imnuts

Does anyone know how to remove the headlight assembly on the 2014 RDX with halogen lamps? The driver's side is so dim that it looks like it is off at night unless you're next to something, and the passenger side isn't much better. I've tried replacing the bulbs and also switching them side-to-side without any real change in the brightness. They weren't too bad when we first got the car, but at some point, it got dim. I wanted to remove the assemblies and try to clean the projector assemblies and lenses if possible. The exterior seems fine, so the problem must be inside the housing. We did ask the dealership the last time it was in for service and they said it could be a ballast problem, so they obviously don't know what to do about it since it doesn't have ballasts to start with.

dave08902

Here is the service manual, hope this helps.

thoiboi

You can't exactly "clean" projector assemblies.. They are chrome plated and if there was some malfunction with the assemblies internally, it's likely the reflector bowls have burned on soot or the reflective coating has burned off diminishing the optics..

dave08902

thoibol your right, I missed that in his post. There is an igniter behind the bulb that maybe causing the dim lights.

thoiboi

OP said he has halogen bulbs so no Ignitor in this case

imnuts

Definitely helps, but the weather outside does not. Maybe we'll get some warmer weather where I can tackle this over the winter, otherwise I'll find some time in the spring.

Yeah, at this point, I'm not sure what the issue is. It is possible that the coating is bad. Given the light output, it is either the reflector bowl or the lens. At least if I get the housing out, I'll know better what the issue is. Given the crappy light output, I'm not going to make it much worse by trying.

Poolman

Got the same problem on my 15 model. Low beams or so bad, it's like they aren't made to do the job and more like daytime running lights. Went to remove the low beam bulbs and possibly change the bulbs to something with higher lums , but can't remove the back protective cover to just get to the bulbs. If you find an answer please post back, and good luck to you, others are hoping for a solution also.

Bham98225

imnuts

As an update, I brought home a borescope from work and inspected the driver's side low beam projector today, since that one is the worst. It still works, but a candle would probably give more light at night. At first I just checked the front lens and cutoff assembly but didn't see anything. I put a 45 degree mirror on it and put the scope back in to see the rest of the projector. It wasn't the greatest image, but I saw light/dark grey, little reflection, and a lot of cracking. It looks like at least one of the projectors is burnt. Given that the passenger side is slowly getting worse too, I'll be replacing both housings at some point this spring so that we can see at night again.

Base2014RDX

Well that is bad. Do you keep your car in the garage?

imnuts

​​​​​​No, we don't have a garage, but I don't know why keeping it in a garage would change anything. There car is 5.5 years old, and this has been an issue that's been getting worse for the last year and a half or more. Headlight housings should last longer than 4 years regardless of where the car is stored.

It does change when I'll replace the housing though as it need to be in the 50s before I want to be outside ripping the front of the car apart.

imnuts

Last week, I bought the new headlight housings from RockAuto. I got two NSF Certified TYC Brand housings. They had the most reasonable price for NSF housings from the same manufacturer. Overall, this wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. It took maybe 1.5 hours start to finish with the replacement, with only a few minor issues along the way. Tools needed would be two flat screwdrivers to help pry out the plastic push pin connectors on the bumper. You'll also need a 10 mm socket with at least 9" of extensions to get to the one bolt holding the housing in place. The instructions say that there should be screws/bolts at the bottom corners of the bumper, but it was just the plastic push fittings on our RDX.

I just drove it the first time at night tonight after changing the housings, and it was a HUGE Improvement. Although it was ~$650 for the new housings shipped, it was definitely worth it just from a safety perspective. I need to go through the adjustment procedure though as I believe they are aimed up right now. I think after lowering them a little bit, they'll be just fine. I saved the old housings for now as I plan on ripping one (or both) apart to get a better look at the projectors and take some pictures to post. If anyone is having a similar issue, I'd definitely recommend this.

imnuts

I attempted to take one of the housings apart today, but they are glued together and I don't feel like baking them to soften the glue just to rip them apart. However, having them off the car does make it much easier to see what is going on inside. I also noticed that you can easily adjust the left/right adjustment on the headlights as well if you want to. There is just a plastic cap covering the left/right adjustment screw, and a flat head screwdriver can pry it off pretty easily.

The passenger side had a film/coating on the lens, but the projector assembly looks otherwise ok. I wiped it off some, and there seems to be better light out of it using a flashlight, but it still isn't 100%. I'm sure with a little bit better cleaning, it could actually be re-used. I am assuming by the light output that in another 3-4 years it would be in similar condition to the driver side light though.

The driver side light though isn't in good condition, which explains why a candle would be better. There wasn't any film on the lens that I could tell, and initially, the projector looked to be good as well. However, when I tried to clean it off with a towel like I did the other side, a lot of white powder is on the inside of the projector. When I looked again, there are white areas inside the project assembly now. I'm guessing that they didn't have everything off of them when they were coated, or there was an issue with the coating. It's essentially burning off and turning to powder. When I used my flashlight to shine through the projector/lens, it is ok, but not great, so the lens itself is ok, just that the projector assembly can't reflect the light out anymore.

For anyone else suffering through poor lighting, you could try to clean out the projector with some ammonia and see if it helps, but odds are, you're going to need to buy new housings.

Reynard

Exactly the same problem I've been having with my 2014 RDX. Tried to find some Government recall but haven't found anything.
Looks like I have to spend $700 and order new headlamp assemblies. lucky I can do it myself, but buying an ACURA you don't expect this.

MAMAR20

My 2015 RDX failed the state safety inspection due to this same issue with a dim drivers side headlight. Only solution is to replace the headlight assembly and the estimate from the dealer was over $1300! Did some research on Acura headlight recalls and found a couple with similar descriptions for the 2014-2015 Acura and 2013-2014 Acura ILX. Any chance they could be the same problem?

Thmanx

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...assembly,10762

y'all check rock auto? They offer TYC replacements at quite reasonable prices. TYC is about as good to OEM quality as your gonna get.

BadAcCLS

Reviving an old thread... Has anyone attempted to replace just the projectors in the housing?

Seems like a $50 projector would be better than $400+ housing. If so, do you have a link to the projector purchased, and by chance any input on how to tackle such a project?

I recently picked up a 2015 RDX Base with low miles, but I can't see anything at night, even with upgraded LED bulbs.

Alex Medeiros

It's a huge pain. It can include baking the assemblies and overall takes a very long time to do, if it's even possible on the RDX specifically...

BadAcCLS

Noted... Thanks for the heads up. I'm thinking of picking up TYC housings, or doing the jewel eye swap. Just not sure I want to tear everything apart.

Alex Medeiros

TYC is JUNK. I'd either go OEM or with 1A Auto.

bvogel7475

I don’t think Acura expected to sell a lot of the base models. So, they cheated out on the headlights. I have a 2013 with Tch package and they come with super bright xenon bulbs. As a result, there will never be a recall since most RDX’s have the xenon lights.

imnuts

I purchased the TYC brand replacement housings. While they aren't OEM quality, they are decent for aftermarket headlight housings. The projection/beam is a little off from stock, but they do not produce any odd glare and were a HUGE improvement over the original housings that had the bad projectors. Two years in and they are still working fine.

Also, I've seen many more 2nd Gen RDX's with halogen lights than HID. I'm not sure where you got the idea that the HID setup was more common, but that isn't the case from what I've seen on the road in the 4 places I've lived since we purchased our RDX.

Alex Medeiros

I've seen a good mix of both, but ironically I tend to see a bit more halogen based 2nd Gen RDX's rather than HID based like mine is...

2015rdxhaloglowbeamrecall

Thanks all for the great info, I have a 2015 rdx base package with dim low beam projectors after trying a couple sets of new bulbs.

The dealer was aware of the issue and recommended replacing both assemblies for around $2k. I am very unhappy with this response and the reliability of the assemblies.

I suggest everyone with this issue report the facts to NHTSA so we have the best chance of getting the assemblies recalled. I already submitted mine and have a complaint number.
You will need to provide NHTSA your VIN, the issue will be with "lighting".
Please post that you have reported it so we have an idea of how many people have reported it.

I don't know the threshold for when a investigation or recall starts but looking at the total numbers of RDXs sold in US and Canada there are a lot.
Calendar year US[26] Canada
2013 44,750 6,112
2014 44,865 6,557
2015 51,026 7,380

When I searching for the issue I found a class action investigation. Ill report back as I hear about that. https://chimicles.com/acura-rdx-dim-...investigation/
Here are the Part Numbers for reference
33100-TX4-A12
33150-TX4-A12

I am considering looking at the TYC option from rockauto and also aftermarket low beam projector retrofit from ddmtuning, https://ddmtuning.com/Projectors-H1-V3-PR

Alex Medeiros

I wouldn't look at TYC, they seem to be pretty meh at best. People tend to have issues with them across many different vehicles.

2015rdxhaloglowbeamrecall

Thanks for the input, ill do some more research.

I noticed the nhtsa link isnt in my post, https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#vehicle I will try to update my original post when my account is out of its trial period.

2015rdxhaloglowbeamrecall

Does anyone have an used rdx 2nd gen headlight with the projector issue that I can buy to practice swapping in an aftermarket projector?

StephensEngineering

I just changed the projectors on mine. I would consider it an easy job. SUPER bright at night now, was dim. Old projectors had reflective coating burn off. It was all plug and play. Will detail on another post.`

Poolman

Have replaced my halogen bulbs some time ago for LED but still dim for what should be safe driving. I decided to dive in a bit further on this problem. The projectors are not burning out as many think here is the case, The problem is the projectors were defective from the
time the lighting system was installed in our cars. The foil in the projectors is defective from what I have read and over a few years the reflectors are useless and hence the problem. The problem with the reflectors is the foil de laminates over time on it's own , not because it burned out
There was a class action suit back in 2014 for another acura vehicle that had this very problem and the lighting system was replaced by Honda. There is another investigation taking place now that is trying to add our RDX with halogen lights to the case that came before. Love the ride, but as for now I don't feel it's safe to drive around with just the dim lights on.There is a law firm that is starting this class action suit, and thinking about contacting them Thes lights are a know problem and have been for some time now.

altair47

This is a problem with almost all lensed halogen reflectors, from all many automakers, because they are plastic. The manufacturer saves money so that their resource is enough for the warranty period, then the reflector burns out and you need to buy new headlights, this is business as usual and nothing personal. Therefore, if you want your reflectors to last a long time, turn on your headlights only at night time or switch to LEDs.

raschkess

I have been battling the slowly degrading dimming headlight issue on my 2014 and my 2015 RDX, both vehicles bought used. I was in a head on collision totaling my 2015. Other posters are correct the issue is the reflective coating that deteriorates because the engineering of the vehicle and headlamp is to have the driving lights be on all the time the car is running so at 80,000+ the amount of heat has completely degraded the reflective coating housing. I had 1% lux reading as measured by an automotive illumination engineer ... yes 1%. I had to replace the headlights or not drive the car at night or illegally drive with my hi-beams on. I paid Acura dealer $2227 to perform the repair and both the dealer and Acura snubbed their nose at me and said they would do nothing to compensate me unless the NHTSA ordered a mandatory recall. Acura had a mandatory NHTSA recall to that era ILX for this same issue and Nissan has just settled a class action lawsuit for the same issue. The headlights were all manufactured by National Automotive Lighting (NAL). We Honda/Acura loyalists need to demand a full recall on the defective headlamps. Law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP is trying to identify impacted Acura RDX owners and investigate/pursue filing a Class Action Lawsuit. They were the law firm successfully in the Nissan class action lawsuit. Impacted owners should file a formal complaint with the NHTSA at https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#vehicle. File a complaint about the danger of your dim headlights and share your personal costs, fear, danger, accident, death, or repairs you had to undertake because of Acura’s failure to engineer a safe vehicle and then its failure to remedy their defect. If we can band together and be successful with either the NHTSA and/or a class action lawsuit, we could be fully compensated for the replacement of the headlamps at Acura’s. These Acura are now being passed down to teenage drivers because they are generally a long mile reliable vehicle. Do you want your 16 year old inexperienced driver to not be able to see the road at night and veer off the road or into oncoming traffic and kill your 80 year old mother? Pass it on.

altair47

Stop spamming this message in all threads!

RickFredRDX

Thanks for the info.