I guess we found the way to detect honest versus not so honest dealerships- just call and ask what their recommended oil change interval is

As far as oil- I do realize 0W20 is just a viscosity grade. Question is- can an unscrupulous dealer pour in say 5W20 but mark it as 0W20 on the invoice? Since the changes are supposedly free, they are saving lots'a cash doing that. Last time I checked Honda 5W20 was about $2.78 on http://www.handaaccessories.com/ while 0W20 ran $5.28, so on 4 quarts our cars take it's a quick $10 per car.
On a more serious note, I wonder what impact clown dealers like this have on Honda Hybrid reputation. Say you take those people suing because they never get anything more than 38mpg, and it turns out the fault lies with their dealers using wrong oil, and the owners in that case are not knowledgeable enough to detect that. Huge problem for Honda..

I change my own oil, but I would trust my dealer!

There you go. You just administered your first litmus test in your quest to find a good/competent dealer. While not the only indicator for competence it is a good start, and something that every HCH-2 owner should perform.

Also to add to what has already been said about Honda's 0W20 oil:
Yes, it is not a synthetic but it meets all the performance requirements of the HCH-2 and anything else in its place (other than a true synthetic like Mobil 1 0W20) will impact the vehicle's FE performance noticeably.

Igor, it is not just bad Honda dealers that hurt hybrid owners. Toyota also has some pretty bad dealers and this remains a systemic problem hurting Toyota hybrid owners just as much. While things have changed in the last 9 years there still is a fair amount of change that needs to happen until the dealer competence is brought inline.

Until then, it is up to us to force them to change.

Good luck, and let us know how the new dealer performs.

MSantos

Sounds like a very bad case of bad dealer syndrome. Like MSantos said, ditch the dealer and report them to HoA.

I guess the question would be- why does Honda tolerate so many dealers who turn their low maintenance cars into high maintenance ones. Going in for service once every six+month vs every 3 months is a significant difference (at least to me and when service sucks and I want to minimize seeing those %^$$% )
Judging by percentages quoted here, in at least two areas of the country 75% of dealers asked do not follow manufacturer's recommendations and instead turn them into profit machines..

Honda only truly knows about a bad dealer when the customer submits a complaint that is factual and verifiable.
The problem with many cases is that some customers literally lose their cool and make the mistake of amalgamating the "dealer" with Honda "the company". This amounts to an irrational and almost non-negotiable stance that only helps erode the customer's credibility.

But on the other hand, if we keep our cool, remain objective and handle things with cordial understanding, it becomes very easy to tap into a lot of cooperation from Honda. They have taken dealers to task and in some of the most extreme cases led to some dealerships to either close or undergo a change in management.

Cheers;

MSantos

P.S> It just occurred to me to check my mileage graph versus service date. In late November I was posting here complaining how my mileage dropped. Well, That drop in the graph seems to correlate with the first time I went in for service and oil change, and happened even before the snow tires went on.. Figures..

Igor:

Glad to hear all is back to normal. Sadly, your experience is shared with that of many folks who got taken by their dealership with regards to the oil type they got.

The wrong oil grade makes a world of difference and now you know.

Cheers;

MSantos

Now if anybody could tell me how to change the dealer in owner link to a new one..

Are you sure about this?