Hello,

Just curious who on here services their RDX at a Honda dealership? If so, how would you compare the Honda dealership to an Acura dealership? I am planning on having my maintenance service (minus warranty service) done at my local Honda dealer. The Honda dealer is 2 minutes from my house, and the Acura dealer is about 40 minutes. So, it's pretty obvious why I am going to use Honda, but I'm wondering if there is any benefit to making the driving and having Acura service the vehicle?

Also, I am assuming that the RDX's engine is the same engine that is in the Accord 2.0T, correct?

Thanks much, guys!

 

Yes, you can have it serviced at a Honda, you'll find slightly lower prices.
But in my case I receive excellent service at my local Acura, plus a loaner. My local Honda dealership, not so much

 

The price i would say about the same. You can go either. I went to Acura because free car wash after

 

Thanks all! What do you all pay for an oil change/tire rotation (A1) at your local Acura dealership? I know that I should know this, but the RDX does require full synthetic oil, correct? I really need to start reading that owners manual!

 

 

Thank you!

 

I tried using the local Honda dealer (10 minutes away) for a routine oil change (A 1) service instead of my Acura dealer (75 minutes away). I will never do that again. I wrote up a sheet detailing what had to be done and which oil and oil filter needed to be used, along with tire rotation instructions and tire pressures. The Honda dealer totally ignored the sheet I provided (it was taped to the steering wheel) by putting in non-synthetic oil (my Acura dealer uses synthetic) and the wrong oil filter and screwed up the tire pressure instructions. I noticed this when I got home. I went back to the dealer and had them drain the oil and put in the correct synthetic oil and put the correct oil filter on the car. They said I might receive a customer satisfaction survey by e-mail. I never did. They would not have liked what I would have said.

 

This is exactly my concern! I am not worried about the price difference, I'm more concerned about the quality of the work...ie. using the right oil, filter, etc.

I think I'll just stick with my Acura dealer even though its a further drive.

 

I take my RDX to the local Honda dealership for routine maintenance (like oil changes, winter tire swaps) since I live about 3 hrs outside the city, and nearest Acura dealership. Never had any issues there, but definitely prefer the service at Acura whenever I am in town when I need a service done - the VIP treatment, loaner cars, complementary washes, etc.

 

One thing is that Honda dealership will most definitely not carry AWD fluid for RDX, and their AWD fluid is not the same.,

 

Interesting... What is the difference? I'll stick with the Acura dealer for that service then. I'd think oil changes/tire rotations would be ok at Honda.

 

different fluids

DPSF is acura awd
Honda all wheel drive uses DUAL PUMP II fluid.

they are different, but how much different or if it will cause damage — we would not know. Not worth the risk to go with wrong fluid for awd.

 

I have both Honda and Acura dealer very close by (10 minutes or so). I would NEVER take my RDX to the local Honda dealer! (due to that particular dealer's service dept.). I pay no more, and sometimes LESS, at my Acura dealer and get much better service. But then again, my local Honda dealer is noted for robbing people, over charging, etc. I recall the price of say the rear differential fluid change being nearly twice as much at the Honda dealer compared to the Acura dealer. Oil changes are about the same price but the Acura dealer does much more and has the right parts in stock. (Note that the cabin filter and some other bits and pieces are, however, the same).

I like using the Acura dealer as my RDX is "in the system" and its easy to document its had the recommended factory services by a Acura dealer should there ever be an issue. (This comes up sometimes and using your branded dealer is always better).

 

0w-20 API. You can find synthetic blend if you look hard, but mostly its synthetic. There is no conventional 0w-20. And dont start me that most oils that are “synthetic” are not true synthetics. Its a separate discussion 😀

 

Amazing they managed to use the wrong filter. My 2020 RDX takes the same filter as my wife’s 2013 Accord, your Honda dealer should have lots of them in stock!

That being said, I am in the same boat regarding the distance for my Acura dealer vs the local Honda dealer (though Acura is 45 minutes away, not 75). I stopped in the Honda dealer for wiper blade inserts and they claimed to have no listings for Acura parts. Could be true or could be they are just incompetent or a-holes (not sure which). I ordered the blades on-line and they are listed as Honda parts.

Your experience is why I never take my vehicles to the dealer for routine maintenance work.

 

They are all Honda parts, but some parts like wiper blade insert part number might only fit Acura model, and none of the Hondas. Honda dealer will not carry parts that do not fit any of the Hondas. I am sure they can order them, they all order parts from same place.

For oil filter its standardized, they only have like 2 filters for all acura and Honda

 

Part numbers are off by 1 letter: 08200-9007A vs 08200-9007.

Something tells me that there's no difference and that the A is nothing more than a way to say "Acura" as the diffs for iVTM-4 and SH-AWD are fundamentally the same except SH-AWD has more aggressive tuning so the car is more neutral.

Not advising that anyone use the non-A version but I highly doubt there's any difference in the bottle.

 

Thanks all for your responses. I will just use my Honda dealer for things like flat tire repairs. I will use Acura for all other services.

 

Discount Tire, also known as America's Tires in some parts, will repair tires for free...they will also rotate for free. The tires do not have to be bought there.

 

depends on the chain, would not take my car to my local discount tire chain even if its free

 

Just to be clear, the name of the tire store is "Discount Tire" and in some parts of the country they are called "America's Tire"

Discount Tire Store

I have been to many of these stores in different parts of the country, and have always had EXCELLENT service, in fact they rank in the top five of my most respected retail companies. If you are referring to any tire store that is known for selling tires at a discount, this is not the company I am referring to.

 

yes, we are talking about Discount Tire store chain. The one near me was horrible, on my old car they forgot to tighten bolt on my car and tire almost fell off.
For many years now I go to small privately owned tire shop.

 

I've always had good luck taking our vehicles to Firestone service centers. As mentioned above though, it really is dependent upon how decent the techs are at your particular location. Heck knows I've had some moments when we move trying to find a good one in the new city, only to strike a particular store off my list. Bit off-topic, but semi-related story....

My mom took her '85 Mazda GLC to a local Firestone back in the day for all it's needs. She had that car, (her first new car on her own after becoming a single mom with two kids), for 14 years. The last 4+ years, it needed a valve job, but she couldn't afford it. The techs at her Firestone were on a first-name basis with her, and taught me as a teen how easy it was to change out the #4 sparkplug when it would start to get fouled up to avoid them having to do it, and so that little 69HP engine would keep chugging along until she could afford the repairs, (or in her case, sell it 4 years later with 160k on it). Not likely to find techs/a chain wiling to do stuff like that these days, sadly.

 

I'm not a fan of my local Acura dealership service center. So always take all my cars to the the local Honda Dealership. The only exception is TSB and warranty issues. Then I need to go to the Acura dealership;.

 

Honda Dealer five mile from home provided great service to my Accord. Acura Dealer 45 miles from home also provides great service for my RDX. Both Dealers always made me feel good about paying for their services. Always listened to my concerns.

The Honda dealer was a high volume with hundreds of vehicles in inventory. Acura Dealer (typical) smaller with less inventory on the lot. Sometimes it is luck of the draw when using a dealer along with how you are treated by the sales staff. What happens in the showroom is typical of what is going on in the shop.

 

I second JB on this. My car may as well be my child, so I watch anyone doing work on them like a hawk. Every time I've been to a Discount Tire, the hub is cleaned with a wire brush before the wheels are re-mounted, the balancing is done right, the lug nuts are torqued properly with a wrench to the correct setting instead of hitting it with a torque stick and running with it like most shops. Generally, they seem to care about what they are doing and have a sense of pride, which is hard to find now days.