Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Acura MDX (pre-2007)
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In my option, the best exterior design for mid size luxury SUV are the MDX and Volvo XC90.
The ML is too boxy (nothing like the sedans look) but the leather and interior was really good looking but the reliablity was questionable.
The Lexus RX 300 ride was great. It didn't feel that it had lots of power though but adequate. I also feel that it more like the Highlander with many shared parts. Even the salesman said that you are buying into the service and not the vehicle.
I was so close in buying it because the quality and friendly atmosphere from the salesman. But the non-Michelin tires (cheap on tires), the lack of cargo space and third made me changed my mind.
My wife and I stayed at the Lexus dealer looking at it over 1.5 hrs. But we passed. The salesman got us $3800 off MSRP on the 2002 also. If Lexus has the similar vehicle to Acura, I would have brought it there.
The MDX didn't have the best of everything but cargo space and third row was the deciding factor. As a previous Honda owner, I taking on the assumption that reliablity couldn't be any more worst than my '96 Accord.
Acura service has a long ways to go to even compete against Lexus. Honda needs to work on that I guess.
If you want to try a car that is hard to maneuver in tight situations try a Chrysler PT Cruiser GT. It has the turning circle of a bus, yet it is one of the smallest cars on the road. Okay, not as big as a bus, but slightly more that a Suburban's at almost 43 feet compared to the 37 feet of the MDX. I have one and my MDX is easy to maneuver compared to my PT GT.
Thanks in advance for any input.
inky
Need to change my location to "Snowyland" .
Moonkat in Muddyland.
BTW, are you a former pilot? Your TH name stands for friendly former flyer? Or fondly farmer flyer, in which case you would be a dustcropper pilot!
When I test drove the RX300 before buying the MDX I didn't notice the turning circle being a problem. The RX was a more luxury oriented ride, but the MDX offered the space inside and more for less money.
Yes, I'm a former (retired) pilot.
One of the selling features to us for the MDX was the relatively tight turning circle, which makes parking and tight space maneuvering easy.
Does anyone changed their own oil on these MDX's? How difficult is it? I am thinking about boycotting the local dealers!
(Back on Topic)
Did not get the MDX. My sensibilities took the better of me and I bought an odyssey. will look at the mdx again in a couple years but right now the odyssey met all my needs at over 10k less.
As far as the schedule maintenance, alot of the luxury auto makers are doing that, I think its stupid thing to do myself. Usually if I suspect something is wrong, I ask them to look at it, and they would doing so for alot cheaper. I guess programs like that are for people who like a peace of mind and who are really into preventative maintenance.
These facts are why I posed the question about do it yourself oil changes on the MDX. Audi is easy, and my old A6 had its oil changed by an independent for about $20.
My biggest gripe is that there is a back log at Acura, they always want to do a bunch of bunk, and they expect me to be appreciative and somehow happy that they are taking all my money! After all, all I want is a dang oil change (and that damn "maintenance required" light to be turned off)! Book says every 7,500, dealer says if I like my car I'll do one every 3,000.
By the way, I love your story about how the Audi dealer kept calling you "sir" and made sure you was treated to pastries and soda/private labeled bottled water while you waited in their beautifully appointed dealership. Make you wonder if you were in a garage or beauty parlor.
I hear you on the domestics. Always laughing when I service the Taurus for $25 (or crying when I bring in the Volvo....at least the coffee is good).
The VTM4 fluid change (rear axle) is also easy IF you have the inexpensive ($9) hand pump Acura sells for this particular fluid change.
Miks: You have a 2000 S-Type. The 2001 model came with free scheduled maintenance for the warranty period. Jaguar parts are very expensive. Oil filters cost as much as $18 depending on the dealer. My dealer gave me several filters. I changed the oil on the Jags myself - no ramps or lift needed.
Our 2000 S-Type 4.0 had problems. I wrote a letter to Jag and they replaced the 2000 with a 2001. They were slow to respond to my letter, but when they did they gave me no hassle and built a new car for me. Jag may have a quality control problem, but they hit a home run with me.
Hopeitsfriday: To us, the MDX is upscale compared to the Jag. Having had two S-Type Jags and now the MDX, except for snob appeal the MDX is better in most ways. The MDX wins by a lot when it comes to comfort, room, usability, and versatility. As much road noise as there is in the MDX it seems less that the Jag after a few thousand miles on the Jag tires. Our MDX even gets better mpg than our Jags did. My Acura dealer gives no charge loaners and washes the car too (if I let them), just like when I had the Jags.
Does the fact you are doing your own fluid changes affect the warranty at all? Sounds like I may become a DIY'er too. I think the dealership (Acura) mentioned certificates for 1st & 3rd oil changes and perhaps a few others.
Overall $30 isn't bad for an oil change by the dealer. The VTM fluid change at 7500 miles is best left to the dealer, since this initial one could be later used for/against you in a warranty claim. While not voiding a warranty by doing your own fluid changes, they can always claim something, I think the VTM fluid@7500 is one that could be used against a customer.
I plan on adding the transmission cooler and towing package myself, and not voiding my warranty.
fndlyfmrflyr: I find it pretty amazing that Jaguar would give you a brand new vehicle because you had a one with problems. I heard stories about Acura owners who have gone through 2 transmission and the Acura dealer still won't replace the car. Acura dealer like alot of other dealers almost never replace cars. Sounds like the Jaguar dealers are doing something right. A cut above the Acura, Lexus, MB or the BMW dealers.
I think I will take your suggestion and allow the dealership to perform the maintenance but (as always) monitor what is being done. This will prevent wiggle room in the event there ever is an issue with my MDX. Thanks for the suggestions. Miks
I think the leather and interior quality in the XC90 left much to be desired because I was accustomed to the Jag. Guess it's a personal thing. Our Mercedes is a European version and I don't care for the leather, nor firmness of the seats. It does have beautiful solid wood throughout the vehicle. No plastic parts there! Now thats a vehicle that will cost for years to come, there's nothing inexpensive about owning one!
I test drove the Volvo XC90, the leather seat are actually not bad. A bit more comfortable than the MDX's front seats. The MDX's seats are stiffer and offers more support. Its more like a performance seats than a sofa. Reminds of my old Recardo seats I had in the pass. I took my MDX on couple of 2 hours trips, no complains of the seat's firmness from anyone including myself. I must admit it still doesn't compare to the Jaguar's seats which is one of the best in the industry.
Buy the parts with a credit card and your CC statement can be the record. Keep a log and record DIY maintenance. Many owner's manuals have pages for recording when a service is done. I use a small notebook kept in the glove box for this.
In over 15 years hearing lemon law cases only once did I hear a case where a problem was related to routine maintenance. In that case a reputable service shop made a mistake that caused the problem.
I've had two cars that were repurchased or replaced. In both cases maintenance records were not requested, nor were any questions asked about when or if scheduled maintenance had been done. None had been done by dealers
Chances are if fluids are changed at or near recommended intervals, hoses checked and replaced on a schedule, and belts checked and replaced when needed you will not have any problems related to routine service areas. It doesn't matter who does the work.
First 2622 miles - mixed driving conditions - 15.7
Next 3051 miles - mixed driving conditions - 16.5
Next 3083 miles - mixed driving conditions - 16.5
Last 1624 miles - mostly freeway driving - 20.0
Looking at the log there has been no increase in mpg since new.
The mpg varies from local only driving low of 12-13 (10 tanks) to a freeway only driving high of 21-22 (also 10 tanks).
Lowest 12.3
Highest 23.2 (only one tank above 22.6 and I drove slower than usual for the 23.2 tank)
Keep in mind freeway speeds are high where I live with 75 or so just keeping up with traffic. Local driving can be near grid lock conditions, so there is quite a bit of engine idle time. A/C is on most of the time. The high of 23.2 happened when I kept the speed at 70 and stayed in the slow lane with the big rigs. Your 03 may do a bit better because of the more open exhaust and new transmission even though your 03 weighs about a hundred pounds more than an 02.
Mpg is about as I expected.
I get about 17 average around town. I don't reset the computer except for long road trips. I got about 23 mpg on a week long road trip. A lot of highway, but also a fair amount of around town. The great highway mileage makes trips nicer by having to stop a few less times.
The trip computer always shows higher than the car actually gets. Last Friday it showed 23.6 after 267 miles of nearly all freeway driving, but only got 22.1 based on the amount of gallons added. BTW, it was the same gas station and the same pump. I use the same filling technique each time. Most of the time it is about one mpg high. There have been times where it was closer and times that it was worse.
I've seen the trip computer show zero miles left and the low fuel light hasn't come on yet. My low fuel light comes on between 2.5 and 3 gallons left in the tank. The distance traveled is accurate. The outside temperature is usually within a couple of degrees of actual outside temp.
I've had trip computers on a number of cars and none have been accurate with respect to mpg. All calculated a higher mpg than the vehicle actually got.
Aside: Not all trip computer calculations have been inaccurate. My Jaguars had the common European car inaccurate speedometers. Both were almost 7% off, reading higher than actual speed. Interestingly, the Jag trip computer could be made to show the correct speed if one was using cruise control.
MDX: The navigation system lost its way the other day. First time that has happened. It couldn't seem to figure out directions after I went a different way than it had directed. Took about five minutes of repeated recalculating before it resumed the usual easy to follow directions.
I've found the navi system gives less than ideal directions for my local area. It isn't programmed for short cuts, but until the one glitch the other day always corrected quickly for the short cut I was using. The directions the navi gives are correct and will get me where I want to go locally, and has proven to be a great tool when we are away from our local area too. We use it so much I'm thinking about putting one on our PT GT also (The Chrysler nav-radio system seems to be almost the same as the Acura system).
I noticed the same thing with my Jag the other day. My better half, driving the Ford F150 seemed to have the pedal to the metal so to speak. Found out the Jag was the vehicle that was off. Registered 5-7 MPH faster than we were actually moving.
fndlyfmrflyr do you have the 02 or 03? Just wondering since you mentioned the navi. I have heard so little about the new navi, dealership was very vague too. They just started showing commercials in this area and mention the new navi in the TL. But it of course only a teaser commercial.
I believe the 03 navigation system is like mine, but has voice control and a bigger dBase. The voice control wouldn't be much help for me because I program the destination before driving and I don't zoom in and out. The only significant advantage for me with voice would be not having to wipe finger prints off the screen from time to time. BTW, I've found "Klear Screen" lap top computer screen cleaner works well. You can get them as singles (or buy the bottle and get Klear Screen cloths separately) in stores that sell computers. Doesn't scratch the screen and is anti static. I also have a very soft small brush to remove dust from the screen.
So far the dBase on my 02 has had just about every destination. I find the telephone number look up (yellow pages I guess) to be an easy way to find places. It is faster than entering an address. As I've mentioned before on the forum we've found the nav unit much more useful than expected. Voice will make it even better.
FWIW, there was no mpg change on my MDX when I switched to synthetic oil.
Once you see how MOST in-town travel has a HUGE percentage of stop time you really begin to appreciate why this is such a burden on MPG.
Thanks in advance for any input. Happy New Year !!
There should be no warranty issues if you use 89 octane gas, the MDX's engine will compensate for it. If you start to hear knocking from your engine, switch to 93 octane, which is super unleaded in most states. The only difference from using a lower octane, as explained to me by my dealer, is that you dont get the performance, the engine is tune for 91 octane, if one use less octane than that. It will not reach high RPM as fast, hence less acceleration. The difference in price between the 89 and the 93 in my area right now is about 10 cents a gallon, if you consider the cost of your car, is it worth the risk?
You have a nice new year too.
Your highway mileage should improve, the in-town mileage may not do much better. A lot of the MDX's highway MPG number is based on its tall fifth gear. As with other cars but perhaps slightly more with the MDX, drive faster than the "expected" highway cruising speed, drive up hills a lot, etc. and the MPG definitely drops. Do a lot of steady-speed cruising at around 65-70mph on relatively level ground, and you can get amazing numbers.
Can't violate the Edmunds user agreement and promote another system by naming it -- but in the past I had posed links to some charts compiled from a variety of owners and their MPG under various driving speeds. As expected, it showed some significant variations.
Hope this helps.