Wander

It has nothing to do with "understanding", it's a consequence of how CR evaluates the reliability of all products. It's based upon responses of their subscribers to annual surveys, and the surveys DO break down car problems by system.

If, in fact, the infotainment system problems have been mitigated, that may be reflected in the results of future surveys. ( Personally, I'm withholding judgement until I've used mine more ).

But I disagree with attempting to lump vehicles in with other "software-intensive" products, because vehicles are extraordinarily difficult to troubleshoot and provide software updates for because of all the embedded systems. ( Many of which are SAFETY CRITICAL ).

I think it's the responsibility of the car manufacturers to understand that if they insist on piling in every imaginable electronic "feature", and changing them on a whim, there will be consequences. And one of the consequences is that they will need to invest a lot of time and money into properly developing and testing those systems, OR ELSE.

catalytic_ca

Good point. Maybe they get the interns to do it Whoever reports the most bugs with full documentation gets a full time job at the company.

mathnerd88

https://www.palisadeforum.com/thread...-replaced.705/

For those who think Hyundai Palisade is foolproof and has no problems.

Nearsite00

There are actually several issues if you go over there. Here's another one https://palisadeforums.org/threads/w...t-problem.317/

acuraada

Just FYI.... in case you don't know how CR reliability works; it's by owner survey.
and people mix up between Brand reliability vs Model specific reliability. Acura has been suffering from both.

I guess people always see what they want to believe...


Palisade is too new to have a rating.

acuraada

I don't understand this comment... why are problems relating to software/firmware not a reliability problem? Why does reliability only has to do with physical/mechanical problems when the world is moving to software/firmware controls?

Problems are problems, software or hardware.

The same can be said about hardware once a particular failed components are fixed at plant or replaceable at the dealers.

acuraada

er.. it's 50k-60k cars sold almost every year since 2014. Never even come close to100k. Tesla sold more model 3 than RDX and it's a freaking sedan. What's your point?

russianDude

my point is that around 50k people drive RDX 2019+, yet we only see a dozen of people complaining , thats statistically low. If RDX was that bad, there would be a lot more angered people here. Also, a lot of people join forums when they have issues.
I am pretty happy with my rdx

russianDude

sure,but if as a consumer I dont care about infoteinment issues, what is the value for me to look at the consumer report (overall) to decide ?

Wander

I hope you realize that the vast majority of Acura owners don't know about this site. And even if they did, they might turn to other resources to air their grievances. Such as the dealer, for instance.

As for your claim that no one has problems, how on earth do you account for the results of CR and JD Power surveys? Do you think a few dozen instances is enough to bury a reliability or quality rating? I sure wish that were true, because I could buy almost any car I wanted and never have to worry about repairs.

Personally, I have 35 year history of buying Honda/Acura vehicles, and I'm not happy about the current trend in quality and reliability. I still like the sporty bias of the brand and I think overall their vehicles still represent good value, but it's far from the brand that built itself from the ground up with a reputation for quality, value, and bullet-proof reliability.

If you're happy with your car and don't mind its quirks, great. Enjoy it. But that has nothing to do with whether other owners have problems, whether they bitch about them here or not. Your car is a sample set of ONE.

Madd Dog

I have had one, two, and sometimes three Honda branded cars in my driveway since 1981.

I really like this car as a car, but am disappointed in how the infotainment system came out, and very disappointed in how Acura has responded, and how my dealer has behaved. I find many of the quirks too weird. Why does the imid display not retain the last setting? Same for the zoom level on the Nav. Why is the TI on the nav so poor and inaccurate?

They still have not said that new maps are available and have not really acknowledged the problems with the infotainment and what they are doing about it.

I am disappointed with Acura as a manufacturer, and that impacts my next car.

fiatlux

Considering that the median age of RDX owners is 60 years old, I highly doubt you'll see a whole lot of folks come to an online forum to air their grievances.

Madd Dog

I’m 69.

fiatlux

I wholeheartedly agree. I can accept that a car may have some bugs that need to be ironed out, especially if it's cutting edge (though to be honest, the infotainment tech Acura is using is hardly pushing boundaries). If I wanted something tried and true, I'd get a Lexus. And in all fairness, an infotainment system that acts up is relatively minor, all things considered; at least it doesn't leave you stranded or render the car unusable. However, (and this is the most important part) I also expect the dealerships/automaker to stand behind their product and make things right when things go awry. That's where Acura falls far far far behind the competition. They don't acknowledge problems, they don't have solutions to problems, and they give off the impression that they really don't care about retaining you as a customer. Other luxury automakers and dealerships go the extra mile; it feels like Acura doesn't even do the bare minimum.

fiatlux

Tell the rest of your buddies to join AZ .

russianDude

I dont dispute CR results, but they include infotenment issues before the last update. This is one of the main reasons it pulled down the report. Depending on your priorites, it may or may not be important.

acuraada

I can see that you are new here. Some of us have been here since the launch of g3 in 2018. Many of us gave up and moved on.

You are also not underestimating the impact of infotainment which has introduced limp modes and shift lags

so you should absolutely care about “infotainment”

russianDude

been on Acurazine since 2001, had 1st gen RDX for 12yrs.

the only issue I had is squaky suspension which was taken care of by my dealer, and my dealer was very helpful

Wander

Shirley, you jest.

fiatlux

https://www.jdpower.com/cars/expert-...ura-rdx-review

tangible

My point is that once a new software release fixes a problem, the fact that there had been a problem is irrelevant to future owners.

The same thing could happen in the mechanical area: a part that fails frequently is redesigned and replaced for everyone in a recall. That’s a rare event, though, while software fixes are routinely and easily applied to all vehicles.

fiatlux

In theory you may have a point, but bear in mind that it took Acura over a year to release an update that purports to fix these issues. That doesn’t exactly instill a whole lot of confidence in their ability to resolve software issues in a timely manner (or maybe more accurately, confidence in the lowest bidder that they farmed the software out to).

mathnerd88

The new software update has fixed pretty much most of the issues and also enabled Android Auto. There’s not much to complain in the infotainment system anymore, except that it might be a bit slower to respond than other manufacturer’s systems.

russianDude

Jdpower rated it #11, 3 points under X3. Why such a difference from consumer reports? (#70?).

Madd Dog

I am working on letting one of them allow me to pair his phone.

acuraada

First of all, happy holidays everyone!


They are very different reports... one focuses on reliability only and other from JD you pointed out is every aspect of ownership.



The J.D. Power 100-Point Score is based on hundreds of thousands of independent and unbiased opinions of verified car owners regarding their vehicle's quality, dependability, performance, depreciation and their experience at the dealership

russianDude

well, I like JDpower report more. Once they have 2020 numbers I expect it to go a bit higher than #11 due to less infotainment complaints.

I used to own new 2001 Acura CL, people were flaming on forums about transmissions and other issues. Turned out to be a good car after all smoke settled.

acuraada

I think we all want Acura to be a premium brand it wants to be that’s why we have Acurazine accounts.

No doubt that the 3rd gen RDX is a great car but it failed on some execution and it’s sad to see.

everyone has their own take on “reliability”. Maybe to some a little annoyance such as rebooting infotainment system is not a biggie but to other it is. And the word reliability may mean “the car can start and drives”

I remember my father’s 15 years Legend ownership without a single issue, not even a lightbulb change, those days are long gone from Acura.

i don’t mean to take away the joy of new car ownership from you, you should absolutely be excited and love your car. You experienced zero issues, great!!!

But that doesn’t mean the CR or JD reports are wrong. And by statistics, they are probably more of representation than the few opinions here.

For some of us, we stay objective and remain critical of Acura’s reliability.

Acure4RDX

Some comment:

Before one buys a car, be sure to take a test ride.

Most potential buyers already know what their standards are. For instance, if one is an audiophile one should go to the max and completely test the sound out in the test drive to confirm complete acceptance. Some of us are more demanding than others. Any complaint, therefore is unfounded. Sure, one may not be able or have the time to fully operate every nuance of the Infotainment system, but this type of technology expands rapidly and some of us are more tuned than others.

The same will be true for all aspects of infotainment system. Granted, some improvements by Acura HAD to be made, the NAV system, for instance. Most of us who are buying a $45000 machine to be kept for 2-10 years, should realize that for ANY new model the first year is ALWAYS in need of improvement or ‘adjustments’.

As for some statements regarding the ‘“60 average age buyer’ and their non-complaining. That group more than likely did a lot of research before buying and, as a result, have less complaints. They got what they expected after having purchased many vehicles in their lifetime. For instance, researching the dealer was probably done as this forum has revealed dealer complaints. As well, forums such as this just naturally may field more complaints than complements than those that are completely satisfied. This is good, of course, since this is one reason to use the forum to make buying decisions. Some of us a very good at making selection, some are not, but the 2019/2020 Acura RDX is not a used car, so Buyer Aware, do the research and DRIVE!

russianDude

I consider it normal to make few trips to a dealer to resolve some of the issues that may come during warranty. But somebody else will say its unacceptable, so obviously some of us have different tolerance levels when it comes to problems.

narutoninjakid

We are a Honda and Acura Family and currently have 2 pilots and an odyssey in the driveway. I follow all the forums for cars Im into so mainly Acurazine and Club Lexus forums. I also follow several other sites and subreddits for Lexus and Acura. There has definitely seemed to be a drop in actual quality as well as perceived quality of Honda and Acura vehicles lately. Hopefully they can turn it around. Even their CEO has realized this and is looking to tighten the ship. The Quality controls issues have started to eat into profits and that's bad for business. Article below. It seems Toyota/Lexus are at the top of many publications while Honda/Acura is dropping further and further down the list. I'm of the younger generation (20's) so infotainment is quite important to me. Without Android Auto I wouldn't even consider a car unless the infotainment was at Mercedes/Audi/BMW level and the current RDX infotainment is still not up to that level. However, since it has Android auto its usable. Im eagerly awaiting the new MDX to see what Acura is really capable of, its either between that or a Lexus RX 350/450 for me.

Honda's CEO Hachigo seizes the wheel as quality crisis hits profits

https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/hondas-hachigo-seizes-wheel-quality-crisis-hits-profits

Wander

That's quite interesting. I guess I'm not the only "empty nest down-sizer". I wonder what the stats are like for Acura vehicles overall.

But it is rumored that boomers and near-boomers are a more stoic group than more recent generations. Present company excluded.

Rmsanger

Acura was bottom 3 for brand reliability and the MDX was in the bottom 10 of all models. Down with Alpha, VW, GM’s worst, and Fiat.... How can honda’s Luxury brand have the flagship in the bottom 10 of reliability? Especially troublesome given that it’s a mature platform where at least you could attribute some of the RDX issues with being a new platform.

acuraada

Poor plant management and manufacturing. It's really sad to see Honda losing it's way. I remember there are times when Kia/Hyundai sits in bottom of brand reliability, now it's the reverse.

ceb

That would be the AARP flip phone with the big buttons?

Madd Dog

No. it is an Apple X that his daughter bought him hoping to bring him into the modern world.

It didn’t work.

This guy wears his ignorance of modern technology as a badge of independence. He is a retired teacher/professor with a PhD in history, and thinks he is smart. I tell him “if you’re so smart, why are you so effing stupid?” His wife and daughter tell him how useful having a modern phone is, but I think he denigrates that because he just can’t get it.

ceb

Luddites are everywhere. I'm sure he wasn't complaining about the infotainment on the RDX as long as it received his favorite AM station.

Happy New Year All

ceb

Another indicator of perceived reliability is the amount of complaints to NHTSA.

The 2019 RDX has 75 complaints while the "most reliable SUV" (Lexus GX) has 1 complaint - and that one complaint is from a owner who doesn't like how far down the mirror tilts when in reverse.

More telling, for the RDX, there are 65 "manufacturer communications" (service notes, TSBs etc). The majority of those actually tell the dealers to apply some sort of fix. By contrast, the GX has 30 "manufacturer communications", but the majority of those aren't fixes to the car, but training and advisory bulletins.

Clearly, there is a huge difference in sales numbers and technology, but the bottom line is that there are more mechanical and electronic gremlins in the RDX

russianDude

Agreed, lexus is a better reliability SUV. But I have zero interest driving lexus SUV.

ceb

This wasn't an attempt to bash the RDX - just explaining that there is a rational reason for CR to label it as "unreliable" aside from "I don't like the infotainment"

I have my mom's Lexus RX300 (2002 with 37k miles) that I've been trying to kill for the last couple of years but it refuses to die. I hate it because it has the turning radius of a supertanker and my knee smacks the center console, but it has only had routine maintenance for 17 years and still looks like new.