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9 Posts
Hi Everyone,
I'm coming up on one year with our '08 MDX and it's been awesome. Over the past few years I've slowly been switching from using an auto shop to doing the work myself. I find that it's a fun break from the day to day grind to spend a few hours working on your car. I've also been accumulating all sorts of fun tools (air tools, jack and stands, all sorts of ratchets and wrenches). I would like to be as self sufficient as possible and only rely on local auto shops for a major repair or issue that's way out of my ability to figure out and take care of.
All of my other cars have just had a maintenance schedule based on mileage, but I have come to learn about this Maintenance Minder deal. It's pretty cool, but it also makes me feel a little out of control over the maintenance of it and for whatever reason it's kinda stressing me out. Like what if it needs something and it doesn't tell me to replace or fix it, or it tells me to do something but I've already done it, but it didn't know that I did it and now I'm replacing something too early.
Anyway, I'm wondering if any of you, especially the DIYers, have a good system for managing this? Do you log everything you do and if it seems like an unusually long time since something has been done, you go ahead and take care of it? Then do you have to reset anything in the computer if you do? For example, I just hit 130k miles. Based on conversations with the prior owner, the spark plugs have still not been replaced. I don't think he would have missed that code as he took it to the dealership every time the maintenance light came on (he had a huge stack of receipts). 130k seemed like it was overdue so I went ahead and did it, but now I wonder if sometime soon it'll tell me to replace them. I'm also worried there may be other parts that should be checked or replaced that it may not be telling me about.
Lastly, I'm not sure what all the Maintenance Minders include. Does it go off anytime anything at all needs to be replaced? Or just certain items? Does anyone have a list of any items that should be monitored that aren't included on there or even just other routine practices that should be done in addition to following the Maintenance Minder codes? (e.g.) checking tire pressure, engine oil levels, fluids, etc?
I'm coming up on one year with our '08 MDX and it's been awesome. Over the past few years I've slowly been switching from using an auto shop to doing the work myself. I find that it's a fun break from the day to day grind to spend a few hours working on your car. I've also been accumulating all sorts of fun tools (air tools, jack and stands, all sorts of ratchets and wrenches). I would like to be as self sufficient as possible and only rely on local auto shops for a major repair or issue that's way out of my ability to figure out and take care of.
All of my other cars have just had a maintenance schedule based on mileage, but I have come to learn about this Maintenance Minder deal. It's pretty cool, but it also makes me feel a little out of control over the maintenance of it and for whatever reason it's kinda stressing me out. Like what if it needs something and it doesn't tell me to replace or fix it, or it tells me to do something but I've already done it, but it didn't know that I did it and now I'm replacing something too early.
Anyway, I'm wondering if any of you, especially the DIYers, have a good system for managing this? Do you log everything you do and if it seems like an unusually long time since something has been done, you go ahead and take care of it? Then do you have to reset anything in the computer if you do? For example, I just hit 130k miles. Based on conversations with the prior owner, the spark plugs have still not been replaced. I don't think he would have missed that code as he took it to the dealership every time the maintenance light came on (he had a huge stack of receipts). 130k seemed like it was overdue so I went ahead and did it, but now I wonder if sometime soon it'll tell me to replace them. I'm also worried there may be other parts that should be checked or replaced that it may not be telling me about.
Lastly, I'm not sure what all the Maintenance Minders include. Does it go off anytime anything at all needs to be replaced? Or just certain items? Does anyone have a list of any items that should be monitored that aren't included on there or even just other routine practices that should be done in addition to following the Maintenance Minder codes? (e.g.) checking tire pressure, engine oil levels, fluids, etc?