11 Nov 2019 TIL
Last November, Christine and I bought our first car together: a Honda CR-V. We drove it all across the county, racking up more than 15,000 miles in less than twelve months. Today we took it - it still doesn’t have a name - in for an oil change. We spent a few minutes debating whether to take it to the Honda dealership or an independent shop, but settled on the dealership for peace of mind, even if it meant paying a bit more.
To our surprise, and eventual delight, the mechanic showed us that the vehicle knows what maintenance it needs. With little fanfare, he translated our code as, “Oil change, tire rotation, and rear differential fluid replacement.” There was no back-and-forth, no concern that we were paying for more than necessary. Two short hours and a few hundred dollars later, we’re good for another 5,000 miles.
Which makes me wonder: how were codes not always a thing? Alternatively, how did I not know about them today? They make the maintenance so much simpler - I don’t have to trust the mechanic, just the car that I already implicitly trust by driving it almost every day. Kudos to Honda, and to Tim from Honda for teaching us about the codes.