2003 Honda Accord Maintenance Confusion

My dealer has sent me a maintenance book for my new car. It
recommends service based on 5,000, 10,000, 15,000...etc. However, on
the Honda website, it recommends maintenance based on 7,500, 15000,
22500...etc.

Which schedule should I follow? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

It's interesting. What does your owner's manual say?

I've taken my owner's manual and blended the severe schedule with the
non-severe schedule, and came up with a nice program that covers
everything at a nice, even, easily-remember 5000 mile interval. It
takes a bit of work, and you should write it all down so you don't
forget, but it's very straightforward.

 

The owner's manual is from Honda. The service department information is not
from Honda. They modify it so that they can scare you into doing more work
on your car than is necessary. There are a few good points to this though.
If your car is serviced regularly then problems can be found and fixed
before your on the side of the road stuck somewhere. It would also help the
longevity of the car if certain services are not skipped.

The downside is that the dealer is getting more money than they should be
from you. So I would use the dealer as a guide but that is it.

Another point to ponder is that the Honda company competes with several
other cars when they try to get you to buy their car. As a result they like
their maintenance costs to be competitive or cheaper than other similar
model cars over the long haul. So they may in fact not recommend services
as often as they should so that when you are comparing maintenance costs
over a 5 year period to other vehicles it may sway you into buying the
Honda.

I would just use all the information available and make your own decision.

CaptainKrunch

 

Go by the owner's manual. Read the severe conditions section and see if it
applies to you.

Car dealer's routinely over recommend maintenance services beyond what the
manufacturer recommends because the service department is the most
profitable sector of the dealership.

John