The Complete Cost Of Maintaining An Acura

When you’re in the market for a new or used luxury Acura, you’ll eventually wonder what an Acura generally costs in terms of maintenance. In this blog, we’ve done our absolute best to give you a complete rundown of the costs and what you can expect for different models and model years. Let’s start with a quick answer:

Acura are affordable in maintenance and costs an average of $501 per year, which is less than the $646 average for all car brands. Acura parts are 10 – 20% more expensive than average to replace, but they are highly reliable, which means they need to be replaced less often. This means Acura’s are more comparable to affordable Asian car brands than to luxury brands such as Lexus, Infiniti, and Cadillac in terms of maintenance.

However, that certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Below, we’ll start by looking at the annual maintenance cost of the most popular models and their corresponding model years. Furthermore, We’ll look at the eight most common service points and discuss what an Acura costs you in this regard. We’ll also compare the annual maintenance cost of an Acura to 23 other car brands and discuss why an Acura is considered to be cheap or expensive in maintenance. Read on!

How Expensive Are Acura Models To Maintain?

Below, we’ve used data from Repairpal to get an overview of the five most popular Acura models sold in the past years and the maintenance costs for their corresponding model years. As you can immediately see, the maintenance costs for the 2021 – 2018 Acura models are not available. This is because these models are generally still pretty new, and they require less maintenance which means less data is gathered.

However, we typically expect a new car to have 50 – 70% of the maintenance cost of a 5-year old one, giving you an indication of what that would mean for different types of models.

When we dive into the maintenance costs of the Acura, we see that they generally hover between the $400 – $500 per year mark. As stated before, this is actually quite affordable, especially for the RDX, considering that this is a compact SUV (but an SUV nevertheless).

The maintenance costs of an MDX are higher because this is the largest car in the Acura line-up (it’s a mid-sized SUV), and these typically have higher maintenance costs. However, $571 per year on average is seen as nothing unusual for a car this size.

Year	MDX	RDX	ILX	TLX	TL	TSX
2021	x	x	x	x		x
2020	x	x	x	x	x	x
2019	x	x	x	x	x	x
2018	x	x	x	x	x	x
2017	$597	$466	$401	$433	x	x
2016	$491	$429	$455	$357	x	x
2015	$550	$482	$417	$477	x	x
2014	$629	$502	$436	x	$465	$472
2013	$604	$559	$440	x	$450	$513
2012	$572	$528	x	x	$484	$425
2011	$576	$473	x	x	$482	$410
2010	$543	$466	x	x	$450	$371
2009	$511	$483	x	x	$427	$372
2008	$463	$450	x	x	$442	$456
2007	$422	$368	x	x	$419	$393
Average	$571	$497	$435	$440	$467	$415

Also read:

• How Many Miles Can An Acura TL Last? (Answered)
• How Many Miles Can Acura RDX Last? (Answered)
• How Many Miles Can Acura MDX Last? (Answered)

Are Parts And Service Expensive For An Acura?

Furthermore, it’s essential to know what you can expect for the general service of your Acura and how much often-replaced parts cost. Below we’ve outlined the most general maintenance cost you’ll have and how this compares to the norm.

Oil Change

Replacing the oil on an Acura is one of the most common maintenance tasks you’ll encounter. Expect to pay between $120 – $140 to replace the oil in your Acura. $60 – $70 are the cost of the oil itself, and another $60 – $70 are added for labor.

On average, an oil change costs $40 – $60 for conventional oil and $60 – 120 for full synthetic oil. What type of oil your Acura needs depends on the model; however, most Acura’s don’t specifically recommend full synthetic. This means oil changes for an Acura are more expensive than average.

Brake Pads

Replacing the brake pads on an Acura will cost you between $207 – 325 per axle (since they are replaced as a set). Parts cost between $102 – $190, whereas labor costs run between $109 – $139. The Acura TL is the most expensive car to have the brake pads replaced, and this task will cost around $300.

On average, a brake pad replacement costs between $150 – $300 per axle. This means that Acura are on the higher end of what you would expect to pay for a brake pad replacement.

Filters

Air, cabin, and fuel filters are other parts that need to be replaced quite frequently. Replacing the air or cabin air filter on an Acura will cost between $50 – $70. Most of this is labor since the parts cost $20 – $30. The fuel filter is an expensive element to replace, which will cost between $267 and $480. The TL is the cheapest model to replace the fuel filter, costing around $300. The TLX is the most expensive, and changing the fuel filter will cost $400 – $480.

Typically, replacing a fuel filter costs between $80 – $150. This means the replacement cost of an Acura fuel filter is very expensive compared to the average cost. However, Acura cars have fuel filters that are ‘lifetime’ which means they last for more than 200,000 miles. Far more than the average 20,000 – 30,000 miles on a regular fuel filter.

Battery

Having the battery replaced on an Acura costs between $185 – $240 in total. Around 80% of these costs are the cost of the battery, whereas the other 20% is the labor.

On average, replacing a car battery costs between $120 – $240, meaning that Acura are on the top end of this range, but not more expensive than what we would expect.

Timing Belt/Chain

Timing belts or timing chains replacements are arguably one of the most expensive maintenance tasks that need to be carried out. Replacing the timing belt on an Acura will cost between $895 – $1,167. The Acura TL is the most expensive car to replace your timing belt, costing $986 – $1,167. All other Acura’s are slightly lower than this. Parts are an essential part of the cost, with a new timing belt costing around $500 – $650 and labor making up the rest.

On average, replacing a timing belt will cost between $500 and $1,000. It is pretty expensive to replace a timing belt on an Acura. This is mainly because Acura builds many SUVs, which increases the timing belt replacement price because it takes up more time.

Tires Rotation And Replacement

Rotation of the tires of an Acura isn’t expensive and typically costs between $45 – $70 in labor. Replacing tires is costly. How much you pay for tire replacement on your Acura mainly depends on your vehicle and your chosen tires. Expect to pay between $150 – $300 per tire for regular Acura tires. Furthermore, the installation will cost another $20 – $35 per tire.

On average, a single tire costs $50 on the low end for sedans and smaller cars, whereas it can cost up to $500 per tire for SUVs and trucks that require a premium tire. Acuras aren’t budget-friendly, but they also aren’t that expensive.

Spark Plugs

Spark plugs only need to be replaced between 30,000 – 90,000 miles depending on the Acura you have. Expect to pay between $269 – $349 to replace a set of spark plugs. Spark plugs are the most expensive since they typically cost between $170 and $220. Labor generally costs another $100.

On average, it costs $75 – $250 to replace a set of spark plugs. Therefore, Acura’s are slightly more expensive than average.

Headlight Bulbs

Headlight bulbs certainly don’t need to be replaced that often. Typically, they last for 2,500 – 5,000 hours which means 3-5 years for most people. Replacing them on an Acura will cost between $200 – $280 for a set. $40 – $60 is for labor, and the rest is for the actual parts.

On average, replacing headlight bulbs costs between $100 – $150 for a set, making Acura’s more expensive than average.

Are Acura More Or Less Expensive To Maintan Compared To Other Brand?

Furthermore, we have to answer how expensive Acura cars are when you compare them to the competition. As we saw above, Acura parts are generally on the upper end of what we would expect to pay for certain repairs. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story.

For example, if an Acura turns out to need very little maintenance, this will be reflected positively in the annual maintenance costs of the car. Reliability is a factor we haven’t accounted for so far. By comparing Acura with 23 other carmakers (data from Repairpal), we can see what the real-world cost of owning an Acura are.

As you can see in the table, the following becomes clear: Acura are not expensive cars to own compared to other car brands. Even though Acura are considered luxury vehicles, their actual maintenance costs are surprisingly low. On average, Acura costs $501 in maintenance costs per year, bringing it to the number seven spot compared to 23 other cars brands.

When compared with its direct competition, we see that Acura are also more affordable than Lexus ($551 per year), Buick ($608 per year), Infiniti ($638 per year), and Cadillac ($783 per year). Meaning that Acura are the most affordable option in the upper-class vehicle section when compared to other car brands.

Brand	Average Annual Maintenance Costs
Honda	$428
Toyota	$441
Mazda	$462
Hyundai	$468
Kia	$474
Nissan	$500
Acura	$501
Mitsubishi	$535
Lexus	$551
Buick	$608
Subaru	$617
Dodge	$634
Jeep	$634
Infiniti	$638
Chevrolet	$649
Volkswagen	$676
GMC	$744
Volvo	$769
Ford	$775
Cadillac	$783
RAM	$858
Lincoln	$879
Mercedes	$908
BMW	$968

Why Are Acura Affordable In Maintenance?

Finally, we have to answer why Acura turned out to be so affordable in maintenance. How come its competitors are 10 – 25% more expensive in annual maintenance costs?

First of all, Acura are made by Honda. This is because Honda owns the company and has done so for many years. Being able to use materials, parts, and resources from a company like Honda means that Acura has the advantage of scale. When Honda buys steel, they don’t only for themselves but also for Acura. The same goes for parts, tires, and all other components that go into an Acura. This ensures a discount on parts, making them less expensive than the direct competition.

Furthermore, Acura’s are manufactured in Honda facilities. Honda actually has a few factories in the United States for the American market. This means that Acura don’t have to be shipped across the world to be sold in the North American market. Furthermore, using Honda’s resources and factories ensures scale and effective use of resources, all bringing down the cost of an Acura.

Finally, because Honda makes Acura, they are reliable and have a high built quality. A car can only be affordable in maintenance if it doesn’t break down a lot (this would increase the maintenance costs). Luckily for Acura, Honda has a reputation for building high-quality, affordable cars. They do the same for Acura. The only difference is that Acura eventually gets outfitted with more expensive features. This creates the experience of luxury, but it doesn’t change the quality of the car inherently, which is a good this.

Sources

• https://repairpal.com/acura