Bad news, on my last visit, Dealer is not going to honor warranty on this issue, they said is the chemical on my wife's hand cream that creates a reaction with the paint... honestly I would have been ok with just "is not covered" no need for such a stupid excuse as the "hand cream BS".... We are use to see it like that, thankfully is not getting any worse, will probably replace on my expense in the future if it gets any worse or more paint comes off... "told my wife to use her fake nails to push the button so no more hand cream will get there, we don't want the whole button to melt...."

 

The P letter is also peeling off on my “19 RDX. The dealer is right the hand cream is the cause. My wife uses sun block With SPF lotion on most days. I told her to wash her hands before driving the car. It’s unfortunate this is happening and Acura should have account for better paint or sealer on top.

 

Whats the dealer cost to replace it?

 

Maybe keep a small microfiber towel in the car and use it on the gear selector.

Damn. That sucks. Sorry....

 

i would call Acura and say this is a safety issue, if someone drives the car and doesn’t know what the buttons do that’s a serious hazard, a one year old car should be able to not lose the darn buttons on it, that’s ridiculous

 

heat gun some shrink wrap to it for protection? Clear protection

 

The button is black plastic. The lettering is clear plastic with a coat of translucent white paint. When the backlight isn't on, the clear plastic lettering under the white paint will appear black.

 

Tell the wife not to use H2SO4 as a hand cream. My wife doesn’t.

 

The dealers are absolutely correct about the cause. Face cream, hand cream, sunblock etc. will lift the "soft touch" paint if there is a minor scratch and the chemical gets underneath it. W/Audi, BMW and Mercedes all have had TSBs discussing cosmetics causing (non-warranty) damage.

 

That may be, but it is another case of Acura dropping the ball. Hand cream ruins the button people use their hand to push? It is not as if this were not a foreseeable circumstance. People use hand cream, people use their hand to push the button. Use something that takes those well-known facts into account.

 

Yes. With the Germans having this problem nearly 20 years ago, you'd think that they'd have used something else. But it isn't the hand/face cream itself - it still needs a scratch to let the cream under the paint.

 

It is definitely a safety issue if more of it is removed. Just think about the car wash and the technician at the end of the line trying to figure out how to engage the car into drive while other cars are approaching from behind. Not good.

 

That's a pretty bad example.

First, a car wash "technician" (minimum-wage attendant) interacts with hundreds of gasoline, diesel, hybrid, PHEV, and electric vehicles per day with automatic and manual transmissions that have a variety of pushbutton shifters, rotary knobs, and shift levers located on the steering column, instrument panel, floor, and center console. Rest assured that they've already operated thousands or tens of thousands of Honda and Acura models equipped with this same pushbutton shifter over the last several years and can shift to D without even looking.

Second, automatic car washes use optical sensors and emergency stop switches to stop the line if the vehicles don't move.

 

Well, On the surface you would think they would know, but my RDX seriously almost got rear ended on the vacuuming line at our local car wash detail center. I was watching in horror. It was at the end of the line. The car lifted up as the roller passed under the rear wheel. I think the technician kept his foot on the brake to long. I was fortunate an employee was walking by and saw what was going on and hit the E-Stop. In this case it is the getting it out of neutral trick that probably confused him.

 

This discussion conjured up memories of an experience I once had with a new 1999 Buick Regal at a car wash. An attendant managed to lock the keys inside the vehicle as it entered the line. As it exited, more attendants pushed it forward so it wouldn't hold up the line. They chocked the wheels with rocks then just left it sitting there for me to deal with. The manager refused to pay for a locksmith. I became livid and raised my voice, but the manager continued to deny responsibility. Only after I called the police in front of the manager and other customers did he finally agree to call a locksmith.

 

What was your fix? I just got a used 2019 RDX with the same issue.

 

It's just getting worse despite we trying to be very careful!!

"S" and "P" pealing really badly

"P" pealing badly

Dealer would not assume responsibility, it's on my expense to repair this crap... this is crazy, never seen anything like it on any other car I have owned before.

 

Would something like this help:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373189947596

 

Nope! for prevention maybe, but since it's already peeled off it would not make it better...

 

My 18 TLX has the same problem on the D button. I don’t even know how it happened. I just noticed one day.

 

Of course I meant it might be useful for prevention. How would a clear film can magically add white lettering to the buttons?

$26 is crazy expensive for 5 small pieces of clear film otherwise I would have tried it out already.

 

The clear plastic aside, is the mode selector clock available?!

I usually turn my infotainment screen off, and my only gripe is not being able to tell the time. It doesn't look half bad TBH.

 

Its just a cheap stick-on. Search eBay for different styles. https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pocket-Mini-Quartz-Analog-Watch-Stick-On-Clock

 

Something like a thin, flexible, clear molded boot might not be a bad idea, if somebody would make one. Like they have for keyboards. One for the gear selector and one for the touchpad. I wonder how these controls will hold up after 5-10 years, with dust, dirt, crumbs and, above all, coffee spillage.

 

People actually eat and drink in their RDXs? Oh the shame!

(I don't, only water)

 

mine got replaced under warranty. paid nothing

 

I'll be super really careful with this, depending on the glue, when the time comes for the film to be removed or replaced it might bring all paint off when peeling the protector....

 

Dealers are reimbursed for legitimate warranty work. Why a dealer / service department would turn it down makes no sense.

I brought my car in Wednesday for service and the fuel pump recall (along with a few other minor complaints). They found other stuff along with three other tech bulletins. I only paid $169 for the A16 service but they billed Acura over $3000.

 

Can you list the items they repaired/replaced under warranty.
Thanks

 

I paid for the A16 service which includes rear diff fluid.

They did the fuel pump recall, found problems with the lower control arms (which I didn't know about) and replaced them. I complained about the audio cutting out or "crackling" on rough roads which was probably from loose connections since they replaced the information unit back in February. They replaced some connectors and there's a TSB on that. They did a couple other things that had TSBs but I don't recall without looking at the receipt.

I also had them check calibration on the rear camera. I think the guides were a little out of whack. Seems better now.

Seems to me they'll do just about anything they can justify billing to Acura. Fine with me.

 

yes my P button is showing similar wear (1st picture) at 25,000 miles only. Doesn’t show when light shines (2nd picture)

P button wearing off right side

Doesn’t appear when light shines thru
thru so I thought I was crazy seeing the wear one time and not seeing it other times. Don’t want to “paint” fill it in because light should shine thru. I’m going to check with dealer to see if under warranty

 

I don't have this issue yet, on the D/S button, but I think I have only used the P button once or twice in 22,000+ miles.

 

There are some covers available on ebay but they seem to be for Honda and not for Acura. Square and not circular

 

We are at three years and the P and S labeling has started to come off on our 2019 RDX transmission buttons to. Pretty poor quality and seems to be across the entire model line. I call bs on hand cream. My wife drives two other cars and they are older and the white labeling looks brand new on all the controls. Maybe first year model problem/mistake. While we are still under warranty I have reservations about the techs ability to take that console off without causing more problems.

I have seen ideas about using a satin white paint pen to fill in the areas. I might try that.

 

This is new to me. How do you put your car in Park if your not using the “P” button?

 

It automatically goes into park when you turn off the car.

 

I ordered some of the clear plastic film that was mentioned above. I only have 5k miles on my 21’ Aspec, but I don’t want to encounter this issue.

Is this still a wide-spread problem? I haven’t seen any other threads regarding this issue. However, I figured it couldn’t hurt to put some film over it.

Has anyone else tried the film? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

 

It’s gonna wear regardless since it’s painted on. Kinda weird since every other vehicle it’s under a laminate or the plastic is colored not painted. I’m gonna try fine tip paint marker and then some clear coat maybe. But either way is gonna end up doing the same thing. The switches on the 19+ all look the same so I don’t think they did anything to correct it on the newer models.

 

it’s not a wide spread problem at all, only a few people on the forums

 

Correct, this all depends on the user too

My 2019 has +30k miles and none of the bottoms are peeling, but then again I'm a neat freak and always try make sure my hands are clean / free of oils before driving. My steering wheel still has the matte/flat look and new feel after almost 3 years. YMMV