in the past year I know of 2 people that have had factory wheels replaced by Ford and 1 by Toyota...damage from wheel balancing machines, or impact wrenches...just sloppy shop work)


So my current pan is to just document in my log book, when services were performed. An item like this i will not depend on the MM's to remind me...i guess after all these years, i have my own system. I do plan on taking the truck in for "some" maintenance, just to be in my local dealerships system, check for any updates, etc. But i will end up with a mix of some stuff i do...and some stuff I "let them do". HaHa
Just document EVERYTHING! :)
Since I'm a DIYer, I do my own tire rotations. Coincidentally, I only rotate the tires when I do an oil change... about ever 6000-7000 miles in my normal driving. That's pretty common for my vehicles to reach 0% on the MM.

All this angst could be better dealt with by using a schedule IMO. Normal service, change oil, rotate tires, check brake guide pins and pads at 7500 miles. Change the rear diff fluid at 15k and then every 30k thereafter. Change the tranny fluid every other oil change (OK, that's just for me!)... at every 30k miles. Change coolant at 50k and TB/WP service at 100k. Brake fluid every 3 years, regardless of mileage. Engine air filter and cabin air filter every 30k miles.

Severe service... halve the above intervals.

Then there's no guessing as to if MM events were accidentally missed, etc.

For me, I figure I'm being too conservative changing oil annually because I make it a point to warm the engine up properly before parking it. Unless the engine is already hot from a good drive... I'll take it out for a 5 to 10 mile hop to get everything up to operating temperature before parking it for any extended period of time. But I still change it annually-ish anyway.
 
If I've told this story before, please forgive me.

The captain on my shift used to trade his vehicles every other year. He would purchase the lowest trim level and literally only put gasoline into the vehicle. No oil change, no tire rotation or no tire purchase. His rationale was "why maintain the vehicle for the next owner". Kind of made a certain capitalist logic in my mind.
I'd never want to let a guest like that in my house or use my vehicles. My OCD will not allow that sort of thing to happen. It's a matter of honor to pass along a vehicle is excellent shape unless it's a known entity.

I may trade a vehicle before having major service work done, but that's up to the dealership to deal with in regards to trade-in value, etc and whether or not they pass that along to the next buyer. I've had them refuse to take my maintenance records before... which kind of shocked me.
 
All this angst could be better dealt with by using a schedule IMO. Normal service, change oil, rotate tires, check brake guide pins and pads at 7500 miles.
Then half of owners would be changing their oil prematurely while the other half changed it late, which is why condition-based intervals make more sense than mileage-based intervals.

Families or those who cook often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every day.

Individuals or those who eat out often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every other week.

If everyone was put on a schedule to empty their kitchen garbage every week, families would end up with overflowing garbage cans while individuals would be wasting trash bags. :)
 
Then half of owners would be changing their oil prematurely while the other half changed it late, which is why condition-based intervals make more sense than mileage-based intervals.

Families or those who cook often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every day.

Individuals or those who eat out often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every other week.

If everyone was put on a schedule to empty their kitchen garbage every week, families would end up with overflowing garbage cans while individuals would be wasting trash bags. :)
While I don't disagree with you in that regard, the MM in it's present implementation is far from ideal and potentially leads to maintenance issues experienced by the unwashed masses.

And given that the 0w-20 weight oils are synthetic (I believe that's been pretty much established), I doubt anyone will be replacing the oil late in normal service conditions.

So which ends up being the lesser of the evils?
 
  • Like
Reactions: wjfyfe
Since I'm a DIYer, I do my own tire rotations. Coincidentally, I only rotate the tires when I do an oil change... about ever 6000-7000 miles in my normal driving. That's pretty common for my vehicles to reach 0% on the MM.

All this angst could be better dealt with by using a schedule IMO. Normal service, change oil, rotate tires, check brake guide pins and pads at 7500 miles. Change the rear diff fluid at 15k and then every 30k thereafter. Change the tranny fluid every other oil change (OK, that's just for me!)... at every 30k miles. Change coolant at 50k and TB/WP service at 100k. Brake fluid every 3 years, regardless of mileage. Engine air filter and cabin air filter every 30k miles.
Just curious, yes, what you are saying makes sense, but where did you find this information?

Bill
 
Then half of owners would be changing their oil prematurely while the other half changed it late, which is why condition-based intervals make more sense than mileage-based intervals.

Families or those who cook often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every day.

Individuals or those who eat out often may need to empty their kitchen garbage every other week.

If everyone was put on a schedule to empty their kitchen garbage every week, families would end up with overflowing garbage cans while individuals would be wasting trash bags. :)
One way of doing things does not fit all, sorry. The MM doesn't cover all owners. Like everything else, made for the many not for the all. I don't change oil prematurely or late, I change it when it needs to be changed via actual lab analysis, and until a maintenance minder system comes out with a sensor directly in the oil telling me what's in there, it's the best way to do it for my needs, and definitely not for yours. Lab analysis will tell me if fuel is present in the oil, coolant, and picks up on premature hardware failures in the engine bay. No MM is gonna do that, that is in service today.

I cook 4 meals a day, every day and I dump the trash when the city comes twice a week. If it ain't full then just the once per week. It doesn't smell either because I use a trashcan with a lid, and lightly wash any food containers. Generalities and assumptions never apply to all. Always caveats.Give us a typical schedule for maintenance then we don't have to fool with a maintenance minder, reset it or anything else. I think the MM system is the dummy system. When I need to learn a subject I buy the book, not the yellow cover for dummies version. But that's just me. :)
 
One way of doing things does not fit all, sorry. The MM doesn't cover all owners. Like everything else, made for the many not for the all. I don't change oil prematurely or late, I change it when it needs to be changed via actual lab analysis, and until a maintenance minder system comes out with a sensor directly in the oil telling me what's in there, it's the best way to do it for my needs, and definitely not for yours. Lab analysis will tell me if fuel is present in the oil, coolant, and picks up on premature hardware failures in the engine bay. No MM is gonna do that, that is in service today.

I cook 4 meals a day, every day and I dump the trash when the city comes twice a week. If it ain't full then just the once per week. It doesn't smell either because I use a trashcan with a lid, and lightly wash any food containers. Generalities and assumptions never apply to all. Always caveats.Give us a typical schedule for maintenance then we don't have to fool with a maintenance minder, reset it or anything else. I think the MM system is the dummy system. When I need to learn a subject I buy the book, not the yellow cover for dummies version. But that's just me. :)
How do you get he oil out to analyze in the lab?
 
81 - 100 of 207 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top