superJess

I have a 2005 TSX that I bought in July of 2005.

I have been averaging not quite 20,000 miles a year (I'm at 30,000 and have had the car for about a year and a half). I drive 25 miles one way to work and it's all highway miles. I live in Ohio. In my opinion, if anyone should be following the normal maintenance schedule, it's me. I do not drive in any severe conditions.

At 10,000 miles, I took my car to the dealer for its regularly scheduled maintenance. While there, the service guy tried to tell me that I should change my oil every 5,000 miles instead of 10,000. When I asked if the oil was in really bad shape since I had waited 10,000 miles, he said no. He said it was fine. So, I figured he must think I was a really stupid girl and I smiled, nodded, and left. I didn't go back until 20,000 miles.

Now it's time for my 30,000 mile service. I called and asked the price and they told me $380. That seemed quite high since my 20,000 mile service was only $144 and if you look at the normal schedule, there is not much difference between the two (20,000 mile actually has more inspections, 30,000 mile has the addition of replacing the pollen filter). I asked what the service included and I was told to "look in my manual."

I called another dealership and they gave me two prices: $180 for normal service and $475 for severe service. I called the original dealership back and asked if the $380 quote was for normal service or severe service. They indicated that it was for severe service and they "always follow the severe maintenance schedule."

I was angry that they assumed I wanted the severe service and didn't even explain that was what it was for when I questioned what was included. So I talked to the service manager at that location. He spent the whole time telling me that in all his years of experience he believes I should follow the severe maintenance schedule or at least change my oil every 4,000 - 5,000 miles. He said that Acura was just trying to make their car look better by claiming you didn't need service until 10,000 miles, but really you should do it more often.

I'm inclined to believe the manual over the guy who is trying to get money from me, but I am frustrated by the whole incident. Has anyone else encountered this kind of recommendation from the dealership service departments? Which service schedule do you all recommend following?

One other thing... I was under the impression that the TSX uses synthetic oil from the get-go. Is that not true?

Also, the manual says to change the brake fluid after three years. The dealership told me I should do that at 30,000 miles. I told him my car was only a year and a half old and he told me that since it was a 2005 it was manufactured in 2004, so I should change it this year even though I haven't been driving it for three years. Thoughts on that?

owkone

Just follow the owners manual. Definition of severe service is in the manual.

Severe service IMO is stop and go in-city traffic with a lot of idling. Dealers like to do the severe service because it is more profitable. I have a 2004 TSX I drive 12 miles each way to work and do most of my driving in the suburbs. I will follow the normal service routine no matter what the dealer says. It's my car and I call the shots.

As for oil change every 5000 miles - IMO it is another profit source for oil the dealers and oil change places. If it would give you peace of mind get the oil changed every 7500 miles. I drive only about 12K miles a year so I get the oil changed twice a year once n spring and once just before winter.

TSX uses regular oil not synthetic oil.

Hope that helps.

LuvMyTSX

The severe service isn't that much different than the normal service, is it? I follow the severe schedule because I make a lot of short trips and rarely drive on the highway. I just do the scheduled maintenances every 10k, with a simple oil change every 5k in between. No biggie. And there really shouldn't be much, if any, price difference in the services for normal and severe. I really don't think many dealers distinguish between the two. When you say, "I want to do the 20k mile service" they don't ask, "Is that normal or severe 20k?"

curls

Follow the manual, not the service advisors. You should probably be on the Normal schedule, but I don't think that schedule is on 20,000 mile intervals (I think it's on 10K mile intervals... I'm programmed in kilometers, so 8000/severe // 16,000/normal).

Go in with the manual, tell them you want this stuff performed (while pointing at the normal schedule for your current mileage), and get a price quote. I can't see it being too expensive.

And change pollen filter yourself, it's simple -- DIY topics are available here by searching. The filter can be bought online or at any Honda or Acura dealer.

Enjoy your car and ignore the $ervice advi$or$ !

owkone

Double post - the dumb system would not let me edit the previous post.

Just follow the owners manual. Definition of severe service is in the manual. Follow the miles driven rather than time. In your type of driving IMO miles driven represents real wear and tear.

Severe service IMO is stop and go in-city traffic with a lot of idling, very short trips and very few miles driven per year. Dealers like to do the severe service because it is more profitable.

As for oil change every 5000 miles - IMO it is another profit source for oil the dealers and oil change places. If it would give you peace of mind get the oil changed every 7500 miles.

TSX uses regular oil not synthetic oil.

Hope that helps.

I Was Justin You

I think the service advisor was just trying to rip you off.

stick with what the manual says espically in terms of mileage etc.

jlukja

Manual >> Service Advisor

The TSX comes from the factory with a "special" oil that helps with engine break-in. Once you reach the first service interval it is your choice whether you want to switch to synthetic oil or keep using regular oil. IMHO you should follow the regular maintenance schedule. Note that it is based on mileage and time, whichever comes first. Don't let the service advisor talk you into doing service earlier than the manual calls for. If you search you'll find some peeps like to do some of the service items earlier, for piece of mind. Remember that it is their option, and is not required.

You can also do some of the 30K mi. services yourself to reduce the cost. As curls mentioned, the pollen filter is a very easy swap and you can buy it on-line for less than 1/2 of the material costs that Acura would charge you. Same with the engine air filter. A little search will lead you to other threads that discuss how to drain/fill your coolant, drain/fill your transmission, even drain/fill brake fluid. Armed with that knowledge you can then decide whether you want to try to do it yourself ($0.00/hr) or let Acura do it for you ($90/hr).

moda_way

superJess, where in OH are you located?

FYI, I follow the Normal service intervals, but then again, I'm in Cincinnati.

superJess

Thanks for all of your replies. It sounds like most people agree with following the manual and not listening to the service people, which makes me feel better.

I definitely follow the manual for the miles driven, not the time. So, I end up changing my oil approximately twice a year (every 10,000 miles).

The whole thing frustrates me because if what the service manager said is true, the dealership is doing a bit of bait and switch. When I bought the car I specifically asked about the service intervals and I was told 10,000 miles. That was important to me when buying a car. Then after I buy the car, the service department at the same dealership tells me that I should come in every 5,000 miles instead.

And I wonder if Acura would be happy that their service departments are telling people that Acura is just trying to make their car look better by making the service intervals 10,000 miles. They basically told me that Acura is lying to get me to buy the car.

This hasn't been true in my experience. The normal service for 30,000 miles was quoted to me at $180 and the severe service at $475. That's a big difference to me.

superJess

I'm in Cincinnati too. I bought the car at Superior Acura in Fairfield.

LuvMyTSX

I agree, that is a big difference, and it shouldn't be that way. To me, it's saying your dealership is trying to rip you off. My dealer has never made any comment regarding severe or normal maintenance and even questions me every time I bring in my car for just an oil change at 5k miles in between the normal services. I explain to them that I make short trips and rarely get on the highway, and that's why I do the oil every 5k. Do you have another dealer you can go to? Even a Honda dealer that might be cheaper and/or more honest?

superJess

Yes, I'm planning to take it to a different dealer for the service tomorrow. Typically this dealer is more expensive than the other one, but this time they were about the same. So, hopefully that will go well and I'll just start going there instead.

jlukja

The purpose of the dealership is to make money. The sales department will do what it can to sell you the car, the service department will also do what it can to maximize income. Its just a question of where these dealerships draw the line between salesmanship and outright lying. The more honest ones will do what is required and hope to keep you with good work and good customer service. The less honest ones will try to stick you for the most they can realizing (if you're a smart consumer) that this will be probably the first and last chance to get money out of you before you move on elsewhere.

In my experience dealing with several dealership service departments you should be careful of, and make sure you make a distinction between, what is "recommended" and what is "required". I've had a number of service advisers tell me they "recommend" this and that but when I ask whether it is "required" service per the manufacturer, they back of and say that it isn't. It seems dealerships can "recommend" whatever they can get away. They also can market their own 10,000 Service, 20,000 Service, etc. When calling for prices you must make it clear that you want them to price the service as stated in the manual (list the services included if necessary).

superJess

Well, it turned out that the $180 for "normal" service that was quoted to me by another dealer (not the one that I had the initial problems with) did not include replacing the pollen filter or the engine air filter.

So, I decided I would try to do this myself. I found several threads on replacing the pollen filter and a little information on where to buy an air filter... but no luck finding information on how to replace the engine air filter. I looked in the FAQ section, but I'm not finding it. I tried searching, but I either got a ton of results or nothing that told me what I wanted. Does anyone have a good link for how to replace the engine air filter?

jlukja

The engine air filter sits under the airbox lid that is located just behind the battery (as you face the engine bay from the front). There are 4 bolts that hold the airbox lid to the bottom. Here is a pic of the bottom with the lid and filter removed:

you can see the 4 holes (1 at almost each corner) where the bolts go. Use a long philips head screwdriver or a small ratchet (don't recall the size) with an extension to remove the 4 bolts. You can lift the lid up and pull the filter out without needing to remove the intake tube that leads from the airbox lid to the intake manifold.

Hope this helps.

edit: Here is a better picture, this time with the airbox lid removed and with the K&N filter in place of the Acura filter.

nj2pa2nc

when I take my car for service I request only an oil change and sometimes a tire rotation. Most service departments check over the car, refill the fluids and check the tire pressure. They will let you know if additional service is needed. It is alot cheaper than doing the mileage service (10,000,20,000 etc)i own an 06 tsx 6spd for 4 months with almost 8,000 miles (I recently had it's 1st oil change and tire rotation which was free thanks to being friends with the acura service manager. (he was the one who told me just to do the oil change thing)

curls

SuperJess... 99% of the things you want to do yourself, are explained in the Owners Manual... yes, it sounds rude to say "read the manual", but the manuals in our cars are surprisingly informative for things like this.

Cheers,
Eric

superJess

Thanks for the replies and help. I will give this a try!

GrayTSX05

since we are in this topic, for you guys that live in chicago area which dealer do you go for service? I called mcgrath at westmont asking price for 30k service and they said it costs 449$ which is a lot for me.

So do you know the cheaper dealer in chicago for service?

moda_way

That's where I purchased mine. I'm just east of Fairfield in Liberty Twp. If you ever need help with your TSX, PM me your info. I've done a lot of work to my TSX and other folks in the area too.

alucardx

that sound's riduclous.

try some honda dealers and just tell them what you want done according to the owners manual.