Honda maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

Hondas have traditionally been known for reliability, but that reputation may be in trouble. While many of these cars make it to 200,000 miles or more without any major problems, Hondas have struggled in J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study over the last few years.

Keep reading to see what kind of maintenance Honda recommends, what you can expect to spend to keep your Honda on the road and how you can get help paying for your vehicle’s upkeep.

Key insights

• Hondas are generally reliable vehicles with relatively affordable repairs and maintenance compared with other automakers.
• Hondas typically need some form of maintenance every 7,500 miles, but most components have longer maintenance intervals.
• An extended warranty or service plan can help with repair or maintenance costs.

Honda maintenance services

Honda vehicles made since 2006 have a Maintenance Minder system that lets you know when it’s time for maintenance. When it’s time for service, your car’s dash will show a main code (either an A or B) along with a subcode (1 - 7).

Code A means that it’s time for an oil change. Code B reveals that the oil and filter should be changed, along with other vital services, like replacing filters, spark plugs and fluids. (Your owners manual has guidance on what the different numeric codes mean.)

Alternatively, you can see what maintenance your vehicle needs by checking your car’s age and mileage and comparing them with Honda’s published service schedules. Honda has two official maintenance schedules — one for vehicles driven under normal conditions and one for those driven in severe conditions.

Honda’s maintenance schedule for normal driving conditions

If you are unsure whether this is the right schedule for your vehicle, speak with a qualified Honda mechanic.

Scheduled maintenance for severe driving conditions

Honda specifies a different maintenance schedule for cars that are primarily driven in severe conditions, which means you may need more frequent maintenance if:

• Most of your drives are less than 5 miles.
• Most of your drives are less than 10 miles and done during freezing temperatures.
• You mostly drive in stop-and-go conditions or spend a lot of time idling.
• You mostly drive in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
• You mostly drive down dusty, muddy or de-iced roads.
• You mostly drive in mountainous terrain.
• You carry cargo on the roof of your vehicle most of the time.
• You tow heavy loads most of the time.

Honda’s maintenance schedule for severe driving conditions

If the majority of your driving occurs in normal conditions and you only occasionally fall into the severe driving conditions category, you probably don’t need to follow these recommendations unless otherwise directed by a Honda technician.

Are Hondas expensive to maintain?

On average, Honda vehicles cost $428 per year in repair and maintenance costs, according to data from RepairPal. However, it can be difficult to interpret that number without context, so we decided to compare Honda with repair and maintenance costs of other automakers.

Honda maintenance costs

It’s worth pointing out that the cost statistics we’ve cited so far cover both repair and maintenance for a variety of Honda vehicles. However, these costs can vary depending on what model you have. For example, RepairPal says that Honda CR-Vs cost an average of $407 per year to keep on the road, while the larger Honda Pilot averages $542 per year.

Also, there’s a big difference between repair and maintenance. “Maintenance” refers to regular preventive care, like what’s listed in the service schedules above. “Repairs,” on the other hand, deal with fixing or replacing broken or failed parts, which means they tend to be larger, irregular expenses.

To help illustrate the difference between repair costs and maintenance costs, we included sample costs for common maintenance services in the table below, and you can check the next section to see common repair costs for the same vehicle.

Honda repair costs

Expected repair costs are harder to pinpoint because cars don’t break down on schedule. That being said, here’s what you can expect to pay to fix common problems in a 2020 Honda CR-V.

In a separate investigation, ConsumerAffairs also spoke with multiple mechanics nationwide to find out what certain repairs cost for different sample vehicles, one of which was a Honda Civic. Many of these are major repairs or replacements, so they may not be as common as the problems listed above, but it’s still helpful to be aware of these potential costs.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll need these repairs, but your car will likely need repairs at some point — if it’s outside of Honda’s manufacturer’s warranty, you could be on the hook for the bill.

Michaela, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Ohio, wrote: “Bought a certified pre-owned Honda Odyssey two years ago. Took it in for scheduled maintenance (to the tune of $1,300), and to have the power steering fluid checked because of a whirring sound. Was told the rack and pinion went bad. Total anomaly. … The bumper-to-bumper warranty expired after 12 months, and it did not fall under the powertrain warranty.”

» LEARN: Car warranty check by VIN

How can an extended warranty or maintenance plan help?

The good news is that there are ways you can protect yourself from a large bill the next time you visit a mechanic.

As you might expect, maintenance plans help you pay for scheduled maintenance. Honda Service Pass, for example, is a complimentary maintenance plan that covers all scheduled maintenance for up to the first two years or 24,000 miles on new Hondas, including oil changes, tire rotations, multipoint inspections and any other required services. Prepaid maintenance plans are also available from third-party providers if you want longer coverage, but they’re not as common as extended warranties.

Extended auto warranties pay for repairs when covered components break down as a result of normal use. There are pros and cons to these plans, but they can be a big help for people that can’t handle an expensive repair (like a $4,000 transmission replacement) on their own. Just be sure you read through the plan to ensure it covers all of the critical repairs you may need.

» LEARN: Car warranty vs. car insurance