When backing out of my garage in the morning I need the have my foot on the brake pretty hard because the car (2020 RDX Advance) wants to accelerate. This is noticeably different from my 2017 RDX. Any advice, is this normal?

 

This has been questioned as a problem before. Your cold start rpm is probably around 1500, equal to having your foot lightly on the gas. My older Honda would drop the engine speed as soon as I moved the shifter, perhaps your previous RDX did as well? The new RDX obviously does not.

My 2020 is the same.

 

I told my dealer about this since I've had this issue since day 1 I got the suv. Basically said they know about it and deal with it. They tried doing a few things but didn't fix it. I have a 2019 RDX. I have to push my brake firmly and I hate it. Also cabin shakes on the inside. They did tell me to let it warm up before switching to reverse. Shouldnt have to do that. Never had this in any of my other cars and acuras.

 

Same thing happens to my 2020 Advanced. Honestly, I saw it as a feature. As in...reverse backs you out automatically with out having to press the gas. You control it with break pedal. This is how I use it at least.

 

I could have written this exactly! Dealer said they all do it.

It starts idling at 1500 RPM, then drops to about 1200 in a bit...I don't usually wait to see how long it takes.

 

The car definitely backs up when put in reverse, no additional gas applied. But I wouldn’t say it’s significantly more than other cars I’ve owned, including Hondas. On a slight incline today, it didn’t even back up at all when I tested it. Y’all make it sound like you’re smoking tires just to stop it from driving itself backwards into the street. If that’s the case I would definitely have that checked out, but that isn’t the case for me.

 

Brings back some fuzzy memories of big ole torquey push-rod American V8s with 3-speed slush boxes. Wouldn't they glide on up to 30 mph without touching the gas pedal? Or maybe it just seemed like that after I made the move to peaky 4-bangers you had to wind up to 5000 rpm and drop the clutch, just to get them to move without stalling.

But the software for the electric brake booster has been through a couple of revisions in this vehicle, at least for 2019s. I think they have increased the assist somewhat in later revisions. So if it feels like you are standing on the brake pedal, that might be something to ask about. I generally prefer a firm linear pedal feel, but YMMV.

 

I have had the same issue. But now I put it in reverse, wait a few seconds then take my foot off the brake. The few seconds seem to give the transmission time to shift and then I do not feel the jerky motion/acceleration going in reverse.
I think the issue is pressing the reverse button and taking foot off the brake, the transmission does not instantly go into reverse and then when it does it seem to accelerate quickly. I have noticed the slowness in shifting to reverse when going from drive to reverse, while doing a turn.

 

I’ve noticed the slowness in shifting drive to reverse and vice versa as well, I’ll try what you suggested.

 

All of this is pretty typical stuff for this vehicle, based on prior discussions.
As for backing out of the garage; the engine is making considerable torque at cold start idle speed and I HAVE to hold my foot on the brake and feather power until I clear the door opening. Otherwise, I'm risking a backwards hole shot gone bad. How much are side mirrors again??

 

This is what I think it is. There is a lag from when you ask for it to shift and when it actually does. Is all of my past cars the lag hasn't been that long. So I think my muscle memory has me doing it the same as in the past and it jerks in this car.

 

Does it do it after the engine has been warmend up? For instance after you had made another stop at the gym, grocery store, Target??

 

No unless the car has been sitting for a few hours.

 

I think it is just a cold condition high idle speed, which, in my opinion, is about 200 RPM too high. It does drop from 1500 RPM to about 1200 or 1300 "shortly" after a cold start. Most folks don't wait until the idle speed drops before driving off, myself included.

OH, BTW, it seems to me to be less of an issue when the A/C is on at start up, which is odd, as I was always under the impression that the idle speed is automatically increased with AC use. I'll have to check the idle seed next time I go out (probably tomorrow, Wednesday), and see if I can compare the cold idle speed with and without the AC engaged. OR it could be tha the extra load placed on the engine by the AC compressor effectvely lowers the idle speed so it no longer feels too high?

 

The transmission definitely does not shift into reverse immediately, it takes a few seconds. If you wait for the shift then release the brake lightly you shouldn't experience the surge.

 

I’ve learned to put it in gear and wait a few seconds for the RPMs to decrease, then it drives normally.

 

all sounds normal to me due to higher RPMs

 

It is...my issues is that the RPMs are too high on initial start up with cold engine. I am used to it, just seems that it could be implemented better in a $47,000 vehicle.

 

Emissions maybe? Not like the DI engine is gonna stall if the idle is too low; it's by design IMO.

 

RPMs are indeed higher at cold start than my 1st gen RDX. It might not be RDX specific, but rather new emissions standards. How about other new cars, do they do the same on cold start?

 

This has been common in cars for so long that I remember carbureted engines with automatic chokes that enriched the idle mix to help them start and run when cold. You would tap the gas to open the choke and drop the idle. The other more seasoned members will also remember this. Beyond the physics of cold engine fuel mix, we now have downstream emissions equipment that works best at higher temps. So, the faster the systems heats, the more efficient it is.

This topic is a Google rabbit hole and a frequent owner forum subject.

 

yes, all modern cars idle at higher RPM when cold started, I am just saying that newer model RDX has even higher RPMs at cold start than 1st gen.

 

My wife's Subaru idles near 2k for about 10 sec and drops to about 1500. We typically put it in gear at that speed. I believe this is not unusual. More RPM = more heat = more efficiency sooner.

 

I have tried the put it in reverse and wait a sec and doesn’t matter. The car wants to go in reverse even after warming up. Never happens after I have been driving around and parking/ reverse. I don’t like it at especially when backing out of a garage. I think having the spongey brakes doesn’t help

 

I’m not sure what to say, once I put the car in reverse and wait a few seconds the RPMs go from around 1500 to 1000 and it drives out of the garage normally. Perhaps your cold start RPMs are higher to begin with, but once the gear shift takes hold the RPMs should decrease.

 

What you're describing sounds like the normal rpm drop from the load on the engine. Once R is selected, it takes a second or two for the transmission to "hook up", and then the stationary driveline puts a load on the engine.