wrestrepo

2012, 12K miles, I have about 30% left on oil life. I will be taking a trip up to New England in June. It will be about 400 miles each way, plus whatever day trips we will be taking while there, so say probably 1500 miles total. I am debating whether to service the car now, or just wait for the light to come on.
My concerns are that I don't want to have to find a dealer/mechanic while traveling, plus I don't want to be without a car, or be transferring car seats/luggage to a loaner and back. Also, and more importantly, should I expect anything in addition to oil change? will I get a differential fluid change message or something similar? in which case it would defeat the purpose of performing the oil change now if I had to go back for something else.

What was your second service like? and should what do you think, oil change now or wait for light?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

wait for the light (that's what i would do). you'll probably get to 15% on your way home. if it just turned over to 30% you can get about 1000 hwy miles before it turns to 20%. those last 500 miles or so will get you to <15% when the MID will chime at you.

if you want to check the next code, you can push and hold the reset button with the oil life monitor showing and either a blank screen or the SHAWD screen. hold teh button for like 10 seconds. it will flash cancel or rest with the next service code. at least you'll know what will be coming up.

i can't speak as to what the second service code will be, but most likely a B1 at least.

NYC12MDX

I would wait for the light to come on or the week before the trip to change the oil. You def. don't want to deal with a loaner, too much of a hassle. Plus i'm sure you would enjoy the trip more in your own vehicle.
On my second service I had a little less than 9k miles, I got the basic maintenance which is oil, oil filter, checked tire pressure and I was on my way. Maybe someone can chime in about needing to get the differential fluid changed at 12k miles. I doubt it but I say just wait for the light, change your oil perhaps check you cabin filter or air filter and enjoy your trip to New England!

ls973800

I am having the same thought on our 2012! At 6500 I did an oil, filter, and tire rotation but the oil life was only at about 50%. Now I have 13600 on the car and 30% oil life.

I know others have said the MM (Maintenance Minder) should be followed, but I believe 7500 miles on oil, filter, and tire rotation is the upper limit. I will definitely do the service before hitting 14000 miles, even if the oil life is at 20% or so.

Following directions I found on this forum and page 511 of the owner's manual, I was able to see what services were coming due before the code pops up! I have B16 which includes the rear differential fluid change coming.

To see what will be due, turn the key on, press sel/reset until it shows blank, sh-awd, and tire pressure. Press and hold sel/reset more than 10 seconds and the maintenance items coming due will show. Hit cancel when done to prevent resetting the code.

It worked for me and that's how I know I have the rear differential fluid change coming up this time when the MM goes off.

wrestrepo

My first service came at 6500 miles, and extrapolating that I should be at 15% in a couple hundred miles...but I'm still at 30%. I guess that I can keep running the car, and go well below the 15%, but it's not something I've done before.
I remember my RDX's differential service came up at 13-14K, and that's why I was wondering....it turns out that that mileage was pretty common for most RDX owners in the forum.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

guessing your mileage and oil life...so many variables. my service intervals for the MDX have been pretty consistent between 5500 and 6000 when it hits 15%.

the oil life monitor has been found to be pretty conservative based on many members oil analysis results. i think my MID went to 5% once on the TL (i didn't have time to take the car in until that point). from 30-20% you can get anywhere from 750-1k miles. depending on what your mileage and your oil life says prior to your trip...then decide. how many miles do you anticipate driving i the next 10 days or so? if it drops to 20% then i'd just take it in and get it over with rather than stressing over the oil life while on your trip.

have you checked for the next service code?

wrestrepo

I have not checked for the next service code yet. I am still at 30%
I think I am going to try to get the car serviced before the trip as to avoid inconveniences during, or rushing after we come back and get ready for the next......but I'm still not convinced that's what I should do, and that's why I come to you all.....

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^if youhave time, then take that car in the week before your trip. in the meantime, check the code and just set aside a day to take care of it.

wrestrepo

Well, the decision has been made for me, the indicator went down to 20% this morning, so I will be doing the service before the trip for sure.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

yup...i'd go ahead and do it at 20%. check the code yet?

wrestrepo

B16, so there it is, the differential fluid....

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

that's my next code! i'll be hitting 41k soon but i'm only at 40% which will soon to be 30% (i think). now you have a little bit of a timeline estimate of when you'll see it next. :P

wrestrepo

Well, the funny thing about that is that my RDX had that code at about 12-14K IIRC, but it didn't come back until close to 40K, so it's definitely not a linear formula....perhaps the first one is much sooner than the following ones.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

looks like there is a +/- 1-3k miles...my TL has never asked for more than an A/B 1/2 ...granted i have a 6MT too and there is no 6 service.

ls973800

From what I have read, the first rear differential fluid change on the MDX is about 15000 miles. That is then increased to every 30000 miles.

It's different if the car is used for towing or in severe/harsh conditions. Then it is 7500 miles and every 15000 miles after that I believe.

nj2pa2nc

My 06 tsx was 1,000+miles past due on its 3rd service thanks to our cross country roadtrip. I had the 2nd service done 2 weeks before the trip. My car never had the a/b code without a number. At 156kmiles it has been thru all the numbers. At approximately 110k it showed B1345. My car is now at 5% (A1) with 156,245 miles.