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Not even close in my experience. I put on 12-15,000 miles a year on our recent Hondas and Subarus, and most years I spend roughly $25-50 on maintenance. The major 30K service on my last Subaru cost me about $60 and an hour of time. At the dealer it would have been about $200. I have never, ever, spent more than about $50 a year for maintenance on any of our cars in normal years, and even years with major services are generally $100-200 tops.
The issue is when people follow dealership maintenance recommendations rather than what's given in the owner's manual. Dealerships always upsell/oversell the service. I am continually shocked when I hear friends or coworkers talk about yearly costs in the hundreds of dollars on cars that cost me well under $50 a year to maintain. Seriously, anyone who spends over $50-100 a year on their Hondas, even with dealer maintenance, needs to pay more attention.
As an example, my wife's TSX has a 10,000 mile oil change interval with a 20,000 mile filter interval. The last oil-only change she got at the dealer was $16, and the oil+filter change was $21. If I weight-average those costs for a typical annual cycle, it's around $25 a year. When she needed a new air filter (at 30K I think) that was $35 including labor. This car costs less to maintain than our older Hondas and Subarus because of the longer intervals, but other than that the costs are inline with my expectations.
I got free oil changes with my RDX (a dealer freebie) but will probably do the first one myself -- at 7200 miles the oil life indicator just hit 5%. That's going to cost me $21 (5 qts Mobil 1) + $6 (filter). At least for the next few of these cycles, the cost won't be any higher. For that vehicle, I should spend under $100 in total by the time I hit 30,000 miles, perhaps well under $100 if I take advantage of the free oil changes.
So anyways, my point would be that $40/year is more typical for my Hondas, not anywhere near $400/year.
Craig
I have no idea why Honda is telling people to not change their filter every time they do an oil change. In a decade of the auto business that is one of the top three stupid things I have seen from a manufacturer.
At the dealer... I'll stand by $400/yr.. Six Hondas and two Acuras.. by my own, admittedly anecdotal, experience.
My Honda dealer charges $29.95 for an oil change.. Reasonable, I think.. If your Acura dealer charges $16, then they are either losing money, or they charge more upfront for the car to cover it.. (hey.. that works both ways!
Really... Not trying to compare total costs between the RDX and the X3.. But, for owners who use dealer service, the savings are significant. You have some sort of mutant Acura service department. Most 30K services at my local Acura service department run $300-$500, and hope you don't need brakes :surprise: .
regards,
kyfdx
(not the host here)
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Even doing the oil change yourself though a real oil change schedule costs more then 50 bucks a year. Now if you are doing the silly 10,000 mile oil and 20,000 miles for a filter then yeah you can get buy with less then 50 bucks.
I would hate to see an oil analysis of that oil though.
But 10,000 on just the oil and then using the old filter!!!!! No, that is not a good idea. You are reintrouducing half a quart or so of dirty oil to the system and most oil filters are still just using paper media. That stuff breaks down over time and the bypass valve kicks in.
"A" costs $100 and "B1" costs $220.
On the subject of total cost of ownership:
The RDX:
-oil change due at 5K, so with 15K/yr that's $420/year
-BMW V8 oil at 15K, $100.
-30K service (transmission, brake, radiator fluids) $530 (RDX 'higher').
-BMW V8 30K service $600.
So obviously if you annualize the costs the RDX is around $650/yr.
The BMW V8 around $400/yr.
I haven't factored in the brake pads yet (don't have parts/interval data).
I think paper is good stuff myself; one of our Jeep members makes paper filter media although we couldn't drag him into the oil wars, lol. I like plain ol' dead dino too, in case you haven't heard my rant before. :shades:
Maybe people pay that much for a 30K sevice, but anyone paying $300-500 is not paying attention to the owner's manual. There is not much more than an oil change, air filter, cabin air filter, and tire rotation at 30K. You don't have to question my experience, just look at the owner's manual on a recent model Honda/Acura and then do the math.
In all my years of owning Hondas and Subarus, I stuck to the schedule for the trans fluid changes (typically 30K or 60K intervals). Since the cars make it well over 100K miles with no issues, I trust the factory intervals. It doesn't hurt to change more often (well, assuming something else doesn't go wrong because of the extra work on the car) but it does add to the ownership cost for the vehicle and is not good for the environment. Until my engineering experience or car ownership experience tells me otherwise, I am sticking to the factory intervals.
Back then a quart of ATF sold for $1.50. It is much higher now. I suspect it is the same fluid as the old one with some additives mixed in, and it is sure a nice profit maker for Honda or any other manufacturer pushing their own transm. fluids.
BMW service is expensive but keep in mind it's only once per year and even then only after the 4th year is up.
Neither one of these cost as much to maintain as people are claiming.
There is no special 30k or 60k recommended service schedule and the 90k can be ignored.
Dealers still what that income, though, since they don't really make profits on new car sales.
And yet, my dealer still has everything set up for 7500 mile intervals, and they still put the sticker on your window recommending another oil change in 3 months or 3000 miles.. :surprise:
The BMW dealer, on the other hand.. If you ask about bringing your car in before the service interval (approx 15K), they look at you like you have two heads... "Why would you want to do that?!"
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Of course they act incredulous. They're paying for it.
That has nothing to do with providing honest service.
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In the alternative my best guess would be that you are hearing the relay, if not the fan itself, that turns the electric cooling fan on and off for the radiator and A/C condensor "stack". It would clearly be more/most active when stopped and even moreso with the A/C in use.
I'll be curious to see what it is. Song1, be sure to report back. In the meantime, I'll go watch my engine compartment while idling... gas prices may be going up, but this seems like a learning experience and worthy cause.
The RDX should be styled more as a mix of TL and TSX. The RDX should use the J32 but tuned to 260hp and 240lbs ft going through SH-awd from a 7AT.
Why 7at, lexus has 8AT already and All mb use a 7AT. So a 7AT will put acura in front of BMW.
The RDX should be literally an SUV of the TL and TSX instead of a weird Cr-v twin. Extend the wheel base a bit also to make room for cargo.
Also some rear options like rear heated seats (x3 has them), a bmw x5 like dvd player and reclining seats. A panorama roof would be nice too!
AND WHAT ABOUT THE RDX HAS IT A 4K LBS!! The bigger MDX weighs a bit more but it is a bigger SUV with a 3rd row and more tech.
-Cj
The best engine and the engine acura should be using for the RDX is the J32 (3.2l v6 with 258hp in the acura TL). That 3.2 is the best way for the RDX to go to have an edge on the x3. If bmw puts out an x3 using the 335i's engine, then acura should drop that turbo into the 3.2 to keep up.
Also acura had better bump this puppy up before mercedes enters with their GLK and Audi with their Q5. Heck, even the LR2 is giving the x3 a run for its money. Now is when acura should really step up to the plate and go all out while they have a chance.
Mercedes may use the 3.5l v6 from the c350 and get 250hp(higher than the RDX) and Audi can use the 3.6 and get 280hp(40 hp more than the Rdx!)!
Would you buy an X3 if the RDX had better performance at a lower price? I'm sure that switching the 2.3T for the j32 isn't going to bump the RDX that much in price if at all
My answer would be yes but only with a J30, J32, or J35 engine because this fuel thirsty 4cyl turbo isn't cutting it for me.
-Cj
Thanks Dennis
The performance angle is covered. Acura trumps the BMW.
Still, i wonder, what makes the RDX weigh 4k lbs! Is it Sh-awd? I noticed that the RL weighs 4k lbs and as does the MDX...
-Cj
The current RDX 5-spd is quite good, and the top gear is fairly tall. The engine almost lugs along in 5th gear at speeds in the 60-65mph range and doesn't really get comfy until 70mph and up. One thing they definitely don't want to do is make that top gear any taller.
And, of course, the X3 with the sport package and 18" wheel/tire combo probably would have garnered the same comments about ride (they said as much in a side note).
What makes the RDX weigh 4K lbs? The same thing that makes the CX-7 and X3 weigh 4K lbs. It's a vehicle with sport suspension, sport rims, a turbo induction system, luxury materials, and luxury electronics. The question I'd be asking is why is the CX-7 so heavy given that it does not have all the luxury trimmings.
That doesn't mean it doesn't need anything.
The BMW won the comparo based on refinement issues. That is an area where the RDX falls a bit short. There is some equipment missing from the package; the ride is "enthusiasts only" stiff (or pretty close to it); and it falls a little short in the cargo department.
I don't disagree that the X3 is the better vehicle. I'm just not so sure the difference is worth the extra overall cost.
Maybe it's the extra gear in the transmission?
In all seriousness, I think the CX-7 matches pretty well to the RDX in features - it's just the quality of those features where one can start to find fault with the Mazda.
In actuality, the CX-7 is just a smidge larger than the RDX in most dimensions, but lighter by 50 lbs. If that's how much SH-AWD and a bluetooth circuit board weigh, well, there you go.
I know this is not an apples to apples comparison, as the sedan is lighter and has a more powerful engine, but just concentrating on the transmission I find the 6 speed noticeably more responsive than the 5 speed, which I assume is due to better / closer spacing of the ratios.
OTOH, the X3 replaced an '01 330Xi with a 5 speed AT. The 5 speed in the '01 was responsive, but it came at the cost of not having tall enough highway gearing as it turned at least 3000 RPM at 70 IIRC.
My take on this is a 6 speed versus a 5 speed provides an advantage of being able to have both closer spacing of the gear ratios for performance, and a taller gear for the highway, everything else being equal.
Bruce
Or, similar spacing but a tall overdrive for highway, and a couple of stump-pulling cogs down low.
BTW, I'm told the RDX returned the favor in the August MT.
The RDX got first and the LR2 got second.