B16 Bingo for Maintenance - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited November 2015 in Acura
imageB16 Bingo for Maintenance - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

Our 2015 Acura TLX is ready for service. But you'll have to figure out what B16 means first.

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  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Wow, surprised they are still using that system that was way outdated on our 13 Pilot. I like the 15% personally as it lets me change my oil early (never want to change it before the MM goes off), but also gives me flexibility if it happens right before a trip (although I HAVE changed my oil while we've been getting ready for a trip) to know it'll be fine before we get back.
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    I think the service change interval is 10,000 miles so 15% seems reasonable. it happens so infrequently that changing it with around 10% left is fine and this gives plenty of warning. If you change it with about 10% (9,000 mile interval) left you would be paying for 1 "extra" service every 100,000 miles, that seems reasonable.
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    I don't see any problem with the existing Honda/Acura maintenance reminder system. It seems very comprehensive. In my previous generation Acuras, the nav display also provides a verbose description of exactly what service is required. I would be surprised if this TLX doesn't do that. Check for a new message on the nav screen.
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    nate001 said:

    I think the service change interval is 10,000 miles so 15% seems reasonable. it happens so infrequently that changing it with around 10% left is fine and this gives plenty of warning. If you change it with about 10% (9,000 mile interval) left you would be paying for 1 "extra" service every 100,000 miles, that seems reasonable.

    The service internal is not hard-coded to be 10,000 miles. It varies, depending on a number of factors considered by all the sensors in the engine. In general, city driving with lots of stop and go will have shorter intervals compared to highway driving where you cruise at a steady speed. I had thought most oil life monitor systems work similarly.
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    edited November 2015
    The service internal is not hard-coded to be 10,000 miles. It varies, depending on a number of factors considered by all the sensors in the engine. In general, city driving with lots of stop and go will have shorter intervals compared to highway driving where you cruise at a steady speed. I had thought most oil life monitor systems work similarly.
    the Honda I have driven seem go down about 10% every 1000 miles so I am guessing that it is based on a 10,000 mile interval and then computer adjusts it down if needed, different driving conditions don't make any noticeable difference, freeway, cold, town. it always seems to drop at the same rate. it may be based on engine load but in my experience conditions must need to be quite extreme to change the speed of the meter.
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    Sorry nate001 the Maintenance Minder system is not mileage based for oil changes. The computer monitors everything from engine operation, drive cycles, temperature, driving style, etc to calculate oil life remaining. I may be wrong but I think Honda has purchased the license to this computer software from GM, which has been using the oil life monitor for almost 15 years now. The remainder of the maintenance items such as tire rotation and rear differential fluid changes are based on mileage.
  • ebeaudoinebeaudoin Member Posts: 509
    As a Honda salesman and owner of a 2010 Odyssey LX, I personally love the Maintenance Minder system. I've done 4 oil changes since I bought it in April 2014 and the average has been 5,623 miles between oil changes (I've done them all at 15% Oil Life.)

    No issues whatsoever. It's an intuitive system that is super easy to explain to customers- just come in when the yellow wrench illuminates. Works for me!
  • dm7279dm7279 Member Posts: 63
    I like Honda's system. I would do the oil change when this hit 15% on our previous Accord and CRV, and the mileage would vary. I drove the Accord a ton on the highway, so would routinely go about 8,000-10,000 miles between changes, typically 4-5 months. The CRV was driven around town by my wife, the interval was considerably shorter (mileage-wise) on that one, probably 5,000-6,000 miles.
  • wheelmccoywheelmccoy Member Posts: 97
    TSX Wagon here. According to the owner's manual, the maintenance minder for oil is indeed based on engine conditions and not mileage. I have mixed feelings with bingo maintenance. I do some of the maintenance myself and would like to know what's due up next. I know, the information is out there on the web, but a mileage and service table in the owner's manual would be convenient.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,842
    edited November 2015
    Having it come on at 15 percent seems a bit early to me. If this were my TLX, I would be a little miffed about having to either drive around with the service indicator on until oil life dropped to, say, 5 to 10 percent, or take the car in for service knowing there's still a decent amount of oil life left, according to the monitor anyway

    The perception (or wording suggesting) that there is a decent amount of oil life remaining once a monitor gets to the 10% range needs to be addressed. Oil life monitors don't test the oil, they keep track of the conditions that impact the oil's life and count down. They are fairly accurate as long as the vehicle has been serviced with a product that meets the full requirements of the engine. There are products out there that meet API SN and ILSAC GF5 that don't do that. As far as the API and ILSAC go there is no standard that helps a consumer determine a long life oil. When you see a once a year interval, or else when the maintenance system directs a service that could reach 10,000 miles that is a car that requires a long life oil.

    Shops, techs, and consumers need to learn the ACEA ratings. For this Acura they should be looking for a product approved for the ACEA A5/B5. An ACEA A1/B1 can meet the long life requirements if it also has additional manufacturer approvals.

    BTW, have you heard the line, "You can't tell if the oil needs changed by looking at it"? Some people want to try and push that towards the idea that if the oil looks like tar you can't be certain that it needs to be changed, in fact it applies to the opposite possibility. The oil can still be quite clear and it's useful life can be lapsed.

    The nightmare here is that if a long life product wasn't used, one cannot be really certain that it is protecting the engine and the emissions system correctly.

  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    thecardoc3 said:

    Having it come on at 15 percent seems a bit early to me. If this were my TLX, I would be a little miffed about having to either drive around with the service indicator on until oil life dropped to, say, 5 to 10 percent, or take the car in for service knowing there's still a decent amount of oil life left, according to the monitor anyway

    The perception (or wording suggesting) that there is a decent amount of oil life remaining once a monitor gets to the 10% range needs to be addressed. Oil life monitors don't test the oil, they keep track of the conditions that impact the oil's life and count down. They are fairly accurate as long as the vehicle has been serviced with a product that meets the full requirements of the engine. There are products out there that meet API SN and ILSAC GF5 that don't do that. As far as the API and ILSAC go there is no standard that helps a consumer determine a long life oil. When you see a once a year interval, or else when the maintenance system directs a service that could reach 10,000 miles that is a car that requires a long life oil.

    Shops, techs, and consumers need to learn the ACEA ratings. For this Acura they should be looking for a product approved for the ACEA A5/B5. An ACEA A1/B1 can meet the long life requirements if it also has additional manufacturer approvals.

    BTW, have you heard the line, "You can't tell if the oil needs changed by looking at it"? Some people want to try and push that towards the idea that if the oil looks like tar you can't be certain that it needs to be changed, in fact it applies to the opposite possibility. The oil can still be quite clear and it's useful life can be lapsed.

    The nightmare here is that if a long life product wasn't used, one cannot be really certain that it is protecting the engine and the emissions system correctly.

    Here's all I know. Honda (and other manufacturers) have very little financial interest in making a vehicle that needs FEWER oil changes. Their dealership network, I'm sure, HATES the MM and likely has lost a lot of money since implemented. They also know that not everyone (probably only a relative small percent) is going to use high quality synthetics. Therefore, I have to assume that they have done the tests and are quite confident that their engines will go 300k+ miles using that interval using the lowest quality oils on the market today. Otherwise, they'd say "only use Honda oils or those that meet XYZ".

    Besides, people OBSESS about their oil, but is that REALLY what we should be worried about? How often do properly engineered engines fail related to oil especially compared to other expensive failures?
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,842
    edited December 2015
    kirkhilles1 said:

    Here's all I know. Honda (and other manufacturers) have very little financial interest in making a vehicle that needs FEWER oil changes

    There is much more to it, it goes well beyond just protecting the engine. There is a significant financial interest in reducing warranty expenses on the emissions systems as well and the engine oils are part of that.
    kirkhilles1 said:


    Their dealership network, I'm sure, HATES the MM and likely has lost a lot of money since implemented. They also know that not everyone (probably only a relative small percent) is going to use high quality synthetics.

    The dealers simply had to find other ways to generate the desired profits. Oh, and "high quality synthetic"? What's that? For that matter what does the word synthetic mean when it comes to engine oil in North America?
    kirkhilles1 said:



    Therefore, I have to assume that they have done the tests and are quite confident that their engines will go 300k+ miles using that interval using the lowest quality oils on the market today. Otherwise, they'd say "only use Honda oils or those that meet XYZ".

    Have you ever heard of HTO-06? No? That's the Honda specification that is equivalent to GM's dexos1 specification.
    kirkhilles1 said:


    Besides, people OBSESS about their oil, but is that REALLY what we should be worried about? How often do properly engineered engines fail related to oil especially compared to other expensive failures?

    Ask Toyota and Chrysler about the sludging issues they had in the mid 2000's. Do some research about why GM required the 6094M and 4718M specifications that everyone ignored, and then look at how "experts" reacted when GM started the dexos licensing. Heck for that matter, just browse these forums searching for reports of GM engine oil consumption and timing chain failures. The majority of those failures are directly related to improper service and that especially means the cars were serviced with products that failed to meet the specifications.

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