I took my RDX to the dealer for an A16 service. When I got home, I noticed the receipt did not specifically spell out Mobil 1 Synthetic as in the past. I called and after checking with the technician it was confirmed that they had put regular oil in the RDX. I took the RDX back and they changed the oil/filter twice (change, run engine, change). Anything else I should do do minimize the impact? (other than drive like grandma)

When some dino oil is mixed with synthetic does it fully blend to produce an oil with slight worse characteristics or does the dino oil stay suspended in the synthetic such that it can cake all by itself?

 

I would just do the next oil change a bit earlier.

Pretty dumb of them to do that, did they compensate you in any other way?

 

A free detaling in the future which runs about $200.
The event is also recorded in the system for posterity should a problem arise.

 

I highly doubt that with an extra oil fill / drain & filter there's not much dino oil left. There is enough Synthetic oil in there to compensate for it. AS someone else said, just change the next oil a little earlier, but you should be fine. Damn dealers. When will some of them learn?

 

mistakes do happen, maybe more likely on a rookie tech. be glad they changed it twice and offered you a free detail. although it is their fault, they tried to fix it.

 

You should be fine. Having new regular oil in it for a day, assuming probably less than 50 miles should have no effect at all.

What dealer did this to you? Pohanka or Radley? I had a problem with Pohanka in the past and they also gave me a free detail. I will tell you that I was very happy with the detailing job they did. I think they do it over in the Lexus shop next door. It was a first rate job.

 

+1
They did mess up but customer service is all about the recovery after the fumble; what steps do they take to do the right thing? I think they did right by you...

 

A little off topic, but a couple of you have mentioned a free detail for comps. Don't all dealers detail the cars when they are in for service? Mine does.

 

Most of them wash and clean the inside. That's a bit different than detailing a car.

 

A detail is usually a 4-6 hour job if done correctly.

 

Although I would prefer an uneventful service visit, mistakes can happen and I am more than satisfied with the dealer (Radley Arlington) response. When I called after noticing the detail on the receipt they of course offered to change the oil. When I mentioned that could still leave a half quart of dino inside they didn't hesitate to offer the double change. The detailing is more than the standard after service wash. I don't recall all that is done but it is a service that takes several hours (and thus a loaner). That all said, it is not my intent to have another "customer service" thread. Rather I am interested in what is the best course of action and consequences of accidentally having dino oil put into the RDX. In this case I was kind of making it up as i went along.

Since I had suspicions about the receipt, on my drive home i stayed off the boost (as much as one can on a 4cy 2ton RDX) and the weather was still cold so I have little or no concern about the miles driven with the dino oil. So then it comes down to the chemistry of what happens when a little dino oil is mixed with synthetic. After a doulble oil change that leaves about a 1% dino mixture. Does that become a slightly less heat resistant synthetic or when things heat up does the dino oil seperate out and cook on its own. Since some manufacturers market synthetic blends I am assuming (and hoping) it is the first case but blending and simply mixing together may not be the same.

 

Synthetic oil is not THAT different from regular oil. Synthetic oil is just regular oil processed to have longer polymer chains. The wear and tear differences add up over the life of the car, not one oil change. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Agreed! One outing like this is going to do absolutely nothing to harm your engine. Synthetic and conventional oils mix just fine together; you just lose some of the benefits of the synthetic when mixed. And of course it depends on the ratios of each, but the minute amount you potentially might have in the crankcase now will have zero affect on the longevity.

 

it may be a naive question, but don't ALL high end cars (Acura, Saab, Lexus, BMW, etc) come with synthetic? who changes oil at the dealership besides new owners and cars under warranty? why do they even carry conventional oil?...lets say that they still need it, wouldn't it be the norm to use the synthetic first?...IT'S A NEW CAR!!! and they are supposed to be trained.

Errors are made, the question is whether this person simply picked the wrong bottle or if he didn't know that he/she was supposed to put synthetic...If it was ignorance I'd be worried taking that car to the dealership.

Glad that they compensated you though...nice to have a fee detailing session...

 

of all the acura's only the RDX requires synthetic. all others run on regular oil unless the owner wants synthetic in there.