Hi,
I have read through few of the posts so I try to steer clear of repetitions.

My maintenance light in Honda Accord 2001 EX is currently steady yellow or amber color.

I bought this car from a dealer in Sept 2006. I have had an oil change done at about 92K miles. This is the only maintenance I have done at this point.

Currently my car has about 96K miles and I am considering taking the car to Honda Accord Dealer (not the place where I purchased it). I want to make sure I get good quality check.

Ideally I want to wait till March 18th however I will have about 1000 miles added between now and then.


Now my question is:
1) Can I wait till till end of March and add 1000 miles to my car before getting maintenance check done ? When does it maintenance become critical ?I had safety inspection done 3-4 months back

2)
Is there chance the dealer will over estimate the cost for maintenance or have it very pricey ?
What should I expect ?
3)
Would it be better to first get a 170 point inspection or similar kind of inspection done at some other place and then go to dealer with fixed changes ?

Thanks in advance.

If there is a resource which has these questions answered please let me know and I will read up on that.

 

The maintenance light goes by a set mileage to indicate that you need to service the vehicle. You should change the oil at the recommended interval.

Yes. Oil change/level, coolant level, timing belt are all critical for the engine. Brake pad wear, tires, are critical for your safety. Spark plugs, air filter, etc are good for gas mileage.

Yes. That varies from dealer to dealer. Call and ask what maintenance needs to be done on your car at 95K. I think that you will be up for a timing belt change soon (either 95k or 105K). A timing belt change is expensive, but you will have to buy a new engine if the timing belt breaks.
Just call the dealership and ask what they will do for maintenance at your mileage.

 

Keep in mind the "Maintenance required" light does NOT mean there is something wrong with your car. It is set to illuminate at a specified # of miles since it was last turned off (7,500 I believe). If you want to turn it off, turn the key ON but do not crank the car, hold down the "trip reset" button on your odometer untill the light goes off. Then crank the car and the light will be gone for another 7,500 miles.

 

Hello thank you all for your response.

So I guess waiting for 1K miles might be fine.

Now in terms of maintenance is it always better to go to the Honda Dealer (in my case) ?

I also need to get body work done at a specific garage and they do offer maintenance for honda accord ? I am sure this might be little less expensive. This garage is one of the highly recommended by the auto insurance company for body work so should I expect good service for maintenance ? If yes then I can get my body work and maintenance done in one go ?

 

Many body shops will not do maintenance work.
You do not have to get maintenance done at a dealership either. They will rip you off.
For items like timing belt & water pump change (needed at 105k miles) you should find a Honda-Certified shop (I found mine in the yellow pages) and they will do the work for cheaper than the stealership.
For oil changes, I would imagine most any oil change place should be fine. You just need to make sure they replace the crush washer on the oil drain plug or your car will leak oil from the drain plug.

 

Okay.
good advice. I followed up on this...

The accord dealer - charges $1080K for timing belt package and $218 for $90K maintenance.
I was about to go but the post above stopped me. So I asked other people and the price is a bit high.

So I am now trying to search for honda certified garages...How do you find them...I am rummaging through the yellow pages and online. I also went to Honda website in case they ahve listings...

I can't seem to get anything...

How can I search for honda certified garage shop ? Or Recommended garage shops ?

 

You can do what I did for the timing belt. Buy all the parts necessary on majestichonda.com and then take your car to your favorite local mechanic and you should be golden. Parts and labor I paid a little over 500. As for the routine maintenance, just get a helm or haynes manual and DIY that snap and save yourself a lot of money.

 

I found mine in the automotive repair section of the Yellow Pages. I live in a podunk town in Mississippi and we had several. I see you are in Boston. There has got to be a shop or two up there.
$1080 for a t-belt job is ludicrous