I do my own servicing on my 2006 Acura RL...how do I turn off the service reminders?

 

See page 352 of the 06 Owners Manual. Should be similar in other years. It is about operation of the Maintenance Minder.

 

I am not sure my Maintenance Minder is working. I have a 2005 RL with 20,000 miles on it. I have NEVER seen the Maintenance Minder letters or any other indication that I should have a maintenance done. Acura tells me to let the car "tell" me when I need something , but am worried that it may not be telling me something after this many miles. Should I have seen a Maintenance Minder notice by now? Of course, the dealer tells me I need all sorts of "scheduled maintenance" and when you call Acura they tell you that there is no "scheduled maintenance" schedule and that the car will tell me when.

Albeit, I have had the oil changed several times and tires rotated as I have had it in for recalls, etc and the oil would be at 30-40% so I would have them change oil and rotate and balance my tires.

Any suggestions and has anybody else seen reminders by 20,000 miles??

 

You should definitely be getting reminders every 5000 miles, which is when you should be changing your oil. The manual definitely has a section that informs you as to what maintainance you should be doing and at which intervals you should be doing them.

 

If you've had it in for oil changes several times the service techs are resetting the maintenance intervals, and you're never getting to the point where the minder pops up in the MID. The car doesn't have a set interval for oil changes - it can vary based on driving habits and weather conditions where you live. You should read the owners manual for all of the information related to the maintenance minders and the messages that pop up in the MID. Since you've have 20k miles on the car have you had a differential fluid change yet?

 

I am not sure that is true. The manual actually seems to indicate that the onboard computer determines the maintenance schedule for oil, and the implication is that there is some mileage algorithm for other items based on the chart Maintenance Minder Sub Item chart which cautions certain replacements be done at specific intervals when the car is used under harsh conditions such as towing or continuous mountainous driving. These tend to be 7500 miles for the rear diff, 15,000 miles for filters and 60,000 for timing belt, tranny and transfer case (pp 348-359 of 2006 Manual)

"One of the most convenient and important features of the multi information display on your vehicle is the maintenance minder.

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

The system also displays the code for other scheduled maintenance items needing service."