Hello,

How many of you park your RDX outside year-round in a colder climate? I have to start parking mine outside (Midwest). We have 2 snowmobiles that are occupying my parking spot now. With that being said, do most of you use the remote start on cold mornings? If so, what is the recommended time to let the vehicle idle? I keep reading that it warms up faster just getting in and driving, but I can’t imagine that is good for the engine on very cold mornings?

What do you all do?

 

Like you, I have too many toys in the garage for the RDX to live there. Remote start is my friend. If, like me you only go short distances, it might be a good idea to change the oil mid winter. There might be a lot of condensation going on resulting in water in oil. But I believe the biggest problem is the summer sun. All that black plastic at the bottom of the doors wants to fade, I use ceramic or graphene wax and it helps. Also the interior does not like sunrays, I keep shade closed on sunroof during summer.
Layman's answer of course.

 

You might consider an engine block heater. As a general rule, start engine, let idle for 30 seconds to a minute and then drive gently until fully warm. Stay off boost until warm. Remember the oil takes at least 10 minutes longer than the engine coolant to warm and thin. The relevance to us is that our engines are turbocharged. Even at moderate levels of boost, our turbos spin at 50,000 rpm. Full boost is over 100,000 rpm. The oil needs to be fully thin to properly protect that bearing. Most turbo failures at 150,000+ miles result from turbo bearing failure, the accumulation of years of cold starts, thick oil, heavy boost and inadequate lubrication. On the subject of oil, 99% of oil dilution occurs when the engine is cold and the ECU over injects fuels. Long “idling warm-ups” imply more oil dilution. If you choose the route of long warms-up, consider shorter OCIs. And SG103 is spot on about water condensation in the oil. If possible, drive the car for at least a half hour after the oil has fully warmed for that water and potentially any gasoline to evaporate.

 

I suppose I should make my way over to Acura for an oil change then. My MID is currently showing 15%. I've always waited until 5%, but I suppose since it's sitting outside now, an earlier oil change interval might not be a bad idea.

 

I park mine outside year round. Although I have my remote start timer set to 10 minutes, I usually try to limit it to less than 5 minutes.

 

When you say you have it "set to 10 minutes," is the ability to set the run time for remote start something that comes with a keyfob based remote start? I've never seen that feature on my acuralink remote start.

 

I believe it just automatically defaults to 10 minutes with no option to change that.

I wish there were options you could select when starting. My wife’s Subaru Starlink is pretty cool. You can adjust and set different presets for things like winter starts, summer, etc. it’s kind of cool how ayou can turn on things like the rear defrost, heated seat temps, etc..