ajh91481

Hello all - I am the proud new owner of a 2015 RDX. I did not buy the car from an Acura dealer and instead purchased from a big regional company that only does used cars. As such, the vehicle came with the balance of the Acura warranty as well as the car dealers "lifetime engine guarantee". This guarantee has a couple of loop holes you need to jump through - notably changing the oil every 4,000 miles using a specific brand. This seems excessive to me. I have driven the car ~1,500 miles since purchase and the oil life indicator reads 80%, meaning in theory the car thinks I could go say 6,000-8,000 between changes, not 4,000. Not all miles are equal on cars. I do a bunch of highway miles that don't eat away at oil the same as stop/start traffic.

The oil changes aren't a huge expense but do add up. While I want the lifetime engine guarantee I really don't have any fears of the engine failing - at least not withing the 150k miles or so I plan to drive it. What are your thoughts - keep with the 4k plan and the lifetime guarantee or save the money and just change the oil when the car tells me to?

Thanks for the help.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

there is NO WAY the J35 found in the RDX is going to fail, unless you didn't change the oil, regularly.
the J-series engine was first produced in 1996. Since then, and many many many revisions later, it is one of the stoutest engines in a production vehicle.
there are a few ways you can damage the engine.
- not EVER changing the oil and letting the oil sludge.
- drive the car into a body of water, letting the water get sucked up into the engine.
- overheat it.
- neglect the timing belt service at 105k miles..
the engine will out last you and the car.

fuck the 4k OCI and do it when the car tells you to at 6-8k OCI's, my opinion anyway.

Gadgetjq

A specific "brand" of oil? That's a new one and surely designed to deny warranty work someplace down the road (you 'will' forget to save a receipt or take a picture of the odometer) and 4000 mile oil changes with your driving conditions is over the top too, especially if you use a synthetic (please don't let this turn into an oil thread). Bottom line, just follow the maintenance recommended in your owner's manual.

Cheers!

ajh91481

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah they seem to have a sponsorship deal with an oil manufacturer where you can only use their product. If you bring the car there - which for me is actually quite inconvenient - they will of course use the right product and keep track of it. You can take it to other garages but would need to prove not only the internals were followed but also that you used the correct brand. My opinion was that this is a play to get all of the maintenance work on the car by trapping you in to going back to the dealer.

And yes, the 4k interval applies to synthetic as well. They seemed quite shocked when I told them that was excessive.

CanTex

I live in a new subdivision built by a national homebuilder, who advertises "Everything's Included!!!". Then they proceeded quite happily to tell us "your new home comes with GE appliances!!!" Seriously? You're telling us that's somehow a _good_ thing? The most cheaply built, least reliable appliances on the market? * I tried for an appliance-delete option and was told to stuff it. Bottom line: You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours at the corporate level - sweet deal on both sides. That's what your nationwide used car dealer is doing. It's a sweet deal for both parties.

The above comments are spot-on. Ignore their requirements, just do what the manual and the car tell you to do. Around 8500 miles is oil change time for me, 15% on the MID. The engines themselves are indeed bullet-proof. Since 1986 I have never had an engine problem, aside from plugged injectors from using non-Top Tier gasolline, my bad, but that's an engine peripheral problem, not the engine itself. (My lesson, after the third injector cleanout: Whatever I saved on cheap gas did not cover the cost of the cleanout service.) Another example: look at all those old Civics with the primed body kits and coffee-can exhausts still running around - the only thing that kills them is lack of oil changes in the last 20K miles or so.

* Our local NextDoor.com website is full of complaints and warranty issues on the GE appliances appliances. For houses at this price-point we should have had better appliances.

Kaputnik

Agree with the other posts here, no way you are going to toast this motor if you follow the manual. Third party "warranties" are rarely worth the paper they are printed on.

mrgold35

The issues we all have with +100,000 miles with Acura/Honda engines are the accessories going bad like starter, battery, alternator, power steering pump/rack, or A/C compressor. Even without a warranty, those items can be replaced for $200-$400 if you shop around for new/used parts and have a good local mechanic available. You would have to have some serious maint neglect to kill an Acura/Honda engine, (sh)awd, or transmission powertrain systems.

chickdr

Well, most of them anyway. I had a friend with an 07 Civic 1.8 which had major engine issues early and had the short block replaced under warranty due to oil leaks. The rebuilt motor did the same thing. He ended up trading the car when he could.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

That was a misdiagnosis!!!
front crank seal

russianDude

You will never be able to use their warranty. No matter how much you follow their instructions, they will always find an excuse not to cover it. Those kind of warranties are a scam and most of the people are never able to use them. I hope you did not pay anything extra for it because its worth zero $

mrgold35

Most likely you have to purchase the maint plan from them and do all the (overpriced) services at their shop to keep from voiding the contract. They are making $$$ on both ends.

Ludepower

Im kinda outta the loop.

Should I be checking my oil level on a 3rd gen RDX? I don't think that's necessary right.

altair47

It all depends on how long you've had your car and how often you change the oil.