"Coolant Hose Service"

[Morris Minor]

Took the Pilot (2003. 113,000 miles) in on Saturday for an oil & filter change.

"Hmm, I see here that you car has not had the recommended coolant hose replacement service. Somehow it was not done in the major service you had done at 105,000 miles."

Sniffing a lame upsell, I declined & told them to just change the oil. I am damned sure they were not replaced at the major service, done at 105,000 miles, because it is not required and had not then been thought up as an upselling ruse.

Was I right, or are the top & bottom radiator hoses time bombs waiting to go off, despite years of sticking religiously to the car's recommended service schedule.?

[Byteme]

Took the Pilot (2003. 113,000 miles) in on Saturday for an oil & filter change.

"Hmm, I see here that you car has not had the recommended coolant hose replacement service. Somehow it was not done in the major service you had done at 105,000 miles."

Sniffing a lame upsell, I declined & told them to just change the oil. I am damned sure they were not replaced at the major service, done at 105,000, miles because it is not required and had not then been thought up as an upselling ruse.

Was I right, or are the top & bottom radiator hoses time bombs waiting to go off, despite years of sticking religiously to the cars' recommended service schedule.?

Recommended by who is the key question.  Honda, in their maintenance recommendations?  The dealership owner who has  another boat payment to make?     

If it's not a factory requirement I'd not bother with it unless your hoses are old and starting to go bad.  Soft spots, cracks, feel hard and no longer flexible?  And unless it's a pain to do it I'd replace them myself or take it to an independent shop.  And there is nothing magic about Honda factory hoses, Gates or Dayton are just as good, IMHO. 

[Laconian]

My coolant hose was a time bomb, but that's because oil was dripping on it.

[sportyaccordy]

You should get it done. Get your t-stat changed too. 100K miles? I would.

[GoCougs]

Recommended by whom? The stealership? 100% bogus. At least per my Accord manual no such "service" is recommended. The closest is to a general inspection and replace if necessary.

[Morris Minor]

Yeah it was the dealership - same place that has done all the servicing since it was new.

[shp4man]

As a professional mechanic, I'd say 100K is a valid interval to change coolant hoses and t-stat. Maybe even a flush would be in order. If you plan on keeping the car.
But what the hell do I care, my car's air cooled.

[S204STi]

Coolant hoses probably shouldn't be (and aren't) part of a regular change interval, but like shp4man pointed out it isn't totally unrealistic to do it around 100k. My first Subaru still had its OE hoses when I parted with it at 180k though... I'd just have an indie shop inspect them if you want to make sure.

Is sort of a lame upsell attempt though...

[shp4man]

Mechanics- me included- have a tendency to just keep driving the damn thing till something breaks. The last thing I want to do on my day off is work on a car.

[AutobahnSHO]

I had the lower rad hose blow up the day my first son was born.
Just check 'em every month or two and you should be fine. If you really are worried this can definitely be a DIY job. Wait for the car to cool, drain the coolant into a bucket, replace the hoses, put coolant back in. (or new coolant.)

Remember stuff's toxic so don't let the kids or animals drink it..

[Speed_Racer]

Question for the masses: are coolant hoses a part that will spontaneously burst/break, or do they fail slowly?

[hotrodalex]

They deteriorate over time.

[Rupert]

Or they rub on something and get cut through, which can conceivably happen quickly, if something else breaks and gets in the way of the hose.

[Mustangfan2003]

I got around 113k miles on my Mustang and the factory hoses still look pretty good but I may change the belt soon. 

[S204STi]

A good sign that it's time is that they start to bulge significantly behind the clamps... if they're still nice and firm and don't look like a snake that swallowed a mouse, then they're probably good.

[280Z Turbo]

FWIW, my dad's Corvette still had the original GM lower radiator hose after nearly 50 years. They don't go bad that often in my experience.

[Mustangfan2003]

BTW Morris you might want to change your blinker fluid while you are at it.