EosPhotog

Hit 8300 miles and time for the first oil change. I took advantage of a special at the dealer and dropped off my car this morning. Got a call shortly after:

Service Agent: "Actually your car requires full synthetic"
Me: "You sure?"
SA: "Yup, this engine requires it, its going to be x$ more"
Me: "Um, thought we could go blend on this"
SA: "No, not on this car, you'll need to always use synthetic"
...
I then look it up - everything I see says you can use any oil that is 0W20 with the "starburst" certification. I call back
...
Me: "So, the manual says..."
SA: "Well, we look it up by VIN and this is what Acura says is required"

So - is this Acura automatically upselling? Is there something I don't know about the A-Spec V6? Needless to say I'm not very happy about paying more for something I don't need, and I'm perfectly content with a blend. I feel like I've been lied to (though maybe not intentionally by the service agent).

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

The Dealership is upselling.
you were correct with the starburst certification.

EosPhotog

Thanks - I was 99% sure of that. Is it normal behavior for a dealership to have in their service computer (by VIN) synthetic as the "required" option for an oil change?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I believe that was a lie. a rather convincing lie.
a 0w-20 is going to be pretty much a synthetic.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Go synthetic. Cost a couple bucks more for better oil. No brainer, but then again you aren't doing it yourself so it won't be a couple bucks more. Get your hands dirty!

CPR

Why would it be full synthetic,if the engine, is basically the same as the 2015-2017?
Sounds like a scam to me
Call another dealer service rep, & ask them

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^well, 0w-20 is a synthetic.

DohcIVTEC

iTrader: (1)

LOL don't worry. I got "upsold" when I asked for a $39.99 service special (conventional or syn blend) and they required me to go to a $49.99 cost for syn oil. Issue is... I told them I only wanted them to do the labor. I was bringing in my own oil/filter (mobil 1). Kept on saying sorry, it's gonna be $49.99. LOL! Bye felicia

Rocketsfan

Call up Acura's customer service/Acura Care/whatever they're called. Tell them what you were told and ask what the truth is. Maybe the dealership will be contacted if they're wrong.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

A few comments:

1. There was a time when all 0W-20 oils were fully synthetic.
2. In the last year or two there have been some synthetic blends which qualify for the 0W-20 grade, most notably Honda Genuine Motor Oil 0w-20 Synthetic Blend 5 Quart 08798-9036:
   Amazon
   Amazon
3. Personally, I would always use a top grade 0W-20 synthetic, but that's just me.
4. If you really want to challenge your dealer, ask them to show you official Honda documentation which states only synthetic 0W-20 can be used.

Darksyne

The dealership probably only had 0W20 in synthetic since its mostly common as a synthetic. They weren't trying to upsell because maybe that's all they had and it wouldn't be worth it to upsell a few bucks to synthetic since there's hardly any profit in oil changes. Getting service done at the dealer they need to meet the car's factory specs especially if the car is in warranty. Unless they have their own express lube department they won't have stacks of all different types of oil to sell, they either buy in bulk or use the factory Honda oil.

noclue02

in 2013, my local Honda dealer said all of their 0w20 was full synthetic, but have changed to have both blend and full a year later. Even at my local Acura dealer, it is stated that they have 0w20 both in blend and full synthetic. I got mine change roughly every 5k miles with normal driving style, so using synthetic blend shouldn't be a problem. I been getting 0w20 blend at Honda dealership instead of Acura since the price different is half lol.

jhb31

lol, I am surprised they would even consider doing it with you bringing in the filter and oil. There is that response that comes to mind I have heard in the past. Something like "when you go to a restaurant do you bring your own eggs and bacon and ask them to cook it for you?". I know where you are coming but from the dealers perspective it's not what they are in the business of doing.

Darksyne

Guess it depends on whos in charge and if you're a good customer and want any kind of business from you. We've known the GM and the salesmen at the Acura Dealer that we've been going to since 1999 and they are very accommodating to us, especially since we've bought 6 Acura's from them lol

jhb31

Well I have not tried to bring in my own parts for service so maybe your right. I did have an incident with my old Type S that they didn't make the same color waffle rims when one of mine got damaged so they warranted 3 2008 rims and I brought new tires for them to put on rather than swapping them with no issue. I have bought 3 cars in the last 1.5 years from the dealer and quite a few prior. Anyway, I have always been ok with the oil they use so never gave a thought to bringing my own. They will bend over a bit for the repeat buyers but other than the tires I have always been ok with them providing the parts. I had my type S serviced there for 6 years after the warranty and in year 5 a strut blew a seal and they covered half the cost due to the low miles I had on the car. I think they have the ability to use "goodwill" to lower or absorb costs to some customers.

Darksyne

I agree 100% heck even today when my mom brought her 2017 RDX for a "B" service and the blower motor was making noise, the dealer let us keep the rental car for an extra day because they had to special order a new blower motor for the warranty repair.
The only time I ever really brought a part in to the dealer for a repair was when I needed the High tone horn replaced on my 2000 TL this winter. They quoted me $150 for the horn and it had to be special ordered, I was able to get one from another dealer for just under $100 bucks, used a classmates employee discount cus he's an apprentice there lol (the horns are expensive and are made in Japan ebay only had used ones).
They had no problem with me bringing the horn in and just billed me for labour.

DohcIVTEC

iTrader: (1)

Darksyne