Six Month Service Necessary?

[Oceadge]

Hi,
We have an '07 Civic Hybrid. We do not use it very much - only driving at the weekends. We have driven only about 500Km since the last service and only about 4,000Km since we bought the car new in 2007. We have just received a reminder that our next service is due.

My question is, is it really necessary to have the car serviced every six months to keep it covered by the manufacturers warranty? When I asked the Honda service centre they told me that if we do not keep up with the 6 month services then if a problem arises (that is covered by the warranty) then Hornsby Australia can refuse to fix it. They said "can refuse" not "will refuse" so not sure what that means.

Whatever about oil filter changes etc. I do not think we should have to pay for a tyre rotation etc. after every 500Km.

Thanks,

~ O.

[Rice_4_life]

yes it is a requirement to maintain warranty, can fix it really depends on the severity of the problem such as a major recall but in cases of say clip breaking on the center console then they are not liable to fix it without payment for the job.

you may be able to negotiate with the Service adviser and see if he is willing to reduce due to such extremely low mileage

[markoJEK1]

6 month service between major service is more so of a safe-guard type service. In our branch it does not void warranty , it is simply a service for the customers who do want to take care as much as possible of their cars.

One of the best things of doing interim services ( minor service inbetween major's ) is that a faulty item ie water pump leaking, axle seals given way etc are spotted much earlier and can be repaired before any further damage could occur. While if you have serivce once a year, something might fail just after a service , you wont find out until the next which is usualy within a years time, in that period alot more things could branch out and fail / break due to the 1 item not been spotted soon enough.

Also been someone who services regularly every 6 months is seen as a good thing in our branch and you do get rewarded in various ways.

[Oceadge]

Thanks Rice 4 Life.

Edit: And thanks Marko too.

[VTECMACHINE]

I service my Dad's Euro, and it still has warrenty on it. Recently the Aircon systems broke, or had some issue. Booked it in with Scotts artarmon (Hornsby is owned by Scotts aswell apparently), and they fixed it free of charge under warrenty. So if the problem is related to underservice (ie engine issue due to not changing oil or over/underfilling etc) then they can and probs will refuse to do it under warrenty. If it's something unrelated, they should do it under warrenty.

[Limbo]

one thing to note is that engine oil has a shelf life also once its heated up. You normally service it so that it doesn't breakdown and cause sludge inthe engine.

But being a new car, the most important thing is to make sure you follow the warranty, last thing you want is a major problem and they void your warranty.