GurlRDX

Looks like there will be no money left for Christmas shopping for me thanks to my 2015 RDX....lol. I ended up going with two Yokohama tires in the front as my car is a FWD after my rear tire blew out. Yesterday evening I get the B123 service alert. Called the dealer this morning to schedule service and ask the cost and I was told it is going to run me $350+ tax minus the tire rotation since I just had that done. Is that about right and is there anything else I should know/lookout for regarding this service?

mrgold35

You might be able to cut down the cost by more than half it you do some of the work yourself like:

- Purchase your oil from Walmart to take to dealership. My dealership charges me $26 for just an oil change service when I bring my own oil (I have 3 Acura's, that save some $$).
- Purchase cabin air filter on-line or local like Walmart and replace yourself. It takes about 5 min do it for $15 compared to the $100 the dealership charges. I use Fram fresh breeze with charcoal and baking soda sold at Walmart.
- Purchase your own engine air filter to replace. Just need a screw driver or I perfer a small socket set with an extension to loosen screws and replace the filter in 5 mins.
- If you have a Discount Tire locally, have them do rotations/cross rotations, balance, and check spare tire psi every time you need an oil change. I think Discount Tire can add tires to a road hazard warranty if you didn't purchase from them (might have to call to double-check). Since I always get my tires from Discount, rotations/balance are free for the lifetime of the tires.

I stick with Acura for the transmission 3X fluid change. My dealership usually charges about $100 for that.

rosen39

Just to let you know what prices are in the New England area:
B = $149.00
1 = $26.95
2 = $148.00
3 = $233.00

Cost if you do it yourself:
Synthetic oil and filter = $35
Cabin Filter = $18
Air filter = $22
ATF fluid, transfer case fluid,
washers (Bought at Acura) = $45
Total DIY =$120

In fairness to the dealer, he has to make money on the parts, and charge labor (at least $100/hour).

Comfy

Or you could have joined a service / maintenance plan from Acura for 4 years for around 1 grand and not worry about anything. It may or may not save you money but will save you a lot of work/ headache (unless you like doing DIY stuff).

GurlRDX

I'm not exactly a handiwoman when it comes to cars....my DIY is right now restricted to minor house reno projects and if it extends beyond painting I almost always end up having to call reinforcement as there is currently no Mr.GurlRDX to help out. I'll check with my brothers and see if they are coming for Xmas and have them do the filters. I have an appointment at the delearship Monday and I'll tell them to do the tranny fluid and oil change and have my brothers do the filters.

Good to know that the tire stuff I can have Discount Tires do for free every time I need an oil change. I bought the two new tires from them this week so next time I need an oil change I'll go to them.

GurlRDX

I've always heard not to get anything extra which is why I went with the base model and minimal frills. Next time (10 yrs hopefully!) I'll know better when making a huge purchase like a car.

Comfy

I did not say that you get the service plan from the dealer you purchased the car from. They will definitely try to rip you off. You could search other Acura dealers online for service plans and it will be perfectly acceptable at any Acura dealership. I bought mine from Saccucci Honda online as suggested by Acurazine member Ceb. I personally think it would have been much better for you since you mentioned that you are not a DIY type of person. But I think it would be worthwhile only if you do it before you have done any service or

2014RDX

They should have never put the new tires on the front of your vehicle. If you're only replacing 2 tires, whether front, rear, or AWD, 2 new tires should always go on the rear. This is for safety issues with hydroplaning. In many states, this is a legal requirement.

GurlRDX

Ummm....my brother who is a mechanic is the one who told me to have the new tires on the front since it is a FWD....should I have them moved to the rear?

2014RDX

All you have to do is do a quick google search for this topic, and you can read the reason why. Everyone from tire manufacturers to auto manufacturers recommend the same thing. I would be very suspect of any tire shop that didn't tell you this when you asked them to put them on the front. They should know better.

GurlRDX

The installer did tell me the tires need to go in the back while I was at the shop on the phone with my brother. It didn't occur to me to do a google search then. I just called Discount Tires and they said they'll rotate the tires to the back. Thanks for pointing this out!!!

Comfy

Wow, that's news to me. Thanks.

CrimsonElan

$100 for 3x ATF change is awesome deal, are you sure they will do it 3x or just 1x9449009699938996253713? Since 3x ATF change will take 10~12 quarts of DW-1, which goes for $7~8 a quart.

rosen39

Don't forget the aluminum crush washer!!!

mrgold35

I double-check my old bill from March/15 for my RDX and it shows:
4 ADF DW-1 $33.20
1 washer $3.99
labor $66.00
Total: $103.19

I just assumed it was the 3X ATF change.

I got in the habit of changing out my trans fluid on all three of my vehicles at around 30,000 miles instead of waiting for the M.I.D. to tell me. So far with +125,000 on my TSX/RDX and 70,000 on my MDX are both doing good with this trans oil schedule. Since I do all my service at Acura, I have an record if I have any problems down the road.

dbarnhart

When I bought by 2016 RDX yesterday I was told that the Maintenance Plan is currently not available.

ceb

do a google search for saccucci acura warranty. Pick any warranty (doesn't matter which one - unless you want one) then wait for your email from them. Scroll down in your email and you'll see pricing for Acura Care. Then email them to buy whichever maintenance plan you want.

Dealers hate to sell them because they make their money on service and they don't make the same amount of money on the plans as they do on individual services. In addition, they can't sell you unneeded services if you have the plan.

Saccucci is a Honda dealer but once you buy from them you'll get your packet in the mail directly from Acura.

Shahryar

I've been doing this technique as well of getting parts and taking them to the dealer and just paying for the labor with my other cars. This is a great way to soften the blow and also ensure the right fluids are being used (more important for the oil - I use mobil 1 fully synthetic oil in all my vehicles)

With my accord, I would take a printout of all the prices from HandA accessories and the dealer would either match or get close. But for Acura, I don't see maintenance accessories on there.

Any good place online to get all the OEM parts mentioned in this post? Air Filter, Cabin Air Filter, Transmission Fluid? Also the parts/fluids not mentioned - Case Transfer Fluid and Differential Fluid?

I'd take that printout to the dealer and see what price matching they'd do. I'm now close to 40k miles on my 2014 RDX (bought new in Nov 2013) and I haven't done anything so far besides regular oil and filter changes (again using mobil 1 fully synthetic) and tire rotations.

mrgold35

I do the K/N drop in filter and clean and re-oil every spring. I purchased the cabin air filter (FRAM CF10134 Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filter) from Amazon or Walmart. I get the Mobil 1 from Walmart. I also purchased my spark plugs from Amazon for $10-$12each instead of +$25 each at Acura. I usually just let Acura provide the fluids for the trans, transfer case, sh-awd rear diff, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and antifreeze. Most of these items are one and done or only a few times during the lifetime of the Acura.

I mainly wanted to save $$ for the A1 and B1 services since they pop up every 5k-7k for three vehicles. I figured I've saved about $2500-$3500 between 3 Acura with 335,000 miles between them in the last 10 years on A12/B12 services (130k each on RDX & TSX, 75k on MDX). I just traded my labor and free services at Firestone/Discount Tires for Acura's labor for the savings.

memesmdx

I hope this is not a silly question but let's say I do all of the services myself, except the transmission fluid and tire rotation, will the service due now signal go away by itself or is there something I have to do to reset it?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Brown13

Yes ,it's a silly question.The car does not know it had an oil change.You must reset in the display.Your owner's manual will explain how to reset.

rosen39

Wow!! Somebody took their "asshole pills" this morning.

Way to help out a fellow RDX owner.

mrgold35

The M.I.D. will just keep track in negative mileage how many miles your are overdue for the service once you reach 0%. You can reset the oil % M.I.D. display at any time. Any other 1-6 service due will not be displayed until your reach the 15% mark for the engine oil service. The M.I.D. is assuming you did all the required maint when you do the reset between the 0-15% warning. Not sure if you are going to skip the AT fluid/rotation or do them at a later date? I would let Acura know what service(s) you performed so they can add them to the vehicle electronic service record (if you don't keep track yourself). The Acura tech also have the ability to reset individual 1-6 codes if you done a service early or extra service. I sometimes do my A or B service early if I'm around 20% and planning a long road trip. I don't want the "service due" warning flashing if I'm 1000 miles from home.

I'm not 100% sure if you change your oil before the 15% warning and reset the M.I.D. if it also resets the 1-6 codes also? If it does, you might be skipping a service if the M.I.D. doesn't have a chance to display and you reset it before reaching 15%?

memesmdx

A simple "no" would have been sufficient. It's not unreasonable to think that a vehicle should know when something has been done to it-the gas light goes out when I put gas in the car and I didn't have to do anything except put the gas in.
Get coffee and have a wonderful day!

memesmdx

Thank you the information and I will definitely let them know I changed the filters. I changed the cabin filter myself yesterday and I will change the air filter as soon as it comes in from Amazon. I am a bit down to the wire-since the oil light is at 5% but I'm not paying Acura to do it when that cabin filter change was so simple. I plan on getting the oil replaced (bringing my own and the transmission fluid at Acura-hopefully they will reset all the codes-even though the tire rotation hasn't been done yet. I'm getting new tires in a few weeks so hopefully that won't be a problem.

Thank you again for the helpful information!
Have a great day!

mrgold35

I don't know if you have a Discount Tire in your area. I like them because they can do a lifetime warranty with the new tires to cover:
- road force balance,
- regular balance,
- road hazard tire replacement,
- flat repair,
- rotations,
- cross rotations, and
- PSI checks (don't forget the spare).

I've used all of these services at Discount and that has saved me some $$ between all three vehicles compared to the dealership. The Firestone lifetime alignment has also paid for itself over the years (10 yrs TSX, 7 yrs RDX, 3 yrs MDX).

memesmdx

Unfortunately not! I checked them out based on your recommendation to someone. Their websites says that the closest one to me is 250 miles away . Guess I have to go to BJ's lol