I do all of my own maintenance on my vehicles except some items on the Lexus. I called the dealer for the first service around 8k miles. They were a month out for service and also recommended the rear diff service since i had to pay them for it. I usually change it in my sequoia at 30k miles, a drop and swap.
I did search here and didn't find a maintenance schedule that spelled out mileage for normal driving. I go by mileage and not what the computer says. Is there a schedule out there that Honda/Acura recommends?
I usually do:
oil 5k
brake fluid 2 years, the book does say 3 years. This is the only thing they really mention
trans fluid 30k
diffs/transfer cases 30k
coolant, not sure but the dealer will do this.
air filters as needed

 

What does your maintenance minder say? My RDX is at 9400 miles and is saying I need to do oil and differential fluid. The vehicle had one previous service at 1800 miles when they put it up for sale as a CPO.

 

You say you go by mileage and not what the computer says, but the computer primarily pops up specific service reminders based on mileage, with adjustments made for driving styles and time (for people who don't drive a ton of miles). Unless you meant that you just go by your own mileage numbers, in which case why you you care what the manufacturer recommends? I mean, Honda/Acura will recommend that you follow your car's maintenance minder system, with a few specific call-outs in the manual depending on what car/model year you have.

On my 2010, I followed the maintenance minder for all services except coolant and brake fluid, since those are more impacted by time than miles driven (those were first change at 5 years and every 3 thereafter). It served me quite well and I intend to do the same with my 2022 model.

 

The maintenance minder adjusts the interval for oil based on driving conditions, but all the other services are by mileage only.

If you're like me and believe the maintenance minder is only designed to get the car thru the warranty period (and no longer), it's worth designing your own maintenance schedule with more frequent fluid changes.

It's also a good idea to do early and often fluid changes with a new vehicle. Most engine wear takes place during the break-in period. If I were buying a new car today, I'd do 2-3 oil changes within the first 10k miles along with replacing all the other lubricating fluids (ATF, xfer case, rear diff) once.

 

I recommend changing oil every 3-4k miles, 5k tops.

 

I guess my 2010 has a 215k (and counting) warranty, as the maintenance minder got me there with ease (along with my 18 year old Fit),

Honda doesn't design maintenance schedules to only get you through the warranty period. If people followed that, and cars started having major issues at 60k miles all the time, they would quickly earn a reputation for being junk and people would shop elsewhere. They get repeat buyers (such as myself) for building decent cars that tend to be cheap to maintain and last a long time. If changing your oil twice as often as necessary gives you the peace of mind you need, then by all means go for it - it's not going to hurt anything.

 

you comparing naturally aspired port injected engine to 2.0t turbo GDI? Take a look at some oil analysis threads and fuel dilution. Can’t just blindly trust Honda for everything, they have ups and downs.

 

Those were different times. Honda over-built the K-series engines which is why they were legendary for reliability. Look up that video of the guy running a CRV without oil trying to get the engine to seize up.

Plenty of posts on the Civic forums about L15 head gasket failures on cars with <100k miles. That's a catastrophic engine failure for such low mileage and was pretty much unheard of with the K-series.

And if a lot of people trade in their car before 60k, why should Honda design cars to last longer? We're not doing them any favors by keeping our 200K+ mile RDXs on the road.

 

I have always been trained to change fluids by mileage and sometimes time and i might as well just continue that.

 

I am aware of the oil dilution issues, and the most common causes of them. It's also not exclusive to Honda. My driving style and climate make it very unlikely that I will experience it, but it is something I keep an eye out for when doing my regular fluid checks. Like I said, I also followed the same schedule on my first gen RDX, along with every car I've ever owned (including other 2.0 direct-injected turbos). Do what works for you if you want, but this has worked for me.

 

For what it's worth, the 2.0l turbo in the RDX (and hundreds of thousands of various Hondas made in the last decade) is still part of the K series engine family (K20C4, to be specific). And we *are* doing them favors by keeping the cars on the road. Automakers love to brag about how long their cars last and it is a key selling point. Having old Hondas on the road is free marketing for them. You are welcome to believe they manufacture cars to last 5 years and not a moment longer, but that is just not a way to sustain a profitable business - especially one as competitive as the automobile industry.

 

I had first gen RDX, its not GDI, and MID had much shorter oil change intervals (5k average), and also fuel did not go to oil as much. I use oil analysis to see what works for me.
the MID on 3rd gen averages to 7-8k miles, and its too long turbo

 

20 years ago, when Acura printed schedules, differential was 15k, then 30k miles total, then every 30k after that. For severe service (towing, mountain roads) it was half that.

The Acura/Honda MM seems to bring maintenance items forward to line up with the next expected oil change. This minimizes trips to the dealer while increasing costs (by doing some items earlier than required). As far as I know, the other codes only show up along with an oil change code. The MM will assume that you are going to go maybe 9k miles between oil changes (which I don't, and you go 5k). So if you are at 8k miles and predicted to change your oil at 9k miles total, it might predict that your following oil change will be at ~18k miles, which is too late for your first differential change. I ended up doing mine at 11.2k miles, just to keep the MM happy. The second I did 19k miles later, and I will probably continue ~20k interval. Rear diff is about the same work as an oil change, and parts cost is a bit less.

I'm doing transmission and transfer case at ~30k intervals, may change coolant at 50k or 60k.

The maintenance plan the dealer offered when my wife purchase the car would have provided oil/filter changes every 5k, and differential every 15k miles.

 

Thanks. I can see how they want to keep things easy for a customer. I guess i might do the first diff at 15k and then every 30k.