Hello all, I have a 2011 Acura RDX turbo base, and recently I have been struggling with getting my phone paired up to my car. I go through all of the hands-free link steps, and when I select the pairing option, it completely backs out of the entire hands-free link, set up menu and goes back to normal radio, as if the pairing option has now magically disappeared from the cars programming. I sat for two hours trying to figure out why the hell it won’t connect, and it gave me a mini stroke, and I am genuinely fed up with trying to fix it… Anybody else have the same issue or know what to do? I’m losing my marbles here…

 

update: I was able to pair my phone to my car, but whenever I try to play music, it keeps bouncing back between my phone and my RDX about every second

 

This isn't really a helpful comment, but... I've owned my RDX since 2018, and in that time have never figured out how to get the bluetooth to pair despite several attempts. I eventually removed the HFL module out of frustration.

You could always get a little bluetooth receiver and run it into the aux jack that our RDXs thankfully have. That would be my workaround.

And if you have an MP3 collection, just put them on a USB stick and plug it into the USB port in the center console. I imagine there's a quality benefit to doing this or CDs.

 

Fellow 1G RDX owner here, sounds like its an issue with the Handsfreelink bluetooth module perhaps? I wouldn't be surprised if the modules just eventually go bad due to age and wear. You could try to buy another one on Ebay if you narrow down the issue to the module itself, although use caution as some owners have disconnected the modules due to excess battery draw, but I think that was potentially limited to the 07-09 model years? (Not sure on that one)

I've seen online for Acuras of the similar time period using the BT45 bluetooth module, which uses the Sirius XM module in the car, providing another bluetooth connection through the BT45 itself, and as far as I know, it allows you to keep OEM functions like steering wheel buttons and radio controls.

 

I just bought my 2011 and first thing I did was paired my iPhone. I did notice that it can only max to 6 pairs. You have to delete the old pairings to open one out of 6.