ok, I purchased the car summer of 2008 at about 68,000 miles. it now has 82,300 miles on it, and the only maintenance i've done for it are regular oil changes, and replacing a pair of tires, although the other need replacing too.

I've finally saved up about 1500 to spend on maintenance, so I'm making a comprehensive list of stuff to do, and was hoping to get some other smart acura owners to take a look at it and give a few recommendations.

I've also already gone onto MyAcura and looked up what I needed, but wasn't sure if I should go by the "normal" or "severe" req. maintenance.

Replace engine oil and filter.
buy new brake rotors (suggestions for better/durable brake rotors? my car/steering wheel shakes pretty violently while braking at high speeds)
Inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box and boots.
Check parking brake adjustment.
Lubricate all hinges, locks and latches with multipurpose grease.
Inspect brake hoses and lines (including ABS).
replace spark plugs
drain/fill transmission fluid
replace cabin air filter/all filters in the car (i get a bad smell from the air vents sometimes)

am I missing anything?

also, which maintenance would be strongly preferred to be performed by an actual Acura mechanic?
I was planning of taking it to my local mechanic to save $$, but if anyone else knows of a reputable mechanic in the north dallas area, LET ME KNOW!!

Thank you to anyone who actually took the time to read this thread. I'm a terrible writer; just know that I spent 10x longer writing this than you spent reading it

 

82,500 isn't very high mileage.

Tires and brakes first.
Get some good rubber all the way around matching not different brands or tread patterns, that's bad for handling and gas mileage. Get full alignment at this time. $600 should get you decent name brand rubber and an alignment. I got Yoko V4S 225/55/16 oversized for the rims and a full alignment at a Town Fair Tire for $615.00
Brakes: get RB slotted front rotors and RB pads- $320.00, rear you can really go cheap if need be as they proivde 25% of the braking and don't tend to warp as easily and/or won't be as noticeable if they do- $150.00
Oil change
Tranny fluid drain and fill 3x = 9 quarts Honda Z1 ATF= $60-70
Air filter- get a K&N if you don't have a CAI= $35 on-line
spark plugs (after you seafoam the shit out of your car)= NGK Iridium IX plugs 6x $8 online= $48.00
Flush coolant, powersteering fluid and brake fluid= $50.00 or less for all three combined
Cabin air filters (2)= $25.00
Check front and side motor mounts for excess movement, at 82,500 I bet your mounts are shot both cost about $140.00 on acuraautomotiveparts.org
Have your serpentive and powersteering belts checked for cracks, glazing or frays. Any of these are bad and means replace them. Both belts costs about $60.00 combined.
You can do all this stuff yourself, but I'd have Acura do the belts as they are a PITA to get to IMO.

You take care of this and after your oil change run some BG44K fuel system cleaner and you'll fall in love with your car again as it'll run better than when you bought it.

 

^ info right there!

 

It was mentioned in the first reply but i want to emphasize again that you should not use anything other than the Honda/Acura ATF-Z1 transmission fluid when doing the change, anything else could cause havoc

 

thanks everyone for your replies! I wish I could give rep on these forums, especially sbuswell.

Will I have to purchase most of these supplies through my local Acura dealership?
just trans fluid?

also, my VSA light and (!) has been on for about 1000 miles, does that relate to any specific problem? or does it just come on after the maint. required light comes on after X number of miles?

 

spark plugs and cabin air filter can be acquired at any auto shop...make sure you get ngk iridium ix plugs. trans fluid does need to come from honda or acura. i don't think the vsa/! lights are related to the maintenance light.

 

mait req is nothing but the Oil Change reminder- you reset it with the 2 odometer buttons, and it comes on again in 6000 miles or so- getting more insistant until 7500 where, iirc, it stays on solid.
Its nothing but a warning to change oil soon- has no effect on other warnings
We are not Gen3 with automated mait reminders for each service

the VSA light can be many things- it gives that as a master warning
Go to the parts store and ask for a `code reading`- report back with codes and we can probably guide you to the fix

Overall your car isnt neglected for the miles, acura doesnt call for much but inspections and some fluid changes