2013 Honda Accord v6 with 40k miles.
For general maintenance planning to have the coolant changed due to it being 10 years old. A local shop that specializes in Toyotas and has worked on my Toyota Avalon is willing to work on my wife's Honda since it is a small job. According to the service manager they typically replace the thermostat and the radiator cap when changing the coolant. I checked with the local Honda dealership and the price there would be $100+ cheaper but the service manager (with whom we have a 10 year history through working on previous Honda Accords owned by my wife) recommends only changing the fluid without changing the thermostat as they have seen very few problems with these thermostats, especially with only 40k on the odometer. And of course I would change the radiator cap myself with OEM when needed.
So, should I have only the coolant changed, or the thermostat as well?
Thanks!
Replacing a 10-year-old thermostat sounds like a good idea. You'd want to use an OEM part.
Thank you for your response, Chuck. Yes the Toyota shop would be using OEM coolant and OEM thermostat. But with you and @MMJ (both of whom I equally respect) giving opposing viewpoints I feel that I am back at square one. 😕
For what it's worth I'm coming from the perspective that thermostats for my own vehicles are inexpensive, easy to replace, and I do it myself rather than pay a mechanic to do it. I might not be so quick to replace them if I had to pay someone $100 or more to do it.
wishful thinking! I've seen some that are more than that just for the part.
often it's not "just" a thermostat. It's an assembly that integrates the housing and everything. But on the other hand, they seem to be very durable these days. I've never had one fail.
An OEM thermostat for my daily driver is only $13. Housing is a separate casting which normally needs no attention but a new one is under $20 if needed. So in my case changing the thermostat is not a big deal.
they typically replace the thermostat ...
I've never replaced a thermostat in my life.
The one I'm driving with now has 60k, from 2013. You can test it in a bath of boiling water.
... and the radiator cap
those used to be tested with a pressure tester. Today they'd rather sell you a new one of course.
Thanks for your response.
I’ve never had to replace a thermostat on my Honda or Toyota vehicle.
The only thermostat I had to replace was on my BMW X5.
Thank you for your response, Kaizen
I have always followed the principle of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That is until I had the first timing belt replacement on my Avalon about ten years ago and was advised to replace the water pump as well. Although I trusted the service manager at the dealership where I purchased the car and had the WP replaced I still felt uneasy about this because it wasn't leaking or showing any other signs of failure. Since then I have learned that for this vehicle and I suppose many others this is recommended for reasons that I am sure you are knowledgeable of.
Although the matter of the thermostat is minor in comparison, it still falls under the category of the axion I mentioned. And if it was my vehicle I would probably let it ride until it showed signs of needing a new one, but as I have thought about it more over the past 24 hours or so, I am thinking more in terms of the Accord being my wife's car and not wanting her to be stranded with an overheating car, or worse yet, her not noticing or responding to the dash temperature gauge and frying the engine. So perhaps for this reason and for my peace of mind it may be worth the extra $100 to change it.
I appreciate your input as well as that of @chucktobias and @mmj. Sometimes it is good to receive even differing opinions just to pump the brakes as you consider each one and allow yourself more time to deliberate before making a decision.
I continue to be grateful for this forum not only for what I learn here about all types of vehicles and repairs, but it is so valuable in a moment of need, to get quick, thoughtful and informative responses. Thanks guys.
Timing belts can fail suddenly , and with catastrophic consequences. It makes sense. Overheating you would have to ignore warning lights for some time before something happens. But I understand. For my mother's car I go a little bit above and beyond what I would for my own.
With the water pump and timing belt, sometimes it makes sense to do it the water pump with the timing belt, other times it makes no sense to do it with the timing belt, and it depends on how much it costs and how much labor time it takes.
If it cost a ton to do the timing belt, and the timing belt is attached to the water pump, might as well dk the water pump.
If the timing belt job is cheap and or easy on the labor, then maybe delay the water pump.
If the timing belt is not attached to the the water pump system at all, then it makes no sense to do it.