Our long-term 2010 Honda Crosstour has been hounding us for a B16 service. We took it in last week at just over 15K miles. The "B" indicates minor service, the "1" calls for tire rotation, and the "6" is requesting replacement of the rear differential fluid. (B16 -- that sounds like some highway in Europe, or an airport runway.)
The car asked for a rear diff oil change, not the service guy. But we asked Honda Motor why the rear diff fluid needs to be replaced at only 15K, which seems to be a short interval. They responded that the first change is for the break-in period. Honda feels that metal particles from break-in wear and manufacturing residue needs to be removed on that first change. The rear diff fluid is then changed every 30K miles, thereafter.
The service was done in only a few hours without an appointment. The total bill was a bit high at $296, but not out of line for a 15K service.
Need I remind you that our office is located in lovely, but dreadfully expensive Santa Monica, CA?
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 15,200 miles
stress83 says:
10:25 AM, 11/15/10
B16 service made me think they were going to ask to swap in the older Civic Si motor.
1487 says:
10:38 AM, 11/15/10
$300 is normal for a 15k service? Never heard of that before. A car shouldn't requite more than oil changes and tire rotations for the first 50k miles or more. That diff fluid change must have been about $250.
roadburner says:
10:42 AM, 11/15/10
BMW used to call for changing the final drive oil as early as 1200 miles(And still does for ///M cars). It's a good idea to change it out early if you plan to keep the car for over 100,000 miles.
bodyblue says:
11:00 AM, 11/15/10
"Never heard of that before."
You dont know very much about cars.
thegraduate says:
11:34 AM, 11/15/10
I change transmission fluid every 30k. You should in your car too, GM or not.
roadburner says:
11:46 AM, 11/15/10
"I change transmission fluid every 30k. "
That's an excellent idea; especially with a manual transmission or transaxle. I change the ATF in my wife's X3 every 50K, but with the proprietary ATF BMW uses it's probably good for over 75K.
mercedesfan says:
12:27 PM, 11/15/10
@thegraduate,
It really depends on brand. MB recommends a transmission service every 100,000 miles. I had mine done at 60,000 as a preventative measure simply because I do so much driving, but for most people that isn't necessary. I totally agree that one should be proactive with these things, but every transmission is different. MB's new "sealed" transmissions don't even permit a fluid change (no drain) so you're forced to take it it in for the tremendously expensive transmission overhaul. To do that every 30K miles would be needlessly expensive and wouldn't result in an appreciably longer transmission life.
bodyblue says:
03:19 PM, 11/15/10
MBfan
The new Fiesta with PowerShift also has a sealed transmission (wife is looking for a car) and is supposed to go 150K before replacement. The Powershift is an auto-man not automatic...I am not sure if that means it will go longer without fluid replacement or not. How long are the MB units expected to last?
mercedesfan says:
03:53 PM, 11/15/10
@body,
It really depends on driving style and whether people were proactive with their maintenance. A great many MB stealerships across the country touted these as "maintenance free" transmissions, and thus owners got only 100-130K miles out them. However, just because the fluid doesn't need replacing doesn't mean it is maintenance free. If you follow MB's recommended filter, etc. change every 60K and do the transmission overhaul (which includes fluid replacement) every 100K miles they are supposed to be good for 200K+ miles.
I don't think anyone really knows for sure though (they only know the new sealed transmissions aren't nearly as robust as the transmissions that came before them in the 1980's).
roadburner says:
04:36 PM, 11/15/10
"The new Fiesta with PowerShift also has a sealed transmission (wife is looking for a car) and is supposed to go 150K before replacement. The Powershift is an auto-man not automatic...I am not sure if that means it will go longer without fluid replacement or not."
The Fiesta box is a dual clutch design that is similar to BMW's DCT, Porsche's PDK, and VW's DSG- although Ford only knows why a manual mode isn't offered as an option. I believe VW calls for a 40K fluid change. BMW's fluid(Pentosin FFL-4) is supposedly a "lifetime" fill but off the record some BMW engineers recommend a 40K-60K interval- at least for cars that are driven hard and/or see multiple track events per year.
acbayard says:
07:26 AM, 11/16/10
All the materials I've read about the the Ford PowerShift indicates that the fluid is not replaceable. The transmission is expected to be replaced or completely rebuilt after 150,000 miles.
roadburner says:
07:46 AM, 11/16/10
"All the materials I've read about the the Ford PowerShift indicates that the fluid is not replaceable. The transmission is expected to be replaced or completely rebuilt after 150,000 miles."
Welcome to the wonderful world of the disposable car; BMW has been deleting the drain plugs on most of their final drive housings for several years...