TLNJ

So my TL has 4500 miles and my maint. light comes on. Which is expected as I figure I was going to need an oil change soon.

Called my dealer to schedule an appoint. and the cost of the scheduled maintenance is $100. Does that sound reasonable?

That's a lot for an oil change and essentially having them check out the car and tell me everything is ok since there's only 4500 miles on the car, no?!?! I'm sure more is involved, but what can possibly be wrong with my car after 4500 miles?

JetJock

All they do besides change the oil and give the car a lookover is rotate the tires. Save the $100 and just do the oil change. If you have the Bridgestone tires, they're not worth the money to rotate...junk them and get a set of Michelen Pilot Sport's, then all your tire rotations will be free from the tire dealer.

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

It is free ... check your owners manual! The first two services are freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! dont let them charge you like i did!

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

they rotate tires and fill fluids and wash and vacuum as well :-/

JetJock

Where does it say in the owners manual that service is free?

1995hoo

If you let them wash it. I asked them not to based on commentary from folks here.

Ron A

At 4,500 miles, you should only need an oil and filter change (make sure they change the filter), but not a tire rotation. Your MID should only read A, and not A1, which is the tire rotation also. When they do the oil change, they are supposed to check for other stuff, like fluid levels, leaks, etc, so just get the oil and filter change and save your money.

Is this something new for 2005? The 2004 US owner's manual doesn't say anything about free oil changes, but the Canadian manual does.

AA7483

i couldnt find it in the owners manual. I got the first one free and just recently paid for the second the other day.

jhunter9999

what link did you read the commentary?

1995hoo

I couldn't even begin to provide a link or two--just a whole bunch of threads over the past several months relating to ways to wash your car, etc., in which people have mentioned that the dealer is more of a "courtesy wash" without taking care to protect the paint properly (e.g., not necessarily using a clean towel to dry the car, etc.)

havokgroup

Thanks for the info Ron!

Ruiz04

I just got my first service done this week. The display said "A" (not A1) service due soon. I looked in the manual and "A" service is only an oil change, while A1 is oil change and tire rotation. "B" service is Oil, filter, top off fluids, and other minor inspections. I didn't pay much attention to whether or not they replaced my filter, figuring dealer will take care of it. The service was only $39 for an oil change, now I'm not so sure they changed my filter. Were they supposed to put one in? BTW, service was done at Napleton Acura in Elmhurst, IL. Thanks.

TLNJ

Ok, I'll have to double check, but I think my MID says A1 which means a tire rotation is needed also? How the heck does the car know if my tires need to be rotated?

Ron A

ruiz04: The A service says "replace oil", nothing about the filter, and the B says "replace engine oil and oil filter", which means Acura is recommending the filter be changed every second oil change, which is ridiculous. Most dealers know this and change the filter each time. The easiest way to reassure yourself is to ask the service manager, or check your copy of the repair order to see if the filter is listed in the parts column.

TLNJ:The MID uses mileage accumulated since the last MID reset to compute when to display the tire rotation recommendation. Since you only have 4,500 miles, and that is usually too soon to recommend tire rotation, you probably should not have seen the 1 displayed after the A on the MID.

Ruiz04

Service was done on Monday, and this thread made me question the filter issue. If Acura recommends every second oil change then it should still be ok, even if they didn't change the filter, right? Thanks Ron!

Ron A

This is one case where we all (meaning just about everyone in this forum and anyone else you ask) recommend not using Acura's recommendation, and definitely change the filter each time. Cheap price to pay for peace of mind and protection. Especially when you consider the longer intervals between oil changes.

Lore

https://acurazine.com/forums/forumdi...php?forumid=61
http://autopia.org/forums/showthread...threadid=47745

There you go - two links that talk about the problems with dealer courtesy washes.

vp911

Yeah, where did you read this?

dezzzmond

Not sure it says it in the manual. My salesperson told me that my first service was free, that's how I knew. I know my next one won't be.

go_blue

Regarding the "Free" first 2 oil changes, I believe I read it elsewhere too, but it's only for 04 Canadian TL owners. It was at the last few pages where it talks about TLC, "Total Luxury Care".

I changed the oil and filter at the dealer at 3K miles, before teh MID said anything.

I guess my next service will be at 7.5K. I asked my service advisor the other day, he told me it will be the A1, and cost $175 (Stevens Creek Acura in Santa Clara, CA).

I think it's way too much. But I'd think I need to have it done, for the warranty, right?

Lore

It is way too much. Just do it yourself or take it to a mechanic you trust. You do NOT have to go through the dealer for maintenance in order to keep the warranty intact. Just document, document, document, and save receipts!

rsc123az

$175?!? Wow, that's insane, even for CA. You said you changed the oil and filter at the dealer @3k, how much was that? The only thing the A1 adds is a tire rotation to that oil change. Your dealer may push a bunch of other stuff, that's how they make their money, but it's them, not Acura, recommending anything beyond what the manual says. I'd call some other dealers, or take it to a mechanic if you know any. Or do it yourself if you're so inclined. You do not need to have a dealer perform the maintenance for the warranty (it even says so in the manual), just make sure you keep all your receipts.

Lance

P.S. A good dealer/mechanic wouldn't have let you change the oil at 3k, they'd have recommended you wait for the MID to ensure the engine was properly broken in...