I have now test driven the RDX twice and love the size of the interior and the ride. I have never owned a turbo before, but I noticed there was a hiss when the turbo kicked in. It was quite loud with the stereo off. For all those RDX owners and others with turbo experience, is this normal? Is this something that goes away, gets worse or stays the same over time? How does this noise compare to other turbos?

By the way, how reliable are turbos these days?

Thanks. Your comments will really help with my decision to purchase or hold off.

 

Search the forums for "hiss" and you'll find that this has been covered already.

 

I did and could not find anything. I just did a search of the word hiss again and all that came up was my post.

 

It's amazing that my fellow forum members refuse to be a bit more helpful. Here's the link to the thread about the turbo noise. Hope this helps.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263

 

Don't quote me on this, but it may have been the blow off valve or waste gate opening. I have only been in an RDX for a test drive and did not notice it. Turbos these days are very reliable, though with acuras Variable flow turbo it may have a shorter life because of more mechanical parts in the turbo systemto go bad, but not sure.

 

Thanks Wolfeman314. Your courtesy is appreciated. Do you have any thoughts on the turbo hiss and life expectancy of the engine?

 

the hiss you hear is the sound of the turbo spooling up. it's actually 'quiet' compared to other turbos. a good general example would be after market turbos. they general tend to me a lot more audible. this is just a basic example that obviously can be expanded on.

as for the reliability of the engine, i would assume based on honda/acura's track record, that the motor will last a long time, all things given.

keep in mind that it is not a brand new engine; it's based off the 2.4L tsx designed to accomidate forced induction.

 

While in theory this turbo is a bit more complicated with the exhaust valve, I highly doubt if something were to fail it would be that.

Mike

 

The noise is from the waste gate from what I read. I don't think the reliability will be an issue. The valve is in the area of the engine that is lower temp rather than higher from what Acura has said.

 

Sorry, I didn't have time to find the thread myself but I just thought I had remembered the word "hiss" being used in that thread.