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I have a 2006 Honda Civic LX 4-door sedan. Rather than a fixed maintenance schedule, this car has a "maintenance minder" display on the dash which counts down the remaining "oil life" (based, I believe, on a combination of time, miles driven, and engine revs). When the oil life reaches 10%, the minder displays a code indicating which maintenance items are needed (oil change, fuel filter replacement, spark plugs, etc).

Right now, the oil life indicator is at 40%, so no codes are displayed. But I have a long trip coming up, and I'd like to consider having the next maintenance done early.

How can I find out what items will be needed at the next service? I don't have a code reader, but an answer involving one would still be useful, as it means my mechanic will be able to tell me.

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    Did you check your owner's manual for a maintenance schedule for other parts? – Scott Hillson Jun 25 '13 at 19:43
  • @hillsons: Yes, of course. cinelli's answer has a copy of the same information that's in the owner's manual. No explicit time or mileage intervals are given for the maintenance services that I'm asking about. There are explicit intervals for some other services that need to be done less often (brake fluid, adjust idle, replace fuel tank), but that's not relevant to my question. – Nate Eldredge Jun 27 '13 at 22:25
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Here's a pdf explaining how the maintenance minder works http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/NV0707/NV0707G00016A.pdf

All the "due" services are to be checked and performed if needed. If it recommended and air filter, but the air filter is not dirty. Then it is not to be replaced. The system cannot compensate for such conditions.

If you are worried about missing the service due to your trip or something happening to the vehicle during the trip. Then I would suggest having the vehicle inspected before your trip to ensure that there is nothing that is in need of attention and that the vehicle should be OK for the trip. Also, just make sure to check fluids and pressures every (or every other) time you stop for fuel.

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  • Yes, this is exactly the same information as is in my owner's manual. It does not answer my question; the minder does not display which services are due until the oil life reaches 10%. – Nate Eldredge Jun 27 '13 at 22:21
  • Due services are calculated just before the minder displays them. All that is held in memory is the ones that were performed and the mileage & date that they were performed at. But these are no accessible without factory equipment. – cinelli Jun 28 '13 at 0:29
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Edmunds has a guide that lists services by mileage. Who knows where they got those intervals from. There is a thread over at bobistheoilguy.com that lists some intervals. There is a thread on a CRV owner's forum that describes a way to see upcoming codes. If all else fails, take a box of hot doughnuts down to a dealership and see what you can get out of the service folks. I'll extract some info from those links when I have time. Feel free to edit my post if you beat me to it (suggest an edit if you don't have edit privs).

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