worst winter (or best in terms of reliving drought) in many years in Calif. Tons of rain in the Bay area and many pot holes.
Wife blew her tire 2 weeks ago and I blew mine yesterday.
Happened around 4:20pm. Called Acura roadside assistance. They would setup tow and text ETA. However, they would only tow to Acura Dealer. I wanted to go to tire show close to my house. 15 minutes later I get text saying that tow ETA was 2.5 hours. wtf. Call tow company and they said too many people ahead of me. Call back Acura assistance. On hold, but finally answer. They said that was only tow they could arrange. So I call my insurance co. By this time, its after 5 due to calling back and hold times I have towing on Policy. They line up tow slightly sooner, but at least they will tow to anywhere I want. Tow arrives at 7pm

Not a good experience with Acura Care

 

insurance tow would always be better

 

Bad experience . . . . . . great info/write-up on Acrua Care towing. . . . . . hope you are all square at this point!

 

fortunately I have 47K miles on the tires, so they are at end of life anyway, but now I am replacing all 4
not sure that means I'm "all square" or not. I'm certainly lighter in the wallet

 

AAA> Acura Roadside

 

Time to get a spare tire?

 

one time in 47K miles?
would have to also buy jack

 

I know they delete the spare tire for weight and cost savings, but I really think a spare is necessary. It is faster for any auto service to show up and mount the spare than get a tow. And if pressed you could change to the spare yourself.

getakey, what tires are you considering as replacements? Are you considering a size change for a slightly taller sidewall, which may offer better cushion and even smoother ride than the OEMs?

 

i got a cheap replacement because I think I'm ditching this car next year or sooner
Some Firestone brand (yuck), but $120+ cheaper per tire. Will get the model and report.

 

The kit is worth the money. I've had to wait two hours for a tow before. I know how to change to a spare. Takes 15 minutes and is super-easy. I even keep a pair of gloves with the spare kit so I don't have to get my hands dirty.

 

changed many in my life - easier than brain surgery
that said, I was in a super muddy, super rainy, saturated section off the road
not sure it would have been easy

I was just trying not to get hit by a Semi going 70 mph 4 ft away

 

What is on your radar for a replacement? Another BMW?

 

that's what insurance is for

Glad you're safe tho.

 

Fair point. I'm always paranoid about it, even though I carry a flare and sign kit to make my plight visible. Wouldn't matter if some moron reading Facebook instead of paying attention leaves the roadway and hits me.

if I were somewhere without sufficient room or safety to make the change, I'd have to wait for a tow.

 

We are also thinking of moving out of Bay area. I doubt if another Sedan is in the future, so will probably look at SUVs

Right now, #1 on my Radar is the new Sport Hybrid MDX - but I want to see it first. I just don't want to get stuck with another slow infotainment system.

 

I know how to change a tire and my wife (older than me) has changed numerous. However, in rural Texas, I don't want either of us changing a tire, so I got the AAA with long term tow. Changing a tire on some of these Texas roads is terrifying.

 

I think the Sport Hybrid MDX will be announced in March, and will be called MDX Sport. Thats just info I got from the Acura dealer.....

 

Fixing a flat tire on a busy highway is one of those no-win scenarios...If you get out of your car and change the tire using a spare, you are risking your life for that perilous 15 minutes, BUT if you sit on the side of the highway for three hours waiting for a tow, you are risking being clipped by that stupid driver texting about what they had for breakfast for a whole lot longer. It is the Kobayshi Maru of highway driving.

I personally DO have a spare kit as a "just in case", "peace of mind" thing and also have a couple of very bright strobing red lights along with it in case I'm in the scenario described above and need to make sure the moron texting while he is driving knows I'm there.

 

I have my spare tire so I can call AAA and have them change the tire. Quicker and much less hassle than waiting to get towed to an Acura dealer and having to leave the car while they locate the replacement tire. I'd rather drive a few days on a donut spare than have a loaner and wait to get the tire replaced.

 

When I had to call AcuraCare for my recent blowout it took two 3.5 hrs for tow to arrive. I was 85 miles from dealer and tow had to come from 45 miles away. Not a great experience at all.

 

I had the same thing happen to me last year. I posted about it in the RLX tire forum: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rlx-...e-tire-941310/

The hour wait was annoying but is it worse than going thru my insurance, which also has road side assistance? I thought Acura Care or insurance just calls a local tower & they are the ones that ultimately determine how long it takes to get to you.

I never did buy that spare tire kit, guess I need to get around to that. Altho I too am patiently waiting for the MDX Sport Hybrid to come out to see if it is worth it; I will probably wait the extra 2 years to see what the next generation Acura vehicles are like.

 

Well the 2017 MDX Sport Hybrid just showed up on the Service Express website (where I have access to the service manual online), but no info when you pick it yet.
It should be officially announced any day now......

 

The Owners Manual for the MDX Sport Hybrid appeared now also, for those who are interested.....No mention of a HUD in the manual .
It does get a Sport+ mode thought!

 

1st, I still cannot believe that the MDX (or ZDX for that matter) does not have full LED tail lights.

Still very anxious to see if the hybrid does not have an all electric mode as C&D stated. Although that would explain the relatively low mileage compared to the RLX, it seems like an odd choice. Lack of all electric was 1 of the complaints about the IMA system & I would hate to see Honda/Acura regress.

 

The owners manual (at least the one that is available right now) does not talk about the hybrid system at all! It does not even show how the drive and torque splits between wheels, like the one for the RLX (the little red and green arrows at each wheel).
Very strange.......It might be that this manual is incomplete......

 

What's the curb weight? It only lists the gross vehicle weight (i.e. max weight including passengers and cargo). Just curious.

.....and I hope there is a HUD. I'd be disappointed without one. It's one of my favorite features of the RLX Sport Hybrid.

 

I wonder if all EV mode really helps that much. EVs improve mpg during start from stop and then can recharge battery with braking. However, if all EV mode drains battery a lot, then it will be recharged by ICE. If most of the recharge is done by ICE instead of braking, I doubt if that improves mpg

 

I believe it takes very little energy from the ICE to recharge the battery, thus the use of the ICE to recharge is the equivalent of idling and takes very little fuel. This very small use of fuel to recharge the battery is MUCH less than the fuel saved by operating and moving the vehicle in EV mode. Also, when you accelerate more aggressively or operate at speeds above which EV mode can be used, the ICE is on anyway and so MOST of the recharging of the battery is occurring when the ICE is already in use and the recharging is requiring very little additional energy from the ICE thus very little additional fuel.

My experience has been very clear that the more the car used EV mode, the better the fuel economy.

 

"I believe it takes very little energy from the ICE to recharge the battery"

Not true - every bit of energy used by EV (except for regen from braking) comes from ICE. There's no free lunch here. The only benefit you get is the advantage of high torque from EV at low speed acceleration. If there was no Regen, hybrids would not have much advantage over ICE at all.

 

Is this what you are looking for Bob?

 

I don't believe fuel use by the ICE is linear. A higher amount of fuel is used when the engine is most taxed during acceleration and the electric motors decrease this fuel use by helping out the ICE. The batteries for the electric motors are charged (in addition to regen braking) by the ICE during times of lower fuel use, thus the electrical energy is gained during low fuel use and its advantages are realized during high fuel use. In EV mode, the acceleration is saving 100% of the higher fuel use.

The proof is in the improved mileage the more EV mode is used. You are not creating energy by using the battery, but you are just using it more efficiently by decreasing the high fuel consumption times.

 

My understanding is that in addition to improving city mileage, EV mode smooths out the auto start/stop. Instead of waiting for the engine to restart when you release the break, you can immediately start moving on electricity while the engine starts back up.

I have yet to own a hybrid, mind you, so I cannot say for certain how true this is.

 

I disagree.
think about it - if you are running a constant speed and running only EV, you would have to have ICE generating same power used by EV to run the car. That would be virtually the same as if no EV and ICE running the car. In fact, there are losses in ICE running gen to charge battery.

 

This is true. By launching in EV mode it permits the SH to crank the ICE after the vehicle is in motion. This not only saves on mpgs by reducing the ICE from overcoming inertia but it allows the ICE to 'feather in' smoothly. This is one of the major differences from other Start / Stop systems where the ICE turnover can shudder the car. The only time you experience full sensation of the ICE turn over is when at a stop, and battery level is low, triggering the ICE to turn over an generate power. On a typical launch, say from a stoplight, the SH moves forward, then depending on how heavy your throttle input is, the ICE will kick in. Aside from a slight growl, and a slight kick - you would not experience the shudder of other Start / Stop systems.And if you stomp the pedal, everyone joins the party.

After driving my Bro-in-law's Lexus ES Hybrid I really appreciated how well finessed the Acura SH is. And I also had a surprise at a stop light, with my foot on the brake (no Brake Hold on his ES). When the ICE kicked in due to low battery, the car lurched forward. Apparently I did not have enough pressure on the brake pedal. Using Brake Hold on the SH prevents this from happening.

 

I can run my SH in full EV at 45-50mph - no ICE. I may use the ICE to get to that speed, but by slight backing off the throttle, ICE shuts down and I am cruising on full EV. Only when the battery level drops low enough does the ICE kick in - or when I mash the throttle. Now the distance I can travel on full EV with no ICE at that speed is less than 2 miles (with A/C, Stereo, etc.)

 

I understand that you can go on EV for a short distance. But, all the energy used to power you car whether EV or ICE (except for Brake Regen) comes from gas.
Hybrids save gas 3 ways:
ICE off at stop.
Brake Regen
Low speed acceleration

The primary gain is Brake Regen as many ICE only cars are now doing ICE off at stop. Now if you had a plugin capability that would be differeent

 

Hey Getakey, I reread your original post on the EV only issue and I must apologize as I misunderstood what you were saying. I initially interpreted your post as saying that EV only mode was not a factor in fuel savings but now realize that what you are saying is that a hybrid without EV only capability will have roughly the same mileage. It does make sense that a hybrid without EV only mode would simply be able to use the energy stored to assist the ICE more often which would still have a similar overall effect on mileage. In other words, only so much energy from regeneration braking or ICE generation is produced and so if that energy is used in EV mode or used to assist the ICE for a longer period with no EV mode, the net mileage will be similar.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

Still not sure we are on the same page. EV only mode in RLX is a factor during acceleration from stop - I agree with that mostly because of RLX ICE engine is a higher performance engine.

Prius does have EV only mode. If you took a Prius and removed the EV and Battery and implemented turn off ICE and stop, I think you would get very similar mpg to the Hybrid Prius except for the Regen factor. In fact, you would get better mileage on highway.

 

I am not smart enough to fully understand most of the above posts as to why the EV mode improves the gas mileage. All i know is that I have averaged over 29 mpg for the 28,000 miles I have on my 2014 with only about 10% of the mileage on highway cruising.

Frankly, I really don't care what contributes the most to the car getting the mileage it does. I am simply impressed with the engineering that went into the hybrid system which both provides relatively good gas mileage [for a 4,000 lbs, 4 door sedan] and excellent acceleration coupled with torque vectoring handling in a very smooth, quiet ride. That is something I understand and really appreciate.

 

^^^