Actual Repairs by Owners with 50-100K Miles
 

Our odometer just reached 60,000 miles and since the 3rd Gen RDX will most likely drop the V6; it got me thinking about keeping the 2014 long term.
So, I would find it helpful to know from current owners of 2nd Gen RDX with 50-100K miles, what non routine repairs/costs have you had to make?
I know that close to 100K miles, it will be due for a timing belt/water pump replacement, but other than that, I haven't read much of other repairs except noisy struts.
Thanks

My 14 has 65,000 trouble free miles, except for complete brakes once, and normal fluid changes. Car has been great. The 2017 only has 18,000 problem free miles, brakes did seize and Acura replaced them under warranty.

Our 2014 with 55k miles needed a new battery earlier this summer. That's it. Extremely reliable car

Just purchased a CPO 2013 with 53k miles and am having the rear right shock replaced under warranty. Also had the transmission flushed and software updated to hopefully resolve the judder I've noticed when accelerating.

I just crossed the 50K mark and I guess I'm already in this "post-warranty club" now. Battery was replaced last year under warranty.

Thanks, my 2014 has original battery, almost 4 yrs since build date, considering replacing soon before I'm stranded away from home. Not sure how long battery is under warranty.

2013 maintenance history
 

Thanks for the update. Our 2014 RDX (FWD) (TECH) is at 70,000 miles (Purchased New)
Also following factory maintenance schedule
Original Tires replaced at 45,000 miles.
Original brake pads (will anticipate another 20-30K miles before needing replacements
Original battery (maybe replace around 4 year birthday in May 2018 as preventive measure
Will be on the lookout for any humming sound from front end based on your exxperience
This type of information is very helpful as I want to keep our RDX as long as possible.

Our recently acquired 13 RDX has 55k miles and outside of oil / filter changes...has had the rear differential serviced twice, transfer case once and the battery replaced in the past 6 months.

After purchase, I performed a x3 drain / fill with MaxLife Dex/Merc Full Synthetic ATF and added S-VCM Controller...after which transforming this RDX into the refined driving experience it should be. No more transmission shudder/judder and running on all 6 cylinders all the time.

2013 with 86,000km
- new driver seat leather due to premature wear (warranty)
- new right rear shock due to noise (warranty)
- wheel bearing (noise)
- sun roof stuck (warrenty)

Now has left rear shock noise.

My biggest beef is poor fit and finish. Panel gaps, front passenger door not flush, dashboard gaps etc.

I've read other posts about poor fit and finish. Our 2014 RDX had none of those issues, all panels exterior and interior line up perfectly. I guess we were lucky. But, I did check the panels, etc of the cars on the lot at time of purchase and did not find any that were incorrectly aligned, maybe they had good Quality Control during that timeframe.

Similar situation. Have a 2014 CPO and had both rear shocks along with transmission flush and software update covered by warranty.

59k needed a new battery and i changed out my brakes but will need to change out the rotors to get rid of the squeel. im approacing 60k so ill be doing a trans fluid exchange

Yours has tight, perfectly aligned gaps? How about the top of the instrument cluster where it meets the dash? Is there a gap?

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...c589e33c2.jpeg

I never noticed any gap until I took this pic. My eyes have never focused on that part of dash before.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...2e8cf37d5.jpeg

For me, this gap is acceptable, maybe others is much worse.

Hey - New to the forum (and to the RDX ownership - just picked up a used 2014 RDX awd w/tech @57k miles). few hundred miles after picking up from used car dealer, got my A123 alert. I'm debating kicking off my ownership with DIY to start, or going straight to the dealership to get the official stamps of approval with their maintenance instead. Other than that - I've not noticed any issues, though it's only been literally a few weeks of ownership! :)

People who complain about the gap are just looking for problems. its a non issue and you cant see it unless you duck your head at steering wheel level which most people never do.

Welcome to RDX ownership. If you're comfortable doing your own fluid changes, tire rotation, I'd do it yourself unless there are any warranty coverage through used car dealer dependent on their service.
Regardless, I'd do your own cabin and engine air filters since it takes all of 15 minutes and dealers charge a fortune for labor and filters.
Good luck and you should have many years of dependable service.

Anti-Knock Senor bad
 

Have a 2016 w/Tech package....has 60K miles.... have to replace the anti-knock sensors....$700 repair.
No other issues.... brakes still look fine....will need tires soon...
I'm hoping the anti-knock sensor failure is a fluke....

What's a S-VCM controller? I would love to rein in that nasty VCM that takes all my beautiful V6 power away LOL! Please share, thanks!!
Other than replacing factory warped rotors, I have had 4 years of trouble free ownership. I have almost 69K miles on it.

S-VCM Controller is a specific model of a VCM deactivation device. VCM deactivation works by "tricking" the #1 coolant temp sensor that the coolant temp is just below the threshold the factory has set to allow VCM to initiate. There are several on the market...I chose the S-VCM Controller because it is unique in the way it works as compared to all the others and in my opinion is the better device to have installed if the vehicle were to have a (rare) overheat occurrence.

They may be purchased off Ebay...the sellers do a better job of explaining how they work as opposed to my remarks. Do some Googling...the info is out there.

These seem to be the 2 most popular units.

S-VCM Controller
VCMuzzler II

Thanks a lot. Been doing some reading, seems like a lot of people have had good results with S-VCM. I might order soon.

If I install the S-VCM at 30k ,miles, will the onboard diagnostics record that there was a glitch in the operating system of the car, and possibly tip the dealer that something is up. I still have a lot of miles before it's out of warrentie.
Got the part, but just taking a bit of a pause before installing it.

IMO...you really should be posing that question to the maker, rather than end users on an internet forum.

My understanding is that this device does not void the manufacturer's warranty, nor will it "embed a glitch" into the ECM's memory upon installation.

Having said that, if you install the device while the engine is hot...you will probably get a CEL. If that happens, it can be immediately reset with an OBD2 tool...or (according to the maker and other owners) the CEL will go away after a couple days of driving. I got the CEL when I installed the S-VCM into my Pilot with a hot engine and I immediately reset with my electronic tool. No CEL when I re-installed the S-VCM into my newly acquired 13 RDX.

I have read of others having their device removed or disconnected when having their vehicle serviced or repaired at the dealership because the technician didn't know what it was...so IMO, it would be wise to tell whoever works on your vehicle (if it's not you), that the device is in place and do not disconnect or remove. Some circumvent the issue entirely by removal of the device prior to taking their vehicle to the dealership.

Thank you jjrph for quick responses. There seems to be a lack of that around some of these forums. The main thing I was pointing out, if the recording devise that is in the system would catch the goings on of having the devise hooked up. I feel now, that if I wanted to run the part, and then needed warranty work, I could just unhook it before taking the car in. Thanks again.

I've got a 2013 RDX AWD w/ tech with 49,875 miles but I'll go ahead and say that I've only had to replace the battery (under warranty) at around the 3 1/2 year (38-39k?) mark. I had been spending a lot of time getting to work super duper early and listening to the stereo in accessory mode which I suspect led to the premature wear. Acura replaced under warranty. I've done all the regularly scheduled maintenance and recently changed the windshield wipers which had largely been unused in SoCal and probably baked a bit.

**once around 20k I had to take my car in because it was kind of shuttering when I'd throttle, Acura couldn't find anything wrong and I suspect it was just crappy gas from outside Las Vegas. They didn't fix anything and I never had the problem again.

We just had to have the timing belt tensioner replaced on our '14 fwd tech with only 35K miles. It was making a horrible ticking sound on cold starts. Luckily we are still under the original CPO warranty but that failure doesn't have me feeling good about future reliability.

2013 at 60k. replaced a/c compressor clutch in our ownership (since 40k). thats it.