sbpwjm

I did a search of "oil change" on the forums but received tons of hits. I did find an "oil change" thread in which some spoke of changing their own oil but mostly the post was about getting oil changes at Acura dealerships vs. JiffyLube/local mechanic/alternative.

So for those of you that change your own oil. Anything out of the ordinary or is it pretty much up on the ramps, drain, replace filter, etc. Any special tool required (like the "cup" I have for my Volvo)?

Thanks so much!

sbp

DNPhotography

I was also curious. How do you reset the oil change life light? Or is it something only a dealer can do?

sasair

I forget the procedure, but anyone can reset it. I'll look it up when I get to my service manual unless someone knows off the top of their head already...

Chas2

It is done through the MID and the MID control buttons.

Assuming the ignition is on,

Press the Select/Reset knob repeatedly until the engine oil life is displayed.

Press and hold the Select/Reset knob for about 10 seconds. The engine oil life and the maintenance item code(s) will blink.

Press the Select/Reset knob for another 5 seconds. The maintenance item code(s) will disappear, and the engine oil life will reset to ‘‘100.’’

econman

That was just too easy

sasair

Slightly different if you have the tech package... but just as easy:

ignition on
press and hold select/reset button I think for 10 secs
MID displays menu choices of RESET and CANCEL
select RESET

sbpwjm

so... no special tools and an oil change is straight forward?

DNPhotography

thanks sassir and Chas2! good to know.

mairdx

My RDX not even 3000 miles yet, but the service light is on and display oil life is 15%. Is it nomal ? How often I need to change the enigine oil ?

Chas2

Normal is all relative to how you drive, and what conditions you are driving in.

Based on the engine operating conditions and accumulated engine revolutions, the onboard computer in your vehicle calculates the remaining engine oil life and displays it as a
percentage.

The 15 and 10 percent oil life indicator reminds you that the time is coming soon to take your vehicle in for the required maintenance.

Lrpba300

Yes, it looks like it from the bottom side. Haven't done mine yet, but I will when it's due!

HenryFL

I was planning on bringing my RDX to Acura for oil changes, but last week my friend who bought my old Legend (95) to his Acura dealer in Chicago had his engine blown. They forgot to add the oil after the change. So if an Acura dealer can do this, forget Jiffy lube etc!!
If you want things done right now-adays..you got to do it yaself

c_hunter

Phew, you said it! That really sucks.

There was a common problem with Subarus for a while, where quickie-lube shops would do an "oil change" by draining the transmission, then overfilling the engine with oil. Apparently they were unable to distinguish between the transmission drain plug and the engine drain plug, and they could not smell/tell the difference between engine oil and AT fluid. People would drive away and have a burned up transmission within a few minutes, and then the engine would barf the extra oil all over the place. On later models, Subaru stamped very explicit markings on the engine and trans pans to help morons avoid that mistake. Of course, that assumes they can read

neo1738

wow...thats pretty crazy, this is y they have the saying "If you want it done right, do it yourself"

wxflyer

FYI, the owners manual also describes the re-setting procedure.

I changed mine @ the 10% warning, which was about 3600 mi.

Very simple and straightforward oil change. Didn't even need to jack the car up. BTW, I purchased a factory filter from my Acura dealer, and it turns out it's the same exact filter (part no. and all) as my '06 Honda Civic LX, only it cost me about a buck more.

Looking for a good online Acura parts seller. New to this forum, so I'll let y'all know what I find after searching a bit.

Cheers,
John

rpeete

I had a good friend of mine who went to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. They drained the oil, changed the filter, forgot to add oil, and he blew his engine several blocks from the place.

No more Jiffy Lube type places for me. It's either the dealership or a reputable car repair establishment.

I have been taking my TL to the dealer for all its regular maintenance schedule type stuff and never had a problem. In fact, when I bought my RDX from that same dealership, I got an awesome trade-in price and discount on the RDX because they could see from their records that I was a great customer (and that the TL was kept in great shape).

737 Jock

http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=94&did=970

turboted

Why do it myself? I pre-paid for all my oil changes from my delaer at every 5k miles, for the next 36 months. Works out to about $12 a change.

porsherules911

It just depends on each person. I prefer to do as much work on the car as I can. Doing oil changes myself will save me time and give me a peace of mind knowing nothing went wrong.

socalJD

Well, if that $12 figure is correct, you can't beat that - materials alone will cost over $25. Which SoCal Acura dealer did you get the prepaid maint from ???

johnny99

Is this deal available to everyone, or only as part of a new car purchase?

kthlex

Changed my oil today for the first time on the RDX. I made a BIG mistake and laughed at myself for hours. The way I was laying under the car I didn't see the oil pan plug. I assumed that becuase the filter was blue then the blue plug must have been the oil. I remember thinking it looked like part of the transmission but... I had never seen transmission fluid before and thought the "red" oil must be a special property of the Mobil 1 synthetic! Long story short... I drained the wrong fluid! Now... getting to the tranmission fill plug loose to refill - a 2 hour frustrating job! They should make these thing more accessible!

Lrpba300

OOPPPS! Not good. That's also why they have it marked on the bottom of the oil pan w/ an arrow. (I showed this in my DIY). I know this won't help you now, but boy, do you know by experience!

By lrpba300, shot with DSC-T7 at 2007-06-05

Tripp11

I'm confident it's a "dealer by dealer" option. His dealer offers it and yours may not.

Tripp11

So, you don't follow the MID?

On my TL, I might go 9K miles before my MID indicates an oil change service.

So, in essence, could you be paying for service that your RDX doesn't need?

phineasboggs

Thanks Chas. That's exactly the information I needed and it was easy to do. You saved me a lot of time and annoyance -- since my car seems to be reading oil life both as dino-oil and on a monthly basis. It has been four months since I bought this car at a dealer, and my mileage is only 24403. That means I've only driven approximately 1000 miles!

Syzygy

My TL used to go way longer between oil changes than the RDX. The RDX interval is very short. Since oil changes at Acura in Toronto are $110 plus our lovely 13% tax, I end up changing my own oil.

phineasboggs

Syzygy, what did you base your oil change on? The settings? The oil type? Dino or Synthetic? Or, since you can change the oil yourself, does it get dirty looking before you change it?

After my experience with my RDX, I believe--contrary to the reports here--that the settings are based on time, not mileage or anything else. My reminder went on virtually 4 months after I bought the car. Four months after synthetic oil change. One thousand miles!

jbillakdsm

I'm surprised that no one mentioned the crush washer on the drain plug. You should change this every time you do an oil change. Just ask for a crush washer for an Accord V6 (Acura parts wanted 3.12 per washer and the Honda one was .20 and is the exact same size and torque spec.)

Mr Marco

$100 buys Free oil changes for life at our dealer.

Agreed. You can find them online for 10 cents each too.

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

^^THIS!

dcmodels

The MID on my RDX varies between 2 and 6 months, depending upon how many miles and how often I drive. Many short trips, or one long one will set in 2 months (or less). Many short trips in very cold weather sets in the shortest time, even at very low milage. So I do not think it is only time related.

ocjohnknee

The dealer is responsible for that mistake.. They did your friend a favor.. 1995 legend with a brand new motor

TheRoxzilla

I understand the increments displayed will be 100,90,80,70,60,50,40,30,20,15,10,5,0.

Maybe I am being trivial, but I am curious as to whether or not the computer rounds off the numbers, or simply displays the next increment as you reach it. I am somewhat new to the Acura world. My last Acura was a 1991 Integra RS.

Does it show 95-100% as 100%, and 90-94% as 90%, or does it show 91-100% as 100%, then when I hit 90% it does it then start showing 90%?

When I bought my used RDX it was at 80%. I was down to 10% and planned to drive 400 or so miles away and be out of town for a week, so I changed it at 10% using the Mobil1 EP and EP filter, before leaving. Once I was in the Phoenix area, I drove about 70 miles per day for two days and noticed that it was already showing 90%, would that be normal?

Vividsi

yes, I believe it is.

I'll be due for my third oil change in a month or so and this time around I'm going to use a Mobil 1 oil filter and change the air filter back to stock in hopes that will help the interval last longer.

dcmodels

Basically the MID rounds-up from the first (actual) digit numerically, to the next higher range. Does anyone ever read the Owner's Manual? I do not expect my wife to do so, but had higher hopes for Acurazine members.

And if you did not get a manual, you can purchase one online here, from the company that printed it, or from any number of online Acura/ Honda parts web sites:
LINK: http://www.helminc.com

My 2009 OM says:
100-91% = 100%
90-81% = 90%
etc.
10-6% = 10%
5-1% = 5%
0% = 0%

Yeah, the OM is 400+ pages, but still, you can use the index. At least there is an index, and the RDX FSM (factory service manual) has no index. My Chevy FSM has an excellent index.

pickler

don't put up too much stock for MID estimations. From most of my UOA the MID was way too conservative. I always change at 5% oil left or maximum of 5000 miles or 6 months. Use hto-06 approved oil like PP, M1, Amsoil 0w-30 etc.

I highly recommend having the oil changed at a shop with the top down oil change machines (where they remove engine oil from the oil cap and not actually drain from bottom gasket). Reason being opening and removing oil gaskets can cause eventual wear to the teeths. This with a bad pothole can cause a spill and eventually cease your engine.

matthewk323

I changed my oil myself for the first time yesterday. I have a 2007 with 56000 miles so probably around 13 oil changes done at a local Honda-Acura specialist($85) until I decided to spend $35 and do it myself. Bought the oil at Walmart for 25 dollars and then went to the Honda dealership and bought an oil filter and crush washer. The only question I have is that they gave me a 15400-plm-a02 Honda filter and not a 15400-plm-a01 filter. Are these any different? Is the 02 fine on the RDX?

Vividsi

The A02 is not used anymore for some reason but the difference is it has 2 more holes for the oil to pass through yet they are all slightly smaller vs the A01 filter.

Also the A01 is made by Filtech and the A02 is made by Honeywell (a/k/a Fram)

DRR98

??

They do that for you thru the oil cap?

Maybe thru the dip tube? With a siphon?

Get the engine hot and let it drain out the bottom for an hour. Any other way and you will not get out as much oil. And if you follow, that leaves a bit of dirty oil to mix with your new clean oil.

Put down the pipe before the pipe puts you down.