2011 Honda Accord Maintenance?

My fiance has a 2011 Honda Accord (4 banger), we just got it this year and she's nearing 30k miles. Honda recommends transmission fluid change, valve adjustment, oil/filter change, air/cabin filter change and a bunch of visual inspections. Out of everything they recommend, the only thing I can't do on my own is the valve adjustment. Is a valve adjustment really necessary on a car this new? I thought most vehicles these days auto-adjusted? I guess my question is, is this just a high maintenance scheme set out by the manufacturer or is there really a concern here and something I should get taken care of?

 

i had a 2010 Si, bought it new and traded it in with 48k on it a few months ago, never did one thing to it. they "recommended" everything under the sun to get done but i was on a honda forum and everyone said dont do it its a waste blah blah, car was still top notch when i got rid of it.

not to go against toyotas here, but its a honda, it will last forever with a few oil changes

 

That's what I was wondering, if it's just hype of if there actually are some issues that could arise from skipping or extending certain things on the maintenance schedule. Honda wants $479 for the 30k mile service, $300 of which is the valve adjustment. I wouldn't mind paying for it at 50k miles but $500 every 18 months is nuts on top of the other maintenance items!

 

best bet is to just join a honda forum real quick and post over there, im sure you'll get an answer pretty quick

 

I might have to do that. I was reading through a few of them as a guest last night and seemed to be getting pretty varied results. There were the people saying, 'if the manual says it, there's obviously a reason' and people saying it was just Honda being overly cautious. My only hesitation is the car is still under warranty and I don't want to give Honda anything to point their finger at me about if something ever goes wrong.

 

Valve adjust is not due until 105k. Here in the Northeast we recommend them starting at 90k. I'm a service manager at a Honda dealership FYI.

 

Interesting... The dealership around here stuck it in their standard 30k mile service! At 90k miles, I wouldn't mind paying for a $500 service but every 30k miles seemed excessive.

What kind of irritates me is the Owner's Manual that came with the car doesn't seem to address the maintenance schedule so I had to rely on what dealerships tell me.

 

I'm not at work so I don't have access to the Honda tech site, but a valve adjust at 30k is absolutely not necessary. Oil change, rotate, possibly engine air filter and cabin filter (if dirty), transmission drain & fill (no flush's). Brake fluid exchange after 3yrs. Power steering fluid if dirty.

 

No valve adjustment needed at 30k, heck, I didn't even know it was possible to adjust the valves on the 4cyl. A non-sexy purchase, but do yourself a favor and buy the factory shop manual, (the REAL one) for her car, and disregard the dealer.

 

Valve adjustment is not necessary until about 100k on the K motors. Me thinks the dealership is trying to pull a fast one on you.

 

Thanks for your help, that's about the same line I was thinking.

I have no problem sinking money into shop manuals if they are a worthwhile purchase for the vehicle. Sounds like in this case, it would be if I can't find it online anywhere.

Me and anyone else who brings their vehicle in for service!

 

I never bring my cars in for service unless it's service bulletin. Even then I make sure I know the mechanic that works on my car. I don't feel comfortable handing off my cars to be worked on by just anybody.

 

FWIW, I had a 2001 Civic and currently have a 2007 Accord 4cyl. The Civic I had valves adjusted at 100k, but it didn't sound like it needed it, just did it for preventative maintenance. The accord only has 50k miles and does not appear to need it yet. I am going to wait until 100k like the Civic.