tsells1

I just got tenderized with a 225.$ A6 service from SM Acura. For the life of me i'm trying to understand the maintenance minder schedules.

I only have 12,000 miles and i need differential fluid change, I live in LA. This is not a hilly area, the manual says you will get a 6 if you drive in these type areas

The manual does not spell out the type services needed based on miles driven. NO SCHEDULE!!!

Am I to understand correctly that the car decides for you based on your driving style?

Is it me??? Or is the Acura engineering logic suspect? You'll have to drive these things like a little old lady from Pasadena to keep the maintenance cost down

portwashguy

Take a look at this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1785

tsells1

Thanks for the tip, I agree with the guy who said that Acura must be using vegetable oil in the differential. LOL

Either that or there's collusion between the Acura design engineers and the service departments.

mau108

they are using the same fluid that goes in to your transmission, which is far from "vegetable oil". Honda ATF-Z1 is a very good fluid.

Do you floor the car from standstill a lot? I didn't get a differential change till I hit 23K (kms thoe)

neo1738

first rear diff is usually 15k, then every 30k. problem is if you hit ur service for oil change, and its NEAR say diff it will throw it in there early to get it done so u dont get another service 3k later.

mmfamily

Had this service recently. Dealer told me A6 service is automatic around 15k miles and 30k miles, then will need to be changed every 30k. I live in LA too and am not driving in "hilly conditions." So, it's not just you!

weeeerd

Wow.. Do you guys ever take in your own oil to have it changed? Over where I'm at, we are about 170.00 bucks with us supplying the oil or you are about 110.00 with you bringing your own oil. (86.00 + tax is what we charge for a diff fluid service)

russianDude

I bring my own oil into my garage from walmart

$23 for 5qt of Mobil1. Add $5 for oil filter... DIY oil change under $30... takes less time than dealership and I do it better than dealers.

Next time I am going to get penzoil at wallmart, its $6 bucks cheaper.
$17+$5 oil filter, and I am under $25 for oil change.

weeeerd

Congratulations. You saved money. Stop bashing dealers in ever post that you make. It's pretty annoying actually. Of course, you're probably the same guy who never visits the dealer until a service bulletin comes out for your vehicle and you demand that it gets fixed.

russianDude

I am sorry to hear about your affiliation with the dealer. It can get upsetting when customers are becoming more educated in maintaining their cars. yeah, I've been staying away from dealer services for many years now, even with previous cars. I either DIY or have my mechanic do the work for 1/3 of the price. I know it hurts to lose revenues, but perhaps they should think about cutting their 3 times inflated prices.

C2SGuy

Can you tell us what makes your oil change better than a dealer oil change?

I once saw a genius like yourself going over the list of recommended maintenance items for a particular scheduled maintenance and cherry picking which ones he would do himself because it would be cheaper.

He's probably the same genius that will wonder why he gets no dealer support in helping to get a repair covered under warranty.

russianDude

My oil change is better because I do more thorough job. Namely, I let oil drain for couple of hours to get more oil out. Second, I use torque wrench to torque my drain plug to 29lb-ft as specified in the manual. When I had my first free oil change at the dealer, they really overtightened my drain plug, I could hardly get it off. On top of all that my dealer charges $90 plus tax for an oil change.

This is non-sense. Dealer will gladly repair your car under warranty, they get reimbursed by Honda. However, they might be required to verify that the vehicle was properly maintained, so they might occasionally ask for receipts (which any DIY should keep).
I do agree that after warranty is over, my chances of getting a free repair as a "one time dealer favor" are very low. I did consider all that, and its OK with me, to me its not worth the investment.

russianDude

I also forgot to mention, that on top of that I like doing work with cars. So for me its also fun.

MMike1981

russian dude is the ultimate top diy mechanic, the RDX board better recognize! lol.

dont bother getting into it, bottom line, no one does it better than the russian, or if he CANT do it, some hack mechanic. the end of the line is going to the dealer.....you CAN NOT reason with people like this.

just let go.

russianDude

So far I have not see any valid reasoning on your side (except baseless sarcasm). Please, go to the dealer -- if that gives you warm feeling.

sj993

I would tend to agree that going to the dealership isn't always the best option for scheduled maintenance but every dealer is different. My local Acura dealer actually has an excellent service department and mechanics to go with it. I still change my own oil though I would go to them for everything else. Unfortunately every dealer isn't the same in terms of service standards.

Everyone has their own opinion.

russianDude

I never said its wrong to go to the dealer. For some people this is the best choice. Some people don't want to be bothered with DIY and do not know a good mechanic they can go to instead, so obviously for those people dealership is the best choice. There is nothing wrong with that.

But I don't see anything wrong for someone who enjoys working on a car to do simple maintenance (such as oil change or air filter change) by themselves. Saving $60 on an oil change is also big motivation to me, and I also like to have a feeling of controlling every step... when someone else does the work, you really have no way of knowing.

MMike1981

150 bucks @ a Acura dealer. Oil change + Rear diff. 13500 miles.

wrestrepo

Isn't that what dealers are supposed to do?

wrestrepo

If you can support (receipts, logs, PHOTOS) all the preventive maintenance, warranty repairs have to be covered....you paid for it when you purchased the car!!!!

MMike1981

i think he may be reffering to more of the ppl who go in there for the first time with some ticky tack issue and basically want to be treated like royalty...happens everywhere. I dont blame him, but ppl like that take a back seat to good customers, doesnt matter that you "bought the car"...i bought my car, but i also get service @ the dealer all the time...i come before ur first visit ever looking for everything to be done. thats just the way it is.

But obviously the dealer, any dealer, has to perform anything under warranty no matter who you are...but i dont think that was what the guy was talking about...

wrestrepo

tick tacks also qualify under warranty....checking them at least.....

MMike1981

maybe a check, but more likely a test drive and the tech telling u theres nothing they can do about it.

wrestrepo

and if nothing happens you escalate the situation.....I am not saying/advocating that anything and everything that goes wrong with a car is warranty, but if you paid extra for a bumper to bumper warranty you should try to get everything you can covered, even if it requires contacting corporate, the better business bureau, etc. Off course you need to pick your battles and realize you can't do that for everything...

MMike1981

maybe i missed something in the post...but what is "paying extra for bumper to bumper warranty" ? Warranty is factored into the cost of all cars

if there is an option to buy a new car w/o the manufactures warranty attached, thats news to me....

wrestrepo

additional warranty to your factory one....just like buying the additional warranty for your TV.....whatever...it doesn't matter...I do take my car to the dealer when I feel that something is not right, if anything I enjoy a day driving their loaners (typically new cars) and if they don't fix it I bring it back until they do....

weeeerd

To some extent yes, however why should any dealer drop what they are doing to accomodate a customer who shows no kind of history or has no type of relationship with them?

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't always take every car I've owned to a dealership. However, your dealer can be your worst enemy- or your best friend. Try and make friends with them- it won't do anything but benefit you for when you need them. And by this, I'm not telling you to go blow a thousand bucks with them. Be cordial when you take your vehicle in for service and be patient if something unexpected occurs. \

russianDude

its true, there are benefits when you stay exclusively with the dealer for all your services and maintenance. The benefits could get you a free one time dealer favor (when you are out of warranty). But I still think the long term benefits of saving thousands of $$$ by avoiding the dealer out weight any benefits that you could possibly get from the dealer. IMHO.

LoDRpR

I would say that when you buy the car you already create the relationship with the dealer; you "buy" the relation with 40k. In my oppinion this is a pretty good reason .
I'm not saying that you don't have to be nice to the dealer... of course you have to, this should naturally come if you are a human. But his "friendship" should always be there, especially because you somehow bought it .

On topic: what diff fluid does the RDX needs? (I don't have a dealer here, so I need to buy all necessary in time)