harpua

I'm due for my first oil change with my 2014 RDX. I've had the car since late July and have just over 4k miles. I called Jiffy Lube and they said it would cost $90. This seems a bit high. What kind of oil do I need to put in there? Do I need synthetic?

Thanks for the help.

davisinla

Synthetic is not required. Look at page 277 of the owners manual.

"Synthetic oil - You may also use synthetic motor oil if it is labeled with the API Certification Seal
and is the specified viscosity grade."

BTW, I got a coupon from my Acura dealer and took mine in last week for an unbelievable deal: Oil change, tire rotation, wash and vacuum - all completed in one hour - $19.95! Man, that probably didn't pay for the oil.

As an aside, here's a hint: before you have an oil change done ANYWHERE (Jiffy Lube included), check their web site - there is usually a discount coupon of some sort.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

Your Acura dealer would be cheaper even if they used synthetic. Is your MID telling you to change the oil or are you going by mileage? If this is your first oil change you need to keep the factory oil in for as long as possible meaning until the car asks for the oil to be changed.

I wouldn't trust the guys at jiffy lube... ever. For oil changes dealers are actually very competitively priced if you know what to ask for. Dino change runs about $45, synthetic is about $70 or so at the dealer. Of course it's your car... do what you want. I just happened to be very particular about who handles my cars.

hand-filer

My dealer charges $61 for an oil change with synthetic oil. They refer to it as synthetic on the work order but I'm pretty sure it's semi synthetic.
I wouldn't trust Jiffy Lube, I'd rather a certified Acura technician work on my car.

markAZ

Don't go to Jiffy Lube.

ceb

Do NOT take your car to an iffy lube place.

Look at the complaints. Do a simple Google search and then sit back and watch a few videos


And why are you doing an oil change at 4k miles. Do your oil changes when your car tells you to do an oil change - around 6-8k miles.

stuhFAN

wat

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

Factory fill has break in additives. If you bought your car brand new, and it is the first oil change the factory fill needs to stay in the engine until the MID asks for an oil change, not by old school mileage based OCI. After that you can either follow the MID which is recommended or your own interval (for those that don't trust Acura R&D on the MID system).

davisinla

Can you cite a source for that?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

This is from the Acura FAQ owners section (Acura.com):

"Why should I wait to change the oil the first time?

Your Acura engine was delivered with an oil that is specially formulated for new engines that have not yet developed their "natural" wear patterns and may contain minute particles from the manufacturing process.
Acura strongly recommends this special oil be left in the engine long enough for these wear patterns to develop, usually until the first maintenance interval specified in your Owner's Manual, based on your specific driving conditions."

davisinla

Thanks. I wonder why they don't put that in the manual.

Murrow

My A1 came on a few days ago. A nice touch was that, about two days later, I happened to get a free oil change certificate from my dealer in the mail.

I did the service today (6,700 miles), and I left the dealership very, very annoyed. They probably do a hundred oil changes/tire rotations a day, and they screwed up two things on mine alone.

The tech didn't put the lug key back in the car and also smudged my passenger seat in two places with his greasy hands. I'm glad I noticed both issues before I left.

I was especially pissed because, if my wife had gone to get the service done, she probably wouldn't have noticed the missing lug key and could have ended up in trouble at some point, if she ever had a flat.

Adding insult to injury, I had already told the the service adviser not to wash/vacuum the car, since I'm picky about that stuff. What I didn't expect is for the tech to make the car DIRTIER -- and not clean it!

The service advisers were very apologetic. They insisted on getting the seat cleaned, even though I initially told them I'd take care of it myself. It looks fine now, but what should have been an easy and pleasant experience left me with a bad taste.

harpua

I'm looking to change the oil now because I'm down to 10% oil life on my dash indicator and the yellow light is on saying that service is needed soon.

markAZ

That's one of the reasons I prefer to do services myself.

ceb

If you are down to 10% then you should get your oil changed now although I do wonder how you managed to get to 10% in 4000 miles.

Do yourself a favor and either go to the dealer for an oil change or find a trusted independent mechanic. Those quick lube places will destroy your car.

KeithL

I always use dealer for oil changes during warranty period and hate the local hops they always make a mess and use cheap filters. Doesn't the RDX require 5W20 or 0W20,

supera

The RDX requires 0W20.This has been discussed on here before.All 0WXX oils are synthetic or synthetic blend.Certain dealers carry syn blend which I would guess would be expensive.If you want conventional oil you would have to switch to 5W20.I would stick with 0W20,I am very satisfied with it.More cars are switching to this weight.

KeithL

That's what I thought and honestly I always consider Oil the most vital thing in the car. neglect it and the car life is doomed. Most dealers around here are around $60 for a synthetic change.

hondu

There are UOAs for the factory oil on BITOG. Honda/Acura uses high Molybdenum in their factory oil for break-in. They have been doing this for years.

davisinla

I'm not sure how many Acura owners receive UOAs from BITOG, but my subscription must have lapsed - I can't remember the last time I got one.

Seriously, though, I'm guessing that most owners do what the sales person or service manager suggests. Mine didn't mention anything about break-in oil.

My question was why doesn't Acura put that info in the manual where owners might see it.

nyse_19

Acura is Tulsa, OK charges $39.99 for an oil change and $19.99 for tire rotation. Personally, I wouldn't save a few dollars by going to a cheaper place.

The dealer says they put 5W20 oil in the car. I've asked many times why, as the owners manual and even the label on the engine says 0W20. I don't know enough about the differences in the oil and if there is a reason why they would choose 5W20 over 0W20 so I'm not able to push more on the issue. This may be why the oil change is only $39.99 however. But this oil issue is for a different thread and has been discussed in length before!

nyse_19

Forgot to mention in previous message:
I've had my RDX serviced at a Acura dealer in St. Louis, MO as well. They too put 5W20 oil in the engine. Knowing that two different dealers use 5W20 vs 0W20 as mentioned in the owners manual and on the engine only confuses me more.
But again...this is for a different thread and I know has been discussed.

markAZ

The W number (0W, 5W, 10W, etc) indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature (the W stands for Winter), I believe it's 0C (32F). The other number indicates the viscosity at 100C (212F). So a 5W oil would be a little thicker at freezing temps than a 0W. How much? Probably not much but it might make a difference in how easy the engine will turn over when it's really cold. Either 0W20 or 5W20 would have the same viscosity at normal engine temps (in theory, anyway). So in most cases it probably doesn't matter much to the engine. The 0W probably gives them just enough difference to make the fuel mileage rating a little better. There's lots more to it but in the end, it probably doesn't matter much. The 5W is probably cheaper for the dealer so that's why they use it.

hondu

Yes, I agree. They used to put that info in the owners manual. Not sure why they removed it now. Probably asked by some lawyers to change it.

By the way, I don't "receive" UOAs from BITOG. I go to the website and search/research them, since people post them there.

hondu

The "W" stands for oil weight. A 0W- oil will generally give better start-up protection, since it will flow easier cold ("cold" being relative). Most engine wear occurs at start-up.

markAZ

No, the W is for Winter and the temps for each are specified in the standards. Google 'motor oil weights' and you'll find more than you ever wanted to know about it.

WSZsr

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-102/

Very good info.

BLACK RAVEN

buy your own oil and filter and anyone will do the service for labor only. my acura dealer charges $14. I buy a jug of mobile 1 0w20 synthetic from walmart and a Purolator pure one filter for around $30.

musty hustla

$90 oil change at Jiffy Lube? I thought their most expensive service was $30.

hondu

Sorry, I stand corrected. I guess you learn something new everyday. I've frequented BITOG for awhile, but I never really researched what the W stood for.

RDXChic

iTrader: (1)

Jiffy Lube - I shutter when I hear about this place. I don't understand why anyone would take their car there. Years ago, I took my Subaru Forester there for an oil change, I had a free coupon, and they drained all of my transmission fluid, never replaced the fluid they removed, and gave me the car back! Best part, I found out the hard way after leaving.

I only lived a mile away from Jiffy Lube and didn't even get a quarter mile down the road when the transmission started to shift / grind / smell. I had my car towed to the dealership, only to be told it was going to be $3k to try and salvage the transmission, that my warranty was now void, if there was damage to the transmission, they couldn't verify right away and that the long term damage could have been done. My car only had 35K on it. It took me months to fight with Jiffy Lube to get my money back for the car repairs.

My local dealership did my A1 service, oil change / tire rotation for $50 with the tax.