Clarity (sorry bad pun) on Required Maintenance

Don't know what GDI/MPI is but at 37k miles, I would say no to transmission too. The car doesn't even have a transmission and with most cars, the tran fluid are good for many many years.

 

See Code 3 below.

 

Code 3 Transmission Fluid is based on the calendar, six years from the in-service date. At least that's what mine shows, in Car Scanner if I look at code 3 it shows a number of days remaining. If I then go to Google and type in "x days from today" it comes up with a date that is exactly six years from my in-service date, to the day. Maybe other people who use Car Scanner could try this and see what they get. Although it's possible that there is also a mileage component that kicks in if you reach a certain number of miles prior to six years, similar to how Code A works for oil changes. Since the note for Code 3 mentions 47,000 miles for severe service, then normal service would presumably be much higher than that. Further evidence being that we don't hear of anyone getting code 3 yet, although obviously that is just a small sample.

OP's car is at most four years old and 37,000 miles so they would not have seen a code 3 in their minder, and they say they only got A01 which confirms this, so the only explanation seems to be that the dealer unfortunately did a money grab.

Also I wonder what the note in the manual for code 3 is all about. Clarity would not be in direct drive mode in those conditions, ICE will just be generating electricity. So if it's an actual issue then it would seem to also apply when driving in EV under those conditions. Maybe that is the case, I don't know, but I wonder if maybe this was just boilerplate that got copied from another manual. Sort of like this puzzling statement in the manual:

"When you change (D) to (R) and vice versa, come to a complete stop and keep the brake pedal depressed. Operating the shift button before the vehicle has come to a complete standstill can damage the transmission."

Seems like switching to R while moving forward would simply cause it to use battery power to slow down the vehicle by attempting to turn the motor in the opposite direction. Terribly inefficient way to slow down of course, but would it actually damage the "transmission"? Maybe so, I don't know.

 

TMI. It has a transmission and fluid that will eventually need to be replaced.

If the code shows, it may need to be replaced.

This stuff is only as complicated as we choose to make it.

 

I never said it shouldn't be replaced when the code shows. I only explained when we might expect to see the code, for those like me who are wondering when we might need to change our transmission fluid. As for the footnote, I didn't say the note should be ignored, some people like myself are curious about the workings of the car, and since Honda is pretty much silent on most of this, which I can understand, this leaves parsing out from the manual some of the vague statements, some of which seem to challenge our understanding of how electric vehicles work. Doesn't mean they are wrong, as I indicated, and I don't advocate ignoring recommendations. Very possibly our understanding is wrong. That's why I raised the questions. Not everyone is interested in thinking about any of this, which I fully understand.

As related to this thread, I presented evidence that it seems that the OP appears to have been ripped off at least in regards to the transmission fluid replacement being recommended possibly several years before it was necessary. To late for them now, but I think a valid point of discussion for the rest of us, at least for those of us who question dealer maintenance recommendations. Although some people's approach is that whatever the dealer says is needed they have done, and that questioning or thinking about it is making it more complicated than it needs to be. I fully understand that philosophy also.

 

Christ on a cracker. Talk about it all you want.

You’d think some folks have never taken a car to a dealer for service. Read the manual, know what service needs to be performed before walking through the door. If they tell you the whizzer grommets need to be replaced tell them, no thank you.

 

Your statement of what people should do would benefit from some explanation. What would be your basis for refusing the service that they recommend, simply the fact that it's not one of the recommended service items? Wouldn't it be best to ask them to explain why it needs to be replaced, and then possibly do some research on it before just dismissing their recommendation outright. Research might be as simple as coming onto a forum like this to ask what other people have experienced. Or is that overcomplicating things? Your approach may work for you because of your level of knowledge about cars, but is that really what is best for everyone?

And by the way there's no need to be disrespectful. No my feelings aren't hurt since you are rude to so many other people with whom you disagree. I don't feel that I said anything that warrants this type of response.

 

I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Ciao!

 

Exactly. They hoodwinked you into having service performed that was unnecessary. Sounds just like the Jiffy Lubes that always recommended injector cleaning or a cooling system flush.

We had a Jeep dealer recommend a brake fluid replacement, 3 months after they replaced the brake fluid. You can’t trust any of them. That’s why you need to know what is required before going in.

 

The transmission fluid change frequency was not copied from the 2017 Honda CR-V model at least. This is what my wife's CR-V manual reads: "Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds or trailer towing results in higher transmission temperatures. This requires transmission fluid changes more frequently than recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you regularly drive your vehicle under these conditions, have the transmission fluid changed every 25,000 miles (40,000 km)." My wife's Maintenance Minder notified us at about 50,000 miles of the need for the transmission fluid to be changed. Based on this, I think the Clarity's transmission fluid change notice should come at about 95,000 miles or 6 years. (47,500 X 2 = 95,000 miles or 3 years X 2 = 6 years)

The Clarity does have a transmission of sorts so that the engine, under certain circumstances can drive the wheels directly. The tendency is for vehicle manufacturers to be conservative in the maintenance recommendations. Also, vehicle dealers make most of their money off maintenance and repairs, not sales. My kneejerk reaction is to immediately reject any additional service when I have my car in for scheduled service. My thought is that I can research it and come back at another time if it is really necessary.

I change my Clarity's engine oil every other time than that recommended by the Maintenance Minder. The oil still looks a lot cleaner than that on my wife's CR-V when I change it. I suspect that changing it every third time would also be fine. I do use full synthetic oil on both vehicles. Still, no engine has ever been damaged by changing the oil more often than needed. It is only the wallet that suffers. (I actually do the oil change myself; I do not delegate.)

 

And that does seem to be what the minder calculates, at least the 6 years part. We don't know what the mileage trigger for transmission fluid is unless someone reaches a high enough mileage level within six years. I remember someone using their Clarity for Uber had high miles in a short period of time but I don't remember them saying anything about maintenance minders that they had received.

True but only in relatively low torque driving. I tend to doubt that direct drive would engage in the low speed hill climb situation described in the manual.

Exactly. And I think it's worth at asking them why it's needed, then decline the service but then afterwards do some research. Unless someone already knows enough about the topic on their own to conclusively decide that the dealer is full of it, or if the dealer seemed to evade giving a reason for it.

The only thing is for low mileage driving you will only get the oil change message once a year, which probably should not be doubled to two years, at least while still under warranty since the manual states annual oil change as a minimum. The oil change minder will also trigger after about 6,000 miles of driving, but it mixes EV with HV in that calculation. A better approach is to track gas purchases then multiply gallons purchased by 40 mpg or whatever to calculate gas miles driven, and use that to decide whether oil change is needed more often than once a year.

 

It is true that keeping track of fuel used is a better approach to determining oil changes, but I find that to be tiresome. I guess I am just lazy in that manner. Its too bad that Honda doesn't have the Maintenance Minder base oil changes on fuel used or hours that the ICE runs.

I drive enough, about 12,000 miles a year, that I get an oil change in at least once a year. 44,470 miles and going.