MR_T30

Hi folks, the time has come to replace my car (99 Accord 5 speed 146K+ miles) The dealership I went to had a couple RDX's, both had the tech package and AWD. After doing a bit of research, I have found out that Acura dropped the SH-AWD and opted for the CRV's crappy AWD system. Do you guys think it is a worthwhile option ? I live in CO and will have dedicated snow tires either way (old habit), and am having a hard time paying the premium for a very FWD bias AWD system and the mpg hit. Please correct me if I am wrong, I will not be going off road or doing any hardcore snow driving.

Secondly, and more importantly I have read that honda has had a lot of issues in the past with their V6 automatic transmissions. Has all that been resolved ? I would hate to have my tranny go out on me right after the warranty runs out.

hawkeye62

The mountain roads here in Utah are littered with 2wd cars crosswise in the road in winter. "Crappy" AWD is infinitely better than 2wd, even with dedicated snow tires.

Regards, Jim

gbriank

All good questions. V6 auto trans issue was resolved pre-2004 models with extra oil jets.

As for two vs four vs AWD drive. Depends on how far off the beaten path you live. How did you Accord handle the roads? If it did well, I don't see why a FWD or AWD RDX would be any different.

Honda's AWD drive system is front wheel biased, but with slight modification from the CR-V unit to be a bit more "sporty" (according to Honda). If you want a car with true all wheel drive goodness, Subaru or a car with a Haldex based system are your best bets. AUDI, some Volkswagens, SAAB, BMW X-series, etc...use Haldex.

Good video:

Colorado Guy AF Ret.

Well, as a past owner of 3 CRV's....an 07, 09, and an '11...all AWD's, and from Colorado....I can say, without a shadow of a doubt....the AWD systems in these 3 were not crappy at all. It was very hard to get any one of them.."out of shape" when I tested them on lonely back roads...paved with lots of snow and icy conditions. Taking off from a stop light was hard to make it spin tires...seriously my wife loved getting around in them...drove to work 5 days a week in the winters. NEVER an issue. So, that comes from experience and telling the truth. From that you decide.
The '12 CRV updated the same AWD to put more bias to the rear drive system sooner depending on the circumstances....and that includes dry roads. The system is lighter than most all others, and does what it is designed to do. If you want a "real" 4wd system that will take you up Pikes Peak Hwy, and let you go off road, then maybe you need a Jeep. Otherwise, you won't go wrong with the RDX.

The RDX has the same system. Is it as good as the SH-Awd system that the 1st gen. RDX's had...probably not...especially if you wanted to race around curvy mountain roads.

But, if you want a solid, get it done, AWD in the winter time....the CRV system does just fine...and I have no doubt that my RDX will do just as well this winter.

And, just to add....Not even the so called "best" 4wd..or AWD systems can be totally relied on based on "whatever" you tried to do with it. I've seen many Jeeps or other similar types stuck, or worse.

Hope this helps.

weather

^^^^ What he said! It seems Colorado Guy share alot of the same views on alot of things, right down to the color of our RDX.

RDXAWD

But the SH-AWD was actually very good in reducing the torque to the wheel that is on ice. The other SUVs almost does the opposite and spins the wheel on the slippery one and hope that the other axle will have enough traction to overcome. You can see on youtube they tried all these cars up a fairly steep grade with 1 strip of ice over 1 side and the Acura with SH-AWD was only one able to make it up. If the 2013 have this system I would buy it right now. granted it's an exaggerated test because this is not something many will probably not encounter..

Unfortunately it seems they took out the SH-AWD tech and put it into the cylinder shut off tech.

MR_T30

Thanks for all the great replies folks. My accord did great in the snow with snow tires. I actually prefer it over some "Awd" cars I have driven without snow tires. My sister has a GMC Terrain and it gets fidgety when the AWD engages when it detects a slip. I don't do much driving "off the beaten path" but I think I will go with the AWD anyway because its only a 1 MPG hit, I am sure it will have a huge impact on resell value, especially in CO. I was more concerned about the automatic transmission thanks for the answer gbriank.

RDXAWD

Acura has got the same drivetrain warranty as Lexus 7/60,000 so should anything happens to the auto trans you are covered, and there isn't much you can do to void this warranty, especially if they didn't specify you have to change the transmission fluid. e.g. The other SUV I'm looking at, needs to be changed every 30k miles.

So it would depends on how long you want to keep the car, but I would think any design flaws will manifest itself by 60k.

RDXAWD

I made a typo it is 6/70,000 miles..

how do you edit posts on this forum!??!

weather

RDXAWD....if you catch your error fast enough, you will have the edit option (next to the quote button) but after a while, it will disappear and no longer to modify. I wish that feature would be available for longer but not sure if the people who run this site can make it happen.

BTW...that is a good question that maybe I'm the only one who doesn't but who manages/run this site? I mean there are sponsors, moderators etc. Is this a person who owns the site or a group??

Colorado Guy AF Ret.

With the 13 RDX and it's paddle shifting system....did you know you can start off from a stop in 2nd gear??
Yes....just put the shifter in "S" and then paddle shift to "2" on your readout...while stopped on a slippery road. When you take off it will be in 2nd gear, and thus not nearly as prone to spinning. Also, know that when doing this you can only shift into 1st or 2nd gear. From a stop....won't got in any other higher gear. My Accord Cpe. V6 does this too...it has the paddle shift system.

Does that help you some???

hawkeye62

Great tip Colorado Guy!

Thanks, Jim

Acura_TL

Nah, leave it in first, turn off the VSA, and floor it, have some fun! See what that AWD can do.

Colorado Guy AF Ret.

I'll watch while you do it! Let's see if you or anyone else ends up in the ditch or worse. LOL!!

Also, a note on this. Something I didn't know, but, with each passing day I learn more "stuff" about this vehicle.

The paddle shifters will only take you from 1st gear to fifth while driving. Won't go into 6th.
Only when in "D" will it go from 1 to 6.

And, when paddle shifting it "self shifts from 1st to 2nd without you doing it. My Accord will hold 1st all day long...got to paddle shift out of first.

I haven't tried a little harder acceleration paddle shifting out of first and see if it shifts from me or "self shifts." Got to be a gas saving thing!

MR_T30

Went in on Saturday to the dealer ready to sign. The best they are willing to do on price is $1500 off MSRP, AND they do not have any non techs in stock so I didn't get to play with one Think I am going to wait a couple of months

jk4

One more thing to concern yourself about the RDX. I have had 3 Acura's and have loved all of them, but the latest RDX was returned (my dealer has a 48 hour return policy).
The AC blows real cold, but it has an annoying habit of turning down to, let's say, "tepid". The Acura techs said this is normal and is part of the gas savings package (different AWD, cylinders that turn off, lighter weight, etc.).
Please note that this is not irritating to everyone. I had a friend who thought it was acceptable. However, it bothered me and my wife. The difference in cabin temperature was nil, but the on-off, cold-tepid was irritating - to us.
Let's just say it is something to check out on a long test drive by yourself (I did not notice it while with the yammering salesman

RDXAWD

One of the things is I always evaluate is the A/C. I need to put my finger next to the vent until it's so cold it hurts, then I know it is good. Surprisingly the 2012 CR-V does have very cold A/C. I also drove the RDX during the evening which was not good to evaluate the A/C. I admit I'm a bit sensitive to heat so this is important to me.

I know some dealership have 48-72 hr return policy, but I wonder what kind of hassle do you get?

Does the non-tech have auto climate control? If it does there should be no reason for the system to relax.

However a fair point about A/C and gas mileage. I have a Mitsubishi and you could argue their car designs but they know how to make a A/C! The MPG goes up a couple easily when the A/C is off. The A/C can work very hard without compromise but it suck gas up to cool down a SUV.

BlackDogRDX

The AC "cycling" is definitely something to be aware of. I have noticed that when the RDX is moving and the temperature on the AC has been unchanged for a little while that the fan speed seems to slow down. It will kick back up when you slow down substantially.

I've never felt like it wasn't doing enough to keep the car at the temperature I want but it is certainly something to note since the fan speed does change.

hawkeye62

A/C fan speed and air temperature has been part of Acura's Auto setting since at least the 2001 MDX. You can turn Auto off and set the fan speed where ever you want.

Regards, Jim

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Yea the car is rather new and it seems to be selling well. As a result, there won't be too much discount on one at this moment. On the other hand, at least in Canada, there's huge discount on the MDX.

Mikey Dallas

I have non-tech. When you turn off the auto, it holds the temp without changing the fan speed as he said. It has been 100 plus here much of the summer, and seems to do just fine for me.

Rocketsfan

In some places in the US, people are apparently getting MDX w/ Tech for under $40,000 (not including TT&L). Other dealers are giving discounts not quite as huge, but still pretty large from what I've been reading over in the MDX forum. It makes it a tough choice for some between the RDX and MDX.

MR_T30

Thought I would give you guys a quick update, I have been to a couple of dealers ready to buy and have not pulled the trigger yet for the following reasons

1, Best price I have been able to get is 1K off MSRP on an non tech, don't want tech but they seem willing to do 1.5K off on a tech. Acura financing leaves a lot to be desired, I have a 780 credit score and was able to get better financing through PenFed
2, No one around me (Denver) has a non tech in stock, have to order and wait a few weeks for it to arrive. Some are even waiting on a tech.
3, My accord is paid off still running like a champ. I don't need to buy, just looking for an upgrade. I have no issues with waiting a few months for a much better deal. Heck I am actually considering waiting a year or two and picking buying used.
4, The Acura sales team has not been a pleasure to deal with. I have bought a few cars from dealers, and these guys are acting like they are doing me a favor by selling me the car. I went to a Honda dealer that advertised on craigslist and tried to bait and switch me into a pilot or crv (they didn't have ANY new Acuras)