Sorry in advance for long post, please help me!!!
In June 2021 I purchased this 2017 AWD RDX Advance model. I love the car and from now on will only be an Acura driver. I have had a few problems and chalked them up to the fact that not being able to buy new, that I might have to work on a few things to make the car perfect - even though it seemed perfect I kind of expected that a few things might pop up.....and pop up they sure have!
I will be going to the dealership tomorrow, but I am afraid that they are going to not figure out the problem yet again, as it never seems to have the problems @ the dealership and their computer can't find that it has stored any codes.
In Oct I started having a problem that I can only describe as that it felt like the car "gasped" for air and suddenly lost power while driving. The car is NOT shutting off like past cars that needed new fuel filters or pumps...it just suddenly and with no warning will lose power and start going slower, slower, slower and the RPM drops and then just as suddenly will "surge" and take back off. (no warning or indicator lights on the dash) It makes no difference whether I hold my foot on the gas at a constant and don't change anything, let off or floor it - I get the same result. The power steering, radio, lights etc. never stop working, it just simply starts loosing speed and power & just as suddenly takes off again. I took it to the dealer three separate times and they never could have it replicate the problem since it is so intermittent, and there are no codes stored. I suggested to them a vacuum leak or O2 sensor and they dismissed me "those sensors never go bad" and they finally replaced the fuel pump and charged the extended warranty company.

On NY Eve while driving back from Georgia, I started smelling coolant. I checked the level and it seemed ok, and watched the temp gauge like a hawk, it never budged. I took it in to the dealer and the radiator had a small leak...ordered a new one and had it replaced @ dealer (not warranted). They also found a leak in the tensioner pulley(?) (covered by warranty) and suggested that while they were in there and had that part taken apart that it would be a good time to replace the timing belt (not warranted) as it would be significantly less $ than if I just came in for that and it was time @ 100,000 miles.
A couple of times between October's "episodes" / fuel pump replacement and today, I have had a few tiny little episodes (like a "flutter") of the losing power thing and chalked it up to paranoia. (side note, I swear that I can still smell coolant, but the level in the reservoir seems normal)

Well today the car went berserk! When I started the car in the driveway this morning the "Blind Spot Info System Problem" dash indicator was on. By the time I was at the stop sign three houses away it was alternating between that and "Adaptive Cruise Control Problem ACC" light. I drove my daughter to school and about two miles down the road the "episodes" started again, and much more dramatic than last Fall....like down to 20mph before it suddenly took back off...two or three times in a mile stretch. I drove home and took everything out of the car thinking my next stop would be the dealership. While the car was in the driveway and locked, the alarm started going off. I was able to turn the alarm off with the fob. (fob battery was changed in Jan btw). When I drove to work (2.3 miles) the indicator lights were off and the car ran fine. I locked the car and thought it odd that it didn't "chirp", but I did hear the doors lock and went inside my office. 5 minutes later the alarm was going off outside. When I went to pick my daughter up from school, no indicator lights and it barely hesitated once or twice, but otherwise mostly normal. Came back to the office, locked it and went back inside (no chirp) and 10 min later the alarm went off again. One of the guys at work started looking at YouTube as he just experienced something similar with his truck. He started checking fuses etc. I suggested that I should maybe have the battery checked @ AutoZone etc. as maybe, just maybe it had a bad cell and was intermittently losing power and driving the computer and sensors crazy. We test drove the car after he checked/changed something and the dome/map lights and the "passenger door open" lights were flashing like a 70's disco despite the fact that the door was checked and closed multiple times. Coworker fidgeted some more and we test drove again, everything seemed fine, no lights, no loss of power, no hesitation. An hour later the alarm was going off while parked outside of my office again. I drove to Autozone after work and they tested the battery and it said it is 100%. While driving home, the following 5 dash lights came on: "Lane Departure Warning Problem", "Adapative Cruise Control Problem (ACC)", "Power Steering System (EPS) Problem", "Vehicle Stability Assist Problem (VSA), & "Hill Start Assist Problem", and then suddenly started running worse than it ever has during these "episodes". Prior to today, there have never been indicator lights when this happens, but today it has been every ding dang thing.
If you have read this far, THANK YOU for sticking with me! Does anyone have any experience with similar problems? In the morning when it is light out, I am going to look to see if any air hoses that I can see are loose or torn/punctured at all, failing all that I am at a loss. Thank you again for sticking it through to the end and any pearls of wisdom that you might share!

 

So..... Did you or did you not have the battery checked? This sounds like definitely some kind of an electrical problem. Could be the battery itself, a loose battery cable, or some other loose connection somewhere.

 

Maybe alternator is failing

 

Could be either of those or even a bad ground. Hope you get it fixed soon

 

Yes, I had the battery checked at Autozone, I do not know the voltage but she said it was 100%,

 

Any rodents chewing on wires? just throwing it out there. This situation would gnaw at me too if I was you.

 

Anything is possible I suppose, but I haven't seen any evidence of rodents.

 

I am at the dealership now, Thur 3/17 AM since 7:45, of course the car ran like a scalded dog today, strong and no lights. Yesterday it was on it's deathbed and I was almost rear ended by someone tailgating when the power and acceleration died....since he was tailgating and the car suddenly and dramatically slowed down without me hitting the brakes - he had no clue until he almost hit me. In the car's present state, I would be very reluctant to try and merge on to an interstate, especially scary as next weekend I am supposed to take my daughter to Orlando for a school related event and I-4 is the worst interstate on the continent I am convinced.

 

Scroll down in this forum section to Last Post -11/25/21 and review the thread titled "RDX possessed by the devil" started by KST123.. This describes the issue my wife had and KST123 had with our cars. The alarm and flashing dash lights are similar symptoms of our failure. Neither of us had a problem with the car losing power though. If your problem is affecting the VSA, this control unit will throttle back the car if it thinks you have lost stability control.

Try running the car with the VSA off and see if this resolves the engine throttling back problem. Anytime the VSA actuates and reduces power to the wheels, you should get a VSA light on the dash flashing while it is actuating. Do you remember seeing that during previous episodes where the car throttled back on it's own?

 

Prior to yesterday, I have had no indicator lights when these episodes occur. Yesterday everything went berzerk. So the service manager just came to me and said that the codes that it has today indicate that:

Brake Switch - TCC $225.11
Right side bsi indicator $158.78
Alarm - Door sensor/switch RF door switch $110.87
Front brake pads need to be replaced $249.95
TOTAL $826.56 non warranty

He could not tell me what "bsi" stands for, and doesn't think that any of the above would make the car have these episodes....except "maybe" the brake switch if the car thought that I was driving with two feet.Very nerve racking.... just can't seem to catch a break ding dang it.....
I asked him if they:
Could see any evidence of chewing.....no
See any vacuum leaks, holes or punctures? no
Could it be a mass air flow sensor or O2 sensor ? No - he said the codes would be there
I am going to go ask now about the alternator that one response mentioned, and look in to those threads you just mentioned.

 

Ask the dealer if they looked at TSB-18-004. It causes all sorts of weird electrical problems. Once they check that, then see if any codes persist.

Good luck!

 

I am at the dealership now hitting "refresh" on this page and throwing ideas at him every time he cruises by lol..
For $150 they are checking that now! (TSB-18-004)
I did not have jerky steering - but everything else listed, definitely worth looking in to, by VIN is in the range referenced.
THANK YOU everyone for the ideas - keep them coming!!! I have a little gremlin of some sort that I am going to run out of that car one way or another!

 

I'd ask him to show you on a wiring diagram where the three items he wants to replace actually join together electrically. For all three of those items to suddenly go bad, then there is either a common bad ground connection or bad power. The alternator/battery can cause bad power, and a wiring connection gone bad can cause bad power or a bad ground.

This is diagnostics 101. Shooting the parts cannon at the car is not the right answer. Replacing those parts won't accomplish anything except to enrich the dealer.

Oh, and obviously don't get the brakes done there. Any decent independent shop can do a pad-slap brakes for less.

 

I had my Rdx showing multiple error codes on nanny systems, doors wouldn’t lock or open, radio wouldn’t shut off, etc.
Dealer ended up replacing under dash wiring harness.

 

That's so much going on. I'm thinking it's likely a harness or ground too. OP, keep us posted!

 

@fcostantini Thank you. They are checking that alternator service bulletin right now. I don't know if I have the patience or nerve to push this guy any more today. I am leaning towards seeing how it is today after they do the alternator service and then going to another mechanic other than the dealer to make inquiries and show them my long list of suggestions. I have a mechanic that was a tenant at a commercial property that I managed and he has always done a fantastic job for me but he has recently fallen down on the job and I have lost patience with him. I used to take my VW Tiquan to him for everything, and the Touareg before that, and Hemi Durango before that. He knows not to let anyone else in his shop work on my cars, and I always bring him the parts, the special VW oil, filters, coolant, lifetime brake pads etc. and pay him labor. He has always been fantastic and been able to give me loaners etc. I always buy the best brake pads at Autozone or wherever, and keep the ones he takes off the car in the box, when it is time for brakes, I walk in with the old ones, swap them out, and drop the car off to him with the new ones in the box on the passenger seat, 6 bottles of VW oil, filter etc. and usually drinks and snacks for him and his son who is sometimes running around the shop hanging out. My Tiquan steering literally froze while making a right hand turn, froze like rock solid, no warning...no wiggle in the steering wheel whatsoever. I had the car towed to him on May 11 of last year. In June he told me that it needed a rack & pinion, I told him at that time to just fix it as cheaply as possible as I was going to trade it and get rid of it asap since I had just sunk over $4,000+ in it in the prior 10 months, each time thinking "well, it's paid for, at least I know what I have, this should do it for awhile". I ordered a used rack & pinion from a car that only had 50,000 miles and delivered said part to him the second week of June. One thing after another, he cut his hand, caught covid, dad passed away, caught covid again, moved out of his shop to a new location, dragged my Tiguan to his own driveway.... and to this day still friggin has it. I told him last summer to hurry it up as I wanted to trade it and get rid of it & zeroed in on finding a new to me, gently preloved car, which eventually led me to the RDX. As it happens, my dad's wife drives a RL (I think that's the one) and her son has an 04 RDX - his RDX has over 300,00 miles and has had zero problems, she loves her car and has had zero problems. My mechanic went with me to Seffner to look at two different RDXs and told me to pass on them when he crawled underneath. I was combing all of FL & GA on the web as my fiance is in N GA and for the right car, we would iron out the details of how to get it where I needed it. I found this one in Sarasota, and my brother went over and looked it over, drove it, I had the service records and it was impeccably maintained every 6 months, clean clean clean Snowbird car that Wintered in Sarasota and summered in NJ. From my online research the price was excellent too, over 6K below market so I pulled the trigger and bought it even though I didn't have the Tiguan to dump in trade. My mechanic is now talking about buying the Tiguan but doesn't seem to be able to make that happen fast enough for my taste..
Service tech just dropped by and handed me the bill and said that the screw on the alternator was tight where it is supposed to be and that "maybe" the alternator is going bad, but that should trip a light on my dash and it didn't have any codes for that. $151.16 on top of earlier's $89 diagnostic previously pad before reading the service bulletin and I am back on the road....for now. :-(

 

tl;dr

 

I have had the "scrolling error messages of death" once or twice on my 2014 in 8 years. The first time was when it would not clear by itself and the car went into "limp-home" mode. The dealer tracked it to a camshaft position sensor wire that had been gnawed on by something. The error messages had nothing obvious about that sensor in particular, so it just goes to show that if there is a short somewhere it can cause repercussions all over the place. Good luck.

 

@CookieBoss were you able to find the fix? My 2018 RDX did the exact same thing during a rain storm last year on the highway. I was lucky to make it home alive. $2000 worth of Hail Mary’s at the dealer and it worked…until now…the problem is back after getting a deep car wash. It’s definitely a leak somewhere, but I’d rather not spend more money on a witch hunt. A trusted mechanic unblocked the sunroof drains today but tonight the locks and alarm are going crazy again…any help or insight I could guide my mechanic to would be appreciated!