RX in NC

To each his/her own, I suppose. But the last place in the house I want to hang out in is the bathroom.... nc211, bear in mind that the longer you spend on the throne in pursuit of your leisurely pleasures, the more you are setting yourself up for major hemorrhoids by your early 40s. Don't believe me? Ask your doctor....

Is there really a straight male out there who spends enough time in the bathroom to justify putting a TV in there? I can see a female wanting one for hot tub soaking, candle lighting, doing pedicures and all that feminine jazz, but come on, not a regular guy.... Maybe in California, I guess....

Never forget that the RX300 AWD series has proven to be a charter member of The Twilight Zone. This is the vehicle that Rod Serling would drive if he were still alive today....

We had a 1989 Acura Legend (a rare 5-speed manual) in our family for more than 13 years - it was a great car and was relatively trouble-free for nearly 200,000 miles. My daughter's first car was a 5-year old 1986 Honda CRX and she kept it for more than 7 years (until I gave her the Acura to replace it in 1998) and she drove that CRX like a bat out of hell for more than 90,000 miles. So my experiences with Acura/Honda have been very positive. But the RDX is Acura's first turbo engine so I'm a bit concerned about that. I also don't like the fact that the RDX engine requires Mobil 1 or else you void the warranty. And I also don't like that it requires 91 octane fuel. And as I said above, I don't like the oversized rims and pricey low-profile tires that will probably be shot in 30,000 miles even with the best of care. You're correct in that I want to hold off and see how these RDXs are doing once they get a few miles rolled up on them. That's just one of many reasons that I'm going to do my best to keep my wife in her aging but well-maintained RX300 as long as I can. I still think that a fully-equipped Subaru Outback is perfect for her needs, but I'll have a hard time getting her to drop her perception that it's nothing more than a tricked-up station wagon. Did you know that in honor of James Brown, this week only Michael Jordan Nissan is upgrading all Muranos and Pathfinders to 26-inch rims with low-profile tires about the thickness of Allen Iverson's headband, all at no extra charge. I heard that you can also request a free custom-designed P. Diddy 8-inch diameter mink-covered steering wheel and a roof-mounted subwoofer that's about the size and shape of a two-person jacuzzi....

After my wife's 2000 RX300 leaking rear main oil seal was replaced at about 72,000 miles under the Lexus "goodwill warranty" a couple of years ago, I put a lot of thought into whether I should switch from Valvoline 5W-30 conventional oil to a synthetic. I decided not to do so because of all the reports of various leaks that began showing up on numerous makes and models of vehicles that are converted to synthetic oil once they get to 40,000 or 50,000 miles after having always been run with conventional oil. I've run Valvoline in all of my vehicles since the mid-1970s and have never, ever had an engine oil problem with any of the 25 or so different cars, SUVs, and trucks that have come and gone through our stable since then. My advice is to stick with your conventional Castrol and a decent oil filter and change your oil at least every 5,000 miles. But if you have the original poorly-designed and manufactured rear main oil seal still in your vehicle, you're at the point now where they often begin to show signs of leakage. Keep checking your garage floor under your engine on a regular basis and if you begin to see an oil puddle about the size of a dime every few days, you'll know that the RX300 rear main oil seal fairy has unfortunately paid you a visit recently....

Your could certainly have a heater core leak, but one of the most common coolant leaks is a pinhole breach of the head gasket in your engine (some call this a blown head gasket when the leak is so bad that your engine continues to run even after you shut it down because it has overheated to the point of driving itself on compression almost like a diesel). You can sometimes smell coolant in your cabin when this occurs. Are you losing coolant? Have you checked your overflow container? The best method to use to determine whether or not you have a leak in your head gasket is to have someone start your vehicle while you observe (and smell) the tailpipe area. If you see an initial burst of steam (not smoke) and if you detect an odor of burning coolant, chances are that you've got one. The most common cause of leaking head gaskets is running your vehicle on too low a coolant level. Over time coolant evaporates and must be checked and replenished in the overflow container. Most owners probably don't do this on as regular a basis as they should. I glance at all coolant levels every weekend at the same time that I check the oil levels and tire pressures.

I don't believe that gigantic rims with low profile tires "look great" on ANY vehicle. Whenever I see them, I automatically think "ghetto pimp".... Looks should never be the primary factor on your wheel/tire combination. Safety, longevity, ride comfort, and the ability to handle inclement weather should all come first and foremost. If these factors don't come into play first for you, you're setting yourself up for a serious accident at some point down the road....

Drove an RDX today. Spent more than an hour crawling around and underneath the vehicle as well as reading the manuals. Very nicely done small crossover SUV. Far more legroom and headroom for me than my wife's RX300 has (I'm 6'7" with very long legs). The turbocharged 4-cylinder engine delivers 240 hp and has more pep and power than I was expecting. There was no turbo lag whatsoever, which really surprised me. The transmission shifts were smooth and predictable. The oil filter location and transmission fluid drainplug are beautifully placed and ridiculously easy to get to - I know I can do an oil & filter change on this vehicle in less than ten minutes total. The interior is nicely appointed and roomier than my wife's RX. The dash layout and color schemes are visually appealing to me. No wood trim but I don't care (she might). Mobil 1 synthetic oil is required or you void your warranty. 91 octane fuel is required as well. This is Acura's first turbocharged engine so I'm a bit concerned in that category. I also don't like the 18-inch wheels requiring low-profile tires (it comes with Michelin Pilots which might go 30,000 to 35,000 miles tops if you're anal about taking care of them like I am, but tirerack.com Pilot buyers really dislike their tires and overwhelmingly say that they won't buy them again). I would rather have 16-inch wheels with true SUV tires on this all-wheel-drive vehicle, not low-profile "performance" tires that aren't really needed and wear out faster than a pair of basketball shoes on an asphalt court.... The vehicle was quite quick on the highway and rode well - much sportier than the RX with much better road feel. Granted, it was just me and the sales guy with no cargo. Load it up with our luggage and a couple of our dogs and it might be a different story. Although it's still too small and not powerful enough for me, I think the RDX would be more than acceptable as the replacement for my wife's RX300. I plan to do some more research and when she brings up the fact that her RX has crossed the 130,000-mile barrier come January/February, this may be the card that I play. I believe that I could have bought a base model today, paying cash, for several hundred dollars under invoice meaning that it would have cost me around $29,600 or so plus taxes.... If anyone else out there drives one during the holidays, please add your comments here....

I'm currently looking at the Acura RDX. It REQUIRES Mobil 1. If you don't run it and only it, you void your warranty....

The "ventilation to the taillights" story is just bull*BLEEP*. You've got a violated seal somewhere in the lens assembly. Very common problem with the RX series. For what you'll be paying for this vehicle, you need to make them find the cracked seal and fix it to your satisfaction. It's amazing what some of these sales guys try to pull off with their customers. I probably would have nailed him in the jaw if he had tried that one on me....

There's no mystery here. The original rear main oil seals were improperly designed and cheaply made. The redesigned seals fit better and are more substantial. I've held both seals in my hands after this issue struck my wife's vehicle in autumn 2004 and my service manager took care of the issue under the very arbitrary Lexus "goodwill" warranty. It's not the oil filter. It's not conventional-vs.-synthetic oil. It's not driving characteristics. It's simply a lousy original part that tends to fail and begin to leak after enough time and miles have passed....

Ditto - keep good records and all of your receipts and you'll be fine from a legal standpoint. I developed the habit decades ago to write up my own "service ticket" on an 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of paper showing date, type of service, mileage, description of work done, an indication that I had done the work myself, a list of parts used, and then I staple all receipts of the parts I bought to that "service ticket". I sign and date each "sevice ticket" at the bottom of the page and I drop each one into the files that I keep on all of our vehicles and save these files for as long as I own the vehicle. No automotive company has ever challenged me on any of my vehicle records whenever I've had to produce them as a part of attempting to get a problem resolved.... Pristine documentation is your best friend in situations like this. The better your records, the more likely are your chances that the problem will be resolved not only in your favor, but exactly in the manner you are seeking.... Another benefit of anal recordkeeping like this is that it enables you to sell your vehicle very quickly and usually for top dollar when a prospective buyer is able to sit down at your kitchen table and page through these "service tickets". He/she very quickly gets a great perspective of how much care you provided to your vehicle. I've often sold my vehicle to the very first person who rang my doorbell to see it because of my meticulous recordkeeping. Sure makes it easy to get rid of the vehicle that very first day you put it on the market....

Tom, I don't know about California law, but here in North Carolina there's no way that an accident victim could come after ME due to an accident that my adult daughter caused. I checked into this before I agreed to co-sign her loan on her Grand Cherokee a few years ago so she could get a much sweeter deal. As long as she carries her own car insurance policy without my name anywhere on it, she's completely on her own for any accidents even though her vehicle loan was based primarily on my credit rating, not hers. Check with the California attorney general's office to get the specifics in your case. The good news for me is that my daughter paid off her loan in full a couple of months ago and now has her title in hand (showing just her name, not mine). I'm not sure if I'll ever co-sign another loan for her again - there were two or three months during the loan timeframe when she called me to ask if I would lend her part or all of the money to make her car payment for that month. That's irresponsible and lousy money management in my book for any employed grown adult, including my daughter. But even as I was telling her that, I caved in and loaned her the money each time she asked. She did pay me back within two weeks each time, so I'll at least give her credit for that. But even at 31 she still has a lot of growing up to do and I've told her that her chances of getting me to co-sign another loan for her are remote. Sometimes you just gotta toss 'em into the ocean and make 'em learn to fight off the sharks all by themselves.... Good luck with your situation. Keep us posted on what you learn. As long as she's a rational, functioning adult and your name does not appear on her insurance policy, I think you'll be protected....

Why are you selling your NSX? If you do, I believe you'll come to regret it immensely five or ten years from now....

That's a good point and one that I've already spent some time pondering, believe me. This is Acura's first turbocharged 4-cylinder engine from what I've read, and only time will tell if it holds up with no problems other than routine maintenance. I believe that Honda/Acura builds better all-wheel-drive transmission systems than Toyota/Lexus does in these small crossover SUV-type vehicles. I'm not as concerned with the RDX transmission as I would be with another RX transmission. Subaru builds the best Japanese all-wheel-drive transmission system on the market today but I don't think I'll be able to convince her to "step down" to a Subaru even though I strongly believe that an Outback would be the absolute best choice for what she wants and needs in her primary vehicle. I would also be happy to go back to a Grand Cherokee for her - we've had three in our family over the past ten years and those vehicles are rock-solid, fast, roomy, easy to work on, and well-proven. The only downside is the gas mileage and with fuel prices going nowhere but up over the next five years, that's a much more important factor in an automotive decision than it used to be (for me, anyway). We've had great experiences with our previous Acura Legend and Honda CRX. If the RDX can come close to the troublefree performance that both of these vehicles delivered for us over more than 150,000 miles each, I'd be more than satisfied with my wife driving one. But I'd prefer to wait until 2008. We'll see how that goes after the holidays have passed and she begins to approach 130,000 miles on her odometer....

Yep, never identify yourself to your insurance company's call center unless you've already decided to allow the insurance company to handle the situation. There is no such thing as "off the record" if they know who you are.... Whenever I have questions or concerns about policy changes or effects, or I'm simply trying to get an estimate of what a particular new vehicle we may be interested in will cost me to insure, I always call my long-time local agent. He knows better than to attempt to jack my rates just because I'm chasing additional information or estimates, particularly when both of us have had completely clean driving records for at least a decade now....

Hey Tom, It's a turbocharged 2.3-litre 4-cylinder that is rated at 240 hp. Whether that's enough to consistently move a vehicle that weighs 3,950 pounds remains to be seen. I haven't driven one yet, but I intend to do so over the holidays. I'll report back here after doing so. I've also asked SW03ES to file a report if he happens to drive one over the holidays as well. Along with 91 octane fuel, it also requires Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil so there's no question that it will cost a bit more to operate and maintain the RDX. But for all I know, the new RX vehicles may be carrying those same requirements these days. I haven't researched a new RX and don't intend to. We had a 1989 Acura Legend (for over 13 years) and a 1986 Honda CRX (for over 7 years) in our family and both of those vehicles were strong, long-lasting, and only needed typical routine maintenance for as long as we had them. Having to replace a couple sets of CV joints were the only complaints I had about either of those vehicles, and many long-time Honda owners will tell you that CV joint replacement should be considered routine maintenance as well. Obviously I'm in no hurry to replace her current vehicle and would prefer my wife to stay in her RX300 through 2007 and into 2008 as long as no additional major problems show up. But I may lose that skirmish and am doing some research now in preparation for when she fires the first salvo....

Since I started this thread way back in April, I'll post an update here.... The vehicle now has a bit over 124,000 miles on the odometer. Additional maintenance requirements since my original April post include replacing the spark plugs at 120,000 miles in October as part of my 120,000 mile service interval (did it myself with the help of a good friend to get into the tight spots behind those three ridiculously-placed rear spark plugs where my big hands couldn't fit) and replacing an exhaust gasket on the front side of the catalytic converter about three weeks later (paid my local Toyota service department about $180 to find and fix this particular problem). Other than that, it's been essentially nothing but routine maintenance during 2006. My wife will be pushing for a new vehicle once she exceeds the 130,000-mile mark because that's where I originally told her that I would be willing to swallow the depreciation and get rid of this thing. Being the ROI fanatic (i.e. cheap b*stard) that I am, I would prefer for her to keep driving this crackerbox for another year or so as long as no additional major problems occur. If I win the battle and she does wind up driving it for another year, I would wind up dumping it between 150,000 and 160,000 miles if her driving history remains consistent. I'm secretly researching the Acura RDX right now but I obviously don't want her to know about it at this point since I'd like to postpone this dilemma as long as possible.. She's gotten used to the small size of her RX300 and may not want to return to the Grand Cherokee line-up that has served us so well with absolutely no major problems over the past decade or so. I can pick up a new RDX for less than $30,000 (without the Technology Package, which she has absolutely no need for) if I'm willing to pay cash (I am), so we'll see what happens....

Sorry to hear of your compounded troubles. Don't you just love these lousy RX300s?!

Yes, you can remove the transmission without removing the engine. That's true for nearly all vehicles these days. If you decide to replace the rear main oil seal yourself, be aware that you must drop your transmission to get to it. You are now reaching the mileage point where the poorly-designed original mail oil seal often begins to fail. Good luck and let's hope that in your case, it doesn't....

This week it's been Don Dixon's "The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room", "Romeo at Juilliard", and "Romantic Depressive", Roxy Music's "Avalon", Van Morrison's "Moondance", Dave Brubeck's "Time Out", Sam Bush's "Glamour and Grits", and various Christmas albums from Sinatra, Crosby, Torme, Bennett, and Fitzgerald....

SW03ES, If you happen to go check out the RDX when you have some time over the holidays, please post your impressions of the vehicle in this thread. I'm interested in your input on the subject. Thanks.

I do all of the outdoor grilling because I enjoy playing with fire, believe in the old-fashioned superiority of the charcoal grill (gas grills just can't quite get that charcoal flavor and texture), and am much better at it than my wife is. She does all of the indoor cooking because she enjoys it, watches Rachael Ray as often as she can, and is much better at it than I am (with one exception - I make better omelettes). I do most of the post-meal clean-up because I am faster, waste far less water during the process, and can stack a dishwasher like an engineer. I don't want her anywhere near the dishwasher because her system is simply to pitch everything in anywhere. I can't stand that, particularly at unloading time....

Lexusfreak, Thanks for the impressive Subaru propaganda. I'll add it to my schtick and keep working on my wife to add Subaru to the short list. I think that a Subaru Outback would be a worthy vehicle to carefully investigate in our particular situation. SW03ES, You already know that I like the Infiniti FX series. But she flat-out doesn't like the looks. Like the Subaru Tribeca, the quirky exterior appearance turns her off. That's not going to change. In all honesty I'd prefer to keep her in her current RX300 throughout 2007 and into 2008. It's been running satisfactorily since early 2005 and the replaced transmission appears to be holding up to my 30,000-mile Type T-IV fluid change plan. No major component breakdowns in nearly two years now, just a belt replacement, new brake pads, and an exhaust gasket replacement that has to be considered nothing more than routine maintenance. But I did tell her several years ago during the period in which she lost her trust in the vehicle that I would be willing to swallow the depreciation and get rid of it at around 130,000 miles. I know that when her odometer rolls over that milestone she's going remind me of that statement and expect to begin looking for a new set of wheels. So I need to get prepared with the research now....

Thanks for the input. I haven't seen one in person and won't make a special trip to the Acura dealership just to do so, but the next time I'm in that general area I'll probably go have a look for myself. I am concerned about a 2.3 litre 4-banger (even a turbocharged one) trying to push almost 4,000 pounds around, though. I anticipate my wife finally winning the battle with me to cough up the money to replace her RX300 at some point during 2007 so it's time to secretly do a bit of research in an effort to try to steer her into something I can live with since I'm the one who will be doing all the maintenance. I assumed it would mean going back to a Grand Cherokee but I think she's gotten used to the size of her RX crackerbox and she'll probably prefer to stay with something smaller. The RDX appears to be about the same size as the RX and my experiences with our former Acura Legend were great as opposed to the many failures we've experienced with her RX300. That's why I wanted to include the RDX in the mix, at least from an investigation standpoint. After seeing it and driving it I may very well rule it out, though. Lexusfreak, I've tried for six months now to convince my wife to consider adding a Subaru crossover to her list, but she refuses to consider it. She still perceives Subaru as spartan and cheap which I know is certainly not the case anymore. I even sat her in a 2005 Tribeca earlier this year but its quirky appearance made things worse, not better. If you've got any pro-Subaru ammunition that you can offer, I'd appreciate it. Since she spends so much time on the highway in all sorts of weather conditions, she favors the perceived security of full-time all-wheel-drive and no matter how much I talk to her about the fact that Subaru essentially perfected it, she won't listen. I may have to resort to a baseball bat before this is all over....