Honda Van hoses

I regularly change the oil etc and at last visit dealer recommended replacing all hoses as we have 125,000 miles on our 2001 Odyssey for about $900 cost.

Is this absolutely necessary? Or, am I being hosed?

It seems like hoses last the lifetime of a vehicle these days. My 22 year old MB and 2002 Odyssey have all their original hoses.

Save your money for tranny fluid changes and a new tranny when it dies.

Absolutely necessary? No, but it’s probably not a bad idea considering the age and mileage.

The price, however, is WAY too high.

Did that quote include a new timing belt? Has the original timing belt been changed?

Good question, Goldwing. That would explain the price.

I have an '03 Civic that got a pin hole leak in the upper radiator hose, so I replaced it and the lower hose. At the age of your car the radiator hoses could be due for a change. If you monitor the motor carefully you might notice a small leak before it gets to a point where you are stranded on the side of the road.

If you really don’t check the car over yourself getting some new hoses might give you comfort. A motor that loses coolant and overheats can disrupt a road trip and damage the motor.

What hoses, and why $900 is my question? Have you had the timing belt replaced? If not, you are due and that would be a good time to change hoses and then refill with fresh coolant. If the timing belt was done on schedule $200 would replace the top and bottom radiator hose and replace the coolant. Not sure where that $900 is coming from?

Timing belt was changed at 90,000 miles. That was expensive too.

$900??? Obviously because the poster went to his dealer>>>SUPER RIP OFF artists. I’d check out Click & Clack’s Mechanic Files, and find someone honest/knowledgeable near where you live. I found one within walking distance. Will probably cost you half or less than the dealer, depending if you request OEM parts, or don’t care. Some things OEM might be important. I had a brake job done on my Wife’s 97 Monte Carlo about 5k>6K miles ago. The rear brakes are horribly noisy and they rechecked things, and still pretty noisy. So I went down to the dealer yesterday to get a set of Delco Remy’s. If I want what came with that car, they want a rip off price of $124.00 for a set of REAR shoes. No way. Ordered Delco Remy, but a couple of levels down for $56, that the parts guys said they have had no noise problems with.

IMO DEALER = RIP OFF~!!!

There seems to be a sudden rash of these on this forum, both Honda dealer service departments, too, I believe. Seems like the other one was around a grand to replace all the hoses. Must be a new idea for extra profit generation since it is somewhat legit as rubber does degrade over time, but not legit enough in my opinion. They are probably also double or triple dipping on the labor as well. My 1990 Buick Skylark went to the grave (died of severe corrosion, so it’s enjoying some well-deserved rust and relaxation now) with every single factory installed hose still attached to it, all looking and feeling like new. My 1995 Ford Windstar still has all original hoses on it, but the upper radiator hose is looking and feeling pretty crummy, so I will be replacing it soon. Everything else looks good. My 2002 Grand Cherokee has all factory hoses which still look and feel like new. Either Honda installs supremely inferior coolant hoses compared to the domestic “big three” (highly unlikely since I have NEVER replaced a coolant hose on any Honda made after 2000, and they probably source them from the same company, probably Gates), or the dealer is really giving you a hose job. My vote is for the latter.

I also like goldwing’s suggestion to save the money and put it towards a new transmission when it inevitably kicks the bucket. If you have not replaced the trans fluid in recent memory, DO IT NOW!!! and refill it with the proper fluid. It must meet Honda’s specs. Do not use Dexron 3 or any so-called universal fluid unless it does indeed meet or exceed Honda’s specs. If you haven’t replaced the transmission yet, change the fluid every 30k miles and keep praying.

Dealerships have slow days with idle mechanics and need to pay the bills. They recommend work that is not going to hurt anything but your wallet and has a nice potential(albeit small) to save you so its a good sell story.

The key is to be the other majority who say no and just get critical stuff fixed/maintained. Someone bites. This is how many chain operations work too, suggesting work.