I would really like to know how the RDX calculates the (remaining) Oil Life that it displays? Is it just based on the mileage since the last reset, or what?

 

the owners manual gives a little insight....says it draws from engine RPM, starts and stops and other factors.

so, if you drive all city and are in boost +vtec, your oil life % will go down faster than if you drove all highways at 2K RPM... and rightfully so, as high way cruising at 2k is VERY easy on the engine

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I found the manual quite vague about this issue. It just seems to me that I've never gotten the 'expected' oil life from Mobil 1. Assuming 80% - 20% (city - highway) driving non-aggressively, approximately how many miles should I expect to get from Mobil 1? - fwiw I always change the filter with every oil change.

 

I have a 2006 TL and my Oil Change Intervals are about 6-7k Miles, according to the MID (On board computer)
the on-board computer DOES not know what type of oil you have in the car....it purely goes off of RPMs, Starts and stops, distance, and some other factors. so, the OCI will slightly change based on your driving habits

so, you're faulting the oil brand... as it has a little marketing play in it....saying that it can go for this long....

 

I'm usually around 5,000-6,000 miles between changes with my RDX. I've always had the suspicion the 1-6 services might also shorten oil life if you are getting close to one/some of them. The 1-6 service(s) won't show until you get reach the 15% mark for the A/B oil change service. I figured Acura would rather change your oil sooner than be 3000-7,000 miles over on a 1-6 service. No proof of this other than some oil changes come sooner than others with the same driving habits.

 

Don't follow the MID then. write down your miles, add 7500-10000-15000 as you please and then just do oil changes intervals that way

 

To be more specific, when my RDX's oil life is down to 5% life remaining, I'm seeing 5K - 6K miles on average (which just doesn't seem to live up to the 'promise' of pure synthetic oils). Furthering my curiosity is that my wife uses Mobil 1 or Penzoil Platinum in her 2012 and under similar driving conditions she typically gets 8K - 9K miles when her remaining oil life is down to 5% ???

 

there is no car on the market that KNOWS what oil it has.....
you're faulting the marketing of the oil brand!!! "BrandX can achieve THIS many MiLES without a change!"
but the car doesnt know if it has synthetic or conventional oil!!
the car is set to warn you at or about 6k miles, give or take on your driving habits.

 

also, Each car has a different way of calculating Oil Change Intervals...

 

she's less harsh on the car than you are

 

@ thoiboi... Actually she is a more aggressive driver than me!!!

Well, from what you guys are telling me I guess I should just trust the MID's 'remaining oil life' display and get an oil & filter change when it's down to 5% (or there about).

 

then drive more aggressively to get better oil life, sounds like a win win to me !!!
actually i was telling you the exact opposite

 

I stick to the M.I.D. for engine oil changes for all three of my Acura. I now use Mobil 1 syn oil for each of them. There are times I even change my engine oil before the 15% reminder if I have an out of town trip scheduled for +5 days and I don't want to change on the road. I even do some services before the M.I.D. tells me like transmission/transfer fluid, tire rotation/balance, and cabin/engine filters. I just let the Acura service manager know and they reset the individual 1-6 codes when I bring the vehicle in for an oil change.

I have +340,000 miles between my 06 TSX, 08 RDX and 11 MDX with no powertrain issues using the M.I.D. maint schedule. Planning to go +500,000 miles for all three sticking to the same schedule before I think about replacing one of them (might add another vehicle if the +18 TLX has a 6MT).

 

it really is however you want to do it!
its just very easy to rely on MID as it will always come up on your car!! instead of having to remember a certain mileage...
like, you totally can if you wanted to disregard the MID and follow your own Oil Change Interval via Oil Brand's claim.

 

I get about 6000 miles per oil change based on the MID. I don't drive the RDX that hard, but we do a lot of short trips. Still seems short to me but I don't mind - with the current Pennzoil or Mobil rebates you can find out there an oil & filter change costs about $25. I like to do the work so I'm almost encouraging the MID to count down when it gets to about 30% remaining.

Haven't seen a difference between Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum but like others said, the car doesn't know what's in there.

 

As an RDX owner, I can say my MID won't let me go a mile over 3,000...

I had it changed July 6, day before the hood wrap, I'm already at 20%, and will likely see 15% tonight or tomorrow, that's when the MID starts alerting me....

In 6 months, I've seen now what will be three oil changes, dang, hard to do that coming from cheaper oil twice a year...

My oil change cost will be somewhere in the $420-500 rage annually, oh, and mpg sucks BAD!!!

The RDX is a very EXPENSIVE car to own, I'll put it that way, but it's not bad, and no timing belt or transmission failure to worry about, I'm still happy!!!

 

^stop redlight racing and I bet you'll see your oil life percentage go up

 

I don't even get on it al of the time, well, maybe on backroads, but then I'm getting HWY FE and oil life...

Despite the variables, it doesn't change...

Besides, with the turbo lag, this thing isn't up for stoplight racing, well, yet, that is!!!

 

probably doesnt help that you drive 10k miles in one week, the data doesnt lie!

 

No, most I've put in a week was 1K back in mid May.. I've been about 8,200 miles since purchase in February, that's still good..

But yeah, the higher the mileage, the happy I am!!!

 

Some studies have been done showing the synthetic to still be effective at over 15k miles. Many of the detergents and other additives had worn out by then, but the actual oil condition was almost as good as new considering it doesn't really break down in the way that "OG" oil does. There was also a lot of dirt suspended in the oil (obviously). There is no reason why you cannot simply change your oil filter only at each service interval and change your oil at every other interval (~10-14k miles based on your driving habits).

That said, changing the filter without draining the oil is rather...difficult on this car. In my opinion as long as the oil is drained I may as well pour some new stuff in there. A 5qt jug of synthetic is 20-25 bucks. To put it in perspective, if you drive 20k miles a year, you're talking about saving maybe 50 bucks a year by re-using oil every other change.

 

I've gone to every 5K on oil changes, simply because it is easier to remember and plan for it. In other words, why wait until the car tells you it is ready when you could plan ahead by looking at the ODO. I've changed the oil in the truck sooner than nesssesary in order to get the interval to coincide with the ODO at the time it hits the 0000 & 5000. For example, if the oil change is due at 51,000 miles I would change it at 50,000 and then at 55,000. In that way it is easy to simply look at the ODO and see if I need to change the oil within the next couple days, weeks, months, etc. I've done away with the window sticker and the MID never gets a chance to remind me.

If you are price conscious, this method may not be for you as you'll spend more in the long run.