DRR98

Our beloved 2011 RDX FWD

68k mi L axle joint failed. Replaced under warranty

88k mi L & R axle joints failed. No OEM parts available, they are working on a revision. Acura wants to install aftermarket axles at a cost to me of $307

Do not buy a '10-'12 RDX FWD

Spread the word that 1st gen fwd setup don't work.

If I only knew then what I know now.

This is an admittedly widespread problem, and Acura puts the responsibility for fixing it on the hapless, premium brand trusting consumer.

jo.jacques

Just by reading comments on this forum, AWD models have been proven to be very reliable though....

schen72

Interesting how the less complex FWD may be less reliable than the complicated SH-AWD setup...

Tomtwtwtw

Perhaps the reduced stress on the front axles from the AWD set up helps.

DRR98

Just to be clear...

It's a ONE legger.

No LSD.

It puts all that torque to one wheel!

I'm hoping the 2nd gen o/e axle is more robust.

Trying aftermarket ones now.

RDX10

I am confused by this. Are you stating that even normal non broken first gen FWD RDX's send all the power to one wheel?

Tomtwtwtw

Just because it doesn't have an LSD doesn't mean it's 1 wheel drive. An open diff still puts power to both wheels - as long as you aren't spinning. While the LSD routes power to the wheel with the most traction, the open diff routes it to the wheel with the least.

I would be curious to learn if the RDX applies brakes or cuts throttle, or both to assist with traction control, or if it saves the brakes for just the stability control. The system seems very responsive and not all that intrusive compared to my old car which just killed the throttle hard once it started spinning.

RDX10

Exactly what I was thinking. It is kind of crazy that cars even get around in snow when they have an open diff. The SHAWD acts like a LSD.

DRR98

Like Tom said the spinning wheel gets the load. I found out we had no lsd by getting stuck on an off camber and uphill parking spot with the pass wheels in sand. Did a sit and spin. Had to wait for the people behind us to move out so I could roll down into a paved section. Would that happen if it used braking to control spin?

On our '98 vette vert you clearly feel it cut fuel immediately when you lose traction. Have to turn off tc to play. Then you have to be very careful what you wish for.

In our fwd RDX you don't feel any fuel cut.

Tomtwtwtw

Probably not, so that answers my question. If the brakes were used, they would have clamped the spinning wheel and the power would have been directed toward the other one. Essentially the brakes mimic the effect of an LSD - the Focus ST and some other cars are set up like this.

RDX10

I feel like the 1G RDX was never intended to be FWD and somewhere along the way they forgot to make up for that. as tom said, it should have braked the spinning wheel as to send power to the other side naturally.

DRR98

Update 11/11 9am

Serv mgr
Chuck from Niello Acura called, Napa axles are in and will be installed Fri 11/20.

DRR98

Update 11/16

11/13 dealer replaced both axles with Napa parts. Got written P&L warranty for as long as we own.

Dealer responded to a (well documented) 1 star yelp review of the ordeal.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

get em

Acuramon

Great. I have to worry about the possibility of my transmission going out apparently without warning on me 2005 TL. Now this with my just purchased 2010 fwd RDX. I just can't win! Now keeping fingers on BOTH hands crossed.

Tomtwtwtw

For what it's worth, my 2010 RDX is chugging along with no issues at 90k miles. DRR's issue definitely sucks, but it still affects a very small percentage of overall vehicles. I'm following it closely as I personally wonder if there is some other issue in the drivetrain that is putting extra stress on the CV shafts. Seems unlikely, but then again, so does having 3 axles go bad in such a short time period.

RDX10

I think this is a not too common problem. But I am wondering, why are the fwd models having problems and not the awd models? The more I look at it, the RDX was never intended to be a fwd car.

DRR98

Tom,

Are you FWD too?

Can you share your source of info that it is a "very small percentage of overall vehicles"?

I did not share here all the details in our case:

The ACR case mgr and the service mgr at Niello Acura both said this is not an isolated problem.
I was told that this is the reason why no o/e axles are left in stock and will not be available until a viable axle is sourced.

This is why the dealer replaced both axles with Napa Auto Parts axles. That's why they gave us a warranty covering parts and labor for as long as we own the car.

Now that I can accelerate again with the new axles, I'm trying to understand what the tc system does on the FWD RDX.

From full stopped taking off feels like once you get into boost the tire/s spin, the tc light turns on, then (maybe?) one side seems to brake, tc light goes off momentarily, comes back on and then the other side brakes. I think thats what I felt.

Which confuses me after my off camber, uphill, one wheel in sand, I'm stuck episode. Maybe I needed to let that tire spin longer.

And please lets not cloud or dilute the issue by comparing FWD RDX's to AWD RDX's. (as in post#2)

The fact that "the AWD RDX's have been proven to be very reliable" has nothing to do with the fact that there is a known failure of these FWD axles.

I'm happy for all you AWD'ers, but it's reliability is not relevant to this post.

And if anyone wants to bash me for being dumb enough for buying into a 4k lb turbo'ed fwd without being sure it had an lsd, by all means do so.

I won't do it again. I promise.

RDX10

This is not your fault at all man. Don't worry too much about it. Acura should have designed the front wheel drive model to be just as robust as the awd version. You shouldn't have to pay for the fact that they couldn't design it properly

My point about AWD isn't to dilute your thread, it is more about why is the front axle not failing on the awd models when they run in primarily 90% fwd, is it a different axle than yours on the fwd model? Why can't they instal the same axel from the awd model or even a honda crv?

Not trying to send the thread off track, this just seems very weird to me.

Tomtwtwtw

I am FWD, yes. When I say a very small percentage, I mean that I have seen more forum threads about turbo failure on the 2007-2008 RDX than I have about front axle failure.

I'm not trying to minimize the importance of your situation, nor am I saying yours is a fluke - yes it's a known issue and yes it affects more cars than it should, but for someone just buying into the platform the odds are still extremely high that they will not have any axle problems.

For instance, if 1% of cars had a front axle issue, then 99% don't. But that 1% will still equate to somewhere around 500 RDX's from 2010-2012 that had an axle failure. That's enough to be a known issue, but I'd still take that jump on 99% success rate.

hues10

Since I have a 2011 FWD, is this "failure" a mileage thing, or is it more of a design defect so that if I drive it a certain way, visavis, I floor it all the time and take corners as fast as I can type of thing. Has anyone else on this forum had an axle issue with the FWD model?

DRR98

Right on, there is 3 of us FWD on this forum.

Lets compare notes:

How many miles do you have?
Are you the original owner?
Do you baby it, or take advantage of it's sportiness?

We bought our RDX to have a sporty, people hauling, grocery getter.

We have never power-braked our RDX. We have never auto-X'ed it. It's never been to the drag strip.

My wife commutes 93 mi of freeway 5 days a week.

We do take advantage of it's sportiness at times. Thats why we bought it. It handles very well and makes ample torque. It is our go-to car. But we have never babied our RDX.

I was hoping the FWD would be a tic quicker than AWD due to less wt.

Our d/s axle failed at 68k mi. 20k mi later both failed.

Tomtwtwtw

4th owner, bought it with 52k, have 90k on it now. Have given it some extra juice via an upgraded I/C and Hondata tune, and I also enjoy pinning the throttle from time to time.

DRR98

Right on Tom. You've been driving it sport-ally for only 40k mi. Who knows what kind of drivers have come before you.

You've been making more power, why are you axle blessed while I'm cursed?

My bad Carma?

Have you ever checked your 0-60 time?

The only mod I've done is a true cold air intake piped through the (opened up) fog light shroud.

Tomtwtwtw

Never logged the 0-60, but I should!

DCS

I read about your front axle problems with interest since my 2010 FWD RDX with 95K recently had a bad axle and I also couldn't get the OEM axles from Acura.

If it's a vibration problem it's a problem is the inner cv joint and pitting in the race area where the rollers slide, which causes the vibration when accelerating. I ended up replacing the inner cv joint, which is a $300 part from Acura. It's interesting the OEM axle(which you can't get) list price is half the price of just the inner CV joint so I'm assuming the OEM axles must be rebuilt units.

Not sure what causes the inner CV joint to fail, it's not wear, it a small pitted area like galling where the metal is pulverized. No doubt this is a very high stress area but many other CV joints don't fail so what's going with these inner joints.

DRR98

Hey DCS,
Thanks for adding more info on this.

I'm glad you replaced the joint yourself so the cause your failure was analyzed.

Can you maybe fill in a couple of blanks?

Was it the L or R axle?

Are you the original owner?

Do you baby it or more performance oriented driving?

How did the bearings (the balls) look?

I wonder how the half shaft and diff bearings are holding up?

Don't bad bearings indicate harmonics, harshness, vibration, imbalance?
Is it the same for axle joint brgs?

I was told it was the outboard joints that failed on mine.
At 68 k mi dealer installed RM axle on drivers side and the a/m parts at 95k mi.

FWD owners
DRR98- L failed @ 68k and L&R 88k mi.
Acuramon- ? k mi no axle fails
Tomtwtwtw- 90k no fails
hues10- ? k mi no fails
DCS- 90 k mi failed (L or R?)

Thats a failure for 20% of FWD'ers known here.

DRR98

I looked at some of the parts in FWD vs AWD RDX's.
Diffs
FWD- 41100-RN4-000
AWD- 41100-RN3-000 (both $347/$260)

Diff taper brgs
Same brgs for FWD and AWD
91120-RJF-T01 (45x87x24.75) $30
91122-RJF-T02 (45x85x24.7) $25

DCS

Driver's side axle caused the vibration. I had replaced the passenger side with a remanufactured one from O'Rileys and this did not get rid of the vibration but I did take apart the passenger side axle and it had the beginnings of the pitting I saw in the inner CV joint of the driver's side so was probably only a matter of time for the passenger side to also cause problems.


I'm the third owner and don't baby it but also don't drive it too hard, not sure about the previous owners but it was always serviced on time so was taken care of well.




I only replaced the inner joint on the driver side and it fixed the vibration. Didn't take apart the outer CV joint of the driver's side axle but did later take apart the passenger side axle I had replaced and the outer CV joint all (cage, balls) looked fine.


Neither of the original axles has any obvious signs of problems, boots were fine, no excessive play just the vibration when accelerating so it was difficult to tell which side was causing the problem. It was the small pitted area in the driver's side inner CV joint that was causing the vibration but had to have the axle apart to see the problem. The inner joint rollers slide back and forth across pitted part of the race as the axle rotates and while under load during acceleration the roller must bind in the pitted region causing the vibration.

DCS

Inner CV joint, picture of pitted area causing vibration during accelerating .

DCS

Picture of inner CV Joint causing vibration. Trying as attachment, couldn't insert.

DRR98

Got it. It looks like the wear/pitting is on the forward loaded side. Clockwise at the end facing camera.

Finding the root cause of the pitting of the race and balls would be helpful.

The alignment needed in a typical pillow block or flange brg is essential to brg life. I have lots of experience with most brgs but zero experience with cv brgs. Any experts on cv joints on-board?

udelslayer

Reanimating this thread. I dont know if there are newer ones. I need some axle advice.

I am the caretaker of my wife's 2010 RDX FWD base, 110k miles at this point. We got it with 30k or soI do the maintenance, but learned a very harsh lesson - Honda axles are pathetic. I'm not sure where you guys are getting all the aftermarket gear or if its one-off custom, but there doesnt seem to be a lot of support for this thing. I can't convince my wife to sell it (we own it in a couple payments) and it does run pretty well with very few issues. I've done the trans juice, plugs, oil changes and am about to do a coolant change. I've even replaced the pitch mount, thinking it was causing vibration after getting axles replaced for 600 dollars....sigh. (I was in a jam and had to pay a shop. They're an ok shop, but I should have trusted my instincts and DImY).

The symptom is a harsh vibration at 50-59mph under acceleration only or during lane switches when its wet outside. I noticed the problem is even more pronounced due to it probably switching between wheels with the open diff.

btw, I didnt see the response, but the TCS doesnt use the brakes, it just simply dials back the electronic dbw throttle. all the cars with dbw can easily implement tcs and I think its a new requirement. Its annoying, but effective. It might actually be adding to the wear on the cups if you drive like my wife (lol). If its disallowing the wheel to spin to keep traction, that means a longer duration of pressure is applied to the race area. My s2k is a cable throttle so no TCS can be implemented (easily). I like mechanical controls.


I have a S2k, and they're notorious for pitting the cups. In fact, they're bolted to the diff, so you can reverse them easily and get more mileage out of them, or lower the car to move the bearing position away from the wear point. My DD is a tacoma tho, so I may never experience the wear.

This brings me back to my original point - WTF do we do for axles on the FWD RDX? Roulette with Chinese generics until we get good ones or get buttraped by the OEM Honda prices while we wait for another failure?

I've looked closely and the axle industry is just empty for this car. All of the parts stores sell the same basic item and I think they're all Worldpac (Empi is) which means they're just sourced from a very large Chinese consortium that may change a boot or cheap out on inferior moly grease, but thats largely due to the brand sellers being a bunch of greedy bass turds. The Chinese can make good stuff if they're required but Asians are some cheap mofos.

Which of the cheapanese axles seems to have the least problems? After thinking about my s2k threads and reading about the cup wear, I think I realized that most of those OEM remans may have the same rod, but the cups are going to be Chinese junk, so it probably doesnt matter if you get new or not. It probably explains why the cups are more expensive than the unit when you look at OEM parts vendors too.

Who does Acura/Honda use? It looks like the stealerships are having problems getting the parts too, so they resort to aftermarket, which is rather sad when you think of it. This car isnt unique. The model has to cross with other drivetrains and it has more in common with a civic than a CRV imho.

My dad favors autozone axles. He says the boots are better. I have used advanced before they were CarQuest (Sounds like a VanDamme movie). I think Carquest is using Cardone. Cardone select is a new and A1 Cardone is a reman and they're Chineisacs too. They seem to get fewer complaints. Oreilly's Mah Boy, sNappa, Pepboyeez - all seem to be more of the same.

Nobody stocks them here (central NC, 27513) though the CarQuest warehouse is here in Raleigh, so I would guess they could get out fast to a store.

Anyone know if these come with the NVH ring to quiet the vibration? Is that a thing you can buy? I dont think it can be moved over to the new axle, but I think its an important part of the design considering the length of the shaft! (better whatch your mouth!)

Oems are like 150ea and shipping but through Less-Advanced Auto and AutoZoo I can get the Generic pair and a filter for my s2k for 135-137 shipped.

Thoughts? Does it matter? I'm going to have to DIY this and wish I could do a RCA. These have already been replaced once, and I never got the originals. If pits are the root cause, its a shame that you cant swap cups to get the extra distance for wear. It would save a lot of time, money, and you'd know the parts 100% fit.

udelslayer

Considering our axle choices are pretty slim, I called Raxles today and had no luck. Does anyone make anything to last anymore? I can't believe somebody hasn't snatched the market for making inexpensive but sturdier axles for these fwd acuras that seem to have a LOT of problems due to the cup pitting.

DRR98

I posted the problem from start to finish in "problems and fixes" with the full story along with the fix.

https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...s-fail-937530/

Spoiler alert: Napa axles installed by the dealer, lifetime P&L warranty. No problem now with 101,2xx miles.