Edited by Jeff Yip

Q. I took my Honda Accord in for an oil change. Later, looking over the bill, I found that they charged me $1 for a washer. Are they nickel-and-diming me? (Or worse, charging me for something they didn't even need?)

A. Don't blow your radiator cap. It's a buck well spent. You should thank them for doing things by the book--we know of horror stories that occurred when a gas station or lube shop wasn't so careful.

Sara Pines, of American Honda, says the drain plug gets a new crush washer every time a Honda or Acura dealership does an oil change. This prevents any possibility of leakage. Some years ago, a friend's oil pan drain threads were stripped and the shop that was working on the Accord refused to accept responsibility, claiming the failure was due to previous oil changes where a crush washer wasn't used.

That proved to be one expensive oil change, as a new oil pan had to be installed. Nowadays there's a less costly solution. The cure, says Mike Herzing, a Honda expert in Tomball, Texas who's worked with Hondas going back to the 600, is a replacement drain plug with an O-ring seal. "We carry those plugs and a special tool set to repair the pans after they have been damaged. We can easily and cheaply repair the pan if the pan hasn't been tampered with. This drain plug was developed by a couple of Honda techs several years ago." Herzing's shop, Accurate Auto Center, charges about $20 for the fix. And we doubt you'll be crushed by this last bit of news: because of the O-ring, you won't have to use crush washers again.