So guys I'm used to an old 2003 car, and not this new fangled tech where the car might actually tell me its ready for maintainces... Does the 2013 Acura RDX tell me anytime its needs service, like 15/30/45/65/100k services? I'm at 31,500 miles now and the bmw dealership keeps sending me automated messages saying my car is PROBABLY over due for a service and I should have it, and it got me thinking, what if it was? I didn't do any 30k service, and I bought it at 27k miles, I don't think any 30k service was done.. Am I missing one? am I supposed to consult the manual to know when to take it in or does the car turn on a reminder to let me know any time services is coming due?

 

The maintenance minder will display on the dashboard when a particular service is due. They are not in any "even mileage" amount, but rather calculated on time, mileage, and driving habits. I have a 2013 and my "B123" service came up at around 26,000 miles. The maintenance minder display will tell you the "percentage" remaining till service is due. A reset will put you back at 100%. The manual will describe what the letters and numbers mean as far as service. The "B123" in my case was rotate tires, oil & filter change, air filter and cabin filter change, replace transmission fluid, and replace transfer case fluid. All can be done by yourself if you have some mechanical skills. The "How To" sections in this forum will show you what is involved. The dealers love to mail out reminders for service. I still get them from dealers for cars i have traded in many years ago.

 

Correct. They have no way of knowing what mileage is on your car. They are betting on increasing their bottom line in getting you to bring your car in early.

You didn't perchance read your owner's manual, did you? That might actually explain things like the maintenance requirements.

 

Yes. I would wait for the car to display the message. Don't fall for car dealers....ever.

 

I'd take the other approach and have an Acura dealer perform the most basic 30k service. That way, the car has been inspected and serviced by the folks who know the vehicle best. The RDX is still under warranty and you don't want to jeopardize that coverage by skipping scheduled services. No reason to have the BMW folks messing with your ride.

 

Okay thanks guys.. I wasn't going to take it to BMw. that's just where I bought it used.. It just got me wondering if I had to take it in for the 30k service or not. I believe the previous owner was pretty good at taking it to the ACURA dealership she purchased it at for oil changes, because I remember seeing them steadily. Would a specific service besides oil change show up on carfax? Or could I call that acura dealership and ask for a history of services that have been performed on the car? I'm lucky that I work in the same city which the original dealership who sold the car is in so I can go there easily.

 

^^carfax is limited as to what it will show.

To get the entire history of the car, you need to GO to the dealership it was serviced at (proof that you are the new owner) and they can print up the service history for you.

 

Why would you want to go to the BMW dealership to get your Acura serviced? Unless they threw in some sort of free servicing i makes no sense to go there. It will be more expensive and they'll most likely put in the wrong oil. Our cars require 0w20 and no BMW uses that oil. They'll also have to go to a Honda or Acura dealer to get the filter.

Finally, there is no "30k mile service" on our cars. If you wanted to, you could get an oil/filter change and get the cabin and air filters changed.

If the prior owner had the car serviced at Acura, then they should be able to tell you what and when the last service was. From there, you'll be able to determine when the next service is due. If it looks pretty soon (services are generally between 6k and 8k apart) then I'd just wait or get a very basic oil change making sure that they DO NOT reset the system.

If you have a local Honda dealer then you might want to use them for routine service. They will most likely be cheaper and all modern Hondas and Acuras use the identical fluids and filters.

 

Really? Transmission fluid needs to be changed so early? With my '04 and '07 Accord, I Think the transmission fluid didn't need to be changed until 60k or 120k. What's Transfer Case fluid?

I'm like the OP and prefer doing things around mileage intervals. I bought my 2014 RDX new in late 2013. 1.5-ish years later, almost to 30k miles. I've done the oil change and tire rotation twice so far (I've been putting in Mobil 1 Fully synthetic oil so that I can go longer in the intervals).

Wonder what I should be doing next.

Yeah, just do what I do and take your own oil and genuine honda filter to the honda dealer and they'll charge you $15 for the oil change.

Yeah this seems more of what I should expect to do so early in my car's life.


Ah, I partially agree with this. I would never go to the dealer and say, "Give me the 30k service" because that's definitely going to be expensive. but if you can figure out what the main items are and do the easy ones yourself (in my case anything non fluid like the air filter and cabin air filter change), you can prob get everything done a lot cheaper. All the inspections part of the 30k package to make it look like it's a lot of work are usually free part of any service.

 

Yes, if you want to maintain your warranty, do the services when they "recommend". I thought it was a little early, but it really is not that hard to change. (Now my wife's Mercedes does not require transmission service unless there is a problem. The service writer looked at me like I had two heads when I asked when the transmission fluid gets changed.) The transfer case fluid is right next to the transmission, and uses about 1/2 a quart of GL-5 gear oil. Acura has their own gear oil, so use that while it is under warranty. I will say, the gear oil was very dark when it drained out, so it may have been a "break-in" type of fluid. They say the next interval should be much longer. I think Acura is a bit aggressive on their fluid change intervals.

 

The only thing
I don't like its the reminder comes on at 15% leaving over 1.5K miles and you have to manually remove the message at each start up it's a pain

 

Just like the legalese that appears on the navigation/radio screen each time you start up. It's just the nature of the beast.

Now when I test drive a new car, the first thing I look for is the engine "start/stop" feature. I have seen it on many cars, and you can override it, but you have to do it each time you start the car.

 

Correct. pushing a button on startup to get rid of the 15% and 10% warnings is a huge pain. So inconsiderate of Acura to give you advance warning. By the time you can get the oil change on your schedule that 15% will deteriorate to 10% anyway.