Jeckz

So I’ve been having problems with the whole Shifting/Shuttering problem that everyone seems to have. Recently I’ve noticed that while cruising at highway speed the engine rpm will jump up and down a couple of hundred RPMs when I start going up hill or the engine is under load. Any ideas?

alpha2beta

https://www.svcmcontroller.com/

johnnyytruong

I’ve been experiencing the same for the last year or so and just assumed it might’ve been because of the s-vcm controller I had installed. I recently removed it and I still have the same fluctuation in rpm.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

perhaps there is a vacuum leak somewhere

C&Ms RDX

Did this ever get resolved. Just purchased a 2013 RDX for my wife. Symptoms did not occur on any test drives. However, the RPMs bounce around a lot, almost as if torque converter is slipping. However, performance and gas mileage would not seem to indicate a torque converter issue in my humble opinion.

Seems to be mostly in 2nd gear upward. Little to no variation in gas pedal, tach bounces up and down for a few seconds then seems to find its place.

Wife not pleased. Must find solution.

egads

See this service bulletin:

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B17-017.PDF

All Honda automatics require frequent transmission fluid changes. A normal drain & refill changes approx 1/3 of the fluid. The service bulletin calls for doing
that 3 times with simulated driving in between. There is also a software update that only the dealer can do. If you have a lot of miles, the dealer may want to
charge you for the fluid change. You might negotiate to just get one drain & fill and the software update and then do a couple more yourself. Changing the trans
fluid in a Honda/Acura is easier than changing the oil.

C&Ms RDX

Finally took the RDX to the dealer for the transmission "issues" that the wife was experiencing. They said the transmission fluid was very dirty, as if it had not been changed in a long long time, if ever. Also, they stated that the timing belt looked like it had never been changed (100k miles on it). This is very discouraging as the individual I purchased it from in September stated he was a mechanic and meticulously maintained the vehicle, and stated that he replaced the timing belt/water pump himself.

Anyhow, after transmission flush, transfer case and rear diff drain and refill, along with them doing the software updates again, this car runs 10x smoother. What an incredible difference and what a wonderful vehicle.

egads

What was it Reagan used to say? Trust but verify.

Now inspecting the timing belt is not that easy, they rarely break (not to be used as permission to not have the service done)
What happens is the tensioner fails. If you are lucky, it just starts making noise. If you are not, it fails and takes the timing belt
with it and the top of the engine. Actually, at high speed, all of the engine. There are several parts there that should be done at the same time.
The belt, tensioner, water pump, idler bearings. There are other seals that don't usually need doing until the second belt service at over 200k.
The drive belt also gets changed. And the coolant as well, mostly because you drain it to do the water pump. And those very expensive spark plugs.

Now you do not have to have this done at an Acura dealer, anyone who works on Hondas can do it. Folks are saving as much as $1000. using the Honda dealer.
If you use an independent shop, specify or order on your own and bring a kit made by Aisin. Or insist they use factory parts. This is critical for the tensioner & water pump.

rlx015

+1 ^ ... if it ain’t on paper it never happened...

ovation

I just noticed an rpm fluctuation on my 2015 FWD RDX yesterday. At highway speeds, especially going up grades, rpm bounces up and down about 200 rpms. Not really a "slip" in power. No noise. Just bouncing rpms. Fluid level and color OK. Air filter clean. 88k on the vehicle, Had the transmission fluid changed at 65k at the dealer. I'll be taking it in this week. Fingers crossed it's just a fluid change and software update as described above. I will post and update with the outcome.

Has anyone else had this problem? Thanks

Nelson23

I have the same issue on the highway. It is the most noticeable going up hills at below 2000 rpm. If I were to down shift while going up a hill on a highway, the fluctuation seems to go away. Let us know what you hear. I have tried trans fluid change, deactivating vcm, and changing spark plugs.

ovation

I had my car serviced at the Acura dealer yesterday and want to report my results to everyone. The problem is fixed!

The service rep said they have had many vehicles in with this problem. He wanted to first do a diagnostic test for $160 before just going ahead with the service. He explained that this charge covers them, as some customers just leave once the car is diagnosed and take it to another repair shop. If the problem was confirmed, that fee would be included and the total cost would be about $450 total. He also said that this problem does not produce error codes or anything to absolutely confirm the problem, and that there was no way to guarantee the service would fix the problem. I agreed to this and they went ahead with the service.

They did a test drive. The roads were mostly flat near the dealership, so it wasn't as easy to see the bouncing RPMs as on a decent highway grade, but the tech did see some fluctuation. They updated the software, and did the full flush of the fluid as described in the bulletin. (Note that my fluid change at 65k was only a drain and refill.) With the complimentary wash and vac, the job took 3.5 hours start to end.

The service rep said that the bouncing RPMs could still appear for the first 500 miles, as the software "relearns" my driving habits. I paid the $443 bill and left.

I checked carefully on the 1 hour drive home and could not see any bouncing RPMs. The highway had a few small grades, and I tried everything I could to produce the bouncing, It's fixed!

But the real surprise was just how smoothly the car drives overall. It was always a bit touchy and jerky when starting from a stop, accelerating to pass on the highway, and overall. I always thought that this was just how an Acrura drove, with the higher horsepower, etc. My wife always complained about the "jerky" driving. This car is MUCH more smooth now. I bet this fix will also give me a slight boost in gas mileage.

For other RDX owners, I would recommend:

- If you see any bouncing RPMs, get this service.
- If you mainly have flat roads, you might not notice the bouncing RPMs. But look carefully.
- If your RDX feels jerky, look for this, and even if you don't see a bounce, consider getting this service. Being proactive about flushing your transmission fluid may help extend the life of your torque converter.
- Don't bother with drain and refill services for this vehicle. Get a full flush with the procedure in the bulletin.

Good luck and happy driving!

Bond J Bond

Wow! From frightful to relieved. Got a killer deal on '13 RDX AWD w 95K on her. Since I wasnt accustomed to the character of this SUV, I didnt notice the 100-300 rpm variance, at 1st.

Bought the car from a long distance dealer. At about 30 miles on the highway, I fully noticed the variance. I was super fearful it could be serious and costly. I called the selling dealer and he said as long as I felt confident I could make it home safely, I should take it to Acura dealer for assessment and let him know what they find. The selling dealer was a high-end Euro brand not familiar with Acura. Not having anything about this in writing worried me from 9/10/20 until the Acura dealer told me EXACTLY what Ovation (above) posted and with EXACTLY same prices on 9/15/20. Thank God, the selling dealer paid the entire invoice!

Not knowing anything y'all wrote here was not only encouraging, but also disappointing. Being in sales for 30+ years, I have found that to come out ahead on using cars for 20-30K miles per year, buy them with 90-140K and then put the next 100K on them. I bought my '07 Accord with 140K in 2014 and am ready to sell her now since I have this RDX. The Accord now has 278K! Of course, I've put common brakes, tires, chassis, and starter into it. But, never did a thing to the tranny! It's an EXL (fully loaded) version and everything still works. Burns oil and clogs the catalytic converter though.

3 years ago, bought wife the '12 Rav 4 AWD w V6 at 146K, today has 207K and the only thing done so far is tires and just now about to get brakes done.

I tell both of these stories as the foundation to say- I hope I bought a good car in this RDX. To read about trans fluid and differential fluid regular changes as necessary seems very crazy and expensive.

I would have bought another Rav 4 if they made newer models w the V6 still.

egads

The RDX you just bought will need a full timing belt service around 105k. Spark plugs as well.
ALL Honda automatic transmissions have required frequent fluid changes since they introduced an automatic in the 1970s.
That Accord probably had a 45k trans fluid change interval, the RDX is every 30k. A Honda mechanic will do his every 15k.
These are normal drain& fills. The service done according to the service bulletin is three drain & fills in secession. Plan on keeping up with the trans service in the future.

The Rav 4 also requires some trans and differential servicing, but you will have to get specific advise on a RAV4 forum. I'm pretty sure Toyota's official line is that the trans does not need fluid changes. But that also assumes a 100k service life.

We have put over 250k on several Honda's over the years. It takes some paying attention and following the advise of forums.