2012 Acura MDX service

Maintenance Minder™These messages provide detailed
information about the service needed
for your vehicle. When a
maintenance message appears on the
multi-information display, a list of
needed maintenance items is
provided through an AcuraLink
message. These messages tell you
the exact maintenance needed,
helping you to avoid unnecessary
maintenance costs.You can use the following message
options:
●
Make an appointment from the
schedule at the dealer.
●
Reschedule the appointment with
the dealer.
●
Call your dealer for an
appointment.
●
Find the nearest dealer.
Automated AppointmentYou can make an appointment with
your dealer through AcuraLink when
you receive a Maintenance Minder
message.
To use the automated appointment
function, you should visit the My
Acura website atwww.owners.acura.com
, register some
required settings, and complete the
Phone-Data Connection set-up (see
page 416). Your
Bluetooth
®
compatible phone should also be
paired and linked to your vehicle'sBluetooth
®HFL (see page 389).
AcuraLink
®
(U.S. models only)
408

When viewing a diagnostic info
message through the INFO menu,
you can select the Diagnostic Info
option to connect to the Acura server
and retrieve the latest information
regarding the problem.
NOTE:There may not be any
additional information, depending on
the time elapsed since the previous
time you retrieved the information
from the Acura server.Reminder Massage
When you make an appointment
through My Acura's online
Scheduling Service Appointment,
you can be reminded in advance
about that appointment through
AcuraLink.
If you need to reschedule or cancel
the appointment, see page 410.Turning the Automated Appointment
preference off will disable
appointment notifications in the
vehicle based on appointments
created or changed at My Acura's
online scheduling website.
Appointments can still be created,
rescheduled, and canceled from the
vehicle; however, the appointment
information stored in the vehicle will
not be updated. Any changes to
those appointments should be made
from the My Acura website.
AcuraLink
®
(U.S. models only)
414

Phone-Data Connection－Select
this option to begin the process
required to connect to Acura. This is
used to access the most recent
diagnostic information when a
problem occurs.
NOTE:For the Phone Data
Connection button to be active, you
need a
Bluetooth
®compatible and
enabled cell phone paired to the
Bluetooth
®HandsFreeLink
®(HFL).
To complete the data connection
setup, the paired phone must have a
compatible data service.To find more information on
Bluetooth
®compatible and enabled
cell phones, visit
www.acura.com/handsfreelink
or call
the HandsFreeLink
®consumer
support at 1-888-528-7876.
AcuraLink
®
(U.S. models only)
416

Before you begin driving your
vehicle, you should know what
gasoline to use and how to check the
levels of important fluids. You also
need to know how to properly store
luggage or packages. The
information in this section will help
you. If you plan to add any
accessories to your vehicle, please
read the information in this section
first.Break-in Period
...........................
422
Fuel Recommendation
................
422
Service Station Procedures
.........
424
Refueling
.................................
424
Tighten Fuel Cap Message
.....
425
Opening and Closing the
Hood
...................................
426
Oil Check
................................
427
Engine Coolant Check
............
427
Fuel Economy
.............................
428
Accessories and
Modifications
..........................
431
Carrying Cargo
...........................
433
Before Driving
421
Before Driving

Break-in Period
Help assure your vehicle's future
reliability and performance by paying
extra attention to how you drive
during the first 600 miles (1,000 km).
During this period:●
Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid
acceleration.
●
Avoid hard braking for the first 200
miles (300 km).
●
Do not change the oil until the
multi-information display indicates
it is needed.
●
Do not tow a trailer.
You should also follow these
recommendations with an
overhauled or exchanged engine, or
when the brakes are replaced.Fuel Recommendation
Your vehicle is designed to operate
on premium unleaded gasoline with
a pump octane of 91 or higher. If this
octane grade is unavailable, regular
unleaded gasoline with a pump
octane of 87 or higher may be used
temporarily. The use of regular
unleaded gasoline can cause metallic
knocking noises in the engine and
will result in decreased engine
performance. The long-term use of
regular-grade gasoline can lead to
engine damage.
To help prevent harmful fuel system and
engine deposits, use high quality fuel
containing detergent and additives. In
addition, in order to maintain good
performance, fuel economy, and
emissions control, we strongly
recommend the use of gasoline that
does NOT contain harmful
manganesebased fuel additives such as
MMT, if such gasoline is available.
Use of gasoline with these additives
may adversely affect performance,
and cause the malfunction indicator
lamp on your instrument panel to
come on. If this happens, contact
your dealer for service.
Break-in Period, Fuel Recommendation422

Some gasoline today is blended with
oxygenates such as ethanol or
MTBE. Your vehicle is designed to
operate on oxygenated gasoline
containing up to 10% ethanol by
volume and up to 15% MTBE by
volume. Do not use gasoline
containing methanol.
If you notice any undesirable
operating symptoms, try another
service station or switch to another
brand of gasoline.Because the level of detergency and
additives in gasoline vary in the
market, Honda endorses the use of
‘‘TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline’’
where available to help maintain the
performance and reliability of your
vehicle. TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline meets a new gasoline
standard jointly established by
leading automotive manufacturers to
meet the needs of today’s advanced
engines. Qualifying gasoline retailers
will, in most cases, identify their
gasoline as having met‘‘TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline’’standards at the
retail location. This fuel is
guaranteed to contain the proper
level of detergent additives and be
free of metallic additives. The proper
level of detergent additives, and
absence of harmful metallic additives
in gasoline, help avoid build-up of
deposits in your engine and emission
control system.For further important fuel-related
information for your vehicle, or
information on gasoline that does not
contain MMT, visit My Acura at
owners.acura.com.
In Canada, visit
www.acura.ca
for additional
information on gasoline.
Fuel Recommendation
423
Before Driving

Refueling1. Park with the driver's side closest
to the service station pump.
2. Open the fuel fill door by pressing
the button in the driver's door. (To
open the fuel fill door manually,
see page 572.)
3. Remove the fuel fill cap slowly.
You may hear a hissing sound as
pressure inside the tank equalizes.
Place the cap in the holder on the
fuel fill door.
4. Stop filling the tank after the fuel
nozzle automatically clicks off. Do
not try to‘‘top off’’the tank. Leave
some room for the fuel to expand
with temperature changes.If the fuel nozzle keeps clicking off
even though the tank is not full,
there may be a problem with your
vehicle's fuel vapor recovery system.
The system helps keep fuel vapor
from going into the atmosphere. Try
filling at another pump. If this does
not fix the problem, consult your
dealer.
Gasoline is highly flammable
and explosive. You can be
burned or seriously injured
when handling fuel.●
Stop the engine, and keep
heat, sparks, and flame
away.
●
Handle fuel only outdoors.
●
Wipe up spills immediately.
Push
FUEL FILL CAP
TETHER
HOLDER
Service Station Procedures424

5. Screw the fuel fill cap back on until
it clicks at least once. If you do not
properly tighten the cap, you will
see a‘‘TIGHTEN FUEL CAP’’
message on the multi-information
display (see right column on this
page), and the malfunction
indicator lamp may also come on
(see page 563).
6. Push the fuel fill door closed until
it latches.Tighten Fuel Cap Message
Your vehicle's on board diagnostic system
will detect a loose or missing fuel fill cap as
an evaporative system leak. The first time a
leak is detected a‘‘TIGHTEN FUEL CAP’’
message appears on the multi-information
display. Turn the engine off, and confirm the
fuel fill cap is installed. If it is, loosen it, then
retighten it until it clicks at least once. The
message should go off after several days of
normal driving once you tighten or replace
the fuel fill cap. To scroll to another message,
press the INFO button. The‘‘TIGHTEN
FUEL CAP’’message will appear each time
you restart the engine until the system turns
the message off.
If the system still detects a leak in
the vehicle's evaporative emissions
system, the malfunction indicator
lamp (MIL) comes on. If the fuel fill
cap was not already tightened, turn
the engine off, and check or
retighten the fuel fill cap until it
clicks at least once. The MIL should
go off after several days of normal
driving once the cap is tightened or
replaced. If the MIL does not go off,
have your vehicle inspected by a
dealer. For more information, see
page 563.Service Station Procedures
425
Before Driving