The Dealer I went to was Ron Bouchards in Leominster MA

 

Well, based on what you describe of this dealer I would not hesitate to take my car there. The price is pretty good especially when you consider what is constitutes an oil change for the HCH-II's. If they did all they were supposed to do professionally then perhaps you should be VERY happy.

Cheers;


MSantos

 

Had my first oil change at about 9000, and since then, on my first tank, no change in fuel economy. By the way, it only cost me $19.95 to get the oil changed with 0W-20 at Crown Honda of Durham, NC -- tell them I sent you!

Aneil

 

Wow, that is cheap considering that Mobil 1 0W-20 is ~$5.50 / qt around here.

I had to buy a set of ramps to do mine but on a whim called Jiffy Lube first. They "offered" to knock $2 off their normal price if I bring my own oil.... Gee, only ~$32 for labor and a filter after I bring in $22 of my own oil?

 

Larry - Go back to that Jiffy Lube and speak with the Manager but in a kind way and don't bark at them. I used to work at a Jiffy Lube near Pittsburgh and I know there is a code in the computer (where they type OC1 for a normal car, OC4 for a 4-wheel car, etc.) and there is a code for something like "Oil filter only - customer supplied oil" and it usually has a charge of between $5-$15 depending on how they have things set in their system. They do have to charge to recapture/recycle your oil and filter and some of the labor cost too so don't expect it to be less than $15-$20 but we would routinely charge this "bare minimum" for customers sometimes. Sure we would lose $15 in that oil change but we saw it as an opportunity that in the next 2 years of them doing this we might sell $100 of other services (wiper blades, air filter, radiator flush, etc.) and more than make up for the amount lost during the oil changes. YMMV.

But show them that this is a Hybrid and takes special oil that they do not have (it does take the "standard" small Honda filter which I think is an 7317A or something with an "A" at the end of their filter - ask them and they will know exactly what the filter is. Remind them though that our car has lots of those plastic screw/plug connectors similar to any current Audi or VW undertray and maybe spot check to make sure that part is not hanging down before you leave. Good luck.

Note: Sometimes we would mention to the customer that they are not allowed to walk into McDonald's with two hamburger buns and a meat patty and have them assemble it in the back with ketchup, pickles, etc. and they agree but then still ask us to put in their oil and filter. Like I said, sometimes it depended on the kind demeanor of the customer rather than the pushy/insistent person.

 

Thanks Flash, I will give that a shot when I am in a pinch (or I feel lazy) and need to use them. I definitely have no ax to grind with Jiffy Lube, I've used them in the past and likely will again in the future since lazy and I are really good friends.

When I called, the person on the phone did indicate that they did not have 0W-20 oil which was when I offered to bring my own. I certainly would not expect them to do the work for free, but $32 just seemed a little steep for me. $5-$15 would *definitely* be worth it (to me) for an oil change in the cold winter/hot summer.

On the bright side, doing it myself allowed me to make sure that I replaced any of the missing connectors (there were many) and see that I needed to replace the cover.

 

No probs, Larry. Since my car is from Leesburg, VA (Leesburg Honda rocks! <-- shameless plug) then I'll be as helpful as I can to a fellow VA owner (though I reside in PA). There are other services at Jiffy Lube (or other oil change companies) where customers routinely bring in their own items: a Transmission flush, a Differential drain-and-fill, and a Radiator flush to name a few.

Many GM vehicles like the Jimmy had GM-spec antifreeze (the pink-colored stuff). All that our Jiffy Lube had was "standard" green antifreeze which is roughly a 3-year antifreeze while the GM was claimed to be 5-years between changes. Some people brought in their own antifreeze from the dealer and since all that we were doing was exchanging it then we didn't mind. The VW cars have specific antifreeze as well. Some of the 4WD guys had specific synthetic Differential fluid that was a higher quality than what we had so we put theirs in for them (though all of these came with our own disclaimer that we aren't responsible for damage from their fluids but they understood that).

They are very convenient though so enjoy. 14,600 on the car at 12 weeks to the day of purchase or 1,215 miles/day and 48.0 mpg average. Shazam!!

 

Don't forget to check your tire pressure after an oil change. I keep my tires at 40 psi for good mpg, and I always ask them to keep them at 40psi, but mechanics who aren't paying attention to the service order often reset them to factory defaults, which costs me at least a couple mpg. I now have a sticker in the corner of my windshield where they put the oil change reminder that says "Tires @ 40psi please", and since I put that there it hasn't been a problem.

 

Everybody is different and every shop is different. Personally, at the Jiffy Lube where I worked the tire gauge was one that you could attach to the end of an industrial air line (also used for the air impact wrench for wheel lugnuts). This air gauge went through a lot of bad handling throughout the year though so when it was used for testing air pressure it might be +5 psi or -10 psi sometimes. What I did when I was working was to use my own personal tire pressure gauge (digital readout) and set the tires with that and had no complaints.

If you want to offer your tire pressure gauge I am sure they would not complain as it is easier than have you get angry and never come back again. Be mindful though - some places do their legal CYA bit and don't fill beyond the doorjamb sticker for the car while others might believe the tire sidewall or might refer to an official Tire Reference manual. We would have work vans that claimed 80 psi in the tires but they did not have Class B (or whatever grade was required for high pressure) so we would only fill to 45 psi or something and then the customer complained until we showed them the tire that said "max pressure 45 psi." Some of them still insisted on 80 psi. We then got the Manager and explained but the customer still insisted on it. Aren't those customers a joy sometimes.

Also, putting a note where the sticker goes is not too helpful as many times the person filling the tires is not the person applying the sticker and one does not necessarily read and tell others what they find. It is best to tell them before service and remind them again at some point OR just tell them to ignore the tires completely. Just request what you want but if you know your tire pressures then just tell them to not touch them.