I have a 2009 acura tl sh with 45000 miles.
i have an extended warranty for 5 years and 120k miles.

My question is regarding the routine and dealer recomended maintance in order to keep vehicle up to date.

As far as routine maintance which includes tranny oil change, diff tranny oil, engine coolant etc. should i wait for computer reminder to pop up in my car, or is there any specific mileage everything should be performed.. i do not have a acura book to fall back on

thanks

 

The dealership should provide you with a schedule of maintenance required. In order to avoid any potential debates about whether you have been religious enough about maintenance, you should ask them for this in writing. You should also get an owner's manual for your vehicle if you do not have one.

 

follow your MID. if you have registered with myacura, you can access the owner's manual for your vehicle through there.

the dealer will always recommend stuff (upsell). YOU need to know the maintenenace schedule of your car based on what the manufacturer has recommended (owner's manual). if you go to the dealer for maintenance, then that relationship you build with them can be beneficial should things with the car crop up. if you DIY or go to an indy mechanic, you will save some money. it's a matter of your comfort level as to who is tinkering under your hood.

you can certainly change out things early if you want, but it's kind of a waste IMO (unless you DIY and then log everything into the maintenance record (ie spreadsheet)).

 

the onboard computer will tell you when to change things via service reminders.

it takes in account of engine revs, start up's and other factors, so it kinda knows when the service's are needed.

you def. can change things out early if you wanted to.

 

MiD runs a little early for me. Although I'm a procrastinator. I do all the work myself as I'm finding that the wife will agree to anything they tell her needs to be done at the stealership.

You can take your car anywhere for work, or do it yourself. IF you decide to go to the dealer steer clear of the misc BS stuff they tell you to do...such as Air Induction Service, Cabin Filtration Cleaning, Fuel System Clean, etc. Just do the work that the owners manual says should be done. Ie; Tire rotation, Brake line flush, Oil & filter change, etc.

If I remember, I will try to scan the back pages from my 2009 book tomorrow morning so you'll know what is required when the code comes up.

 

Good advice. Like putting Nitrogen in your tires. LOL. A total scam.

 

My 2010 TL SHAWD 6MT is almost 4 years old, and in that time, I have only gotten only one reminder from the MID display. That was for service for the rear diff. 2 years ago. Every year, I do an oil change because the manual says to if the MID doesn't say so first. I than reset my MID. What I don't understand is how my changing the engine oil every year also takes care of coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, & tire rotations. But who am I to question a giant car company with thousands of engineers and super smart executives. So I "always just follow the MID" and do things when it tells me to. Well, I will whenever it finally does remind me. I have been told there is no printed schedule to follow. This MID system makes me feel super smart too because it let's me know I am not "foolishly" servicing my car any sooner than it tells me to. What a great car, in almost 4 years, it has only needed 3 oil changes and the diff. fluid changed.

 

^^you must not drive alot. when you reset the MID the next code flashes to the upcoming service. this should tell you as to what will be needed if and when you reach the 15% oil life. did you happen to track these? brake fluid will not be indicated by the MID. it's every 3 yrs.

you're basically on the MID or 1 yr oil change schedule with the latter being your norm.

 

I usually chabge oil when it gets down to 30%
recetly did brake fluid flush and at 30 000 miles did tranny oil service.

I haveent gotten any maintance reminders other then maintance a for oil change basically...

on Acura website all that the maintance lists maintance a b and minder 1,2,3,4,5


at 45000 is there any maintance should i be doing soon? or just wait for MID to pop up

 

Enjoy the car!

 

Yes, I don't drive my Acura as much as I drive my other cars. They are more fun to drive so my weekends are usually spent in them.
Most people probably put miles on their Acura than I do, but.......

How can Acura expect every single TL owner to follow the MID without fail. Apparently they do, which is why they won't make available a printed maintance schedule.

What are owners who store their cars for long periods to do? Nothing but wait for the MID?
What about owners who don't live close to a Acura dealer so they put some the service off until later?
What if owners have very busy schedules and just can't make time to take their car 100 miles or more to the nearest Acura for service the moment the MID code pops up?
What if a owners wants to get service done when it is convienent for his/her schedule (and not Acura's) even if it is early per the MID, but simply wants to know what services are going to be needed?


I think that concidering Acura has written 60 pages in the owner's manual on how to buckle in a child seat, and a complete section on how to turn the radio on, and a another complete section on how to make that confounded navigation system "work" properly, in a manual of almost 600 pages, why couldn't they have printed just one more silly page to give us the basic maintance schedule?

 

^^take the car to an indy mechanic,, take it to honda dealer, DIY, or go to jiffy lube if you wish.

not everyone follows their MID. and there are some that have developed their own schedule based on their prior experiences with other cars.

there is a way to find out the next scheduled service in the MID.

i think acura/honda and every other maunfacturer that has a MID like system...is trying to take the guess work out of maintenance items for the masses. for those that frequent on here are a little more particular when it comes to maintenance.

 

I finished my once a year oil change yesterday. I learned something that some of you might find useful.

With the front tires up on some 4" tall blocks to get just enough room to get to the oil drain plug, I let it drain for 11 hours. It was still dripping once every minute. I then raised rear up 4 inches to make the car level. The dripping stopped. 4 hours later, not one more drip. Next, I lowered the rear tires back on the ground and then jacked the front tires up even further 6 more inches. The dripping started again, and 12 hours later I had about 3 ounces of more oil in what was a spotless oil drain pan.
Knowing this, I will from now on drain it with the front end high from the get-go.

 

Based on your question I'm assuming you got it used... if you got it new then you've been doing what the MID asks for all along and you should just keep doing so.

Assuming you got it used, the first question is whether or not you believe the prior owner did the required service. The dealer should be able to tell you whether it was done with them (and therefore in the computer) or not. If it has been done as needed, then sticking with the MID is all you need to do. Most of us seem to have the dealer do service just so it's in the computer and there is no debate whether or not we have kept the car up properly when there is a warranty concern. The MID will show if there are ignored maintenance items every time you start the car; if you've not seen that then either they have been correctly done or someone has been resetting the MID rather than doing the work.

If the dealer doesn't show any service done, then I would think about doing (or having someone do) the important things right away since you can't prove they were done. Oil you can look at and see if it's been kept up. The rear diff fluid gets changed early and often in the car's life (around every 15,000 miles for most of us) and if it's not been done it needs it. Transmission is easy enough to do at the same time, they are both messy jobs and you'll be under the car anyway, and it generally hits around 30,000 miles. Engine coolant is an infrequent thing in most cars anymore, you're probably only halfway to needing it. Check the air filter and the cabin air filter, those are cheap and easy to do yourself and if they are at all questionable just replace them.

At the mileage you are at, the car will have asked for oil and tire rotate several times, the rear diff fluid for sure, probably the transmission, air filters, and the usual "look at all the fluids and top them off".

Once you're satisfied that maintenance was done properly and/or that you've caught up on things that may not have been done, you can just go by the MID for future maintenance.

This is an ugly cut & paste from my 2012 book on what the codes mean, it also shows the intervals for some of the items that are on a "when it says or every x miles" schedule.

Maintenance Main Items
A
Replace engine oil*1
B
Replace engine oil*1 and oil filter
Inspect front and rear brakes
Check parking brake adjustment
Inspect these items:
Tie rod ends, steering gear box, and boots Suspension components
Driveshaft boots
Brake hoses and line (including ABS/VSA)
All fluid levels and condition of fluids
Exhaust system#
Fuel lines and connections#

Symbol
Maintenance Sub Items
1
Rotate tires
2
Replace air cleaner element
If you drive in dusty conditions, replace every 15,000 miles (24,000 km).
Replace dust and pollen filter
If you drive primarily in urban areas that have high concentrations of soot in the air from industry and from diesel-powered vehicles, replace every 15,000 miles (24,000 km).
Inspect drive belt
3
Replace transmission fluid
Replace transmission and transfer fluid*2
4
Replace spark plugs
Replace timing belt and inspect water pump
If you drive regularly in very high temperatures (over 110°F, 43°C), or in very low temperatures (under -20°F, -29°C), replace every 60,000 miles (U.S.)/ 100,000 km (Canada).
Inspect valve clearance
5
Replace engine coolant
6
Replace rear differential fluid*2
Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds results in higher level of mechanical (shear) stress to fluid. This requires differential fluid changes more frequently than recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you regularly drive your vehicle under these conditions, have the differential fluid changed at 7,500 miles (12,000 km), then every 15,000 miles (24,000 km).

*1 : If the message ‘‘SERVICE DUE NOW’’ does not appear more than 12 months after the display is reset, change the engine oil every year.
#: Seeinformationonmaintenanceandemissionswarrantyonp age538.
NOTE: Independent of the Maintenance Minder information, replace the brake fluid every 3 years.
Inspect idle speed every 160,000 miles (256,000 km).
Adjust the valves during services A, B, 1, 2, or 3 if they are noisy.

540
*2 : SH-AWD only

 

See, I forgot...thanks Sluzynsk.

 

Canadian dealers have a nice printed brochure with required maintenance schedule. If anyone is interested I can pass along the hilites. Cars are the same, climate may be a bit more extreme than most of the U.S. but we don't have the hot weather challenge of the south or California. We do have a lot of ice and salted roads.

 

When the oil life gets to 15% it will show a code for what maintenance needs to be done.

 

Prior to getting down to "15%" display, no codes are given for the next service. I have never seen my oil life get below 60%, but I reset the MID at every yearly oil change, just as the manual tells us not to forget to do whenever doing an oil change.

 

That has to be the longest time to change oil EVER lol

 

Not really. I usually unscrew the drain plug and let oil drain overnight. And then do the fill the next day. This particular drain required me to wait long enough for each of the 3 positions to completely drain in order to figure out which position was best for draining the most oil.
But when I change the oil in my Porsches, I let those sit sometimes for a few days to drain before I have time to back and finish them.

 

What's the purpose of the EXCESSIVE time and draining of the oil? Because, if you're doing to drain all the "dirty" oil, you do know that you will ALWAYS have "contaminated" oil, right? there are crevices and areas in the head and block that will house that dirty oil. Only way to get it out is to rotate the engine upside down...in both an Acura and a Porsche...ALL engines that require oil as a lubricant.

 

I drive the Acura once every other week, and the Porsches only on weekends so there is never any reason for me to be in a hurry to finish the oil changes as quickly as possible. So I can let them sit for a day or two with the drain plug out and not create a lack of transportation problem. My only purpose to do the long, drawn out 3 position test was to find which one allows the most oil to drain. So now from this time forward, I now know which position to use to drain the most amount of oil. Before this, I thought the car had to level (per the owner's manual instructions) on a lift to be most effective at draining the oil. Now I know better. And yes, I also know that there will always be some oil held up inside the block that will never drain out, unless I turn the block upside down, but if I am going to let the car sit overnight to drain while I do other more important things, it might as well be in the position to drain as much as possible, until I can get back to finish the job. I think of it as letting time work for me, and not against me.

 

Jim C - could you pass along highlites from the Canadian brochure?

Thanks

 

Okay, well, thank you for elaborating...I see the rhyme to your reason now.

 

I'll get back with some info shortly.

 

The details are printed in a handy chart they hand out here, but it is all basically a repeat of what's in the manual, p 506. It is almost word for word what was posted above in #14 by sluzynsk. The chart does give an indication of when to expect the various services:
Sub Item 1 - rotate tires - every 8 to 19,000 km
(not sure why they care; maybe this is info for helpless owners who might never actually look at their tires)
Sub Item 2 - Replace air cleaner etc. - Expect every 40 - 49,000 km.
Sub Item 3 - Replace ATF - Fluid monitor will determine....anywhere from 30,000 km to 120,000 (seems pretty vague!)
Sub Item 4 - Replace spark plugs, etc. - Every 160 to 169,000 km !
Sub Item 5 - Replace coolant - Expect first 175,000 km then every 80,000 km.
Sub Item 6 - Differential fluid - Expect first 15,000 to 24,000 km then every 50,000 km.

Same notes repeated here about changing oil at least once per year and brake fluid every 3 years.

I am just passing along the info for interest. (We are metric but one km = 0.621 miles, so 8,000 km = 5,000 mi approx.)
Not saying I would follow this closely myself; I am pretty conscientious about maintenance and I don't put on a lot of miles (or kilometers) so I would do most things more often than Acura calls for. E.g. I am fussy about brake servicing and do that at least once a year no matter the mileage.