| brucedj |
I brought my 2002 MDX to the dealer today per the timing belt recall notice. The service person said that even though my MDX has very low mileage (11K) and is rarely used for city driving, it is important to change the fluids per the timed maintenance schedule (versus mileage) in the owner's manual. He said that leaving fluids in too long is like leaving a carton of milk in the frig and drinking it after the expiration date. Since the car is 2 years old now, he tried to have me do the 30K service for $475.
Which fluids break down quickly? Any other suggestions for low mileage owners?
Bruce in Palo Alto, CA |
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| keremoner |
| Sounds to me like they were trying to part you from your money. Doen't surprise me a bit. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by brucedj
I brought my 2002 MDX to the dealer today per the timing belt recall notice. The service person said that even though my MDX has very low mileage (11K) and is not used for city driving, it is important to change the fluids per the timed maintenance schedule (versus mileage) in the owner's manual. He said that leaving fluids in too long is like leaving a carton of milk in the frig and drinking it after the expiration date. Since the car is 2 years old now, he tried to have me do the 30K service for $475.
Which fluids break down quickly? Any other suggest for low mileage owners?
Bruce in Palo Alto, CA
Well, there could certainly be more here than meets the eye. The usual recommendation is 3 months, or 3000 miles for oil changes.
But that is largely based on your driving style. If you just plod around town and never fully warm up your vehicle on a regular basis you should be close to the vest on oil changes.
While oil is not milk, it along with the other fluids does absorb moisture over time.
On the other hand if you fully warm your vehicle for a reasonable time to burn off such by products and fully circulate the fluids, then it is not necessary to change as often. And based on that, only motor oil is what you would need to change periodically. |
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| JimH |
| I would be inclined to change oil at the scheduled mileage intervals, or if a very low mileage vehicle, I would change oil at least once/year. I would do the scheduled 30K work at 30K. |
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| JL_SS |
brucedj:
At a minimum, one only needs to do the services that are specifically required by Acura in the Maintenance Service Schedule to keep the warranty valid. The owners manual gives time and mileage intervals for all services and states: Service at the indicated distance or time - whichever comes first.
Because you are low mileage you need to follow the time interval to protect your warranty. |
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