Filled Gas tank ONCE in 1st year - "3 days overdue for service"

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by Jason90405, Mar 4, 2020.

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  1. Jason90405

    Jason90405 Member

    I leased my Clarity at the end of February last year. Given my short local commute, I have only needed to fill up my gas tank ONE time during my first year.

    Now my Dashboard is bugging to get it serviced.

    What kind of service am I needing if I barely used my gas engine?

    I never had my Chevy Sparks EV serviced at all during the 3-year I leased it before the Clarity.

    Would Honda Dealer charge me for not doing oil charge every year?
     
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  3. coutinpe

    coutinpe Active Member

    Besides tire rotation, fluid level checks or battery maintenance I can't think on anything else right now.
     
  4. Oil change is recommended at 12 months. Costs about $60 at the dealer.
     
  5. Jason90405

    Jason90405 Member

    My question is if I only filled up my tank one time during the 12 year, does the oil change requirement still hold?

    What would happen if I don't do the oil change? Would I end up be penalized when I return the car at the end of the lease?

    Any discount coupon to knock the $60 cost ?
     
  6. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    Welcome to the Twilight Zone of those of us who predominantly use EV. I’ve only used 17 gal of gas in a little over 2 years, 16,000+ miles and 22.8 hours of engine running (by hour meter inductively coupled to a spark plug).

    So we know from a standpoint of miles and time driven in HV plus time spent in the infrequent System Check engine starts that the oil is hardly used. I verified this with an oil analysis. The other two facts we know are that Honda states to change the oil and filter at no more than one year intervals even if the MM is not triggered and that GM allows up to a 2 year interval for the Volt PHEV.
    Go beyond these hard facts and you enter the murky and somewhat uncharted waters of opinion and supposition. so here we go down the rabbit hole.

    You have to consider possible warranty problems that however unlikely, will be potentially serious financially, and then you have to consider oil and engine lubrication issues.

    So let’s start with possible warranty problems. If you choose not to follow the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule you will risk giving them a reason to deny your claim. The “murky waters” here is how big a risk that actually is and how adverse each individual is to risks in general. So here’s my opinion. On the one hand, the corporate bean counters would probably love to find a way out of a costly warranty repair, but on the other hand the marketing, public relations dept. and dealerships wouldn’t want to get dragged through the dirt on this. So I think the risk is real but just difficult to quantify. I personally would not want to give Honda any reason at all to question my future power train warranty claim because lawsuits are so expensive that it’s not cost effective to fight it. I prefer the much easier and quicker no question about it, iron clad, BAM!, it’s a slam dunk scenario.

    As to oil and filter concerns. Here we really go ‘round the bend and down the rabbit hole. As I’ve said more than once on the forum, If you want to start WWIII, just bring up oil and filter brands and conventional “wisdom” on lubrications issues. For a more in depth study of tribology just go to BoBistheoilguy.com if you have several lifetimes of spare time lying around. In a nutshell, I’ll just opine that oil can be contaminated by combustion blow-by products, condensation, and engine wear particles. Then add in depletion and degradation of additives and acidification. The end result is that I think it’s quite reasonable to assess oil life by overall time and not just miles or in our case engine operation time.

    So where do all these facts and opinions leave us (or more precisely, me). Well, we have a risk that can be argued as to its probability but that has a potentially high financial consequence. That is a risk that I am unwilling to bear since mitigating it is the rather trivial cost of time and money for an annual oil change. It also helps that I keep cars for a very long time and so am more meticulous with proper maintenance than those who trade often and are less concerned with longevity issues.
    As always, YMMV (as in your risk aversion and risk assessment may vary).

    Full disclosure:
    Even though I agree that the MM appears to use total miles and not just HV miles in its calculations and usually triggers before the oil life is used up, it’s really a non issue for me. This is because I drive >90% in EV and <8,000 miles per year, so my MM triggers at just one week shy of a full year. However if I drove enough total miles that my MM triggered at less than a year (and my HV miles were under 7,500), I might throw caution to the wind and still do just the once a year oil change. It’s not a money issue but more of an environmental issue for me and besides, I just can’t see throwing out oil before I “know” it’s useful life is over. Especially since no scientific study has shown any benefit to changing your oil at 3,500 miles instead of recommended intervals.

    Sorry, this kind of got long winded.
     
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  8. Jason90405

    Jason90405 Member

    Thank you for your tip. I guess $60 a year isn't too much to spend given the risks you've described.

    Was there something on the lease agreement that specifically spelled out the maintenance requirement for the 3 years which I lease the Clarity?
     
  9. craze1cars

    craze1cars Well-Known Member

    Should be pretty easy to just read your lease agreement. But generically speaking, yes...you are responsible for meeting minimum maintenance requirements while leasing. Here's just one random dealer that popped up on a Google search...read the first faq:

    https://www.lhmhonda.com/leasing-faqs.htm

    And in practical application, you could probably skip it for 3 years, turn it in, and the dealer will never even question it nor ask for maintenance records.

    Your dice to roll.
     
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  10. fotomoto

    fotomoto Active Member

    The owners manual has the answer; change it once per year.

    My Energi has a 2 yr or 20,000 mile OCI; whichever comes first. Like you, I'm a low miles driver so I change it every two years. Currently at 5 years old, I've only had to change it twice at a grand total cost of about $40 (DIY with two mobil 1 jugs purchased @ $11 each with BOGO coupon plus filter).
     
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  11. Jason90405

    Jason90405 Member

    Would Honda penalize you to have the oil change done at a non-Honda dealer?
     
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  13. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    Absolutely not. In the US, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty protects you. It keeps the manufacturer from requiring you to use their parts or their repair service to keep your warranty intact. As long as you use parts that meet Honda’s minimum requirements, you are good to go. You should however keep good records since the parts and services will not be in Honda’s database. I have attached the blank form I use when I DIY or get lazy and use my trusted local mechanic (which seems to be happening more often as I get older).
    Says the guy who swore all his life “You gotta be crazy to pay somebody $20 just to drain your oil and rotate your tires!” But these cold rainy winter days have made me think “Gee, that’s pretty cheap to keep my old arthritic back off that cold hard concrete. I hate getting old, but it do beat the alternative. Sigh.
     

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