Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

Always a frustrating experience, @nyccarguy . Surely just a hiccup.

Michaell

@nyccarguy - most of us don't need an excuse to go car shopping. You do, now!

Like others have posted, here's hoping it's a simple (and inexpensive) fix.

nyccarguy

Thanks for your sympathetic “ear” as always guys. I was able to drive the Pilot to the dealer under its own power. I took the side roads and was able to drive 30 - 35 mph. It is very sluggish. Hopefully this is related to the letter I got in the mail last month:





I did a quick search on piloteers and lots of things came up: fuel injectors, catalytic converter, torque converter, transmission. I’m just going to have to sit tight until tomorrow.

I did fill up last night. It has the cap less fuel filler.

It is currently not under bumper to bumper or power train warranty. Our Pilot is 3 years & 4 month old. It currently has 67,540 miles on the odometer.

graphicguy

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

stickguy

because she has a car, and you are retired?

stickguy

seems like odd messages to get for those conditions, but sometimes that happens.

Also why it is handy to have a nice scan tool. Plug it in, and in a few minutes, you know what codes are flipped on.

nyccarguy

xwesx said:

Always a frustrating experience, @nyccarguy . Surely just a hiccup.

I’m just glad the closest Honda dealer is the next town over. 7 miles from my house, unlike the trek you have to endure every time your Q7 needs service. Any news with regards to the Q7 BTW?

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

Uh - oh. This can’t be good. This materialized while my wife was running errands this afternoon. Pilot went into limp mode and wouldn’t go past 30 mph.

That's not good. An emissions system issue would not cause a transmission issue. hmmmm... maybe something will come to me, but I'm kind of stumped why these two would come up together. Even if it were misfires, that should not give a transmission warning. So much for that Honda reliability. haha.

stickguy

I remember when the old TL my son had at college acted it, it gave a number of scary warning lights/messages. ABS, TCS, etc. Turned out to be an alternator on it's way out, getting flakey.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen - yeah, if it is something MAJOR & expensive then I’m not going to be a happy camper. I will look elsewhere for a replacement family hauler.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

Uh - oh. This can’t be good. This materialized while my wife was running errands this afternoon. Pilot went into limp mode and wouldn’t go past 30 mph.

That's not good. An emissions system issue would not cause a transmission issue. hmmmm... maybe something will come to me, but I'm kind of stumped why these two would come up together. Even if it were misfires, that should not give a transmission warning. So much for that Honda reliability. haha.

I’m thinking it’s a wiring problem to trip so much at once. An emissions fault can trip a lot of the safety systems off but like you say the transmission one is odd.

nyccarguy

@explorerx4 once mentioned a website “carcomplaints.com.” You can search through service bulletins by year, make, & model. Looks like the fuel injectors are definitely going to be covered. I also read about certain 9AT transmission warmers being improperly manufactured causing coolant and ATF to mix with resulting in engine/transmission replacement.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Uh - oh. This can’t be good. This materialized while my wife was running errands this afternoon. Pilot went into limp mode and wouldn’t go past 30 mph.

Did she run over something? Usually the transmission and emissions controls don’t fail in tandem.

nyccarguy

@oldfarmer50 - “negative ghost rider”

corvette

@nyccarguy - that stinks about the Pilot. Hope it is something minor like what my parents experienced with their Element.

pensfan83

Ugh, what a pain to deal with.

qbrozen

Cheap leases can really spoil you.

Here I find a pretty darned nice car, barely used, and like 50% of the new price. Yet when I look at the monthly, it is so damned expensive.

https://www.burnsbuickgmc.com/used-Marlton-2019-Buick-Envision-Premium+II-LRBFX4SX5KD019516

stickguy

nice looking and well equipped. but 28K? You mean that had a $56K MSRP? I thought stuff made in China was supposed to be cheap?

I might pay $18k if it drove nice. But I know I could never convince the wife.

qbrozen

Well, I was rounding. I think maybe $48k? I have found conflicting info.
But $28k is an excellent price. That is the estimated auction value.

Just ran it through Carvana and they offered 27866. Maybe dealer should sell it to them. Haha.

28firefighter

Such a bummer, @nyccarguy. I don’t know about all of your significant others, but my wife has zero tolerance for unplanned car issues for her personal car. Hopefully it’s not something catastrophic!

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

Cheap leases can really spoil you.

Here I find a pretty darned nice car, barely used, and like 50% of the new price. Yet when I look at the monthly, it is so damned expensive.

https://www.burnsbuickgmc.com/used-Marlton-2019-Buick-Envision-Premium+II-LRBFX4SX5KD019516

Yup. Leasing has always spoiled people that way, but hacking leases does so to an exponential degree.

stickguy

I have gotten a few pretty good ones, but am a rank amateur at finding leases compared to some of you guys! Haven't really come up with anything promising for my son, but he is focused on getting something her really wants, not a good deal!

And my wife also has no tolerance now for issues. If she got stranded by her car again it might be one and done. So at least her having the nice, new one, I have a better chance that doesn't happen. But it also means she is stuck with it, even if it has to get towed in and fixed some day. If we still had the old RDX (or even something like Bradd's Pilot that was paid off) and it did that to her, pretty sure I would be told to start looking (unless I had a nicer car that she is willing to drive that she would take instead).

Sandman6472

Sorry to hear of your issues Bradd, I hate any vehicular drama as we all know here. The wife ain't keen about it either as she expects her vehicle to start every time. She even hates filling the tank and will get me to do it whenever possible. From your mileage, see you've already passed me as I'm at about 66,600 right now. Right now, no drama with either vehicle so that's a good thing. Still look at alternatives for me and was going to go out and check out a used Honda HR-V yesterday but I really wasn't feeling well and decided to hold off a bit. Getting in and out of multiple vehicles when my spinal pain ramps up just doesn't make sense really. Another day perhaps.

Sandman6472

Finally had time yesterday to bring out all the repair receipts for the Golf and write them down. Was surprised as to how many syntetic oil changes I've actually done. I know one of the receipts from 2018 got under the front passengers seat so I thought I was way over 10K on the time interval, so I had another one done in between. Turns out it was just around 8K when it was done so felt much better. Not sure how it got under the seat but glad I found it. Have been doing every other change at the dealer but turns out, didn't do any good on that drivers front door issue from a few years back as VW refused to even consider paying for a part of it.
But just glad I finally sat down and made a list that I can check easily at any time now. Eventually I'll do a spreadsheet in the computer as I did screw up a couple of dates, started from most current repair/invoice going back to when it was purchased. Funny how the time flies, as of December 2020, I've owned it 6 years. Hard to believe it's been that long.

au1994

28firefighter said:

Such a bummer, @nyccarguy. I don’t know about all of your significant others, but my wife has zero tolerance for unplanned car issues for her personal car. Hopefully it’s not something catastrophic!

Mine has none. She liked the Stelvio when they were leasing well but I wouldn’t pull the trigger since the only dealer left is a ways away.

sb55

nyccarguy said:

@explorerx4 once mentioned a website “carcomplaints.com.” You can search through service bulletins by year, make, & model. Looks like the fuel injectors are definitely going to be covered. I also read about certain 9AT transmission warmers being improperly manufactured causing coolant and ATF to mix with resulting in engine/transmission replacement.

My friend own carcomplaints.com. It does pretty much like the name says.

nyccarguy

sb55 said:

nyccarguy said:

@explorerx4 once mentioned a website “carcomplaints.com.” You can search through service bulletins by year, make, & model. Looks like the fuel injectors are definitely going to be covered. I also read about certain 9AT transmission warmers being improperly manufactured causing coolant and ATF to mix with resulting in engine/transmission replacement.

My friend own carcomplaints.com. It does pretty much like the name says.

Whoops. Sorry @sb55. I forgot it was you that mentioned that site. Thanks though. It is full of LOTS of information.

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

Such a bummer, @nyccarguy. I don’t know about all of your significant others, but my wife has zero tolerance for unplanned car issues for her personal car. Hopefully it’s not something catastrophic!

I agree. That’s just a bummer. Hopefully nothing serious, and it turns out to be an easy (read...cheap) fix).

sb55

No problem. I was just stating a fact. It's another good forum to hear from owner's laments.

sb55

imidazol97 said:

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Venza is hybrid only. Basically a RAV 4 hybrid in a tux. And odd that the glass roof is fixed, but it is that fancy chromatic (?) glass that goes opaque when you hit a button.

Didn't somebody's son on here just buy one of them?

Son and wife love the Venza. They shopped for a relatively short time. They are late 30's and they wanted hybrid or EV (!!!). Against my advice son decided on hybrid when I told him a straight 2.5 L Toyota engine was best value. Key
is he did NOT like the front appearance of various Toyota sedans. Not the RAV4 and Lexus models fronts.

This Venza is a Japan built version of a Toyota Harrier. They share a link back a step or so with the Rav4. Lots of technology. All technology. Pana roof is variable as to how much light comes in. Not moveable.

Loves the car with its cargo room greater than their Encore. Downside is the glass roof means no roof racks for their kayak racks. So that stays on Encore. AND lost the foot sensor for the tailgate due to adding the Activity Hitch to hold the bike racks.

Bought Limited model because of real leather seats and dealer was pushing discounting to make the sale above an XLE model.

I am going to look at Venza Limited. We test drove a LE just to get a feel for it. But, does your son's actually have leather? The build sheet lists "Softex" that is synthetic "pleather". I can't figure out if they actually offer real hides.

tjc78

Venza will most likely be my Mom’s next ride once her RAV4 goes back.

She had the older style wagonish version and loved it except for the visibility.

ab348

Took the ATS in to the dealer for the usual 6-month service. They did the hard sell on the brake fluid flush. "Funny, I don't remember seeing that in the maintenance schedule" I said.

"Oh, no, but we've found it tends to go after 2 years or so, so that's our recommendation. We have these test strips we use to test it for moisture content. It usually comes up as 4%-5% after 2 years or so."

They are going to use one of their magic test strips and let me know the results. The outcome seems fairly predictable.

That aside, it was painless enough. I had to take a route to get there that is normally awful at morning rush, and today at 8:25AM it was virtually empty. Lots of people still staying home. Surprised me since there is no plague here locally.

They gave me a 2020 XT5 as a loaner. About as charisma-free as you can get, black interior of course with a simply awful exterior color I think they called Pepperdust Metallic, it looks like metallic mud, not vibrant in any way. The XT5 feels very solid and heavy on the road but drives quite well. I liked the feel of the brakes and the steering was OK if a bit light. I was surprised to see that it uses what appears to be the exact same instrument cluster as my ATS. The rest of the dash is different of course and I'm not sure it's an improvement but it isn't awful. Seats are comfortable. The 3.6 does the job but doesn't feel zippy like it does in the ATS. On the plus side, the start/stop function on this is far better than on the ATS, almost imperceptible. They improved it in the 3 model years that passed between them. On the downside, it has the horrible Cadillac electronic shift mechanism which never fails to befuddle me even though I've driven with them a few times. When I was leaving the dealer lot I forgot that you had to hold down the little button on the side when you were trying to shift it into Drive, but a message on the dash reminded me of that. Later I stopped in a parking lot to do an errand and for a while thought I was going to be stuck there because I couldn't get it into reverse when I wanted to back out of the spot. Finally figured out that you had to do it in 2 steps, first P to N, then N to R. Hate it.

corvette

GM used to specify a 10 year interval for brake fluid. Most European brands recommend changing it every 2 years, I think Honda/Acura is 3 years.

stickguy

Honda and VW are both 3 year intervals. I’m fine with that. Cheap insurance.

sda

ab348 said:

Took the ATS in to the dealer for the usual 6-month service. They did the hard sell on the brake fluid flush. "Funny, I don't remember seeing that in the maintenance schedule" I said.

"Oh, no, but we've found it tends to go after 2 years or so, so that's our recommendation. We have these test strips we use to test it for moisture content. It usually comes up as 4%-5% after 2 years or so."

They are going to use one of their magic test strips and let me know the results. The outcome seems fairly predictable.

That aside, it was painless enough. I had to take a route to get there that is normally awful at morning rush, and today at 8:25AM it was virtually empty. Lots of people still staying home. Surprised me since there is no plague here locally.

They gave me a 2020 XT5 as a loaner. About as charisma-free as you can get, black interior of course with a simply awful exterior color I think they called Pepperdust Metallic, it looks like metallic mud, not vibrant in any way. The XT5 feels very solid and heavy on the road but drives quite well. I liked the feel of the brakes and the steering was OK if a bit light. I was surprised to see that it uses what appears to be the exact same instrument cluster as my ATS. The rest of the dash is different of course and I'm not sure it's an improvement but it isn't awful. Seats are comfortable. The 3.6 does the job but doesn't feel zippy like it does in the ATS. On the plus side, the start/stop function on this is far better than on the ATS, almost imperceptible. They improved it in the 3 model years that passed between them. On the downside, it has the horrible Cadillac electronic shift mechanism which never fails to befuddle me even though I've driven with them a few times. When I was leaving the dealer lot I forgot that you had to hold down the little button on the side when you were trying to shift it into Drive, but a message on the dash reminded me of that. Later I stopped in a parking lot to do an errand and for a while thought I was going to be stuck there because I couldn't get it into reverse when I wanted to back out of the spot. Finally figured out that you had to do it in 2 steps, first P to N, then N to R. Hate it.

If you had to go from P to R in a hurry, say to get out of the way of another vehicle, that could be an issue. Also if you had to 'rock' a car to get unstuck, would you be able to do that?

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

You seem to really like cars that are unreliable, and dealerships that don't seem to care about your problems.

Have you considered an Alfa Romeo Giulia?

28firefighter

The first time your fuel door falls off at Costco is when you know you’ve made an outstanding choice.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

You seem to really like cars that are unreliable, and dealerships that don't seem to care about your problems.

Have you considered an Alfa Romeo Giulia?

There’s some truth to that.

Actually, I was at BMW North, right across the street from Sweeney (large local dealership group).

Noticed the sign at their Chrysler store now had logos for Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa. I guess they have all their unreliable brands lumped within walking distance of each other.

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

You seem to really like cars that are unreliable, and dealerships that don't seem to care about your problems.

Have you considered an Alfa Romeo Giulia?

There’s some truth to that.

Actually, I was at BMW North, right across the street from Sweeney (large local dealership group).

Noticed the sign at their Chrysler store now had logos for Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa. I guess they have all their unreliable brands lumped within walking distance of each other.

99 Jeeps/Ram sold for every one car from the other makes.

I really do like the Alfas, though. I could live with a cheap lease, and guaranteed towing/loaner car.

roadburner

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

You seem to really like cars that are unreliable, and dealerships that don't seem to care about your problems.

Have you considered an Alfa Romeo Giulia?

There’s some truth to that.

Actually, I was at BMW North, right across the street from Sweeney (large local dealership group).

Noticed the sign at their Chrysler store now had logos for Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa. I guess they have all their unreliable brands lumped within walking distance of each other.

North has a Portimeo Blue/Black CPO 2020 M340i with most every option for $51k. I’ve been tempted but I still think I’d wind up bored with it.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

Just got back from the BMW test drives. I drove 2 of them....a 330i and a 340i. No surprise, liked both. Typical BMW...Good handlers, steering was communicative, brakes were up-to-snuff. 330i wasn’t bad.....a little gruff in the drivetrain dept, but really quite fine. Automatic was good. Lots of new tech that I’d never seen before in a BMW. Interesting. Would have to spend more time with it to really give a thumbs up or down.

The 340i reminds me a lot of the Stinger in the way it handles and “goes”. The downside? $60K+. That’s over my $50K threshold.

Bottom line....not any colors I care for in either flavor. Why, oh why do dealerships think customers only want black interiors?

I’m liking these new turbo 4 cyl cars....a lot more than I thought I would.

Tomorrow? Tesla.

And yes @breld , I am having fun. I’m pretending I’m you.

Oh yeah, I guess the “cost” for using the GFs car, even though I filled it up from empty this a.m., is I had to take her to dinner. WTH?! Actually, she’s getting a kick out of my daily shopping routine, too (although, she can’t understand why she’s working while I’m shopping).

You seem to really like cars that are unreliable, and dealerships that don't seem to care about your problems.

Have you considered an Alfa Romeo Giulia?

There’s some truth to that.

Actually, I was at BMW North, right across the street from Sweeney (large local dealership group).

Noticed the sign at their Chrysler store now had logos for Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa. I guess they have all their unreliable brands lumped within walking distance of each other.

99 Jeeps/Ram sold for every one car from the other makes.

I really do like the Alfas, though. I could live with a cheap lease, and guaranteed towing/loaner car.

When Alfas first hit the street (again), I saw more than a few around. Now, I hardly see any of them. I didn’t even see any on the Chrysler/Jeep/Ram/Dodge/Fiat/Alfa lot...LOL!

The last Alfa I ever drove was a Spider. That was fun, but the owner hated it because of...what else? It’s terrible reliability.

BTW....have you seen the ads for the Cincinnati Auto Show happening in May?

roadburner

corvette said:

GM used to specify a 10 year interval for brake fluid. Most European brands recommend changing it every 2 years, I think Honda/Acura is 3 years.

2 years is as far as I am prepared to go. Not only does the moisture lower the boiling point, but it can also damage the ABS pump(s).

nyccarguy

Dealer called to tell me they have my car. The SA gave me "the run down" since my car is out of factory warranty/power train warranty. They will put it on the lift & hook it up to the computer to read the code. If the code thrown is related to the "fuel injector" extended warranty, and open recall, or TSB they will notify me and fix it at no charge. If it is not, they will call me with an estimate. If they do the repair at my cost, there is no diagnostic fee. If I choose to not have the repair done there, there will be a $145 diagnostic fee.

He did mention that if it going to be more than a 1 day repair that he would see if he could get me a courtesy car. I'm anxiously awaiting.

[Deleted User]

Good luck @nyccarguy, is this the first issue you've had with the Pilot?

nyccarguy

dad23 said:

Good luck @nyccarguy, is this the first issue you've had with the Pilot?

Yes & Thank-you!

corvette

28firefighter said:

The first time your fuel door falls off at Costco is when you know you’ve made an outstanding choice.

I noticed the other day that the fuel door on the Tundra won't close completely. Hasn't fallen off yet, though.

ab348

sda said:

If you had to go from P to R in a hurry, say to get out of the way of another vehicle, that could be an issue. Also if you had to 'rock' a car to get unstuck, would you be able to do that?

I don't see how you could do either.

ab348

I just realized that the XT5 I got isn't a 2020 but rather a 2018! That explains the rather high mileage (35K miles). I also was looking up how that damn shifter is supposed to be used and discovered they changed it for 2020. You no longer have to go up to N and then left to R. It is all now a straight line action which seems more intuitive and easier to understand. Must have gotten lots of complaints.

rayainsw

First actual, instrumented test I have seen for the 2022 GTI:

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/volkswagen/gti/2022/2022-volkswagen-gti-first-test-first-drive-review/

ab348

roadburner said:

corvette said:

GM used to specify a 10 year interval for brake fluid. Most European brands recommend changing it every 2 years, I think Honda/Acura is 3 years.

2 years is as far as I am prepared to go. Not only does the moisture lower the boiling point, but it can also damage the ABS pump(s).

Sounds like ABS pumps have a rather serious design flaw if that's the case.