datnvan

Got my 08 rdx brand new in september of 07. every oil changes have been roughtly every 3-3750 miles. I admit I do romp on it every now and then but geez, I know I dont abuse it. most of my driving is city traffic but I am rarely ever stuck in rush hour stop and go type stuff. My average MPG is 19.5 so you can somewhat tell I drive it normally. everyone else I hear has been getting 5-7K out of their oil and filter. I have a brand new engine air filter and just had the oil changed again. now just after <400 miles I'm down to 90%, after pretty normal driving.

I used to drive a modded evo @23psi and I would almost tear it up every chance I get but I religiously changed oil at 5K and other fluids at their rite times. oil came out relatively clean and normal color, car ran strong and had no issues till the day I traded it in. no way this rdx tears thru oil and filter that bad. is there something weird going on?

mau108

Where abouts do you live?

Everything from the climate, type of gas your pumping, way you drive affect the oil. I am averaging about 6-7k km's , 3800-4000 miles which is pretty good i feel as I live in Canada and right now we are getting very brutal weather, long warm ups etc....

russianDude

My wife drives the car, its pretty much 50/50 city/highway. She gets on average 3700 miles in south new jersey, in summer or winter.
In my book 3700 miles on synthetic oil is pretty bad, however, it is true that turbo engine needs more frequent oil changes.

In my 2001 CL I go for 5-6K miles or 1 year (usually 1 year, I don't drive much).

DJ Iceman

I drive mine pretty hard, about 70/30 city/highway, and just had my second oil change at a bit over 15K miles. Having the maintenance minder tell you to change it every 3K definitely sounds out-of-the-ordinary.

phoward_15

I live in Boston so I'm pretty much 80/20 city/hwy driving. My first one was at 3,500 but since then I've been getting about 5,000 between each. I just had my 3rd and I have 11,500 on it now. It really depends on how you drive, the weather, etc.

plausible

I'm almost 100% city driving. I've had the car for less than a month with about 500 miles on it with 80% oil life. No RPMs past 4k since it's not even past the 600 mile recommended break-in. I guess the rdx really doesn't like driving in the city. I love the rdx though

chipmunk

I'm at 33xx miles with about 40% of oil life left. This is about 75/25 city/freeway.

datnvan

I live in houston. been thru every season of weather since having the car over a year. I drive predominantly 70% city. never pumped anything less than 93 octane major brand gas at a corporate owned stations. oil chnage interval has been consistently <4K.to add to this, my sister has an 08 rdx too and on the freeway she seems to average batter mpg, according to the instant mpg display. at cruising 65 her car (with me driving) gets 24-26mpg, where as I drive in my car steady 65 i get 20-24mpg. ???

wrestrepo

yeah, it sounds ridiculous that you change it every 3K....maybe worth talking with the mechanic and see if "there is something wrong with the car".....

phoward_15

I'm thinking the more you break-in the car the more the time between oil changes. But I have no evidence to prove that.

russianDude

just got penzoil 5w30 platinum, no Mobil1 in walmart, I wonder if dealers start using penzoil as well, walmart has a sign that there is a shortage and etc.
$23 for 5qt is a deal!

stevel

I change mine every 3K miles on all the cars I've bought new..... better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to a turbo.

maybe it's because I've seen all the audi turbo engines sludge up, or maybe I'm just old fashion. to me, even with mobil one, it's not that expensive to change it four times per year vs. two or three times.....

russianDude

can't speak of turbo requirements, but for non-turbo engine 3K synthetic oil change is a waste of money and bad for environment.

stevel

it is not a waste of money in my eyes. to each his own on how they define "waste of money".

bad for the environment? to a point sure, but no more than driving the RDX getting 18mpg vs. a civic getting 30mpg when our lives may not require a vehicle such as the RDX.

datnvan

i dont change my oil at home. i do it at the dealer. 5qt M1 is about $30 at my local wally world and honda or M1 filter runs about $10 plus all applicable taxes comes out to $45ish. my local acura out the door for M1 service is $68. $23 more for labor and a free wash and vacuum sounds ok to me (plus i would just prolly dump the old oil in the trash so thats a no no).

but I do about 20K miles a year so comes out to be an extra 3 changes a year or $200. not a whole lot but just doesnt seem normal to me.

russianDude

$68 is not that bad, last time I got a quote of 90+ tax, almost $100 buks. When I do it in my drive way I save about 60 bucks. that a nice saving.

Sailfast

Just hit 4900 miles and the A1 message flashed, 15% oil life left. Thought it went down to 5% oil life before the signal

datnvan

yeah, it will stay on there till you (or dealer) resets it. every time you start the car and every time you thumb thru the info displays. shit is annoying.

C2SGuy

I am impressed at the 19.5mpg. I can't seem to get more than 16.5 out of mine.

3K miles is pathetic for mileage on an oil change! I got about 4800 out of my initial oil.

My Porsche oil change interval is 1 yr or 20K miles-this is what should be expected out of synthetic oil.

wrestrepo

I wonder how often it would be if you drove your Porsche in the same way that you drive the Acura....I mean, is the P a daily driver?

EDIT: Also, remember that winter time reduces your mileage considerably.

datnvan

i would agree that oil can last quite a while but not the filter. had my car over a year and it has been consistenly 3-4K between changes.

spongebobnopants

Is your porsche NA or turbo. Turbos abuse the oil a bit more. Especially newer turbos on newer cars to meet emission standards. My VW's oil at 5k looked pretty nasty. Data logging showed my peak temps to be over 1800F. My honda Element got a change every 10k. EPA on newer cars is tougher. you would be surprised how fast a new car heats up the cats from -20 out to 1,112F.

Even synthetic breaks down fast at extreme temps. IMO, there is always a margin of safety used in the algorithms that displays this.

With that being said my '08 is usually around 4500 miles and my brand new '09 is at 90% after 3XX miles. Of course I'm not babying the break-in either.

C2SGuy

The Porsche is a daily driver from April through October. My car is naturally aspirated however even the 997 Twin Turbo carries a yearly oil change recommendation versus the 3-5K miles for the RDX. I seriously doubt your oil is hitting a peak temp of 1800F. What oil temp are you seeing that breaks down the oil so damn fast.

spongebobnopants

I have no idea what temp the oil was actually hitting, but the the 1800F was a pre-cat measurement. The car regularly saw 21psi.

stevel

your engine oil is getting nowhere close to 1800F...... not even 500F. your 1800F might be combustion temperature, but not oil temperature.......................

this is about oil temp. that's what counts.
oil temp they call a "high" oil temp 240F.......

spongebobnopants

Like I said I have no idea how hot the oil is getting, but the pre-cat temps were confirmed with a datalog. a glowing turbo is upstream of this and the same oil is pumping through the turbo as the rest of the car.

My point is that turbo cars will abuse oil faster than many people think, even synthetic. My STI intervals were every 3750 per Subaru.