Gosh I hate this crap. I took our 2014 Accord in today for oil change and tire rotation. They completed that in about an hour along with extensive vehicle check. After I paid for today the service rep went over the report and said everything looked good except the "yellow" needs attention was that the cabin filter was dirty. I then said I don't know how that is possible because I changed it yesterday with new OEM Honda filter and put the date on the front of it. He was pretty taken back with that and left and said he would be right back. I waited a little bit and then left and another guy was walking to my car the same time as I was and he wanted to look at the cabin filter. Turns out he was the express service supervisor and I said sure and he removed it and said he would be right back. He came back a short time later and was VERY apologetic and assured me that would never happen again. Apparently he had a conversation with the tech that did my report and never actually checked the filter.

I was pretty pissed but again it was a report saying it should be changed in near future. If someone had come into the waiting area and told me it needed to be changed today I would have demanded to see the service manager and ask why I should pay $70 to have a brand new filter changed and who was the regional supervisor. Apparently not too many people change their own cabin filter LOL. It takes me all of 2 minutes and I save myself $55 over what they want to charge. I also do the same with the engine air filter and that takes about 60 seconds to change. Having been in management and dealing with lazy people a lot before I am pretty sure some lazy tech did not bother to check it. He may have looked at my vehicle history and noticed it had not been changed in quite a while and worked of that or he could just have been a lazy idiot. Hopefully I did the supervisor a favor.

Good for you. I had a buddy who used to inital his oil filter to make sure they put a new one in. I think the technician just pencil whipped it, and you did the supervisor a favor.I would ask for a free oil change or you will put it on social media. I have done it and it works.

Sounds about right.
Compliance bushings is another common suggested repair.

Took our Flex for an oil change a couple years ago & was told it needed rear shocks. Declined, and 30k later they're still fine.

Had a better experience with my recent service at Honda dealer. I was told cabin air filter was dirty (car a year and a half old, have driven through Arizona); asked if I wanted to change it myself or have them do it; I said go ahead; it was $50 parts and labor. Next time I’ll look into changing it myself.

Good on you Grumpy1. Keep them on their toes. The more GrumpyONES , the more they keep their shit clean, the more they keep our stuff clean.
Some good tips here too.

quote:

Had a better experience with my recent service at Honda dealer. I was told cabin air filter was dirty (car a year and a half old, have driven through Arizona); asked if I wanted to change it myself or have them do it; I said go ahead; it was $50 parts and labor. Next time I’ll look into changing it myself.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I viewed the YOU tube video. For an interventional cardiologist it might take you two minutes. Engine oil filter the same.

"Upselling." Ugh.
They just tried to scam me on new struts. Nope.

I took our CR-V in for the ‘free’ 1st oil change when it was due. The shop seemed more spooled than average with ‘upselling’ services to those bring vehicles in. There was lots of ‘recommend service’ suggestions going on.

They wanted to change my ‘rear drive’ fluid, AWD. I did go along with it. I later researched the frequency required, and do it myself.

I doubt I’ll ever go back. They seem higher pressure & more annoying than even the average GM-Chevy shop.

Of course many newer vehicles give ‘maintenance codes’ for simple stuff like tire rotations, filter changes, etc... That potential leads one to believe maintenance is required.

 
I change my own cabin and engine air filters. Order the genuine Toyota parts online. Believe it or not, the cabin air filter is much more expensive than the engine filter. The engine filter is much bigger, and the cabin filter looks like a simple furnace filter. They are both crazy easy to change yourself, at least on my Tacoma.

Flush services, those are the ones that get me going. Sold to the dealerships by non oem companies everything from battery terminal protection to flushes for any liquid containing part in a vehicle except for windshield washer tanks and I'm pretty sure somewhere somebody is working on one for that.

Seriously, high profit area for the dealership plus many time the technician and the advisor is "spiffed" by the vendor (save the bottle caps turn in for cash), the dealership or both. And not recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, in fact GM sent out a TSB to all dealerships saying that these outside source flushes were not approved nor necessary in maintaining them and in some cases may actually harm the vehicle. And if a specific flush is needed the manufacturer will offer one or in rare cases that it is determined to be infrequent they will name the approved source company's materials to use. GM did that initially during the infamous Dexcool debacle, the coolant turning into muck inside the engine. We were told to use a specific Prestone flush, soon after GM set it up under the parts system and assigned a part number to it.

I saw writers "hammer" vulnerable customers into every imaginable service possible, reading off the chart that the vendor supplied the dealership. How else could a writer recommend a power steering flush for a car that is equipped with electric assist power steering? Yep, saw that too.

One of these companies touts their "warranty", if you use their flushes on a regular basis they will "assist" in repairs if a named part fails. But you have to use their products for that component on a regular basis (no you cannot do your own service, has to be done where they sell the product) and you will be reimbursed up to a specific dollar amount for a failure.

I never saw anything I could say was harmed by one of those flushes except transmission flushing. Sell a 100K vehicle a flush and many times it would come back for a shifting problem. Gunked up pan, sometimes clutch material loaded in the pan. Personally I would only do a drain and refill for a transmission service or a transmission fluid exchange without the flush additives.

There was a reason we referred to those services as wallet flushes.

drive a diesel F250, the dealership wanted over $200.00 to change the Fuel Filters, bought Ford filters for less than $50.00 and spent 5 minutes changing both of them.

I also got asked about the cabin air filter once. I asked the service writer to show me the filter. That truck doesn't have one.

I also change all of my engine air and cabin filters.
I am always amazed at how much the dealerships charge for this service.
Years ago the tech would bring the filters out for the service righter to show us. I would always tell them to put it back because I change my own.
After a while my service righter told the tech not to check the filters because we change our own and it was waiting the tech time.
One time my wife went with out me to have the oil changed on her car.
Our normal service righter was on vacation. At one point he came out and told my wife the cabin and the engine air filters needed to be changed today as they were very dirty.
My wife responds that's odd my husband just changed them yesterday.
From that point we only went to have service done when our service righter was there. He new better than to play games with us.
Lately the dealership I have service done at has been going through service righter's and I am getting tired of having to break in new ones every three months.

Cabin and engine air filters are (according to most car makers) a "due by mileage" service. (I don't personally agree with this; it should be an "as needed" service. Sometimes the filter required at, say, 30,000 miles is actually perfectly fine and could go another 30. Others in very dusty conditions may not go that far.) Nobody is going to take your stuff out of the glove compartment, pull the access panel and actually physically check a cabin filter. What it sounds like they did is look at your mileage and their records. But the approach was completely wrong. Here's how it should have gone:

They: "Mr. grumpy1, we noticed your cabin filter is due by mileage."
You: "I just changed it yesterday."
They: "Oh, OK. You can disregard it, then." And that should have been the end of it.

It is the job of any auto service facility to find and present legitimate maintenance needs.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:
I also change all of my engine air and cabin filters.
I am always amazed at how much the dealerships charge for this service.

Yep. You can get filters yourself for ~$10-$15 each online. And they literally take a minute or so apiece to swap out, in nearly every modern car.

(And no, open heart surgery experience is not needed... It's ridiculously simple in most vehicles these days. The hardest part for many people is usually cleaning out all the shit they've shoved in their glove box, so they can get access to the cabin filter.)

I have had pretty good experiences at this Honda service dept for years and I think it was just a lazy tech.

However they have recently gotten more pushy with services. When I called to make appointment they recommended a wheel alignment because it should be done "yearly" and I said NO thanks. The service inspection sheet also recommended a fuel injection cleaning service for freaking $165 also claiming it should be done yearly. This is the first time I have seen this an IMO it is bogus and I have never needed that on one of our cars ever and Honda owners manual makes no mention of it. I don't begrudge them for trying to make some money but IMO they are pushing it as far as being honest about these "needed" services. I know if my wife had taken the Accord in for the oil change/tire rotation she would have authorized all that and had a $500 service bill total instead of $78.

How big a deal is it to change the cabin air filter on a 2010 Ford Edge? I should probably do that myself, if it's a simple thing.

In the old days I did my oil changes, but now at 82 with mobility limitations, I'm content to pay a shop to do it. I use an independent shop, run by an Army vet, who likes (and owns) SIG P229 pistols in .357 SIG, and is a big-time Trump supporter, so we know that he is one of the good guys.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Cabin and engine air filters are (according to most car makers) a "due by mileage" service. (I don't personally agree with this; it should be an "as needed" service. Sometimes the filter required at, say, 30,000 miles is actually perfectly fine and could go another 30. Others in very dusty conditions may not go that far.) Nobody is going to take your stuff out of the glove compartment, pull the access panel and actually physically check a cabin filter. What it sounds like they did is look at your mileage and their records. But the approach was completely wrong. Here's how it should have gone:

They: "Mr. grumpy1, we noticed your cabin filter is due by mileage."
You: "I just changed it yesterday."
They: "Oh, OK. You can disregard it, then." And that should have been the end of it.

It is the job of any auto service facility to find and present legitimate maintenance needs.

That may be the case but the service supervisor said they are supposed to inspect it. At least on Hondas you don't have to empty the glove compartment. You can hold it with the other hand or prop it up with a box or such so that nothing spills out of it. The supervisor had the filter out in about 30 seconds by himself without removing anything from the glove compartment.

Hey Grumpy! You know basically we both have the same car from past postings. Hows that puppy running these days? Mines still purring like a kitten and zero problems. The V6 still pulls like an animal when pushed hard. I don't drive as much these days but looking back, it was one of my better decisions to purchase and my first Honda.

quote:

Originally posted by just1tym:
Hey Grumpy! You know basically we both have the same car from past postings. Hows that puppy running these days? Mines still purring like a kitten and zero problems. The V6 still pulls like an animal when pushed hard. I don't drive as much these days but looking back, it was one of my better decisions to purchase and my first Honda.

It runs like a champ and never a problem, just routine maintenance. Has 63,000 miles now but that is nothing for a Honda LOL. I want it for mine and was telling the wife the other day we may need to get her a new car next year or too so the 2014 Accord EX-L V6 can be all mine. I washed and waxed her a couple weeks ago getting ready for winter and she still looks sharp and is rarely out in the sun as wife gets to park in covered parking facility at work. Probably will get her another Honda or maybe Acura ILX when the time comes. Glad to hear you are still loving your Accord too!