Looks like MY 2021+ come out pretty darn good with the exception of “in car electronics”. Seems to jive with the reports on this forum.

 

Not for me. I have a '23 and had to have the transmission replaced. But other than that it has been reliable. Much more so than my 2019.

 

I have to admit your situation is giving me a lot of pause about whether or not I want an RDX. I'm looking at out of warranty used options and I cannot imagine this would have been cheap out of pocket.

 

I wouldn't consider owning any car without an extended warranty (yes, not even a Lexus) that has all the modern electronics and safety systems. But that's just me.

What year are you looking at? I don't think pre-2022 refresh is a good buy because of the very slow infotainment. After the refresh, the infotainment is much, much improved. Transmission issues are hit or miss. If you can get the service records and see if it was not replaced or nothing untoward reported, then it may be a good one. Even with my 2019, I had a stuck transmission episode (rpm going up gear not changing), but when I shut the car and turned it back on the problem was not reproducible. I took it to the dealer and they said everything checked out OK.

 

The RDX uses a Honda transmission and they’re known for reliability. There may be reasons to not want an RDX, but drivetrain concerns shouldn’t be one of them, imo.

 

Hondas Achilles heel has historically been their transmissions, so I’m not sure being a Honda is a positive in this case.

 

My 10speed transmission has a slow leak through the case, dealer says they cant do anything until they see drips on cover plate.

 

Eh, I disagree. Honda CVT perhaps have been troublesome (for all brands, to be frank), but Nissan, Ford, Subaru, and the US brands have much more well-earned reputations for bad transmissions. All of the non-Nissan/Infiniti Japanese brands are average or better for transmission reliability. No brand has a 0% failure rate. Driving and shifting styles also get a vote in how long a transmission lasts.

 

I’m guessing you haven’t even around long enough to experience the woes with the 5AT/V6 combo, or the 6MT in the 8G Si, or more recently the ZF9 problems?

 

Didn’t know Honda was using ZF as well.

 

They did, but they used the wrong one. ZF9 was wholly compromised and is nothing like the ZF8 that gets rave reviews. It was so bad that reviewers were recommending the lower trim Pilots that got the old 6AT instead of the higher trim ones that got the ZF9

 

Honestly I have never really looked into extended warranty on brands I considered to be reliable and generally have never had issues. My main push for even considering an RDX is the perception of reliability as a Japanese brand. I would just get a CPO Q5 if I wanted to get a warranty as well. Superior handling, fuel economy, and much faster.

I am most likely looking at 21 models. I much prefer the styling and the cost savings that can be had over a 22 are like 10k. I also don't really care for the infotainment. For me all that matters is the backup camera works, it plays music, and the Hvac works. The way a car drives is probably the biggest thing for me along with reliability. Beyond that I'm not super concerned honestly.


Lol you must not have been around for the 5AT fiasco, and the whole thing with the change to 6AT. Honda has terrible history with transmissions. I can't remember what the deal was, but it had something to do with them needing to change the way planetary gears worked or something like that vs how others were doing transmissions. I think it was a patent thing.



Lol literally this.

Yup all this. Huge huge issues.

 

Yeah, up until a few years ago Honda built their own automatics that didn't use planetary gears because they didn't want to pay Borg Warner the licensing fee. I believe the current 10AT is the first Honda-built gearbox to use planetary gears, and while it's pretty good for a first attempt, it's behind some of the players who have been building these type of transmissions for decades.

 

[QUOTE=RDX10;16930897 For me all that matters is the backup camera works, it plays music, and the Hvac works. [/QUOTE]

Be sure to test out the hvac yourself before buying.
The hvac system on our 2020 RDX is one of the weakest features of the car. The hvac system on our 20 year old PT Cruiser blows the RDX out of the water when it comes to heating and cooling.

 

The HVAC on my 2003 BMW was better than on my 2014 & 2015 BMWs (both of them were very week...car would simply not cool on a 100 degree day). My 2003 BMW was also way more fun to drive. The HVAC on the RDX is better than the 2014 & 2015 BMW, but not as good as the 2003 BMW. With something like HVAC or engines/transmissions/steering, best to compare with a present day model to keep things fair.