I owned this RL for 9 years, has driven her on countless road trips. It was also my trusty daily driver. 139K miles of trouble free transportation and still drives like new. Full service record from the Acura Dealer. I seriously planned to keep her for as long as economically feasible. All of this ended yesterday when an incoming driver tried to make a left turn at an intersection and failed to yield. I had the green light and nearly T-boned his Subaru at 50mph. The important thing is no one got hurt. Be careful out there and always practice defensive driving. The RL is a very safe vehicle, I walked away completely unscratched. Get yourself a dashcam, it'll pay for itself for events like this.

dashcam vid: (collision start around 0:45 sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixW...ature=youtu.be

 

Glad all is well..

Dumbass drivers are everywhere

 

Geez, I'm glad you're OK man! That dash cam will pay for itself here. I must say, the RL looks like it took that hit like a champ. I would have expected to see much more damage, especially considering how the Subaru fared. It looks like it held very well! Did they officially call it totalled yet?

EDIT: It's VERY interesting that all the other panels still line up. It even appears like the hood and passenger fender still align on the other side! But I'd expect structural damage beneath all this.

 

What an idiot! Glad you're okay.

 

Man, glad to hear you are ok. Was looking at dashcams the other day. Will have to speed up the search. Idiot driver.

 

Yep, the ACE body structure did it's job and kept me safe. This is essentially a small-overlap crash. Will have to see what the insurance adjuster says, but my gut feeling is it's totaled.

 

What dash cam are you using if you don't mind me asking.

 

I was using a Timetec 62RHG680-B8G Road Hawk HD 1080P, got it off Amazon two years ago for $179. Looks like the price has gone down. Now days there are better deals out there for the price. The resolution is not the sharpest as you can see in the video, and I had it on the highest setting of 1080P. The key is it hides pretty well behind the rearview mirror, and it comes with 3M adhesive mount instead of suction cups. I hate suction cups.

Pictures were taken back in the good old days when things were happier. This was also before I installed the wood steering wheel.

 

Thanks for the reply. Sorry this happened to you. The camera did an excellent job capturing the video.

 

Thanks for the comments. Yeah these things are beyond my control and it already happened, so just have to move on. Wife said the important thing is nobody got hurt. Cars are always replaceable.

 

Glad you are ok, that looked like a really hard hit. Had your airbags been updated or was it the original airbag?
Thanks for posting, I drive 40k miles annually in and around Washington DC and really need to get a dash cam.

 

yes the dashcam pays for itself and i've got myself out of pickle couple times.
one time, some stupid bitch changed her words next day and claimed she had witness that saw i took off on her after hitting her vehicle.
i showed clip to both police and insurance adjuster and case closed. other party(driver & witness) will face felony/criminal charge.

sorry for your loss. i have idiot drivers and driving standards should be higher/stricter as there are too many idiots on the road that shouldn't be allowed.
especially those that rely heavily on driving nannies and have no common driving sense/logic.

 

The airbags were replaced just five month ago as part of the Takata recall. I remember the dealer had a hard time getting parts and my recall was delayed by about 8 month. Thank heavens it was replaced.

 

Absolutely agree with you. The camera never lies and never forgets. In this accident I let the other party speak to the officer first. They were honest in this case. Otherwise, I can show the video to the officer and the other party will be charged with lying to an officer in addition to getting a citation.

 

Wow. Sorry for the loss. One things for sure, Acura's seem to be pretty safe. Lots of dead cars on the board lately but no one has been hurt. Hopefully insurance treats you well. I think I'll look into dash cams today.....

 

Glad to hear you're okay. What will you replace the RL with?

 

That is a very good question, and the answer is I don't know! The newer Acura's don't really appeal to me due to the dual screen infotainment system. I'm also not a fan of the VCM either. RLX looks too bland for the price they're asking, and TLX feels like a downgrade from the RL. No German brands for me due to depreciation and maintenance costs. Not a fan of domestic vehicles. I was looking at a Lexus GS350 and it seems to fit the bill. The Spindle Grille is a bit overwhelming at first but it has grown on me.

 

Have you looked at new infinitis? I tell you theyve come a long way in design especially the sport.

 

First off, it sucks to see that your RL is a total loss. I'm digging the profile pic of your car with the two bikes mounted on the roof. I'm a biker myself but use a trunk mount instead of a roof mount but will be going with a hitch setup soon. Like you I decided to get a dashcam which recorded the time when my car got tapped from behind. I think they are worth it.

I agree with your statement about the newer RLX although I was considering taking a trip to the dealership for a test drive. For what its worth, the only newer Acura that I'd get would be the MDX.

 

Thanks. These are Yakama Sprocket Rocket roof racks mounted with Yakama Q-towers. It's a very neat, clean setup but it does kill your fuel economy by about 5mpg on the freeway. When I have two bikes up there I'm getting about 22mpg freeway instead of 26mpg.

I was also looking at the MDX but do not understand why the 2018 MDX will not receive the same infotainment system update like the 2018 TLX. There is still no Android Auto / Apple Car play, and still has the old resistive touchscreen instead of the faster capacitive touchscreen. It boggles my mind why Acura decided to keep the same old infotainment system on the flagship RLX and their best selling MDX, but update it in the 2018 TLX and ILX.

 

Again, sucks about your car. Does your dashcam record front and back?

 

Mine only records the front. There are new products out there that comes in as a pair, like the BlackVue DR650S-2Ch that has a camera for the back. It's too much hassle to hide wires for the rear camera so I didn't bother.

 

Ok. Yours gets power from 12v near gear shift?

 

Yep that's where I plugged it in. All these cameras usually comes with a very long power cord (15 feet?). I run the cable from the camera to the 12V DC in the center console. You can hide the cable under the roof liner, run it to the A-Pillar, slightly pry open the A-piller gap near the "Side Curtain Airbag" logo, tuck the cable in there, then hide the cable along the weather stripping all the way down to the floor. Hide it under the floor mat and run it in the seams between the carpet and leather trim into the center console. With the RL it is possible to completely hide the cable without removing any trim pieces.

 

Exactly the info I needed. Thanks flanker271.

 

Something to look into when that time comes when I check the vehicle out.

Fellow Trek bike owner here as well but I have a hybrid. I recall hearing that the roof rack and the bikes can decrease fuel economy. Having to hoist the bikes up and strap them down along with the worry of scratching the car's paint in the process are reasons I did not go with the roof set up. Like I said earlier, it does look cool though. Good luck with your next vehicle purchase.

 

I am glad the RL did a great job protecting you, seem like dash cam is a must now these day. BTW are you gona part out?

 

I've posted the 2017 Navigation DVD disc up for sale in the Black Market section of the forum. The car is now written off as a total loss so I'm no longer in possession of the vehicle. Sad.

 

Man, that's so sad to hear. It will probably show up on that auction website that sells totals, flood cars, etc. Someone will probably buy and fit it up as a rebuild. Did yours have the rear deck spoiler?

 

Im not surprised it was totalled I am surprised how quickly the claim was settled though. Good luck on your search for a replacement

 

Dash cam. No argument, no questions asked.

 

Mine does not have the rear spoiler.

I'd be delighted to see/hear if someone fixed her up and give her a new life. I loved this car.

 

My surprise was less about who's at fault more about insurance settling claim so quickly and getting you a check with a value your happy with.

 

Flanker,

Glad you're ok!! My 05 Graphite RL was also totaled! Must be something going around!

On Wednesday, my insurance company declared my one-owner 05 RL a total loss. I got rear-ended last Monday during morning rush-hour by an 04 Honda Civic going 60 mph; I was stopped behind traffic. Luckily, my 12 year old RL absorbed all of that force and, with the exception of tenderness in my neck muscles the next morning, I was also not injured. The repair shop stopped computing repair cost when it reached $15-16K which encompassed 90 hours of frame rail replacement and repairs only--no body repairs or painting. I haven't settled with my insurance company yet but am definitely looking for a replacement for my 05 RL In Hawaii, nice, low-mileage RLs are hard to find.

 

OP off topic, do you really love flying/ aviation? I mean your screen name look so familiar lol.

 

Also noticed op is an aerospace engineer?

 

Nope I didn't see it within this thread.

 

i think his profile said it under occupation

 

I am not stalking anyone by looking into their profile lol.

 

I bought his navigation disk and I noticed it when I was giving him a positive iTrader rating