My 2016 Rdx has 103k and I am told by the dealership service that I need to replace the spar plugs (price $499) and do the valve adjustment ( price almost $700). I feel like these prices are too high, specially the spark plugs. Pep boys asked me $233 for the spar plugs, which is less than half of what the dealership are asking me.

I am wondering if I should go with the dealership regardless of the price or it is safe to consider doing these services outside of the dealership?

Thanks y'all

 

What do they say about the timing belt? What maintenance codes are being set by the MID? It matters more that the right plugs are used rather than who changes them.
Valves are adjusted "only if noisy". The real interval for that service in these v6 engines has been 150k.

 

Find a good independent mechanic in your area and they can do the work for a lot less than either of those places. Spark Plugs are about $8 each x 6 plugs. Valve adjustment is around 3 hrs labor plus gaskets. With 103K miles, you might be due for the timing belt and waterpump also. AISIN kit is the best! Whatever you do, don't buy parts from ebay! Lots of fake products. Buy from rockauto.com and use 5% off coupon and save a ton of money.

 

You need to be doing the timing belt service, and as part of that service get spark plugs replaced.
valve adjustment I think is a fluff for the dealer to make more money, but again, if they are loud sure whatever... i have yet to hear ONE acura vehicle needing these at 103k miles...

my recommendation is, get a quote for timing belt service, with all pieces included, spark plugs, pulleys, tensioner, water pump, all in all...

 

If your car is not throwing any error codes at the moment, I would wait until your MID lets you know it is time for the timing belt and spark plugs to be changed (code B4). At that point, you should have new spark plugs, timing belt, tensioner, idler, accessory belt and water pump installed. As part of that process you will get new coolant. I would not have the valves adjusted unless very noisy. The dealer will be very expensive for this service, but being there are some critical steps I would not trust a pep boys guy to do it. Find a good local independent shop who has experience with honda/acura timing belt replacements. Previous recommendations in this thread about counterfeit parts are spot-on; don't buy amazon or ebay stuff. Aisin parts are the ones to get (they make the Honda OEM parts). You should expect be in the $800-$1200 price range for this maintenance service.
God luck and let us know how it works out!

 

Based on my knowledge, there is no need for valve adjustment for modern vehicle! I had four brand new vehicles and none of them need valve adjustments.

 

This engine, in it's earliest incarnation (V-6 Accords and 1999-2004 Odysseys) did call for a valve adjustment during the 105k service. That was
later revised to "only if noisy". If one wants to check them at all, then about 150k is when they might need looking at. Oddly, they seem to get tighter, not loose.
A lot of dealers keep with whatever the service was originally. For instance, they still want a lot to replace a cabin filter. It used to be quite involved in many of their vehicles,
now removing everything from the glove box takes the most time. Putting in a new filter is easy.

Honda/Acura vehicles cannot be lumped with others. They do things their own way.

 

Your brand new cars don't need valve adjustments
WOW!

 

My bad! I should have made it clear. Here are the vehicles I bought brand new and their current mileages or the mileage when it was sold: 2000 Honda Civic EX coupe ( 110k miles, sold in 2011); 2006 Toyota Sienna XLE (190k); 2011 Subaru outback 2.5i Limited (110k) and 2017 Acura RDX with advance package (15k, too new). I did not experience any decrease of fuel efficiency with these vehicles. And no valve adjustment. Please check the following link:
https://www.cars.com/articles/does-m...1420682596763/ "Due to the popularization of roller-follower valve train designs that reduce friction and hydraulic tappets (valve lifters) that help maintain optimal valve clearance, valve adjustment isn’t necessary as frequently, if at all, in modern vehicles as in older ones."

 

[QUOTE=Poolman;16538457]These engine are equipped with solid lifters that are adjusted from the factory. The exhaust valves tend to be the ones that need adjusting on these engines for some reason and just because you can't hear any thrashing of the valves ,doesn't mean they are in adjustment. Hydrolic valve lifters can go 100's of thousands of mile without problems and most with those types of lifters have no adjustments that can be made to them ,,solid lifters are a different story. Have them adjusted ! My 2 cents issued.

 

You have got to be kidding!

Those spark plugs (NGK ILZKR7B11 aka NGK 7751) are a whopping $72 for all six if you pay full price. So where exactly does the other $427 come into play?

And $700 for a valve adjustment...really?

That lift and all my Snap-On tools aren't so expensive anymore. Are you any good at this? If so, at least change the spark plugs yourself.

 

My factory Honda service manual stated that as well.
The trouble is, I am not overly worried if they make a bit of noise. I am very worried if they are tight, so I check them and I did.