Hi Team,

Havent posted on the forum in years, but actively browse. Our most recent Acura is a 2019 MDX tech AWD. With dealers being slow I took it in for the second service. Car has 11k miles on it.

The service advisors tells me.... Again car was bought New January 2019 and currently at 11,000 miles.

The advisors tells me I need to get....
Oil Change (valid)
Tire Rotation (valid)
Wipers replaced (valid and I did this month ago. Informed him)

then it gets interesting...

Replace Air Filter.
Replace Cabin Air Filter.
Replace Diff Fluid in the rear. Then he recommends this every 12k miles

How are the top 3 even possible at 11k? Close to 20 years of Acura ownership and 10 or so Acuras....First time I heard this...

 

Filters are cheap and easy DIY jobs. Yes, rear diff fluid change is recomendation. Mine was done at last service at about 15,000 miles,,which I believe is the recomended interval. Your owners manual will tell you when things are suppose to be done.

 

My older 08 RDX and 11 MDX with sh-awd stayed with no less than the 30,000 miles for AT, transfer case, and rear diff interval on the M.I.D. for me. My experience might not be 100% accurate since I purchased my 08 RDX and 11 MDX used with +30,000 miles on them. I put 15,000 to 22,000 hwy miles per year and that might extend the M.I.D. service out to the +30,000 miles mark for me since purchase.

I don't use the M.I.D. service interval for the cabin and engine filters. I replace the cabin filter every spring because of tons of sand/dust/pollen. I would clean my K/N engine filters for my 08 RDX and 11 MDX every year when I put in new cabin filters. I'm still using OEM engine filter for my 18 RLX with 10k and 19 MDX with 13k (no plans to switch out to K/N).

I did purchase my 19 MDX hybrid new in March/19 and my RLX used with 7200 miles in Dec/19. I have to wait and see if the rear diff code pops up when the next oil changes are due.

 

cabin filter depends on how dusty the environment is, but changing annually or every 10-15K miles isn't unreasonable IMHO. That's how often I change the ones in my other vehicles. FWIW aftermarket HEPA filtes are avaiable for the MDX and many cars.

Air fiter? well depends on how dusty the environment is. It used to be 10K was a long time on an air filter. Today 30K or so isn't uncommon. On my diesel truck there is a filter monitor, basically measures the pressure drop across the filter. It often take 30K+ miles before it starts to show a measureable restriction. Factory recomended change interval is over 30K miles. Air filter on the MDX? I plan on changing mine every 15-20K miles since there is no restriction gauge.

Diff fluid? Acura seems to be an outlier in that the recomend fluid changes quite often compared to other brands. Not sure why, may be due to the way the rear diff acts with the torque vectoring. By comparison my diesel truck with an automatically locking rear diff has a recomended fluid change at 1500 miles, after break in of the ring and pinion, then every 100K under severe service. My other cars rear diff fluid is 100K. On my sports hybrid severe service fluid change in the rear drive unit is 15K, Now that isn't a true rear diff, just acts like one and the fluid is ATF. Look in the manual and see what it lists for severe service change interval. I'd go by that as a benchmark guideline.

 

I am curious why you took the car for service again at 11K miles when the first service is supposed to be at 10K miles.

 

depending on drving habits, the service indicator for oil change could come on at 6-7K miles or so..... or 1 year. So it could be close to due for 2nd service. I don't think My 2019 service manual has any mileage listed for regular service other than checking th valves at 100Kish. In fact the spark plugs are listed at 100K +/- miles for service, It just says to watch for the Maint indicator to come up or to watch oil life for service time. In the fine print for severe service it does give a mileage for changing the transmission and rear TMU fluid. And things like brake fluid are X years.

 

again because service light was at 30%.

yours comes on every 10k miles??

 

mine doesn'tcome on at 10K intervals,. It comes on depending on driving habits. And it always comes on before 10K miles for the oil change.

 

I do diff fluid every 45-50k, some people prefer to do it every 30k like the manual states. Im currently at 40k with the original diff. My Lexus IS diff fluid was still at a decent color when i changed it @ 50k

 

Having had a couple pilots and a few MDX's over the years - the initial 15k change of the rear diff is key since it then allows you a longer interval after that. I've never fully understood why the first change should be at 15k, but I've just chalked it up to the fact that Honda has a reason, so I just do it. I don't buy intervals of 10k after that - more like 30k.

In terms of the filters - the normal engine air filter is likely fine. The cabin filter will be amazingly dirty - but it's one of those DIY things I'd never pay the dealer to replace...

 

It is truly amazing how dirty the cabin air filters on vehicles get in a year or less, even in climates that aren't very dusty. Shows how much dust they keep out of the car. It's one thing I don't use OEM on, Bosh makes HEPA filter replacements for most vehicles so I use them. On my MB they also have a seperate carbon filter you can select. Works amazingly well when you go by a dead skunk, paper plant etc. I wish other vehicles would have that as well. And on the MDX, the cabin air filter is so easy to replace no reason to pay the dealer to do it.

 

Never knew there was a HEPA filter available? I've always used FRAM with fresh breeze with baking soda combined with charcoal for years. I added the Bosh brand to my Amazon cart to give them a try. I wish there was a carbon cabin filter I could add on top of the HEPA for odors.

Acura is missing out on a good opportunity if they provided HEPA cabin air filters with charcoal and add UV-C light sanitation. Recently added a Germ Guardian air purifier tower (CDAP5500BCA) to our bedroom and that has provide a lot of relief for the wife with spring time allergies.

 

My wife has moderately dry eyes, combined with both of use having spring /summer allergies. I switched to the Bosh HEPA filters in my truck and our mercedes and now the new MDX. The HEPA seems to help her more than the factory filters. Hopefully the same with the BOSH HEPA in the MDX. The best system is the mercedes with a seperate charcoal filter along with the HEPA filters. There are some charcoal impregnated filters for other cars, but not much charcoal and I've found they help some, but not a lot when you get near objectionable odors. And you give up the HEPA feature. For us not a good tradeoff. The Mercedes Charcoal filters are about an inch thick filled with activated charcoal. They WORK and last several years for us.