I have been going over my recent purchase looking for things that visually look as though they need attention but I've kind of reached the end of that road with not much needing to be addressed. Did an oil change with Honda oil filter and replaced a leaky crush washer. Undercarriage looks solid. Air filter was likely the original from 2002 so I replaced it with a K&N filter. Inspected the cabin air filter assuming that if the engine air filter had never been changed then it likely was saturated but it looked pretty much perfect.

So my question is, with an 18 year old car but only 27.5k miles, what maintenances should I be considering at this point? I don't have any recent maintenance records so the only safe assumption I can make is that everything that should have been done, wasn't.

Using the factory recommended maintenance schedule as a guideline, I should do the following on top of regular oil changes, engine air filter:

2 years: Rear diff. fluid
3 years: Brake and clutch fluid
7 years: Spark plugs, valve adjustment
8 years: Trans. fluid
10 years: Coolant

Given the age of the vehicle and the indeterminate nature of what has been done, what should I focus on first? The fluid levels and conditions are fine and do not worry me in that respect but I know low mileage cars need slightly different levels of care. Then comes the question of sticking solely with Honda parts/fluids or going with a high quality aftermarket fluid. Some feedback would be appreciated

 

I change rear diff, brake fluid, clutch fluid annually. Trans every 2 yrs. Coolant at year 10 then every 5 years thereafter. I also autocross my car and tow a tire trailer.

I always zero ALL fluids when I buy a new to me used car- so change all fluids and do a spec valve adjustment.
darcy

 

I have a 2004 with 34k miles. I've changed the oil every 18 months (Mobil 1) and "checked" all the other fluids/filters regularly with zero issues. This year, I had a Honda Master Tech/former S2000 owner friend change all the fluids and plugs. When he was done, he said all the fluids coming out looked perfect and the plugs looked like new. But, for less than $300 in fluids, plugs and labor, I was glad to know that I have fresh, high quality fluids. This weekend, I cleaned/serviced my K&N air filter and at 34k, it was still 99% clean. I'm the original owner, but agree that it's probably a good idea to inspect/change all the fluids and filters.

 

General consensus is to stick with Honda OEM for fluids and plugs?

 

I have, as much as possible. Not sure if the original Honda OEM differential fluid is still available. I've been using Mobil One 75W-140. I do not track my car, but live in a hotter region of the US (So Cal San Gabriel Valley). Engine oil has been Mobil One 5W-30 Extended.

OEM platinum plugs. Honda MTF transmission. Honda coolant. ATE Typ 200 brake and clutch hydraulic fluid. OEM air and oil filters.

 

I used the the OEM recommended plugs (for my AP2)....NGK PFR7G-11S (#7772) which I bought on Amazon, Mobil 1 Oil with Honda Oil Filter 15400-PCX-004 with new crush washer, Honda Type 2 Coolant, Valvoline DOT 3/4 Brake/Clutch Fluid, Royal Purple Synchromax Transmission Fluid and Mobil 1 (went with 75W-140) Diff Fluid. Lots of discussions here about what's best, but these were all high quality and very available locally. As far as Honda OEM, you don't want to use anything other than the OEM S2000 oil filter (you can find good deals on ebay...I got 4 OEM filters/crush washers for $40) , OEM Coolant and the correct NGK Plugs. Other fluids are more a personal preference.

 

I did exactly what you have done to my 04 with 34k miles. Only thing i changed to a Spoon air filter as my K&N was 12 yrs old.
Any thoughts on the Spoon filter? Thought i would try this, it seems to have a little better throttle response.

 

I assume you glanced at the date on your tires? My 07 still had the originals when I bought it last year.

 

I've got relatively fresh rubber although, to be honest, I wish I didn't. I'd prefer something a little better but, realistically, I wouldn't exactly be utilizing stickier rubber in a way that would justify having them in the first place.

 

I haven't had any issues with the K&N air filter in 16 years, but it probably could have gone 100k miles before cleaning/servicing or replacing, based on my driving......about 3k miles/year in S FL and garaged since new. Haven't looked into the Spoon filter, but I have done the LHT airbox mod/surgery.