I know there have been various discussions here about how and when to get your HCH serviced. Mine is nearing its need for the first service, so I'd like to ask where you all go to get your HCH serviced?

I'm leaning towards purchasing 0W-20 myself and taking it to a neigborhood garage that I really trust, I'll still probably take it to the Dealer for the major services and/or whenever the CVT fluid needs changed. This will also allow me to get any software upgrades. For the basics, I don't see how the HCH is any different from any other car with the exception of the OW-20. Your thoughts?

 

I either go to the dealer or do it myself. I just don't trust anybody else. I can't count the number of time my wife use to take her old car to a lube place only for me to come in and fix everything afterwards.

You will find that parts of your car will go missing or get broken because some idiot can't figure out how to unclamp a piece of plastic... oppss. Let's cover the mess up, who actually looks under their car anyway.

 

For me, the savings to offset the possibility of screwing something up by someone unfamiliar with Hybrids isn't there. It also seems like the dealer maintenance is going to be cheap enough on this car to make it worth doing there exclusively. (This is - by the way - soming from somebody who does do their own oil changes and basic maintenance on previous cars... I may get back to that on the Hybrid - but likely in a few years)

Eric

 

I did not answer the poll - I drive an Insight, however I always go to the Honda dealer. Can't but help to think that the ignorance about hybrids would extend to mechanics.

Had my 88 CRX tuned up by a little shop that crippled it the last four years of it's 250,000 mile life. Not a hybrid, but it was a hard lesson to choose your mechanic carefully.

 

I figure that the mechanics at the dealership "should" be trained on these cars....so I've always my service done at the dealership.

 

I had the first three oil changes done at the dealership, but got tired of them ripping me off with "inspections". They got quite indignant when I told them to "just do the oil", like I was wasting their time.

If you take the oil to a third party, or do it yourself, don't forget the crush washer (I know my '04 HCH has it, I assume the '06 does, too). You can get them, in bulk, from any autoparts store on-line, or pay $1 for them at the dealer.

I paid $5.50 for 100 of them.

 

I used to do 90% of repairs myself (my old jeep would need fix'in every week) so I have every tool known to man. But since I started to buy Honda's, I've mostly had all the work done at the dealer (except for my old 92 accord and 02 maxima, always went to local lube shop for oil changes). The local lube shop would always, without fail, knock a vacuum hose off of my old jeep's HVAC control.....very annoying.

However, the dealers aren't all that great either. My last service at the H dealer to change oil and do the 10K inspections was ok but I noticed that they didn't lube the door hinges. While not a big deal in itself, it just gets me to thinking about all those other things that were supposed to get "checked" that didn't.

One time I returned home from the jeep dealer after some minor repair that I couldn't do myself, only to find a new pair of vise grips still clamped to one of the emergency brake cables. Just added it to my collection.. Kinda like when a surgeon leaves the hemostat in your gut after the appendectomy..

 

I used to take mine in for oil changes at the dealer but now I just do it myself, I save $$$ and I know it's getting the 0w-20 Mobil 1. kevin

 

Well, I've been of the mind that I'd always have the car serviced at the dealer, at least until it was out of warranty. That way, should something happen, there's no question whatsoever about how the car was maintained. However, I'd bring my own oil for the changes, so I could be reasonably sure of what went in; good shops will deduct the 'cost of their oil' from the bill, and you're generally paying < $28-30 for labor, oil filter, a tire rotation (assuming 6-7K OCI), and (perhaps the biggest factor) peace of mind, from a potential warranty claim perspective.

However, dealer service departments aren't always scrupulous - for the 1st ('free') oil change on the Accord Hybrid, the service advisor told me "save your oil for next time - we use the same thing". When I sent that oil out for analysis after it had been changed out, I found out the profile was more similar to Mobil Drive Clean 5000 than it was to Mobil 1. Suffice to say, I was a bit mistrustful of that dealership's service dept after that.

I've also heard stories about the service techs (not Honda, necessarily) keeping the good synoil, and just putting the shop's regular oil in cars. So - given that - the only *sure* way you'll know what was done - is to do it yourself, or use a really trusted shop, as you mention.

Honda does state that you don't *have* to have the dealer maintain the car - as long as you have documentation (parts or parts / labor receipts), you can have another garage do it, or you can self-maintain it. Outside of the CVT fluid, which I plan on changing every 15K mi (I wouldn't let it go longer than 30K in any case), you're really not going to have to do much more than oil changes and tire rotations for the first 100K miles. There'll be one brake fluid change to do at 3 years, and a valve lash adjustment near 100K - but other than that, the biggest pain to maintaining the car will be dealing with removing that undercover, with its 8 speed nuts and 2 bolts. I don't see any way to do a fluid change without removing it.

 

Ooops, almost forgot...I bring my own 0w20 Mobil 1 to the dealer when doing the oil change. But, unless I actually watch them change it, who knows what they are putting in. Fortunately, 0w20 isn't much good except for a few particular car types.