SilverJ

My car is eligible for this and I am coming up on probably needing an oil change and tire rotation. Do they try to tack on a bunch of other stuff to go with their "free" ?
If so I would probably elect to just take it to my local mechanic who will do oil change for 20 bucks (if I supply the oil) and rotation for 15.
My dealer is 45 minutes away so its kind of a pain to go there during the day.

Texasrdx21

Why don't you call your dealer to find out? You don't have to elect to get other services while you are there - not sure what the "free maintenance" covers.

MJ4RDX

I got an AcuraCare Vehicle Service Contract mailed to me about a month after I bought my car. It is based on MM schedule and covers: Oil & filter, air intake, cabin air filter, tire rotation, Automatic Transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, brake fluid and differential fluid changes for 4 years or 60,000 miles.
Hope that helps.

Madrvr

"Free maintenance" is just oil changes and tire rotations. You pay for everything else.

MJ4RDX

So I assume there is a big difference between "free maintenance" and the AcuraCare Vehicle Service Contract I got with my car because it covers more than just oil changes?
Perhaps this free maintenance is just something an individual dealer offered and the AcuraCare VSC is brand wide coverage?

russianDude

The only free cheese is in the mousetrap.

Midwestuser1

This looks to be a strategy many car makers are using (free maintenance for a certain timeframe) to get more traffic into their service departments for UPSELLING/ADDITIONAL services.

ESHBG

That's a big part of it and they can scare some of the unknowledgeable people into other crap.

supafamous

I don't think it makes a difference to the car maker as these dealers don't belong to the auto maker. I suspect it's because it's a high margin add-on that has high perceived value - the buyer sees as much a $1k of free services include but the car maker pays the dealer significantly less to do that work.

anoop

I recently had my first "free" service and even though replacement of rear differential fluid is part of the recommended maintenance by Acura, it wasn't covered, and I had to pay ~$140 out of pocket. The oil service and tire rotation used to cost around ~$80 when I had to pay for it with my old 2019 RDX, which is probably around $100 now with inflation.

MJ4RDX

Do you have an AcuraCare Vehicle Service Contract? This would have been mailed to you by Acura after the purchase.

MJ4RDX

Did you receive an Acura Care contract? You should have received this in the mail after purchase from Acura (not your dealer):

anoop

No, I don’t have one.

SilverJ

I think Acuracare is different than the 2 year free maintenance included with the 2023+ RDX's

anoop

Yes I know, and that’s why I know I don’t have it.

MJ4RDX

That is why I was confused about the complaints on forum about free maintenance because I got 4 years Acura Care maintenance included with my purchase. My dealer here in MA explained it is part of an agreement Honda reached with the state AG over our Right to Repair law so that Honda/Acura does not have to share "proprietary" info about the vehicles with independent repair shops.