I also read of a few dealers putting VTM-4 fluid in 2017 Ridgelines!
Everything is becoming incredibly complex for the average consumer and I find that people use only a fraction of a device's capabilities whether it's a car, a television, or a dishwasher. I've owned nothing but Apple computers, phones, and other devices for over a decade now because they are durable, look nice, feel nice, reliable, and are easy to use. I purchased a Dell laptop for my mother for Christmas. First, I had to pick a brand. I had no idea what to choose, so I chose a Dell because it was familiar. Then, I had to choose between consumer or business class. I chose business thinking it would be more durable and contain less bloatware. Then, I had to choose a line of business laptop that seems primarily based on form factor. Then, I had to choose a series within that line. Then, I had to choose a specific model within that series. Then, I had to choose which screen, processor, storage, memory, software, and dozens of other features and options to include. It was absolutely freaking insane. Ultimately, I chose a random model that appeared in a flyer at the price point I was looking for. It cost 80% of much as a MacBook and has a horrible screen with poor contrast and low resolution, a plastic body, finicky trackpad, tinny speakers, and Windows 10 is a hot mess. I tried the simple task of installing her printer driver, which would never complete or allow me to delete it and start over. Finally, after three manual reboots it just started working on its own and printed out every test page that Windows previously said had failed due to a problem with the printer. I'm far more patient now than I used to be, but I was 30 seconds away from throwing it in the garbage and buying her a MacBook. Unfortunately, her embroidery machine isn't Mac compatible.
Anyways, before my blood pressure escalates...
I, too, suspect there are many Hondas running around with neglected maintenance because owners, dealers, or independents keep resetting the MM at each premature oil change. I also suspect there are many
more non-Honda models with even more neglected maintenance because the vehicles aren't equipped with the equivalent of Honda's Maintenance Minder and even though a mileage-based schedule is included in the owner's manual, how many people do you believe actually read and follow it?
Let's take my 2019 Miata, for example. The Owner's Manual contains no less than
nine (yes, nine) different maintenance schedules for both fixed and flexible modes in the US, Canada, and Mexico for normal and severe conditions based on a dozen different severe driving criteria. The vehicle can be configured to prompt for oil changes based on actual driving conditions (not including elapsed time), preset distance traveled, or custom distance traveled. The factory default setting is mileage-based oil changes every 7,500 miles. I changed mine to "flexible" mode so that it calculates oil life based on actual driving conditions and it's looking like it's going to prompt for an oil change around 5,000 miles.
I predict that my Ridgeline will continue to be driven more than 8,000 miles per year, so I'll continue to follow the MM exactly as I have on all my Hondas. The Miata has accumulated only 1,000 miles in three months, so it'll probably get annual oil changes. Unlike Honda's Maintenance Minder, Mazda's system only prompts for oil changes and tire rotations. You must refer to one of the nine schedules for other maintenance.
The bottom line is that it's just easier, more efficient, less expensive, and more effective to follow the Maintenance Minder in Hondas if you use more than 85% of the oil's life in one year. If it's been more than a year since the last oil change and the oil life hasn't reached 15% yet, you'll need to either wait until the oil life reaches 15% or change the oil and NOT reset the MM even though Honda tells you to.