Newbie '08 RDX tech
11-12-2016, 12:55 AM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Newbie '08 RDX tech
I'm an Acura newbie. I once had a love affair with Honda, & NOTHING has compared since. That was my '98 civic hatchback dx without a bell or whistle.
Currently I'm coming off of a Subaru outback impreza sport that was just a disappointment to drive.
It was totaled while parked. Good Riddance! My only concern was the inconvenience of having to buy a new used car.
In less than 24 hours, THAT problem was solved.
I found my RDX on a Subaru dealership lot of all places. I was actually there to see a RAV4.
-They didn't know much about the RDX, except to say it was turbo with an upgrade package that they couldn't explain, but it was supposed to be pretty nice.
It is silver & not all that spectacular looks wise, IMHO looks like most of the other silver SUV's.
BUT I knew was it was Honda at heart & I wanted to drive just it to see how it felt.
I had NO INTENTIONS OF ACTUALLY BUYING IT, just wanted to test drive to satisfy my curiosity.
I actually felt a little guilty about asking to test drive it, knowing I had no intentions of buying it, but of course I didn't say that!
After less than 5 minutes of driving her, I KNEW. I kept driving til I had to turn around.
They didn't know anything about the tech package, couldn't explain it.
I didn't care about any of those bells/whistles anyway, I just LOVED the feel of the ride.
So I bought it.
I was TOAST. I didn't leave myself much room for bargaining.
They didn't budge much on price, I got them down only a few hundred dollars. They threw in a full tank of gas, a free oil change & life time free inspections.
I also purchased extended 4 yr warranty that covers just about every system, & tire/wheel road hazard coverage & got some discounts on those also, but I think that's all smoke & mirrors.
At the end of the day, I don't really know what these go for, but it was very close to the same price of the 08 CRV's I'd looked at in my area & WAYYY better feeling to the ride.
So it felt like a no brainer.
08 RDX tech 87,000 miles $12600-
2 prev owners, SQUEAKY clean carfax-all recommended maintenance & I never saw so much detailing-every oil change, & they changed the cabin filters constantly.
So I'm the last person out of the dealership, close to 10pm, in the pouring rain, & cold.
It was a struggle just trying to find the wipers & adjust the heat, with my bum warmer on
and all the way home I'm just feeling like "I can't believe how well this handles & I love the steering & suspension & I felt safe & wrapped in a Honda on steroids!!!"
It felt like 'home' ---only better.
And she's 8 years old???
Come to find out it has all of this 'stuff'...I didn't find out about the paddles or what the "S" was for until 2 days later when I had time to read the manual.
Dealer thought it meant "sport" & had something to do with turbo or overdrive.
That's my story.
I expect Honda reliability with proper maintenance, & am here to learn about the rest of what this RDX actually has.
I don't know if I got a deal on price or not, but I feel like I did.
Now every time I look at her, I think she's something spectacular. The look IS growing on me.
But for me: It's what's INSIDE that counts, she's a Honda at heart!
Currently I'm coming off of a Subaru outback impreza sport that was just a disappointment to drive.
It was totaled while parked. Good Riddance! My only concern was the inconvenience of having to buy a new used car.
In less than 24 hours, THAT problem was solved.
I found my RDX on a Subaru dealership lot of all places. I was actually there to see a RAV4.
-They didn't know much about the RDX, except to say it was turbo with an upgrade package that they couldn't explain, but it was supposed to be pretty nice.
It is silver & not all that spectacular looks wise, IMHO looks like most of the other silver SUV's.
BUT I knew was it was Honda at heart & I wanted to drive just it to see how it felt.
I had NO INTENTIONS OF ACTUALLY BUYING IT, just wanted to test drive to satisfy my curiosity.
I actually felt a little guilty about asking to test drive it, knowing I had no intentions of buying it, but of course I didn't say that!
After less than 5 minutes of driving her, I KNEW. I kept driving til I had to turn around.
They didn't know anything about the tech package, couldn't explain it.
I didn't care about any of those bells/whistles anyway, I just LOVED the feel of the ride.
So I bought it.
I was TOAST. I didn't leave myself much room for bargaining.
They didn't budge much on price, I got them down only a few hundred dollars. They threw in a full tank of gas, a free oil change & life time free inspections.
I also purchased extended 4 yr warranty that covers just about every system, & tire/wheel road hazard coverage & got some discounts on those also, but I think that's all smoke & mirrors.
At the end of the day, I don't really know what these go for, but it was very close to the same price of the 08 CRV's I'd looked at in my area & WAYYY better feeling to the ride.
So it felt like a no brainer.
08 RDX tech 87,000 miles $12600-
2 prev owners, SQUEAKY clean carfax-all recommended maintenance & I never saw so much detailing-every oil change, & they changed the cabin filters constantly.
So I'm the last person out of the dealership, close to 10pm, in the pouring rain, & cold.
It was a struggle just trying to find the wipers & adjust the heat, with my bum warmer on
and all the way home I'm just feeling like "I can't believe how well this handles & I love the steering & suspension & I felt safe & wrapped in a Honda on steroids!!!"
It felt like 'home' ---only better.
And she's 8 years old???
Come to find out it has all of this 'stuff'...I didn't find out about the paddles or what the "S" was for until 2 days later when I had time to read the manual.
Dealer thought it meant "sport" & had something to do with turbo or overdrive.
That's my story.
I expect Honda reliability with proper maintenance, & am here to learn about the rest of what this RDX actually has.
I don't know if I got a deal on price or not, but I feel like I did.
Now every time I look at her, I think she's something spectacular. The look IS growing on me.
But for me: It's what's INSIDE that counts, she's a Honda at heart!
11-12-2016, 07:18 AM
#2
Congratulations!
I don't think your price was bad at all, especially when you consider what they cost new, and that 87k miles is still low for a Honda product(my '09 is pushing close to 160k and runs/drives perfectly).
I know people accuse Honda of losing their way (not making the simple, reliable, and fun cars they built their reputation on), but the 1st gen RDX reminds me of my 90's Honda's ('97 CRV (totaled a few years ago), '98 Accord (nephew owns if now), '00 s2000 (in my garage)) in terms of build quality and fun.
The turbo is fun, and I think you'll find the SH-AWD at least equal to Subaru's Symmetrical AWD (I've read a number of comparisons that give the nod to SH-AWD).
Welcome back to Honda
I don't think your price was bad at all, especially when you consider what they cost new, and that 87k miles is still low for a Honda product(my '09 is pushing close to 160k and runs/drives perfectly).
I know people accuse Honda of losing their way (not making the simple, reliable, and fun cars they built their reputation on), but the 1st gen RDX reminds me of my 90's Honda's ('97 CRV (totaled a few years ago), '98 Accord (nephew owns if now), '00 s2000 (in my garage)) in terms of build quality and fun.
The turbo is fun, and I think you'll find the SH-AWD at least equal to Subaru's Symmetrical AWD (I've read a number of comparisons that give the nod to SH-AWD).
Welcome back to Honda
11-12-2016, 09:19 AM
#3
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Yes, it's good to be back!
I'm a person who operates on the KISS concept and this technology package is anything but simple.
Most of it I probably will never use, but I am trying to set it all up anyway just in case.
It took hours to read & figure out basics. Now I've got the radio programmed & finally was able to get the darn bass turned down.
I've not had luck with the blue tooth phone thing via the voice command, or other voice activated stuff.
I may as well have said "beets in a bowl", & I did end up spouting a couple of explatives before it defeated me with a final "Pardon?"...
I do however know the previous owners names, where they live, their calendar events, all of their trips, relatives, work,-so note to any of you selling or trading in: ERASE your personal info!!!
The 'trade off' is the gas mileage, and the fact that this actually requires premium fuel. I am hopeful that because I will satisfied driving this beast, it won't hurt so much. The Subaru never got the stated mileage, but I did get about 20mpg.
The fact that I can now properly accelerate while running the AC or defrost is a welcome change. I live in a mountainous region so being able to climb the mountains without having to turn everything off is great!
I am hoping to offset some of the extra cost by learning how to do my own oil & filter changes at least 1/2 of the time. Spring/summer/fall shouldn't be an issue, but in the winter I think I'll let someone else do it, I don't have a heated garage.
To be honest, I'm not gonna baby this car, I'm not one for detailing and keeping pristine, but I do want to take care of it.
Due to being in SW PA, I want to be mindful of rust, the true Honda cancer...& take some measures there.
Aside from being my daily driver, this will also be hauling a 115 lb pooch, & tools, so the rear seats are down, the divider thing is out, & it will stay that way.
I've searched here about rims & winter tires. I want to buy both ASAP & the info here is a little confusing. Many go to 17", I don't want to buy the wrong stuff.
What about just going with the stock sized rims with dedicated snow tires? I won't be mounting myself.
I'm a person who operates on the KISS concept and this technology package is anything but simple.
Most of it I probably will never use, but I am trying to set it all up anyway just in case.
It took hours to read & figure out basics. Now I've got the radio programmed & finally was able to get the darn bass turned down.
I've not had luck with the blue tooth phone thing via the voice command, or other voice activated stuff.
I may as well have said "beets in a bowl", & I did end up spouting a couple of explatives before it defeated me with a final "Pardon?"...
I do however know the previous owners names, where they live, their calendar events, all of their trips, relatives, work,-so note to any of you selling or trading in: ERASE your personal info!!!
The 'trade off' is the gas mileage, and the fact that this actually requires premium fuel. I am hopeful that because I will satisfied driving this beast, it won't hurt so much. The Subaru never got the stated mileage, but I did get about 20mpg.
The fact that I can now properly accelerate while running the AC or defrost is a welcome change. I live in a mountainous region so being able to climb the mountains without having to turn everything off is great!
I am hoping to offset some of the extra cost by learning how to do my own oil & filter changes at least 1/2 of the time. Spring/summer/fall shouldn't be an issue, but in the winter I think I'll let someone else do it, I don't have a heated garage.
To be honest, I'm not gonna baby this car, I'm not one for detailing and keeping pristine, but I do want to take care of it.
Due to being in SW PA, I want to be mindful of rust, the true Honda cancer...& take some measures there.
Aside from being my daily driver, this will also be hauling a 115 lb pooch, & tools, so the rear seats are down, the divider thing is out, & it will stay that way.
I've searched here about rims & winter tires. I want to buy both ASAP & the info here is a little confusing. Many go to 17", I don't want to buy the wrong stuff.
What about just going with the stock sized rims with dedicated snow tires? I won't be mounting myself.
11-12-2016, 01:58 PM
#4
mrgold35
I also have an 08 RDX with close to 135,000 miles and she still drives like new. Having a turbo is the way to go with mountains and hilly terrain; especially in high altitudes. I've had my RDX on I-70 Eisenhower pass at +11,000 feet loaded down with 4 people, cargo roof carrier, and gear with zero issues accelerating up the mountain. It was me and a Porsche Cayenne turbo blowing people doors off up and down the pass (turbo up the mountain and sh-awd down).
I live in the southwest and I can get away with all season tires year round (Conti DWS tires in OEM size). I'm lucky to get 4-5 snow days and maybe 15-20 days below 40 degrees from fall to spring in NM.
You can update your Navi disk only once a year in the fall and no more update disk until a year later. About every 3 months after that, AcuraNavi lowers the price form $199, $149 in the spring, and eventually to $99 by the start of summer until next year's update is ready. Most of us purchase last years or a disk 2-3 years old on eBay for $25-$75. You really don't have to update your Navi if you don't want to if you have a smartphone and plenty of data.
The RDX is one fun to drive CUV because it is a hammer. So you sometimes have to treat everything you see like a nail. You have to drive it hard to get the most out of her. You also need to have power for the sh-awd to work (downshift with paddles before a curve to up the rpms, slowly apply gas to spool the turbo, and punch it out of the corners to help the sh-awd rotate the rear). Whatever is the posted speed on a curve, I can usually do 15-25 mph above that in the RDX.
I live in the southwest and I can get away with all season tires year round (Conti DWS tires in OEM size). I'm lucky to get 4-5 snow days and maybe 15-20 days below 40 degrees from fall to spring in NM.
You can update your Navi disk only once a year in the fall and no more update disk until a year later. About every 3 months after that, AcuraNavi lowers the price form $199, $149 in the spring, and eventually to $99 by the start of summer until next year's update is ready. Most of us purchase last years or a disk 2-3 years old on eBay for $25-$75. You really don't have to update your Navi if you don't want to if you have a smartphone and plenty of data.
The RDX is one fun to drive CUV because it is a hammer. So you sometimes have to treat everything you see like a nail. You have to drive it hard to get the most out of her. You also need to have power for the sh-awd to work (downshift with paddles before a curve to up the rpms, slowly apply gas to spool the turbo, and punch it out of the corners to help the sh-awd rotate the rear). Whatever is the posted speed on a curve, I can usually do 15-25 mph above that in the RDX.
Last edited by mrgold35; 11-12-2016 at 02:06 PM.
11-13-2016, 07:22 AM
#5
Order the filters and drain plug washers in bulk (I get mine from H and A Honda accessories). I hate Walmart, but they are HANDS DOWN the cheapest place for oil in my area (Mobil 1 for the RDX).
Honda has two filters that fit the RDX. Be sure to get the good one (that's all H&A sells).Here's a comparison; https://www.handa-accessories.com/rdx07.html
Not sure why you're having such trouble paring your phone. I've linked 3-4 phones to mine with no issues (both Apple and Android)....
The RDX is a lot of fun in the mountains. I took mine on a trip to the Rockies and had a blast. Only thing hanging with me over the passes was a nice Integra (looked fairly modded).
Snow tires? What's that?
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