discovermac

Hi again, sorry to be a noob and to ask these rather basic questions but the RDX is the first vehicle that i owned (let alone bought new) so when i got the chance today before heading for the vacation, i had the oil changed (even with the oil still at 15% life - 4500+ miles travelled already). what i am confused about are the following which hopefully you guys can provide some guidance:

i brought it to the acura dealership (per most people's advice here) where i bought the car for the A1 service.

Questions:

1) when i compare the dipstick now after the oil change (ive travelled only 20 miles since the oil change) vs. the dipstick when i got the vehicle brand new (even after 1000 miles), the oil in the dipstick now is not as clean as the oil in the dipstick when it was new. i was expecting the oil (since i just got it changed) to be as clean as when i looked at the dipstick when it was new (eg. after 1000 miles) - is this normal? or might have they forgotten to change the oil? (they did rotate the tires since i noticed the grime that used to be on the front wheels are now on the back LOL)

2) related to #1, when i wiped the oil clean from the dipstick onto a paper towel, the oil didnt seem dirty. Nonetheless, as a comparison, on the dipstick itself, when it was "factory filled up" before - sometimes i couldnt even properly read how much oil was there because it was so clean. After today's oil change, it's not the same "clean" as it was before.

3) i managed to speak with the tech coz i asked him to inflate the tires a bit - he did say that he doesnt have a digital gauge and so long as it showed 30psi, it was fine -- i was quite surprised since the RDX recomended psi =32.

on that note, how do i make ensure that the tech put it the correct oil? i know that the rdx needs turbo oil - is there a way to find out that he indeed put in the correct oil? (eg. should the engine knock? overheat more? eg if the tech used just a non-turbo spec oil?)

as you can see from my previous posts, am quite new to this and a bit worried since the rdx is not a cheap car (but i really like the vehicle a lot) so appreciate any help.

thank you.

XLR8R

When I drain my oil overnight I get 3/4 quart more than if I just drain 15 minutes. The dealer's quick change leaves old oil in the engine which darkens the new oil. Dealers usually stock bulk oil. Ask to see their synthetic HTO-O6 drums. Ask if it is Mobil One.

It is good that you are concerned. If you want the best maintenance for your RDX, DIY or find a good local independant Honda shop. You will get better answers fron a guy who will walk you into the bay and show you your car on the lift.

ps, get yourself a decent tire gauge

discovermac

thanks for the insights xlr8r. ive given some business to the mother dealer already and i can prolly start looking around now for the next oil change (i live in a condo so i dont think i can do an oil change myself based on bylaws). as for the tire gauge, i guess the TPMS we have on our vehicle is not sufficient?

XLR8R

It's good for checking tire pressure but not so good for adjusting.

Tire pressure changes 1 psi per 10 degrees F. So with colder weather coming, you will need to inflate every few weeks to maintain 32 psi. For this, an accurate gauge (about $12-$15) is most useful.

discovermac

XLR8R, thanks again for the tip. will actually be looking/buying a reliable tire gauge (hopefully not those made in china ones) and tire air compressor (saves me the trip to the gas station or dealership esp during winter) this weekend.

after reading other forums, it seems like there is some "sludge" that will never be cleaned out by dealers' oil change, hence, the factory fill "cleanliness/newness" will never be replicated even with replacement oil changes. what concerns me a bit today was when i called the service rep to ask these questions to which he replied that factory fill oil is not the same as the oil that they used for my oil change. i also went to the mobil one site which indicates that mobil one is factory fill for acura rdx.

hence, either one of 3 things prolly happened then: a) factory fill = mobil one and the dealership is using synthetic that's not mobil one or b) factory fill = not mobil one and they're using acura labelled oil which is mobil one or c) factory fill = same oil that they used to change my oil recently but service advisor is behind the curve as oil specifically for break in are not used anymore (hence service advisor doesnt know what he's talking to me about)... i guess it's anybody's guess now...

VietNinjaJ30A1

I wondered if Acura actually uses the Mobil1 oil that the manual says to use, or if they just pump out the same Honda motor oil they use for all the other cars.

brent112

I wonder the same thing. When I bought my RDX the dealer kept saying how their oil changes were only $24.99. I cant even buy 5 quarts of mobil 1 for that price, let alone a filter.

Mr Marco

Acura dealers only use Mobil 1 in the RDX. The dealer has an incentive to take a loss on the oil changes and get your money from other places like wiper blades and fuel/air intake cleaner (a rip-off).

discovermac

FWIW, my dealer's pricing for oil changes is diff from RDX and all others- RDX is obviously more expensive. Let's hope they put the correct oil and not just charge for it

discovermac

on a side note: i wonder if factory fill mobil one is exactly the same as "off the shelf" mobil one that one finds at wallymart?

russianDude

even if you let your car sit overnight, not all oil is removed. It is normal for oil to get dark over time. its actually a good sign that its doing its job. Synthetics get darker even faster due to boosted levels of detergents. dont let color discourage you because it means nothing. the best way to tell is by doing oil analysis by sending your sample to blackstone labs or others. it costs $20 and they do thorough chemical analysis.
Someone did it on RDX when MID has 5% left, and the results stated that oil was still in very good shape, hence the conclusion is that MID is very conservative, and you should be fine.

discovermac

thank you for sharing your insights russiandude. reassuring indeed for a newbie like me on these turbo engine/synthetic oils.

moltonbrown

+1... see other posts indicating "conservativeness" of the MID for the RDX. after all, this is honda's first stock turbo engine for sale outside japan.