I guess Lexus is a polished Toyota also, whats your point. You get what you pay for. RDX is a good car money can buy.

 

Yes.

 

My career was in the auto industry. I have experienced a lot of cars over decades. That experience was every aspect of the process from design to production to service, training and repairs. What I learned from it all was there were no perfect cars. All are compromises. Cost is always a factor. The net profit margins for cars is not as great as it might seem. The company has to find a balance between features, dependability, desirability and the final cost. If you car is too expensive people don't buy it. If you build it too poorly people won't buy it. If its ugly and drives like crap people won't buy it. Honda/Acura is like very company, they try to find the right balance and make it all work. Honda actually spends more of it profits on R&D than does Toyota. But then Toyoda is a bigger company so they have more total dollars to spend. A company like Mazda or Subaru have less money to work with. But, those smaller companies have less models to spread out that money on. Honda is trying to build too many different models. The fact that their president is making a big deal over the quality issues is actually a very good sign. It means they are well aware of the issues he is telling the group that they all have to do better. He presents clear ideas and suggestions based on the facts of where things are.
35 new Honda cars/SUV's and vans in our extended family over the years. Over all we have had very few issues. I will continue to trust Honda/Acura as their "feel" and look suits us best. Even my oldest kid (40's) has switched over from Toyota to Honda's as they find the drive and ride of the Honda CR-V to be vastly nicer than the Rav-4 they had and the new model they test drove. They also have two other newer Honda's in the two Fits they own. The RDX offers a lot of car for what it costs. I like the feel of the drive, the power, the features, etc. As for the "infotainment"system...it does all I ask of it, I am just not demanding on that part of the car...I am more into the "drive" aspect and it shines on that.
There are a lot of car models out there to pick from. No car is perfect for everyone so I always tell people to go drive them all and see what suits you. In the end that is all that matters....what you think of it. I think my RDX is just fine, BTW.

 

"Acura is just a polished Honda" Good Point. ***AND *** Honda is a 'polished' car. Therefore: There's good, there's polished, and there's the super polished - ACURA.
Note: Acura forums even attract non-Acura fans.

 

It all comes down to how much you willing to spend and what your are getting for your money. Considering that you can buy RDX around 10% bellow MSRP, I think its a good value for the money. People complaining and stuff, but they dont name any alternatives that give you more value for the buck. BMWX3/audi ? Nope.

 

Somebody mentioned Honda, if you look at 2.0T 10sp accord that is fully loaded, its not much cheaper than TLX. So yes, you pay some for polishing. Whats wrong with that? Or you expect to get something big for extra $3-5k?

 

~$7k difference configured the way I'd want either car, tho left the AWD off the TLX to keep it "fair." The interior of the TLX was horrid. Had a loaner '20 and was appalled at how low quality the plastics looked that were front and center. The Accord actually is more aesthetic and higher quality looking. I don't know why the Q50 gets all the flack for having a dated interior when the TLX is in the same boat. And what are you getting for that extra money? A badge and a worse interior. But, if you want to be a mouth breather and blow extra money for the "status," it's your money to waste. The difference between the RDX and CRV is more justified seeing as the interior is nicer, plus the powertrain is much more appealing to those who want something that isn't completely gutless.

 

Not sure how you compare TLX and Accord, v6 TLX has more HP than Accord, also AWD is not available on Accord. 2020 TLX SH-AWD TECH package are selling 15-17% bellow MSRP in my area. So for $34-35K you can get v6 SH-AWD TLX with TECH package. that's a damn good deal, accord won't have AWD and it will be lower HP. Which accord you wanted to get? EX-L is selling for 30-31K, but no AWD.

 

Not to mention that you get 4yr/50k warranty. 7k difference is a stretch, TLX is selling at deep discounts due to remake next year, its more like 3-5k difference, which is totally worth it IMHO gives the extras you get

 

You won't be disappointed. Bought the fully loaded Advanced version March 2019 and have been thoroughly satisfied. One major point (to us) was that the passenger seat is as fully gifted as the driver's, a detail so many cars lack. But of course the handling, detailing and overall quality is superb; I've owned all the Europeans, and tested competitors before buying the RDX, and feel that Acura has truly created a winning vehicle here that compares favorably with many vehicles considerably higher priced. Have just under 20k miles and absolutely no issues, no groans, rattles, no nothing except a continued scent of leather even now after all this time. I bought the rather expensive trailer hitch and had it installed; although its rated capacity is rather low (1500#) I like the capability of pulling a utility trailer occasionally; I do wish Acura had built a hitch into the bumper behind a cover like the GMC Acacia for instance. That would be a nice addition to this finely crafted vehicle.

 

Thanks! I’ve only had mine for about 2 weeks but I thoroughly like it and I’m impressed. I love how it handles—the driving dynamics are great. It is quiet, fit and finish is excellent, the stereo system is fantastic (I have the Advance package), and I’m even getting used to the electric gear selector. :-)

 

Must be nice. My '20 A-Spec is a complete rattling shitbox. Less than 6k miles and I'm incredibly disappointed with the build quality.

 

Meanwhile in Palisade land.. I have had my 2020 Palisade Limited AWD for 5 months with zero issues. No blue screens, no issues with adaptive cruise, not one infotainment issue.. The self-driving assist is amazing and everything just flat out works! Palisade and Telluride should be voted top vehicles this year by a landslide.. I found out the RDX I sold back to the dealer in July was sold and serviced 4 times and it has been resold again.... What a Lemon!

Good Luck

 

What is the alternative to RDX if its such a horrible car?

 

I don't think it's a horrible car at all. Actually, I like the car a lot. It's the software arm that is pretty damn weak. Sometimes inexcusably so.

 

palisade is really apple and oranges, different types of cars. I would not buy it even if its flawless, something I do not want to drive.

 

Agree. More of a direct competitor to Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander, not RDX. But if it suits someones needs, so be it.

If I were to jump ship, it might be a lateral move to Q5. But most likely I'll chill and wait for electrification to mature a bit more.

If I wait long enough, maybe they will get the kinks worked out of Mr. Fusion.

 

Yours might be a lemon but mine isn't. It's been perfect ever since the update and I wouldn't trade it in especially for a Hyundai. I recently rented and drove the 2019 Hyundai Elantra and the 2019 Toyota Corolla and noticed a difference in quality between the two. Toyota is still way nicer in terms of quality.

I still don't trust Hyundai's quality and longevity.

 

Something about Hyundai that rubs me off the wrong way. They're a mix and match of other car companies designs and offering it at cheaper prices which sacrifices quality/reliability.

Their logo is a copycat of Honda with the slanted "H" for god sakes.

 

When someone switches from one class of car to a different kind and than bashes the previous one, something tells me that the class of a car was wrong. You don’t just go from compact sport suv to a minivan with 3rd row and start saying how happy you are and that RDX is of bad quality. There is a different issue here.
The only cars that RDX can be compared to are Audi q3 and BMW X3, there is really nothing else that is similar.

 

Wait. What? First, the Q5 is more comparable than the Q3. Second, there are lots of other cars in this class; there are the ones that Acura wants to be compared with like the XC60, GLC, X3 and Q5, and then there’s the RX, Q50 and F-Pace. Even the CRV, RAV4 and CX5, and I’m sure there are others. This is the most competitive segment in the world of cars at this point. Now I personally think the RDX beats all of those for one reason or another for my particular needs, and I personally have zero issues with the quality of my vehicle, but I don’t pretend that my vehicle is best for everyone, nor do I assume that because my car is without any flaws that others don’t have problems with theirs, or that more RDXs have problems than other vehicles in this class.

 

Q5 is kind of expensive with same features as RDX, so I dont know. Yes, rdx is the best money can buy in this class of cars IMHO

 

I don’t disagree that it’s the best value - the Audi MB and Volvo all start where the RDX hits it’s stride, and optioned up they cost way more. But not everyone buys because of “value.” If they did, everyone would be driving a CRV (half joking). People buy because of luxury, driving dynamics, prestige, reliability, and myriad other reasons. And (coming back to the OP) Acura is taking a big hit on reliability which, to be honest, was one of the reasons I trusted the brand in the first place. Again, I have no issues with my car and I’ll probably hold onto it for a decade so I’m not really worried about resale value, but it is disconcerting that Acura has fallen so far.

 

“best money can buy” means the best regardless of cost, which it definitely isn’t. the x3m, macan turbo, glc63 amg, and f-pace svr, and the stelvio QV are in that category. i think what you mean is “best for the money”, which is a fair argument.

 

yes, best for the money. Cost and what you get for the money is always a factor. Luxury and performance is a factor too, otherwise you can buy Toyota RAV or CRV, its cheap, and will get you from point A to point B. I am sure Q5 is nice, but add the same features and see how much it will cost.

 

agreed. Bang for your buck def can’t beat the RDX with certain build issues aside which frankly I’ve seen people complain about in every single brand other than maybe Porsche suvs which are pretty much a whole other category up.

 

Yeah a Macan optioned up the way I would want it (which is mostly what the RDX has standard) comes in around $70k. Plus it wouldn't even work for me because it's just too small inside. But yeah, someday I'll get a Porsche, but probably when I only need a vehicle with two seats.

 

The truth is all these nonreliable pages tried very hard to criticize the new RDX but failed!
I always say there is no perfect car and Acura is far from perfect. But it's an Acura at the end of the day and it offers great value and reliability. It does not matter what people and these websites say. The vehicle is loved by thousands of people in the last 1.5 years. Look at the QX50, Infiniti is practically offering leases cheaper than Mazda CX-5 turbo.

Whenever you buy a car, test drive, pay attention to every little thing and purchase or leave. It's easy to give an opinion but at the end of the day, you are going to drive the car.

 

This is opinion in search of facts. Not impressed.

 

I stopped driving my RDX when it hit the brakes at nearly 80 mph on the highway in Wyoming and nearly killed my son when luggage from the back of the car struck him in the head causing a concussion... Pray it doesn't happen to you or your family. Reliability my ass... This happened on 3 separate occasions at different speeds and after every event Acura said they re-calibrated the system. Not to mention the other issues people are having with brakes, shifting and not to mention the worthless infotainment system. No, I got rid of the piece of shit and forced a buyback and made money on the deal.

I have owned over a dozen vehicles in my lifetime and the RDX was the worst vehicle period.. No reliability at all with 13 visits to the dealer in one year and the District Service Manager and Acura corporate themselves could not fix the issues... Did I hear someone say "Quality Assurance"? Well, Acura has no concept of QA and the proof is in the 2020 RDX that has zero changes from the unreliable 2019. My 1971 Monte Carlo SS 454 was more reliable than the RDX. My 2010 Mazda CX-9, 2005, 2010 and 2013 Mazda 3's were all perfect vehicles... Mazda just wasn't keeping up on the features I wanted. I purchased a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T and it now has over 80,000 miles and is a perfect vehicle, which led me to the Palisade which so far has been perfect as well.

Playing "Blinded by the light" to you as I step off my box for the last time..

 

Class and size of car had nothing to do with it.. I also looked at the Volvo XC60 and XC90 before getting the RDX. I bought the Palisade because I wanted to test drive it to see what it was like and after I did, I was sold. More comfortable, more options, more luxury and a much better ride than the RDX for a less price fully loaded.

 

It means RDX class of car was wrong for you. I dont understand why you bought it in the first place. You dont just go switching to mini wan because you are upset with quality

 

The Telluride is getting all kinds of praise at this point -- it's clearly a great car at a great price. It's not for me because of it's overall size, but for those who inhabit its namesake, it's a good choice. And it goes to show that luxury and value don't need to come from the traditional players. Thanks for sharing.

 

sorry to hear your experience! But definitely you got unlucky.

Good luck with your next car and if I was you, I would have deleted my acurazine account and moved on.

 

Good idea to join Hyundai forums and gloat there. Over 50K RDXs sold this year, yet there are few people screaming how horrible RDX and problems they have. Things happen, and those few people make it sound like all RDXs are horrible.

 

I’ve been checking the Hyundai Palisade forums too and they seem to have lots of problems of their own.

Not one car manufacturer is immune.

 

And speaking of the flawed navigation system.

HERE used to owned by: ( wait for it... )

NoKia

​​​​​​​

 

Consumer Reports fails to understand that reliability problems related to firmware/software become completely irrelevant once the bugs are fixed. The infotainment system was a hot mess, and now it’s fine.

They need to change their ratings system to reflect the realities of software-intensive vehicles. Acura did drag its feet getting it right. The lesson for a prospective buyer is not to avoid a vehicle because of its past problems, but to evaluate the vehicle in its current state, ignoring all promises about improvements “coming soon”. That’s good advice for any purchase.

 

agree, it all gets lumped into one category, at minimum they should separate issues into different categories for ratings. I understand some people think that infoteinment should be flawless, but there are other people like me that dont care about intotenment as long as it works “reasonably” OK. I care more about mechanical stuff, performance, etc.

 

when the person switched to mini van from RDX, the negative comments about RDX become weak.