I'm a perpetual DIY'er and mechanically inclined enough to have done my own frame-off restorations on classic cars, etc. After my 4,200 mile road trip, with car just short of 7,000 miles, car was calling for first maintenance so I did my oil change and tire rotation. A few posts have mentioned how-to, which frankly is quite basic for any oil change, so I won't get into great detail here, but want to add my comments on warming up the oil first, and testing for leaks after. This is pretty much oil change 101, but nobody mentions much about how you do this on a car that you can't conventionally "start" and warm up? Simple...put the car in maintenance mode. My step-by-step for a DIY oil change, assuming you've changed oil in other cars before: 1. Push start button twice WITHOUT touching brake to turn ignition on and Park symbol lights up in red. 2. Press brake, pump gas pedal to floor twice and release. 3. Press brake, shift to neutral. 4. Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. 5. Press brake, shift to Park. 6. Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Release brake. Dash will now say "maintenance mode." 7. Press brake, push start button once. Engine will start and idle. 8. Let engine idle while getting your tools together, etc to warm up the oil. Shut down engine after it warms up enough by again just pressing start button like normal. 9. Jack/support car safely as needed for access, remove engine under cover shield, drain oil, replace plug and crush washer, change filter, refill with 3.5 quarts. 10. Repeat steps 1 thru 7 so the engine starts again and you can check for any leaks around your filter, etc before replacing under shield and lowering car from your jacks. Shut engine off. (Any time you shut engine off, maintenance mode is cancelled and the car goes back to normal mode.) 11. Replace engine under cover shield. Check oil level, should be correct. 12. Rotate tires like any other car, inspect everything as specified in owners manual, brakes, etc. 13. Reset maintenance minder and document what you did. I'm a big fan of Honda filters (Ebay I buy them usually 6 at a time pretty cheap), and for oil I just buy any synthetic 0W20 that's on sale at local big box stores. Going forward my plan is to change oil once per year, as our road trips will not be that frequent, the maintenance minder is kinda stupid about it, and I have a pretty solid idea of what I need to do since I'm a big-time car guy and just a few screws shy of being a certified mechanic. I won't go down the rabbit hole of freaking out about the stupidity of the maintenance minder -- I'll just maintain the car the way I think it should be maintained for my usage, which is likely change oil once per year. Hopefully this helps someone who wants to do their own maintenance.
Thanks for the steps to enter maintenance mode. That is very helpful Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
How come there is release brake twice? "6. Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Release brake. Dash will now say "maintenance mode."
Just to make darn sure the brake was released? LOL That would be an official typo. Whoops. I was just running on memory when I typed that up real quick, not copying any procedure in front of me. A released brake most certainly does not need to be released a 2nd time...
@craze1cars, thanks for the oil change run through; especially how to enter maintenance mode with out driving. Here is some oil change info I’ll add so we can have it all in the wonderful thread you started. -Honda filter is a Filtech 15400-PLM-A01. Don’t get the A02; it has cardboard end caps. The A01 has metal endcaps. -65mm oil filter wrench -30 Ft/lb torque -Use new oil plug washer. Don’t reuse the old one. -check to make sure old gasket did not stay on the engine or it will blow out (don’t ask how I know this) Additional filter info: -Fram website lists Ultra Synthetic filter XG7317 for 2018 Clarity. -Amsoil is Ea15K13, verified by email-mail. -You can use those numbers to cross reference other brands -another forum speculated that Royal Purple filter’s are same as Amsoil. Oil info: -0W-20 wt detergent oil with API Certification Seal , do not use additives -3.5 qts with filter change -pp 482-485 in the manual
AND.....the oil drain plug takes a 17mm wrench. There I just saved someone from crawling under their car yet ANOTHER time... Excellent additions I wholeheartedly agree with all. Thank you Mr. Ken. I have found many Ebay sellers include crush washers when you buy a quantity of Honda filters from them. Keeps the cost minimal compared to aftermarket filters. And with the Honda filter honestly if you have reasonable hand strength you can just spin it on by hand until they bottom out, no tools needed, and no risk of over/undertightening...quite brainless and most every dealer tech I ever met does it like this -- no dealer mechanic I know ever torque wrenches a filter on, and I have met and know a lot of them... Aftermarket filters vary widely on how much to tighten depending on their gasket setup. More room for error, read their instructions.
@craze1cars, thanks for saving my back with the 17 mm grain plug data. I’ve switched from German torque (guttentite) to being what my son calls a torque fanatic. I torque everything now. Hey, I have to justify that used electronic Snap-On I scored/snipped/stole on eBay.
I have no intend to tackle DIY since my honda dealer threw in free maintenance (I DIY on my other cars, though). would you please share how you do system reset after oil change? I am just curious. Thanks!
It's quite obvious on the main screen with the car on. No dance to do with pedals like the maintenance mode. If memory serves you go to "Vehicle" tab from the home screen, and scroll to "maintenance minder" and follow the prompts to reset the things that were done during maintenance to clear the codes.
Steps 1-7 is Honda's version of the Konami cheat code. Could you just drive it around in HV mode first as an alternative?
That would likely warm the oil, but it doesn’t help the critical process of checking for leaks at idle after refill... So my answer to do a proper oil change is basically no. Just start the car by putting it in maintenance mode. Takes 15 seconds.
Oil change #2 complete. Sample captured to mail off. Some notes: 1) Although I didn't use it today, this maintenance mode might work to warm up the battery for U.S. Clarities that won't start otherwise at negative Fahrenheit temps? Did anyone ever find an official source of these instructions to get the vehicle to start the engine in maintenance mode? 2) The Clarity sits lower to the ground than my previous vehicles. I had to drive it up on to 2x6 wood to get it high enough to roll my shop jack under. Lifted against the aluminum frame just aft of the oil pan. 3) The dealer performed the first oil change. I noticed the dealer-installed filter had the rubber seal down inside where as the A01 that I bought did not (pics attached). Dealer-installed didn't have p/n on it but said "Made in USA" whereas the A01 says Filtech and "Assembled in USA". 4) The drain washer is 14mm ID, the same as I had previously for Civics. 5) I found some damage to the inside of one of my wheels that could not have happened while driving. There are no scuffs on the tire but gouges on the inside lip of the wheel and some chunks of metal between the wheel and tire (that don't even look like they came from this wheel). I've added this to the list when I carry it in for the service bulletins.
Craze1cars I finally took 5 minutes and utilized your instructions to place Clarity in maintenance mode. Worked like a charm after three attempts ciphering when to push what...lol. You are correct...takes about 15 seconds once you are familiar with the process and does eliminate the need to make a special trip out n about in HV mode to warm the fluids up...and allows for the leak test afterwards as well. Good job and thanks.
Attempting our first Clarity oil change and wanted to streamline and clarify materials and steps from here and You tube. It would be good to get add the steps to reset the maintenance minder if anyone knows how. Comments and revision welcome! Honda Clarity Oil Change Protocol Materials Rags Catch pan Ramps Flat head screwdriver 3/8" socket wrench 65mm Oil filter wrench 17mm Socket (30 Ft/lb torque) 14mm crush washer Oil filter 3.5 qts 0W-20 (synthetic) w/ API certification seal Steps Push start button twice WITHOUT touching brake to turn ignition on and Park symbol lights up in red. Press brake, pump gas pedal to floor twice and release. Press brake, shift to neutral. Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Press brake, shift to Park. "Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Dash will now say ""maintenance mode.""" Press brake, push start button once. Engine will start and idle. Let engine idle while getting your materials together, etc to warm up the oil. Drive carefully onto ramps Shut down engine after it warms up enough by again just pressing start button like normal. Remove engine under cover shield Drain oil and clean drips with rag Replace plug and new crush washer Remove existing filter, fill new filter with oil and install Refill with 3.5 quarts Repeat above steps so the engine starts again Check for any leaks around your filter. Replace engine under cover shield. Drive off of ramps Shut engine off. (Any time you shut engine off, maintenance mode is cancelled and the car goes back to normal mode.) Allow engine to cool. Check oil level. Reset maintenance minder and document what you did with receipts.
Nice job... In my opinion, there is really no need to warm up the oil. Especially with the 0W20 weight synthetic, it is not especially viscous even if it is cold outside, so I have not bothered with warm-up. If you do want to warm the oil, I might suggest that rather than playing video games with the 'maintenance mode' that all you need to do is go into HV Charge mode (if the SOC is below 60%, or 12 segments). That will run the engine. Or you can just go for a short drive in HV mode. It is important to run the engine after changing the oil (and prior to your final check of the level) because the new oil filter is empty until the engine runs and you will get a false level reading. You can again use maintenance mode, HV charge, or a short drive as you desire.
Thanks MrFixit, Good to know on the warm up. I ended up deciding to pre-fill the filter prior to installation. And it came out to 3.5 quarts total.
Your experience agrees with mine (and the manual)... 3.5 quarts total whether you pre-fill the filter with some of it or just dump it all in and let the engine fill the filter, it works out the same.
Final Draft..thx for the input. Honda Clarity Oil Change Protocol Note: preform oil change on as level a surface as possible so final dipstick reading is accurate Materials Rags Catch pan Ramps Flat head screwdriver "3/8"" socket wrench" Oil filter wrench (appropriately sized to your chosen filter) Oil filter 17mm Socket (30 Ft/lb torque) 14mm crush washer 3.5 qts (with filter) 0W-20 (synthetic) w/ API certification seal Steps Follow steps for maintenance mode below or go into HV Charge mode (if the SOC is below 60%, or 12 segments), or go for a short drive in HV mode. *Note: the maintenance mode steps must be completed within 60 seconds. Push start button twice WITHOUT touching brake to turn ignition on and Park symbol lights up in red. Press brake to floor and release, pump gas pedal to floor twice and release. Press brake and hold while shifting to neutral. Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Press brake and hold, shift to Park. "Release brake, pump gas pedal twice. Dash will now say ""maintenance mode.""" Press brake and hold, push start button once. Engine will start and idle. Let engine idle while getting your materials together, etc to warm up the oil. Drive carefully onto ramps Shut down engine after it warms up enough by again just pressing start button like normal. Remove cover shield under engine Drain oil and clean drips with rag Replace plug and new crush washer Remove oil filter, fill new filter with oil, lubricate gasket and install Refill with 3.5 quarts Repeat above steps so the engine starts again, or into HV Charge mode (if the SOC is below 60%, or 12 segments), or go for a short drive in HV mode. Check for any leaks around your filter. Replace cover shield under engine. Drive off of ramps Shut engine off. (Any time you shut engine off, maintenance mode is cancelled and the car goes back to normal mode.) Allow engine to cool. Check oil level.