drivetofive

Odometer:  512,076

In my last post I talked about how I learned to drive an automobile.  We can actually even go back far beyond age 16 to seek out my true driving origins. As a kid, I obsessed over my MicroMachines collection, my Hot Wheels, my die-cast model cars, radio controlled vehicles, and the Pinewood Derby event in Cub Scouts.  If it had to do with cars, I was excited about it.

Long before I was driving an Acura, I put hundreds of miles on my pride and joy — a teal green Specialized Hard Rock mountain bike.  I took great care of my bike, washed and waxed it frequently, and maintained it by the book.  Some traits never change!

Turns out I was also quite the ATVer at a young age.  Here I am on the red 3-wheeler with my dad at Fairview Lake in Utah as a kid.

Later my grandparents got a cabin and we spent a lot of time rolling around in this red Kawasaki Mule.

Somehow I even got our picture in the December 1997 issue of Dirt Wheels magazine (top shot here).

Lots of fun high-miler news to share today:

A fellow YouTube-r tipped me off on a high mileage achievement that I hadn’t yet heard.  Lee Bates of Ellensburg, WA has been driving his 1967 Mercury Cougar for 43 years and has reportedly driven it 718,000 miles.

My friend Brandon who works at Lindsay Acura in Columbus, Ohio shared this link to a gorgeous 321,000 mile 1994 Legend LS sedan that’s recently gone up for sale.  What a nice find!  Pretty immaculate condition considering the age & mileage.

And in Drive to Five reader news, I’ve learned that this blog’s reach has extended even to Europe!  I received a very nice note from a fellow high mileage car enthusiast named Francesco from Italy who drives a 2005 Fiat Panda 1.3.  His car has recently surpassed the 240,000 kilometer mark.  Congratulations, Francesco, on your achievement and thanks for sharing these great pictures!

My Legend stayed put this weekend as I ventured to San Diego with a friend.

The Legend went in for service at Acura of Tempe this week for a 90,000 mile service including replacement of the timing belt, water pump, and drive belts.  The camshaft seals, crank shaft seal, timing belt tensioner pulley and spring were also replaced.  My service advisor, Dana, alerted me (again) to the fact that my power steering pump was leaking.  It had been acting up for quite some time now (probably 100,000 miles or more – it’s the original power steering pump).  Since the technician was already “into” the disassembly of the car as far as he was, it made sense to go ahead and have the 8 seals on the power steering pump replaced at that same time.  Beyond that, a clean bill of health!

Dropping off the car before work on Wednesday morning.

My loaner car for the day was a sexy Alberta White 2011 Acura TSX with the Technology Package.  I quite enjoyed rocking out to the XM Radio on my way into work!  The TSX had just over 7,000 miles on the odometer.  An infant!  Favorite feature?  The bluetooth voice command interface.

This particular 90k service (the 6th overall that my Legend has received in its lifetime) was covered by Acura and I express my sincere thanks!  Next timing belt service due at 602,019 miles.

For those like me who are counting down, the all-new 2013 Acura ILX goes on sale in just a couple of weeks.  There are still questions & answers being posted to the Acura ILX Facebook tab!  Keep an eye there for future developments.  Also check out some recently-released performance stats & clips from Inside Line.

Odometer:  499,446

This morning, my Legend received its 152nd dealership oil change.  I thought this would be a fitting time to highlight some of the fun facts that can be extracted from a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet that I’ve kept on everything ever done to the car.  Nerd mode, activate!

Still original to the car’s October 1993 build date:

• Engine.  No leaks, no oil burning, no coolant use, no smoke.  Original injectors that have never been serviced.
• Transmission.  No grinding.  I maintain the 6-speed gearbox periodically Honda OEM manual transmission fluid.
• Clutch. It takes a strong left leg to operate but still doesn’t slip.
• Drive axles. I had the CV boots replaced at 215,804 miles.
• Starter.  It’s never failed me!  The only time the car ever didn’t start it was due to a faulty main relay.
• Struts. They creak and groan when they’re cold in the morning, but they still perform fine.
• Climate control unit and A/C components.  The only thing I’ve changed in the HVAC system is the blower motor (noted below).
• Brake calipers and rotors.  The original rotors were resurfaced at at 37,409 miles; 89,784 miles, and 495,693 miles.
• Door lock actuators.  The passenger side is now loud but still works.
• All electrical accessories – window motors, sunroof motor, mirrors, even the famous “Active Door Strikers”  – a feature only found on the 1991-1995 Legend coupe that grabs the door and seals it shut once you close it most of the way.

Changed only once:

• Brake master cylinder at 80,000
• A/C system recharge at 203,677
• Vehicle speed sensor at 319,842
• Differential fluid at 345,522
• Fuel pump at 399,745
• Alternator at 400,392
• Oxygen sensors at 434,740
• Blower motor at 479,319

Other items (these figures DO count the originals to the car):

• 7 air filters
• 6 timing belts & water pumps
• 5 batteries
• 5 windshields
• 5 fuel filters
• 4 sets of spark plugs
• 3 radiators
• 3 rear transmission mounts
• 3 EGR valves
• Oddest items I’ve had to replace:  Type II emblem from the engine (was missing when I bought the car), and a horn button from the steering wheel when the original popped out at 196,000 miles.

Other good stuff:

• Average oil change interval:  3,286 miles, always with conventional 5W30 oil
• Average miles per year during the car’s overall lifetime:  27,750 miles
• Average miles per year during my 8 years & 7 months of ownership:  47,126 miles
• Maintenance cost per mile driven:  5.98 cents
• Number of gallons of fuel burned — this assumes 100% highway at the EPA rating of 26 mpg:  19,211
• Best MPG achieved:  32 mpg, routinely when babying the car at moderate highway speeds in 6th gear
• Most miles achieved per tank:  500.6, in November 2006 at 258,000 miles

And a special note that’s NOT found on the spreadsheet:  Best tires ever = Michelin Primacy MXV4.  They simply last forever and perform better than anything else I’ve ever driven on – and I’ve had pretty much everything on this car.

A couple of pictures from today.

Dropping off the car this morning at Acura of Tempe in exchange for a 2010 TSX loaner.

And picking it back up tonight – blue tape on the new glass!

Here it is.  My car’s entire life history from birth to current captured in 7 Excel screen shots:  $29,861.61 in receipts.  The only thing this won’t capture is some of my tires.  As you all saw in my Shoes post from a few weeks ago, I’ve gone through far too many sets of wheels & tires to have kept track of what kind of tires I was buying and when.  However, this spreadsheet does have a few of the sets.  Enjoy!

Who knew spreadsheets could be so fun!

Odometer:  498,782

The Legend is tucked into offsite airport parking at Phoenix Sky Harbor while I play around on the Florida beaches 2,156 miles away for a weekend in Tampa.  Here’s a shot as I headed to the airport this afternoon.

US Airways flight 574 wasn’t nearly as comfortable of a ride as my Acura, but the view was decent.  For any destination that’s fewer than 10 hours or so drive time, I’d rather drive.  Florida just wouldn’t have been possible to tackle in a weekend trip by car though.

I thought I’d share some information on oil analyses I’ve done to the Legend over the years.  It’s like a urinalysis for your vehicle!

Blackstone Labs is a Fort Wayne, Indiana based company that specializes in extracting data from used motor oil.  Based on just a tiny jar of collected sample, they’re able to determine a myriad of things about the health of a motor.  I’ve sent 3 samples to Blackstone over the course of my Legend’s life.  My standard technique of 5W30 oil every 3,000 miles has never let me down.  Following are the reports I’ve received after having submitted some of these samples over the years.

Sample #1 was taken 12/29/06 at mileage 264,658.

Sample #2 was taken 12/20/08 at mileage 358,050.

Sample #3 was taken 6/20/11 at mileage 479,233.

The comments along with the most recent sample were as follows: 

Judging by the low wear, there’s nothing in our test to show a developing a mechanical problem. At this rate, 500,000 should be easily obtainable. If someone wants proof that Hondas last forever, they can look no further than your oil reports. We did find a little extra silicon, which can show dirt getting past the air filter. If course, it could also be a harmless additive of some sort, but check the air filter and the intake for any cracks or leaks. The TBN was very strong at 6.7 showing plenty of active additive. Still looking good at 479,233 miles.

Even Blackstone Laboratories knows that a Honda will last forever.