How about these prices? / Honda Odyssey 2010 EX-L / Priority recommendations for maintenance requested

I made a big mistake and wrote Accord instead of Odyssey… So…

Hi there. I have a Honda Odyssey EX-L from 2010 with roughly 100k miles on it. It is time for some maintenance

| Priority | Maintenance task                                                 | Price  | Car-Talk says it should cost... | Car talk priority |                                                  |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|---------------------------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| 6        | Replace Upper and Lower Radiator Hoses                           | $262   |                                 | 5                 |                                                  |
| 4        | Replace Serpentine Belt                                          | $117   |                                 | 4                 |                                                  |
| 2        | Replace Transmission Fluid                                       | $186   |                                 | 3                 |                                                  |
| 7        | Replace Power Steering Fluid                                     | $156   |                                 | 7                 |                                                  |
| 3        | Replace Brake Fluid                                              | $119   |                                 | 2                 |                                                  |
| 1        | Replace Some sort of lights in Front and High Mount Break Lights | $44    | DYI                             | 1                 |                                                  |
| 5        | Replace Van Rear Shocks (Leaking Fluid)                          | $360   |                                 | 6                 | <- Do a test to see if you really think you need |
|          | Timing Belt Kit                                                  |        |                                 |                   | Due at 100k                                      |
|          | Totes                                                            | $1,244 | 0                               |                   |                                                  |

Add a timing belt replacement kit to the list.

Honda recommends replacing the timing belt @7 years/100,000 miles.

Tester

Are these recommendations from a dealer or independent shop? I had a 2005 Accord EX V6, and never had to replace many of those items.

  1. There are no brake lights on the front. If the rear brake lights are out, they should be replaced.
  2. Replace brake fluid and transmission fluid. That’s a good idea at 100,000 miles and 8 years from new. These are a bit overdue, actually.
  3. Replace rubber stuff (radiator hoses, serpentine belt). I had my serpentine belt replaced when the timing belt was replaced on my V6, bit only because they had to remove it to get at the timing belt. Check the belt and see if there are pieces missing or it is severely cracked. If not, do this only as preventative maintenance. I never replaced my radiator hoses, and I inspected them. I had the car for 185,000 miles and 12 years. BTW, the timing belt was only on the V6 for your model year. If you have the 4-cylinder engine, don’t worry about it.
  4. Power steering fluid and shocks. Do you notice a problem with handling? If not, you might not need to replace the fluid. You would have a noise when turning the car, especially when turning the wheel to the stop (end of travel). Get a second opinion on both. I never did either in 12 years on my old Accord.

The prices look about right for a dealer. Also, you should get new coolant when the hoses are replaced. That adds to the cost.

The ‘Break’ misspelling was my bit. Spent more time fiddling with Markdown than checking spelling/grammar. Plus that’s an odd thing to say. I bet there are plenty of people that are genius level mechanics and misspell things. I care more about prioritizing these items and making sure these are decent prices. Thanks :smile:

The recommendations are from an independent shop.

Those prices aren’t bad. I’m assuming the lights are just replacing the bulbs? you could probably do that yourself.

I can and I have. Good point. Will do that again. Thanks! They also had wiper blades on there for $88. I just went and took care of that. Hope they were planning on giving me premium blades for that price.

$88 for wiper blades seems a little steep. The price for radiator hoses seems high too but maybe they’re hard to get to in that car, I don’t know.

Thanks! I’m updating with your recommended priorities. They did say the shock fluid is leaking. I will try and gauge whether it’s a problem when I drive the van.

Yeah, I’m curious to know if radiator hose replacement on a 2010 Honda Odyssey EX-L should really cost $262 as well. It stuck out.

If these recommendations are from an independant shop they are high in much of the country but not on the coasts.

I am a little puzzled by van shocks on an Accord. Some people replace radiator hoses proactively and some don;t. I don’t , and in 67 years of driving, I have never had one fail. I have replaced two that were getting spongy.

As far as the shocks go, there is weeping and leaking. Weeping does not need replacing. Since I still do most of my own work it is nice to see how much money I save and it is all non taxable.

Timing Belt and transmission fluid are a must do. The other items only done when necessary due to wear or leakage. Rad hoses only if cracked, leaking or very mushy to the touch.

I’ve never replaced brake fluid other than during a brake job.

Now I’m embarrassed. First I misspelled ‘brake’ as ‘break’ and then I realized I wrote ‘Accord’ instead of ‘Odyssey’. Pretty important to get the model right. Since I’ve been hearing these are decent, but slightly high prices for an Accord, I am guessing they are well decent prices for an Odyssey. Plus I like this shop and they are local and I want to support them.

Thanks for everybody’s input. People have been great on this forum.

If the timing belt has not been replaced, put that at the top of the list. You have one since it must be the V6. That will take care of a few items at the same time: coolant and serpentine belt. If it was replaced, you don’t need the serpentine belt replaced. You might replace the radiator hoses at the same time since the coolant has to be drained to replace the water pump. It’s behind the timing belt and thy are always done at the same time.

Both Hondas we now own recommend replacing brake fluid every 3 years (or some mileage interval, I forget). I get the “why” but not the “how often”. That seems a little often to me, but we’ve done it. Their systems must be really sensitive to water.

I’d lean toward doing the things in the manual for sure. So that’s likely the brake and transmission fluid. I don’t think I’d proactively replace radiator hoses unless I was doing other cooling system work that requires replacing the coolant. Same thing regarding the serpentine belt, unless it’s showing cracks or wear. Not sure why power steering fluid needs replacing. Shock replacement was already addressed with another poster and I agree. I’m not sure why lights need to be replaced unless they’re bad. Timing belt for sure, if it’s listed in the manual for replacement.

Tester

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Whatever you decide, the clear message here is that there are many items on this list that can be done by the average person who is willing to read the owner’s manual and maybe get a little dirty. I understand that people are scared they will do damage to a car by trying to maintain it, but if they are unwilling to try, they will pay big bucks to someone else.

Good document. So Gates is recommends that belt replacement be inspection-based rather than mileage-based. Of course if the manufacturer says to replace it at a certain interval, then you do it then.

So the OP would need to know why the dealer recommends belt replacement - manual recommendation, inspection or profit enhancement.

Gates use to give these inspection tools away for free.

Tester