Sister has a 2010 Accord and it needs a 30K service done. I've had a 93, 2000, and now a 94 Accord, and I know the 30K service on the older Accords normally is inspect everything on the car, change plugs, air filter, oil, transmission fluid, rotate tires. I couldn't find a maint schedule in her paperwork for her car, so here I am.

Do the plugs need to be replaced at 30K? I normally use NGK copper plugs on mine, but wasn't sure if the newer models might come with some 90K iridium plugs and not need changing yet.

On the automatic transmission (only auto I've had was the 2000 Accord) is the drain plug/ fill (dipstick) more or less the same as the 2000? How many quarts of fluid is a drain and fill on the 2010? I'll probably do 2-3 drain and fills, and then start changing every 15K.
Any pan/filter that needs to be changed?

Anything else I'm missing here?

Thanks!

 

Is her car a 4 or 6 cylinder?

Her 2010 has the Maintenance Minder. With the exception of estimated engine oil life, most other service codes are based on mileage.

It will show various codes such as A, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5.

Honda technically doesn't have 30K, 60k, 90k, etc. services for the Hondas with Maintenance Minders. Some dealers will do the standard on their list and charge for the 30k, 60k, etc. if a customer requested it.

Service code B1 for tire rotation and tire pressure check, shows up around every 10,000 miles.

Service code B2 for air filter and pollen filter (cabin filter), probably every 30,000 miles.

Personally, as part of regular maintenance, I don't use the Maintenance Minder as much to make it simple. I change my filters every 15,000 miles regardless of service codes.

At 30,000 miles, the things I would change would be air filter, pollen filter, transmission fluid (if automatic), sometimes coolant too. Use the new Honda DW-1 ATF for an automatic. Other things are more inspections. -- Oil changes I do as part of a separate mileage interval, even though there is the Maintenance Minder.

Her spark plugs are Iridium and doesn't normally require a change until around 105,000 miles. --Service code B4 is for spark plug change and inspection of valve clearance (though many Honda mechanics will tell you no need for valve adjustment unless there is excess noise.) )


For the 4 cylinder automatic: To drain, the plastic splash shield needs to be removed to access the drain bolt, as the splash shield opening doesn't line up completely with the drain bolt. Alternative is to cut a larger access hole in the splash shield. To fill is through the dipstick tube. Takes about 2.5 to 3 quarts for one drain and fill. -- For accurate results, check for proper level with dipstick after car is at normal operating temperature (radiator fan turns on); car turned off, wait about 60 seconds; but, no more than 90 seconds.

For the 6 cylinder automatic: To drain, access hole in plastic splash shield lines up correctly. No need to remove splash shield. To fill, there is a fill bolt or just use the dipstick tube. Takes 3 - 3.5 quarts for one drain and fill. -- For accurate result, check for proper level with dipstick after car is at normal operating temperature (radiator fan turns on); car turned off, wait about 60 seconds; but, no more than 90 seconds.

The 4 cylinders automatic transmission has an in-line filter on top of the transmission (visible to the left of the air box). Honda does not consider this a normal maintenance item. -- Some DIYers do change this filter on their cars; but, not every 30K.

The 8th generation (2008-2012) V6 automatic transmission filters are inside the transmission case. 7th generation (2003-2007) V6 still had an accessible filter on the outside of the case. -- So, for 8th generation Accord V6, no easily accessible filter.

 

Also, check her rear brake pads for wear. 2008, 2009, and early production 2010 Accords rear brake pads wear out fast. It's the inner pad that normally wears out fist. -- Honda later revised the pad material, included V-springs, and instructions to check the rear caliper upper and lower slide pins and switch as necessary.

If her 2010 has the V-springs on the pad (there is one V-spring on each side), then her car probably is the later production 2010 with the revised pads. Honda later also revised the rear calipers for newer Accords to deal with it.

 

Thank you for the help. Hers is a 4 cyl automatic. I don't trust "maint minder"s so I'll stick with diong to the old school 30K service on sis's 2010 and mom's 2011 Accords (also a 4cyl auto). Maint is cheap, repairs are expensive.

The new 4 cyls don't have a timing belt correct (now have a timing chain)?

 

You're welcome.

Yes, the 4 cylinder (K24 engine) uses a timing chain. Just do frequent oil changes and check the levels. Infrequent oil changes can cause the chain to wear and stretch, causing timing to jump and possibly engine damage. Low oil levels/pressure supposedly can also cause similar problems.

If you want to cut an access hole in the plastic splash shield to make changing the auto transmission fluid easier in the future, see my posts #6 and 7 in this thread:

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...id-plug-43520/

 

I religiously change every 5K in the Hondas, every 3K in the Jeeps (lot more dust, low speed driving). I only GTX and Bosch filters.

Thanks again for the help and the link. I'll get moving on getting her ATF changed.

 

I own a 2010 Accord 4 cylinder model with an automatic transmission. I just changed the AT fluid in the car myself for the very 1st time. The dealer had done it previously. My question is related to this: the owner's manual states that the amount of fluid needed for an AT fluid change is 2.6 quarts (US) but when I drained the fluid and poured it into an empty oil container it showed that 3.5 quarts had been drained. -- What could account for the difference between what the owner's manual said and the actual amount drained? - Thanks

 

The transmission with torque converter holds approximately 6.9 quarts. When you drain and fill, not all of it comes out. Even though the service manual states 2.6 U.S. quarts for the fluid change, in my experience, it is closer to 3 U.S. quarts.

For your car, it can also depend how much the dealer re-filled it the last time (they could also have possibly overfilled a little).

I usually check with the dipstick several times to be sure. I usually have to add 3 - 3.2 quarts for the 4 cylinder AT for a drain and fill.

 

Thanks redbull-1 for your feedback to my question. -- I went to the dealer today to buy 1 more quart of ATF because I did a reading after the change when the engine was hot and it showed below minimum. I added a bit less than one half quart and it is about at max now. -- I had the car jacked up on the left (driver) side to get better access when I drained the fluid ~ not sure if that caused some additional fluid to drain out. Bottom line: the ATF change amount stated in the owner's manual seems to be inaccurate.

 

Drain/fill amount is really only good when the car is level - like on a lift. If you jack up one corner or the other, you can drain out more or less.

The important thing is the dipstick shows the correct amount when the car is sitting on it's wheels on flat ground.

Same with engine oil. I usually drain a little more than normal, because I rotate my tires while it's draining. Lifting up each corner around the car drains out a little more of the dirty oil, which I think is a good thing. Trust the dipstick when it's all done.