The other day I made a wrong turn and wound up with my two front tires stuck in a small snow drift. The rear two tires were on dry road. So my question is, When i tried to back out, the Front tires just spun, and the rear tires did nothing ( did not turn). I thought with AWD the car is supposed to sense the front tires spinning, and transfer the power to the rear tires? Anyway a couple guys came along and gave me an easy shove out, but I was dissapointed with the RDX. DId I do something wrong ( other than driving into a snow bank)?

 

This is extremely interesting as I recently experienced similair after a recent heavy snowfall. I had to turn around in a tight spot in which I drove the front tires (on purpose) into fresh snow and the rears we're on clear ground. I just assumed the SH-AWD worked as well in reverse as forward. But while in reverse the fronts just started spinning and it seemed like the rears were not doing much to help. I was like holy crap!!! I finally freed the car but I too was dissapointed that there seems to be little AWD traction in reverse!?

 

...did you guys turn OFF the VSA to try and get out?

 

Yeah, I tried the VSA, it didn't do a thing. I guess AWD doesn't work in reverse? A little surprising, all I needed was the back wheels to turn and I would have been out, but they didn't even turn while the front wheels just spun.

 

I happily stand corrected. The AWD DOES work in reverse. We had some snow today so I decided to try it again. I found a safe spot to stop in some fresh snow, put the dash gauge set to show the SH-AWD activity, made sure no one was behind me. I punched the gas and YES the SH-AWD did kick in, in reverse!

Maybe the AWD it isn't as effective as going forward but I clearly felt all four corners digging in in reverse. Remember, the RDX is mostly a FWD vehicle until slip is detected. Going in reverse it's role reversal ie. RWD as the fronts are pushing instead of pulling. I think if one gives it enough gas in reverse when the front tires are stuck and the rears have traction it "should" free itself. I was feeling happier today after finding out the AWD does indeed work in reverse!

 

good to know... when in doubt, floor it!!!

 

I noticed in the manual that you should hold in the VSA button until it beeps. I did not know that, so my pushing the VSA button didnt do any good. It hasn't snowed much the first two years of owning it, so does Acura expect us to memorize this stuff? BTW, the few times I have been on trips with it in the snow, the Air Sensors keep saying the tires are low, and the windshield washer freezes (which is a big problem on a long trip), which the dealer says he cant do anything about! My thanks for the daring research Carbon! Knew I could get an answer here!

 

Also, when VSA is disabled, the yellow triangle with exclamation point is illuminated in the dash. This serves as a warning to you that you have no VSA. VSA is always automatically engaged when you restart the car.

 

If the TPMS shows low air pressure then add some air asap! I'm a fanatic about tire air pressures year round. The door panel sticker states to run 32 PSI at all four corners cold. I usually run mine at 34 PSI front and 33 PSI rear, set cold. I believe the rule of thumb is a tire will lose or gain 1 PSI for every 10 degrees of tempurature +/- change. So, if they're at 32 PSI when it's 80 degrees out in the summer and one never bothers to check them and now it's winter at 30 degrees they will be under inflated at approx 27 PSI and the TPMS warning will pop in.

 

im curious what to do if this happens to me - toronto gets its fair share of 6-12" of snow from year to year (except this year so far)... so put in reverse, disengage VSA and then just floor the accelerator? (of course make sure there's nothing/no one at your back) right? thanks! learning a lot from this forum... and yes, reading the manual is interesting, but agree that it can get too much at times

 

It came on at 26 PSI for me while I was leaving the ski resort. After driving for a few hours and to get out of the snow, the tires' PSI went back to normal. I don't think it is necessary to inflate the tires if you not staying at the same location for a prolonged period of time. In my case, everything went back to normal within a few hours, granted I was only driving at less than 20 mph due to chain control.

 

IF you do turn off the VSA, the driving experience is very aggressive and quite "grippy" too. I feel better control with it set to OFF on fresh snow or icy surfaces.

 

Hold the vsa button for few seconds until it beeps, and you will see a symbol on the dash. You should be able dig your self out in most situations, if you are badly stuck- shift your gear to S mode and then select Gear 1 on your paddle shifter that will get you out. Rdx system is default awd- so by default each wheel is getting 25% power under normal condition and rdx transfer up to 90 % power to each wheel depending on traction.

 

I put Nitrogen in my tires when I was driving my old TL a few years ago. I am just about ready to get new tires for my RDX and am considering getting nitrogen put in them instead of regular air.

My rationale is that nitrogen does not expand or contract due to temperature. So you don't see changes in air pressure, and you don't reduce tire life by the constant expansion and contraction of the rubber.

I would think this would avoid the TPMS issues. Anyone have thoughts and/or experiences with nitrogen and the TPMS?

-Rick

 

In cold air the pressure drops about 5 or 6 psi. I asked the dealer about this and they said it was normal. Its just physics I guess. On mine the psi slowly increases as I drive and the tires warm up.

About the windshield washer fluid, I use the fluid that doesn't freeze. It's orange and costs more but it works great. It even melts through snow that blocks the nozzles. I never had a problem with any of my previous cars where the washer fluid froze. I guess Acura dropped the ball on this one.

 

I had a Grand Cherokee before my RDX and if I compare the two I have to say, the RDX with SH-AWD is terrible on ice and snow. The system is just not as smart as they make you think. I put partial blame on the Micheline Pilot tires that it came with. I read some reviews and they got bad ratings for ice and snow. When it's time for new tires I don't plan on getting the same ones. Breaking is bad too.

 

When I bought my 2008 RDX new in June 2008 the tires came dealer filled with nitrogen. Even had nitrogen caps on the tire valves and a nitrogen sticker on the windshield. Nitrogen molicules are much larger and lighter than oxygen hence less tire deflection, less loss of pressure, and more efficient tire wear and performance.

 

Your argument is totally flawed. First you say the system isn't as smart as we think...then you blame the tires. Two totally different things.

First...the system IS as smart as we all think. The SH-AWD is every bit as amazing as Acura claims. So you were totally wrong.

2nd...the tires are the WEAK LINK. They suck...plain and simple. You were correct.

 

I Own a 2009 acura rdx- I agree about the poor handling on snow and ice. The problem is the tires- first off all- the tires they come with are very poor on ice and snow, and since tires are wide and suv is light- it tends to skid easily on snow and ice. So this year I bought a set of 17" rims and tires and suv is rock solid on snow and ice. Even just switching to 18" winters will make a huge difference. So you might want to consider getting winter tires for next year.

 

Thanks for the Windshield Wiper fluid advice, Acura did drop the ball, probably should have done a recall as it is dangerous. Re; Tire pressure - if I put more air in when its cold, then drive down the mountain to where its warm and let air out, who wants to be bothered? I managed to drive Acuras for the last 25 years without bothering to do this, and I cant complain about tire life. Thanks all for your advise,main thing Hold in VSA til it beeps!

 

Tire pressure being low in winter... every 10 degrees F you loose of gain 1PSI depending on up or down roughly. nitrogen is effected by temps as well.