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Acura MDX Care and Maintenance

180 messages,  Last post on Aug 11, 2009 at 1:23 PM

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#51 of 180 pollen filter by steve290 Nov 12, 2003 (11:00 am)
Is this something that you can change yourself? If so, how?
#52 of 180 pollen filter by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 14, 2003 (12:20 am)
You can change it yourself, but the first time requires cutting off a small plastic bar behind the glove box.   1. Remove the glove box.    a. remove the stops on each side    b. disconnect the damper on the right side    c. take out the bolts under the front 2. Cut the plastic cross brace in the glove box opening near the ends of the opening. Throw away the cross brace. The plastic cross brace sort of covers the glove box frame in step three. It is in the lower part of the glove box opening. 3. Remove glove box frame. 4. Remove and replace the filter. 5. Put everything back, except the cross brace.   It may sound like a lot, but really isn't. Takes about 15 to 30 minutes the first time.
#53 of 180 pollen filter by steve290 Nov 14, 2003 (1:57 pm)
Is that what the dealer does? Is it worth doing yourself, what do you save? Where can I get filter?
#54 of 180 pollen filter by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 14, 2003 (6:26 pm)
The cost of the filter was a lot less from http://www.hondacuraworld.com/ on line than from my local dealers.   The removal instructions in post 52 are from experience on my 02 MDX and on my neighbor's Odyssey (which has what appears to be the identical setup for the pollen filter). The instructions are essentially what the 02 MDX service manual says.   If you do steps 1a and 1b in post 52 you can see where the filter is located when you open the glove box door all the way.   My Jag and PT Cruiser pollen filters also require(d) removal of items before one could change the filter. The MDX is the only one that a part is discarded after the first time. There appears to be no loss in stiffness with the plastic cross brace removed.   My neighbor and I each saved about 2/3 of the cost of having the dealer(s) do the replacement. In addition, we saved a lot of time by not having to take the vehicles to the dealer. For me, the time savings alone is enough.
#55 of 180 Updated Navi DVD by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 16, 2003 (1:15 am)
New updated Navi DVDs are available for 2002 and previous as well as 2003 models. Suppose to ship the week of 11-17. Still no Southern Canada with US DVD. Cost is $185 plus shipping, and is available direct from Alpine, not Acura nor an Acura dealer.   Can order on line at https://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/ha.header?p_make=Acura or call 888-549-3798.   My dealer gave me the phone number and I called it first. While waiting for a person to become available the message said the DVD could be ordered at acuanavi.com, which turned out to be the above link.
#56 of 180 New Nav CD installed by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 20, 2003 (8:09 pm)
The new Navi CD came today. Took about a minute or so to install on my 02 MDX. The voice has been changed to a lower pitch. This version has a red flag for all of the schools in my area. Have not found a way to turn the flags off. Tried all of the icons on and off, but the schools stay. A little distracting AND about half, around here, were not in the correct location on the screen. Either half a block off or on the wrong side of the street. Database not as up to date as hoped, but better than the version that came with the car. Has a feature to turn on and off unverified roads. Seems a little slower to boot, but not enough to matter.   I picked a large database item, KFC, and it took about 15 seconds before displaying the list of over 4800 KFC locations. It did not have the nearest one to where I was at the time (it has been there for about a year).
#57 of 180 New Navi DVD grief by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 21, 2003 (2:17 pm)
Wish I had not upgraded to the new DVD. Very slow, with some voice messages coming after a turn instead of before. Can't get rid of school icons that dot the screen all the time. A number of the icons are in the wrong place too. Can't get rid of the icons in the turn box either, and some of those are wrong too. The new soft voice is okay, but the 'bong' that sounds first to get one's attention is exceptionally loud. Worse, one can't easily go back to the DVD that came with the car.   Spoke with Alpine and was told they do not have any customer service for factory nav systems. They referred me to Acura. Acura essentially said that is the way it is and there is nothing that can be done. Acura added that the dealer may have a way to make the original DVD work again.   Just spoke with the local dealer and was told I am the second person to call today that wants to switch back to the original DVD. The dealer is waiting for tech support to call back - the dealer doesn't know how to do it. Neither did the second dealer I called.   The upgrade was just released on Monday. This doesn't sound good.   Advice: Save your money and wait for Alpine/Acura to fix the problems with the upgrade.
#58 of 180 MDX Cover by harsmdx Nov 22, 2003 (5:10 pm)
Any ideas that the MDX cover which hondacuraworld.com sells wont damage the exterior of the car. I don't have experience with the covers any input will be appreciated...What should be looked into when buying a car cover.   Thx
#59 of 180 DVD Nav Update by danschiff Nov 23, 2003 (9:55 pm)
I am buying a new 2004 with Nav and expect to own the vehicle long-term. I am curious how the updates are done.   How much did the update cost? Did you buy from the dealer or a third party vendor? Did you do it yourself? Does the DvD load everything into memory somehow, or is the disc required to be left inthe system/permanently installed? Can the update be re-sold (think eBay) to someone else to use, instead of paying full price for it and beign stuck with it?   BTW, I am sorry to hear about the update problems with your systems, and hope they correct the issues/return your system to the original software.   Dan
#60 of 180 Nav update by fndlyfmrflyr Nov 24, 2003 (7:31 pm)
Dan,   Your 2004 will come with the latest version of the database and the current operating software.   The update cost is $185 plus shipping and in some cases sales tax. You cannot get the updates from the dealer. Alpine makes the update and they have setup an Acura/Honda update web site and call-in service. This may change in the future.   The update is very easy to install and took about one minute or so. Just press the eject button on the nav unit under the passenger front seat and slide in the new DVD while either the engine is running or the key on. The update self installs, but does require driving on a street in the database for a short distance before the update is ready to be used (less than half a block for me).   The DVD stays in the nav unit. Some information is loaded into the unit's memory, but the database is on the DVD.   The upgrade can be returned to Acura for a refund - as soon as Acura/Alpine figures out how to do that. Problem is that once the this upgrade DVD is used, the old DVD will not work. There is supposed to be a procedure the dealer can do to allow one to go back to the DVD that came with the car, but neither Acura dealer around here knows how to do it.   When we bought our 2002 MDX I recall being told that one could expect an update to be available sometime around October every year. While there has be at least one very minor update that added a few small cities I have the impression this is the first major update since Acura started offering DVD based nav systems (1999 model year I believe).   The update does have a larger database than what came with my 2002, but it appears to be more than a year old. Still, it is more complete and more up to date than my OE DVD.   The larger database does seem to slow my nav system, but I doubt it will on 2003 or 2004 models.   I can live with the slowness - it isn't that bad, and I can put up with the often misplaced and unwanted permanent school icons on the 1/8 and 1/20 mile screens (the two I use 99% of the time). I can even live with the wrong voice directions (happened twice so far). The new softer voice is okay too, but the 'bong' that preceeds the voice directions is very loud now. It is annoying and worse, distracting.   In almost two years I never had to adjust the sound level. Now I have to change the sound level with car speed. If the 'bong' is set to an okay level I can't hear the voice directions when at freeway speeds. Never a problem before.   All I wanted was an up to date database for roads and points of interest. Alpine made a number of other chnages that, for me, makes the nav unit less desireable. I suspect most people will not find the update objectionable   Next time I think about nav for a car I will look into buying direct from Alpine or just using a laptop based system. Alpine's DVD for their own systems includes Southern Cananda while the Alpine one for Acura does not.

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