I am leasing a 2012 RDX turbo. The car has less than 5000 miles and I have ahd 2 oil changes already. The dealer says thats normal. I disagree with that and so does everyone I talk to about it. Is anyone else having this problem? I do most of my driving on the weekend and have had the car since october.

 

the on board computer calculates oil life by engine revs, start ups, and other factors.
if you're doing all city, reaching vtec often, you'll see the oil life decline faster.

and when does too many oil changes become a bad thing?
well, I guess money, would be one.

 

^^ What he said plus the engine is still breaking in so I'm pretty sure that calls for more changes.

 

shyt if you can , change the oil everyday jk dont do that . but no that is not a bad thing at all.

 

are you following the MID? you don't mention whether you are following this or some mileage interval thing.

i believe the RDX requires syntheic oil...so certainly OP wallet is balking at the idea.

 

what is the MID? and yes it requires synthetic oil. its a brand new car and shouldnt need an oil change after 1700 miles or even 2000.

 

MID is the onboard computer. on your dash

 

thats what goes off every two months.

 

^as stated above, the onboard computer calculates engine revs, start ups, and some other factors.

you said you only drive on the weekends and had the car since October, what are your driving habits like?
reaching boost often?
all city?
is the MID(on board computer) being reset after each oil change?

 

what kind of driving conditions could make the oil life decrease so fast? like I said I drive on the weekend mostly. I previously leased an infiniti ex35 and didnt have to change the oil so frequently and i dont think I drive any differently. My idea of leasing a new car is not sitting in a service center that frequently.

 

the on board computer calculates start ups, engine revs and other factors.
ARE YOU HITTING BOOST OFTEN?
ARE YOU DRIVING ALL CITY?

yeah, those driving conditions.

 

justnspace Im doing local city street driving. and very little highway. so how much boost can I possibly get from that. Im not gunning it from corner to corner. so im just confused

 

justnspace is there something on the dashboard that i should look for that will tell me when its revd up? and by start ups do you mean everytime i start the car?

 

yes, it knows EVERYTIME YOU START the vehicle.
oil is there to protect the engine from wear.
when you start the vehicle, it produces wear!!!

also, city driving is pretty hard on the engine as well.

I dont have a RDX, so i'm not sure what RPM boost activates.
with a turbo engine, you want it well lubricated!!

 

... which is the very definition of SEVERE SERVICE, as defined by any number of different manfacturer's Owner's Manuals, especially if the trips are under 10 miles in either low or high temperature. That would be any mountain or midwestern state: under 30 degrees in the winter, and over 90 degrees up to 110 degrees in the summer. Definitely, severe service.

Turbo boost on the RDX is not determined by high RPM, but by engine load. Any time that the RPM is low, and the gear is above 2nd, and the throttle position is more than 1/8 open, boost will be high (just look at the boost guage on the dash).

There is a small 100 foot high hill just before my street, after leaving a stop light, and it is almost impossible to climb at 30-40 mph without pulling full boost. That is because the RDX engine computer purposely is programmed to pull high boost at lower RPMs, instead of shifting down a gear, to improve gas milage. Any engine will deliver better gas milage at low RPMs, low throttle, and heavy load on the engine (pulling a hill, pulling away from a stop, etc.).

On the highway, increasing throttle opening, will normally increase turbo-boost instead of down-shifting a gear. This again improves gas milage, but severely loads the engine. If pulling a long hill, say 5 miles long (Rocky Mountain state of Utah), you can decrease the engine load, and decrease turbo-boost, by purposely downshifting (use the paddles), so long as you do not increase the RPMs above about 4,000 rpm.

That will help keep the turbo temperature, and therefore the engine temperture, lower. but it will also decrease the gas milage, at least for the short time it takes to climb the long hill.

Anyway, high turbo boost is hard on the oil, and decreases the oil life, as determined by the engine management computer. And again, high turbo-boost does not require highway speed, but only chuffing around town. Heavy throttle is not required either.

Please just keep an eye on your turbo-boost meter, and you will see for yourself that this is true.

---eof

 

Had my RDX since late 2007. Routine 2700+ mile oil changes. Mostly city driving. Whatever your friends say or whoever you are listening to is irrelevant. Yes, some non-turbo engines might go every 3-6k (on synthetic), but you dont own that type of car. You own a very high performance 4 cylinder turbo in a 4k lb SUV. Thus, not only is it working extra hard, but throw much city driving in the mix and like all the other posters said, you own a vehicle that does not go much north of 3k/per change. You can disagree with that all you want, or be dissatisfied, but the calculations performed by the Maintenance Minder know when your oil is shot, not you (its not a strict mileage calculation by any means).

- As for trying to conserve oil (or MPG, depending on how you read dcmodels helpful explanation) honestly, drive the car the way YOU want to drive it. Being conservative on the pedal around the city wont do you any good, and why not be happy driving your RDX versus worrying about the turbo gauge. If you drive a little more conservatively around town, you are talking marginal savings at best. Just enjoy the truck for what it is, or maybe it sounds like you got into something that isnt right for you.

 

my brand new 12 has about 620miles so far, and the oil life is at 90%, so with this linear rate, I will need my fist oil change at around 6000miles?

 

Sure, assuming that you plan to change oil at 0%. Just remember that the MID computer also keeps track for NEGATIVE percentage oil life, not something you want a Dealer to be made aware of.

I have gotten 700 miles for a 10% decrease in oil life, on my own 2009 RDX, when driving at 60 mph using the Cruise Control. That would give an estimated/ projected 7K miles oil change interval, although I have never observed an _actual_ oil change interval greater than 4K miles, for my own RDX.

 

Hit the Nail right on the head!

 

+1

It is recommended to change oil in turbo engines at 30% and only use synthetic. The high temps of the turbo break down the oil properties much quicker than N/A engines.

 

My wife has had her RDX since new in 2007 and I've always wondered why oil changes come so often too. I have no complaints, but how does BMW get away with recommending oil changes only every 10K miles, even in thei new twin-turbo 6cyl and their new 328 with turbo 4cly? Is it because they don't want to do much during their free 4-year service?

 

Their oil sumps are much larger and their oils are euro spec oil. You pay more for the oil, with the rdx the oil costs less but you change it often.

If you really wanted to get every bit out of your oil just wait until your MID hits 0% and then drain and send a sample out for testing.

To the person that said for turbo changed it at 30%, there is no need honda does not make one maintenance system for all their vehicles, the system is calibrated for the vehicle it's being used in so you can wait until 0%.

 

This is normal, i change mine every 4000km/3-4 month.

 

I think 2 oil changes in 5000 miles is too much. That's ridiculous!