2006 Accord maintenance schedule

I just purchased a 2006 Accord Se.

But what's the maintenance schedule?

Looking in the owner's manual and the on-line owners-link info, what I
see is the Maintenance Minder System. Apparently the car's computer
tells me when maintenance is due. Except for some at-the-limit
situations such as to change the oil after 12 months if the Service Oil
light hasn't come on in that interval.

I was looking for something based on mileage. You know,like: Every
5,000 miles do this. Every 10,000 miles to this. Every 30,000 do this.
Every 60,000 ... etc.

Am I too retro?

I'd definitely feel more comfortable having a recommended schedule in
addition to the computer.

Yirg

P.S. I thought I posted this a few days ago, but haven't seen it show
up, so please forgive if this is a duplicate.

 

Yes. The computer is a better indicator of maintenance needs because it
takes your driving habits and conditions into consideration.

I.E., 5,000 miles of freeway is not equal to 5,000 miles of city.

 

Just go by what the "maintenance minder" tells you. it will beep when you
have 10% oil left, and tell you it's almost time to change. to give you an
idea, mine beeped a little before 6,000 miles, I was breaking it in pretty
gentle though.

 

As the others suggest, yes. But I think a lot of folks are
feeling this way about the new system.

From Honda's Owner's Link site, its simply a new
name for implementing a maintenance schedule, aided by
warning lamps on the dash, set off, for a number of common
maintenance items, according to a computing algorithm, using
a computer that has inputs from various sensors.

From one site that discusses the Maintenance Minder:

"The maintenance requirements for your [Honda] Ridgeline are
determined by an internal algorithm, which considers the
engine starting temperature, driving distance and engine
RPM. The onboard computer also judges your driving
conditions and habits, and then calculates the remaining
engine oil life, displaying it as a percentage."

There's a little more info at the thread given at

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/browse_thread/thread/70f04485153e91f2/12da4fee3b3fbb31?lnk=st&q=%22maintenance+minder%22+author%3Aelle&rnum=1#12da4fee3b3fbb31

 

So if you are using 7,500 mile rated Synthetic, do you still follow the same
maintenance window?

Guess I'll see when my first change needs to be done

G-Man

 

There isn't one in the conventional sense. The old way of using mileage
and/or months to approximate when a car needs various maintentance items
has been replaced by a computer program which looks at variables like
engine hours, cold starts, etc. etc. in order to determine when things
need attention. GM pioneered this kind of thing with it's oil life
monitor system and Honda has gone one better by including other
maintenance items in the regimen.

I suppose you could get your hands on the owners manual for an earlier
Accord and use it's old tech. guidelines if that makes you feel better.
I'm not sure when Accord changed over. I know that the 2003 doesn't
have the computerized maint. minder system.

John

 

I think you have a minor error in your argument, since for
example the 2005 Civic Sedan maintenance interval for oil
changes is 10k miles/1 year. The owner's manual says to use
the same interval regardless of whether you switch to
synthetic oil.

If one uses non-Honda recommended anything, all bets are
off. I do not find that an unreasonable reality of the MM
system, because I think overall, the system is going to save
people money by way of longer car life, possibly less
frequent whatever fluid changes, etc.

Or I dunno: Maybe the MM can be adjusted per the owner's
desires. (Which promises the opportunity for much delightful
degradation here: "What, you mean you messed with the MM and
told it to double the minimum engine revs needed before
ordering an oil change?? You fool! My grandmother knows more
about cars than you!")

 

[ there's no old style maintenance schedule. The computer tells you when. ]

OK, guys. Thanks for the answers. It's apparent I'm retro, retro,
retro. Not sure what to do about this. -

But I do have problems with the computer telling me everything without
my having some backup guides. And the reason for this is... I've been
writing software for nearly 30 (that's right) years, including much
operating system development. In other words, heavy duty stuff. And,
I'm continually impressed by how much stuff goes wrong no matter how
much care (and it's often a lot) is taken every step down the road.

A few years ago one of those missions to the moon blew up. The cause:
one group had programmed using metric measurements, while the other
group used English measurements, and their s/w had to interact. (What
does this say for the simulation testing???)

So, even assuming there are no bugs in Honda's code (want to bet on
that?) and that all variables required for maintenance are properly
considered and are being measured, it also assumes that all the data is
being recorded properly in the first place and that there will be no
hardware failures down the road, such as the sensors malfunctioning to
whatever degree.

Let me put it another way: if other things can go wrong, why can't that
include the maintenance minder system with all that goes into it?

Getting my hands on an older owners manual... doesn't sound like a bad
idea.

Yirg

 

yirg, wrote the following at or about 9/5/2006 12:34 AM:

No, I suppose it doesn't and most likely the only damage that would be
caused by accelerating the oil changes would in all likelihood be to
your wallet. As for the other items, who knows?

As a recent purchaser of a 06 Accord EX with the V6 I, too, was somewhat
surprised at the seemingly total reliance on the MM but even more
surprised at their instruction to NOT change the oil on the first change
until notified by the MM. The only thing that I could figure out was
that they machine the engine tolerances to the point where the final
"machining" is designed to take place in those first 10,000 or so miles
and they want it done by "dirty" engine oil. It also appears that they
don't want the filter changed until the second oil change at ~ 20,000 miles.

Sure goes against my "retro" or anal thoughts on oil changes, etc. Then
again, Honda didn't achieve a reputation for almost legendary engine
longevity by taking short cuts.

What's a conscientious auto owner to do?

 

The reason for the wait on the first oil change is that the oil put in at
the factory is a "break-in" oil. It has additives to help break it in for a
longer engine life. You do not want to remove this oil too early. As for the
first filter change at 20,000 miles, I wouldn't wait till then. I'd change
it on every oil change. Why would you want to run fresh new oil through an
old (maybe dirty) filter.

For an explanation of the MM system from the horses mouth:
Through a system of sensors and information stored in the ECM/PCM, the
maintenance minder looks at such variables as driving habits, elapsed
mileage, and environment to determine the optimum time to perform
maintenance, advising the driver through a dash display.
The system shows engine oil life as a percentage. which drops over time as
miles build. When the car is new, and with each subsequent service, the oil
life starts at 100% and winds down to 0%. At 15% A "Service Due Now" message
will be displayed. At 5% a "Service Due Now" will be displayed, and at 0% a
"Service Past Due" message will be shown.

Codes in the dash display will indicate the service to be performed. An "A"
code indicates an oil change is needed. A "B" code indicates the oil and
filter are to be replaced in addition to a tire rotation, brake inspection,
and various other inspections as indicated in the owner's manual specific to
that model.

In addition to the "A" or "B" code, a sub-code may be noted numbered 1
through 5 for vehicles without 4WD or 1 through 6 for vehicles with 4WD.
These codes indicate other maintenance services are needed such as an air
filter and cabin filter replacement, trans fluid replacement, timing belt
replacement and so forth.

Through an algorithm, the system automatically moves up maintenance services
or delays them to coincide with other services. For example if tire rotation
is ordinarily done at 7,500 miles and the system detects that the oil life
will end at 6,000 miles, notification of the tire rotation and oil change
will be displayed at the same time. Conversely, if the oil change is
expected to go to 9,000 miles the tire rotation will be delayed.

Oil changes and related services may come sooner or later for each
individual car owner depending on their driving habits. An engine running at
higher temperatures or higher RPM's or short trips at lower temperatures
will precipitate more frequent maintenance

 

Thanks for the informative post, Howard. It's a day late and a dollar
short, I should point out that the above quote of mine represents an
error on my part, I think. My intention was to question the lack of an
oil filter change until the 2nd change. IIRC, Honda is calling for a
filter change every OTHER change. Like you, I find that puzzling.

I can understand leaving the original oil for the term called for by the
MM. I can also go along with Honda's MM recommended variable change
interval.

I'm guessing that what they're trying to tell us is that the filter will
continue to do its job without any appreciable decrease in oil
distribution for twice and long as conventional wisdom dictates.

If we're going to buy into their oil change interval using the "father
knows best logic," maybe we just have to accept filter change every
other oil change on the same basis. Honda seems to have a handle on
what it takes to make an engine that will last. Why should we believe
they would give their customers information that would defeat that long
life?

This is my first ever Honda and I am kicking myself for not making the
switch before this. I love the car. Incidentally the 15% warning lit
up today for the first time. Just rolled over 6,000 miles with a fair
amount of high speed interstate driving. 460 miles today with
interstate speeds >75 m/h and I averaged 30.3 mpg. If I could keep my
foot off the accelerator without being run over, I wonder what I'd see
at a steady 65m/h.

 

With cruise, you'd see 35mpg *easily*.