Good morning!

I have a 2011 Accord SE, 4-door sedan, that has about 18,000 miles on it.
Last time I brought my car in for an oil change, the Honda dealer service said my car was due for several things: Air Filter $35, Cabin Filter $75, and Throttle Body, $79.95.

Is there a maintenance schedule that I can review to double check that my car is really due for these things? I have felt ripped off by this service department in the past with my old Accord, and would like to be an "informed consumer". My car only came with a service log booklet, not recommended service at specific mileage.

I found one site that said air filter at 30,000 miles.

Many thanks.

 

Your car has the Maintenance Minder, which will show service codes at different intervals. With the exception of motor oil, most other maintenance minder service codes are based on mileage, etc.

See this thread with info. regarding Honda’s Maintenance Minder:
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...-minder-52234/

The oil life indicator varies from owner to owner. The Maintenance Minder indicates "calculated" engine oil life. Keep in mind, the oil life is calculated based on engine operating conditions, etc.; it does not actually analyze the oil quality or the level. For example, some people drive longer trips, some shorter trips, some people in traffic a lot, some drive it hard and rev it up, etc. -- You still need to check the actual oil level with the dipstick.

I’ve attached a normal maintenance schedule (see attached pic.) from a 2005 Accord owner’s manual, before the Maintenance Minder was added to Accords.

But, in general:
1. Air filter – every 30,000 miles unless you drive in very dusty or dirty areas.

2. Brake fluid – every 3 years. Brake fluid is "hygroscopic," which means it tends to absorb moisture over time.

3. If you own an automatic transmission, I would recommend doing a drain and fill of the transmission fluid at least every 30,000 miles (some even do it at every 15,000 miles) and not go by the maintenance minder. Use Honda ATF DW-1.

4. Pollen filter – every 30,000 miles unless you drive in very dusty or dirty areas. Here is a video on how to change it yourself.
5. Coolant – every 120,000 miles or 10 years, then every 60,000 miles or 5 years. I actually recommend changing sooner. If coolant has been changed with something other than Honda antifreeze/coolant Type 2, than changing sooner may be needed.

6. Spark plugs – 100,000 – 120,000 miles or every 6 years, which ever come first. They are long-life Iridium spark plugs.

 

Somewhere in the maintenance booklet, those items are listed as belonging to groups for the maintenanc-minder.

When the maintenance-minder reminder lamp goes off, it shows a letter and a couple numbers. Say "A 1 2" or something like that.
Look up the items that belong to group 1 & group 2...

 

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the info. Your attached Maintenance Schedule and general recommendations are very helpful. I do know that my car has a Maintenance Minder, but I wanted to know for my own knowledge as well.

It leaves me somewhat disturbed that I was told by Honda service that I needed an Air Filter, Cabin Filter, and Throttle Body, at 16,000 miles!

 

Take the air filters with a grain of salt... It's pretty easy to open up the air filter & actually look at the element. Cars in my family usually have pretty clean elements when they get to the scheduled mileage. If it's dusty where you live it could be just the opposite. The car doesn't have the sensors to actually measure a clogged air filter, so that one is just a mileage schedule.

It's plausible that you actually had dirty air filters (engine & cabin air filters). But I don't understand the throttle body??? First of all, a new TB should cost WAY more than $80. And that ought to be covered by warranty. A 2-year-old car shouldn't even need the TB cleaned yet.