Age-related maintenance items

[ColinB]

My car's just been in for it's annual service and MOT; 6 years old, 34k miles, still on original tyres & brakes. It sailed through, which is good, but the dealer recorded three advisories which I was informed are recommended due to the age of the car, and they're not included in the service plan:
     1. Fuel filter change @ £174
     2. Functional test of the ABS @ £50
     3. Thorough cleaning & decontamination of the air con & ventilation @ £55
Just wondering if anyone else with a similar age car has had these recommendations, and whether you decided to get them done or not? Or is the dealer just touting for unnecessary work?

[JimSh]

My car's just been in for it's annual service and MOT; 6 years old, 34k miles, still on original tyres & brakes. It sailed through, which is good, but the dealer recorded three advisories which I was informed are recommended due to the age of the car, and they're not included in the service plan:
     1. Fuel filter change @ £174
     2. Functional test of the ABS @ £50
     3. Thorough cleaning & decontamination of the air con & ventilation @ £55
Just wondering if anyone else with a similar age car has had these recommendations, and whether you decided to get them done or not? Or is the dealer just touting for unnecessary work?

Mine is 2014 and these have not been recommended.
I would suspect he is trying it on.

[monkeydave]

the usual ones they try on me is the brakes are slightly dragging so strip and clean and that is front and back lol and also the a/c and clutch bleed on the brake fluid replacement

i didnt do any as the brakes are fine and i get good mpg, the mot did not mention anything

my car is 3 years old with 14,600 miles

[Downsizer]

I suggest you ignore these advisories, especially as your mileage is relatively low, and stick just to the schedule specified by Honda.

[culzean]

My car's just been in for it's annual service and MOT; 6 years old, 34k miles, still on original tyres & brakes. It sailed through, which is good, but the dealer recorded three advisories which I was informed are recommended due to the age of the car, and they're not included in the service plan:
     1. Fuel filter change @ £174
     2. Functional test of the ABS @ £50
     3. Thorough cleaning & decontamination of the air con & ventilation @ £55
Just wondering if anyone else with a similar age car has had these recommendations, and whether you decided to get them done or not? Or is the dealer just touting for unnecessary work?

Trying it on

For aircon get one of these, but if the system not smelling bad there is normally not a problem. 
https://www.halfords.com/search?q=aicon+system+cleaner

For functional test of ABS next time you are on a wet road with no traffic slam the brakes on, soon tell if ABS is OK.  If a problem with ABS it has pretty good self-diagnostics built in  ( a sensor gone etc it will show a fault light )

As for the fuel filter change,  they are having a laff,  the fuel filter is a big one in the fuel tank, accessible under the centre console between seats,  I have never had problem with fuel filter despite doing large mileages.  Just glug a bottle of redex into tank and that will clean the filter,  modern petrol is stored much better and is cleaner than it has ever been. 

The main thing that keeps brakes happy is to flush the system through with new fluid every 2 to 3 years,  brake fluid naturally absorbs moisture which ( in serious cases can result in brake fluid boiling on long descents but not many of those in UK, in the Alps maybe ) but the moisture can also cause corrosion inside the system.  The fluid replacement is independent of mileage,  so yours should have been done a couple of times, but I bet they haven't done it...

[Ed the Jazz]

I have a 2016 1.3 CVT Jazz currently with 27,000 miles on the clock, most journeys are approx 20 to 30 miles each time. I have had various advisory at service times in the last 3 years by the same dealer - replace tyres as down to 3mm (3 yrs ago tread depth was apparently 3mm and has increased in depth by 1mm a year to now 6mm despite the car being used) - magic tyres the Michelin Energy!, replace front and rear discs and pads - at 18,000! - still perfectly ok this year (per another dealer) in disc condition and pad thickness. Coolant change each year, Brake fluid change each year. My previous 04 Jazz Sport rec'd similar advisories the worst being - A major oil leak which would cost £400 + to rectify and also told the car was dangerous to drive!! I hadn't seen any sign of a leak nor did it need oil from one service to another, The car ran like that for the next 60,000 miles. When I finally changed the Jazz Sport after 13 years it still did not use or leak any oil - that was when I was doing 10,000 to 12,000 miles per year.

[embee]

There are definitely chancers out there. If you find a reliable service provider who you trust, stick with them. I've been using the same MOT chap for 20 odd years now, bikes and cars. I know him, he knows me. I know if he finds anything it is genuine. I often mention things I'm aware of for him to check before a test, stuff I know needs doing at some point but haven't got round to, he passes judgement.

In a similar vein ......

A neighbour had a problem with a Ford Ka not starting last year. I found the 11 year old battery was at about 4V, I charged it and got a start, checked charging voltage was OK and this got them where they wanted to go that day. I got a new battery for them and fitted it. I was sure they had left something on to drain the battery, an interior light or something, but they'd had their money's worth from the old battery anyway.
I did a quick check of things for them last week (tyres at between 14 and 27psi, shoukd be 32!), checked fluids and noted a new RAC branded battery. They've obviously had a flat battery again and the dear RAC chap helpfully advised them a new battery was required to replace the 12 month old Yuasa which was almost certainly perfectly fine (if flat), no doubt worrying them with the warning that if they get the same problem again the RAC won't come out unless they have a new battery. Kerching. I didn't ask what the story was for fear of embarrassing them, but it's the last time I fit a new battery for them, it's now up to the RAC.

[Kremmen]

There has been a known about RAC battery scam going on for years.

I'd have thought the bad publicity they got when it first emerged would have stopped it.

[peteo48]

I often wonder if there is pressure on service departments to "sell" extra work because the profit margins on the service plans are very tight.

Not checked but isn't the fuel filter a 75,000 mile thing?

[culzean]

Not checked but isn't the fuel filter a 75,000 mile thing?

Read in a few places, including Honda Fit forums that fuel filter is a lifetime thing, it is large and fuel is now cleaner than it has ever been.  Fuel filters used to be small in-line things fitted under the bonnet and could block up after an extended time, I remember changing one on my first Civic at about 100,000 miles ( the car had covered 190,000 miles when I traded it in for first Jazz ).

[VicW]

I often wonder if there is pressure on service departments to "sell" extra work because the profit margins on the service plans are very tight.

Honda dealerships have pushed their 'safety check' every time your car is in their workshop as being for your benefit. Of course it is but it partly relies on your not knowing what the condition of your car is anyway. On one occasion I was told that my tyres were down to 3mm, they weren't, I had checked them that day before visiting the dealer and they were between 4 & 5mm. They are looking for work, fair enough but let's be honest about it.

Vic.

[Kremmen]

I changed dealers twice for the very reasons mentioned here.

I've been using Crown Honda Bushey for some years now and they've never pushed any unneeded work.

My previous dealer tried to sell me 2 front tyres. Those tyres were still on the car 5 years later and still with plenty of meat on them.

[nowster]

"Your tires at the front are getting low."

"Thanks for telling me that. I'll book it in at my preferred family-run tyre place that's within walking distance of my home. They also do MOTs."

[TnTkr]

When we bought my wife's CR-V used from Germany the inspection report stated that tyres need to be changed. In my mind those tyres were quite decent and also nice to drive, so we used those for six more summer seasons.

I had my Jazz's first annual maintenance made at local dealer in May, and looking the invoice afterwards teached me to discuss the tasks before next service. For example there was a battery condition test of which they charged 25 €. I'm not going to pay for such nonsense anymore. I'll agree only those tasks that are specified in maintenance chart.