t0md0

Hi all, brand new owner to a pre-owned 2013 RDX w/Tech Package. I have a few questions that I hope the community can help out with. Things that I've noticed/not noticed since purchasing the car. This is my first Acura ever and first luxury-type care ever. So far I'm loving the vehicle and I can't be much happier. There are definitely a few things I wish the car had, but I'm overall happy with it, however 'll post that on another thread.

1. Does the 2013 model with Tech Package support AcuraLink? I've read the press release from Honda originally saying that it supported it but I can't seem to get it to work with the AcuraLink app. The app also stated that it was for 2014 and up which I find very strange because I thought nothing really changed from 2013-1015. I mean, I see the options for live weather updates, live traffic updates etc. but can't access it. Also, is AcuraLink a subscription based service?

2. Does the Pandora integrated app on the RDX work with Android phones? I can play Pandora on my phone and use Bluetooth to stream it in my car but I don't see the Pandora integrated app on the RDX pop up. Is it just an iPhone thing? And if so, does it have to hook up to the USB for that to work?

3. For those that have tinted their front windows, what percentage seemed to match the rear factory tint the most? I plan to tint my fronts to match the rear so it'll look clean. I'm not a fan of that two tone tint lol. One tone FTW. Still debating on tinting the rears with clear for heat rejection purposes but at this point I doubt I will.

4. Last but not least, how many of you guys are using regular 87 octane? This isn't meant to be an octane debate. Just curious who's using regular. Also, if you're using 87, ever thought about using medium 89 octane?

Thanks everyone. I look forward to contributing and being a part of the Acurazine community!

Brown13

Acuralink is a pay feature with Sirius radio.Includes traffic and weather.App won't work with 2013 radio.
Never tried using Pandora with hard drive,cd,and USB available.
Always run Premium.If You want to be cheap,buy a cheap car.JMO

Comfy

Congratulations and welcome to the club.
Did you buy it CPO or from another dealer? When I bought it new it had three months of free Sirius subscription and Acuralink worked briefly and intermittently during that time. Never renewed it after expiry since I don't think it is worth it (for any car).
I don't use Pandora, Didn't need to tint my car so can't comment on that.
I used premium exclusively for a year or two and now switch between premium and medium 89 (depending on whether I feel rich or poor ...LOL). I always use premium whenever I go on long trips since it gives better fuel economy / range between gas fills and apparently slightly more power. There are several members here who use regular also without any issues. Do what you feel like, premium is recommended but not mandatory.
This is an awesome car and we are sure you will enjoy it as much as we do. The engine and transmission are a real gem. The ride and seats are "super comfy". I never thought I will really enjoy driving a car this much for as long as I've owed it. Keep asking questions if you have any as this is a great forum for that. Post some pictures if you can.
Congratulations again and best of luck.

t0md0

Yeah, I purchased it as a CPO vehicle. Didn't realize that Sirius and AcuraLink go hand and hand. So if you purchase one, you get the other?

Also to say that by pumping anything other than premium octane means we are being cheap therefore we should buy a cheap car.. I don't think Lexus is considered a cheap car and from what I recall, they allow regular octane on some of their vehicles. JMO.

quantum7

I have used 87, 89 and 93 in my 07 TL which also has premium recommended. 90% of the time it is the 89 but I would not be afraid to use 87 provided that you don't get any pinging. My car has 250,000 miles on 89 and the engine runs great.

t0md0

That's pretty amazing. 250K miles is a lot of miles.

Skidoor

I use 89, 91 and sometimes 87. The hotter the weather, the higher octane I use, generally.

chickdr

Agreed - there is no reason I can find (nor has anyone been able to provide here) which explains why the RDX needs premium while all Honda's with 3.5 V6's are fine with 87. I started with premium for a few tanks, but now use only 87. No pinging in any weather (and I am in Hotlanta). I also see no difference in MPG on 93 vs 87. To me it is a waste of money. The dealers universally tell you 87 is fine as well....

t0md0

Yup, I'm in general agreement with everything you said. However, the RDX doesn't need premium like you stated. They just recommend it. Could just be a marketing thing.. could be that it's a heavier car.. could be that the RDX's V6 might just be tuned a tad bit differently than the Honda's and having 91 just might help it run smoother or possibly not turn on the knock sensor to retard the timing. Maybe for some reason our cars knock sensor turns on, for whatever reason, when using less than 91 so therefore Acura "recommends" 91 or higher? Who knows.. I would love a definitive answer. Don't think we'll get one though.

However, I would love to see a dyno test showing our cars running both 87 and 91. People claim better performance etc. but what does that specifically mean? Do they mean better performance to the wheels???

Btw, I live in CA so we generally only have 91 octane as the highest.

t0md0

So far I'm pumping 91 from companies like Shell, Chevron, and Mobil. I believe all 3 are considered in the "Top Tier" family? I don't usually deter from these 3 companies when pumping gas. I've debated and was thinking about going to 89 but we'll see. So many haters on people using 87 while some say only use 91. Where's the love for 89?? Hahaha. That's a happy medium for everyone on the fence right? Lol.

NBP04TL4ME

Top Tier Gas - Licensed Brands | Top Tier Gas

t0md0

I don't think I run into, if any, non Top Tier gasoline here in southern California. My auto shop teacher back in the day always said.. most, if not all, modern day gasoline has detergents so if you think ARCO sucked, think again. Gas is gas. I'm sure there are some crappy ones out there but I don't run into them in my area usually. It's funny cause I still refuse to pump ARCO. There has to be a reason they're cheaper right? Or could it be because you have to pay cash or else they'll charge you for using your debit card and that's how they keep their prices lower?

t0md0

Well.. it looks like I do have XM radio as a 3 month promotion. It still does not allow me to choose Live weather or Live traffic in my car.

Brown13

Traffic is an additional $3.99 per month
Nav traffic and Nav weather $7.00 per month

t0md0

Oh NVM.. turns out I do have it with my trial subscription. Lol. My bad. Thanks though!

tegraphile

Congrats. I usually just pay for premium and figure it's a wash with the slightly improved fuel economy.

CanTex

We had a ‘99 Accord 4-cyl. and I remember taking it in to have the injectors cleaned a few times because of a sticky throttle for many $$$ each time. I switched to brand-name gas, of all of which turned out to sell Top Tier gas. No problem after that.

I use 89 octane around town and 91 on long drives. I tried 87 but the car just felt sluggish. That’s on a ‘13 and ‘17 RDX and ‘15 TLX, same seat-of-the-pants thing.

Enjoy your ‘13. Wise choice. We’d still be driving our ‘13 Tech but our son’s BMW was failing and he made a convincing case for us to sell the RDX to him. Our other son was so impressed with his mother’s RDX he bought a ‘14 Tech. So in the end we have three black RDXs. Looks almost like a Secret Service VIP caravan. Well, sorta.

jesser916

I think you're fine with 87 or 91 octane. You won't be able to tell the difference in power. Most of it is placebo effect. So do whatever makes you happy.

I'm not sure about gas mileage. Someone please do a comparison =)

wddwndrr

I have been using 91 on my new-to-me '13 RDX. However, I'm going to switch to 89 after reading Consumer Report's tests. They tested a TLX and reported no difference using premium gas on parameters of power and fuel economy. Like someone said earlier, its mostly placebo-effect and some clever marketing. The CBC episode (link below) is also quite a revelation. However, CBC does their tests with mostly non-premium cars.

Consumer Report's verdict: https://www.consumerreports.org/fuel...d-premium-gas/

CBC reports:
Also, 'Top Tier' certifies brands only when all grades meet their standards. All grades must have the detergents to keep your car clean

Quoted from here: https://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

tegraphile

I think it might be worth the switch for my RDX as well. Will report if there is any significant change.

ronsteve2112

When premium costs 60 cents a gallon more than regular unleaded, it takes more than "slightly improved" fuel economy to result in a "wash."

My Volvo was "premium recommended" like the Acura, which I took to mean that the published numbers were achieved on premium, and there was some benefit to it. At the end of the day I ended up running premium, top-tier gas the vast majority of the time, if nothing else for the sake of longevity. And I got 192K with it, so it's hard to argue with that.

The thing with the RDX is that the same engine has the same or better power numbers in the Accord, which runs on regular. That tells me the 3.5 V6 doesn't necessarily benefit from premium, and to make a longevity argument I'd have to see a lot more V6 Accords crapping out without a lot of miles on the clock. I might be more willing to run premium in my RDX because I have a Costco membership, which gets premium about 40-50 cents a gallon under what most of the other top tier stations are charging in my area.

Djandy651

Get ready for transmission problems at some point, hopefully you have bought CPO. Otherwise save up for a new tranny at some point. Acura still hasn't figured out transimission. Stop building cars for performance and start building for reliability.

kaehlin

You're bumping a 2-month old thread to complain, with no objective basis other than a single bad experience on your part. Experiences shared on this site do not point to transmission as a common failure point for this car, nor do owner surveys that I am aware of. RDX is typically a reliable car.

NBP04TL4ME

Agreed

We have had our 2nd gen (16 Advance) RDX for a couple months shy of 2 years and 30K+ miles and happy to say we haven't had one (read as ZERO) issue - transmission or otherwise.

mbJax

I just bought a 2014 cpo rdx, and that's the case with mine. Dealer was clueless about the xm, but I figured it out on the sirius website. But also no AcuraLink for me.

Tech

For anyone else since this is an older thread.

My neighbor has a 2003 Acura TL S with the 6 speed manual. He bought it new and still has it. He has only used regular 87 since new yet it calls for super. Runs like new.

The RDX shares the same engine with the Odyssey and Honda Accord V6. The Accord site lists regular. Hmmmm.makes you wonder. I ran 91 but now run 89.

Tech

So far so good as far as reliability goes on my 2017 RDX that I bought new. No issues, not even the hard shifts some complain about. Great gas mileage for a V6.

Acura builds performance cars? You are kidding, right. Its an SUV.

Clickit02

Acura V6 and Honda V6 have basically the same engines, but these engines are tuned differently. Acura engine outputs more HP (290 ph vs 278ph, or so, do some research). To do so, Acura engine has higher compression ratio that requires higher octane number = premium gas. If you use regular gas in engine designed for premium gas, the engine computer will adjust (retard) timing, after getting feedback from knock sensor, to avoid engine damage. However, this leads to some loss of power, resulting in lower MPG.
There are plenty of articles about this.

Tech

Unfortunately the specifications are no longer on the Honda site. But both engines had the same compression ratio.

Another thing is "recommended" is quite different from "required". I can maybe see using premium in the RDX it having more form drag and therefore wind resistance = more load on the engine, especially the faster you go.

BTW...




Honda V6




Yup, aware of all that.