Jeffola

2022 Acura RDX A-Spec Advance
Just got message for first service, A16, Rear Diff fluid at 7500 miles?

On delivery the back of the steering wheel was coming apart, the back sticks out, dealer ordered parts
Roof rattle, the entire roof hums at 1900rpm, (right about 70mph on the highway) service ordered a sunroof (I know its common)
Last night the steering wheel controls refused to go through radio presets. WOULD advance tracks on my iPhone, HUD said unavailable.
Last night auto high beams were not Turing off and blinding oncoming drivers, had to shut it off.
This morning Steering wheel control refused to advance tracks on the iPhone, HUD said audio off!
Crackling on all speakers in the car, even with audio off, I have also heard of this one.

Why is this vehicle built so poorly?

leomio2.0

I've been saying it for a while. I was told to shut my trap and that I'm just a hater and should just sell the vehicle rather than highlight the deficiencies of current Acura. Glad I didn't trade mine in for a MMC '22 (which would have been like lighting $10k on fire) as it looks like they did nothing to remedy the poor build quality of these cars.

Knock on wood, no mechanical issues ...

As for your issue with crackling thru the speakers:

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B21-009.PDF

Best of luck getting your issues resolved.

Jeffola

Thanks, I set up an appointment at the dealer, and called acura client relations. I guess what bothers me the most is that the electrical issues (Speakers, corneal, high beams ) are all potentially coming from the same TSB you posted. They say its 19-20 MY vehicles, and I have a '22. Acura's commitment to resolving known issues even with a refresh of the RDX for '22 is apparently quite poor.

Sad to say, I probably wont own it long.

NBPDC505

Seems clear you received a bad example and this isn't the norm. Haven't had a peep of trouble from my 20 and many others would say the same.

MetalMan55

Unfortunately, my '20 Advance was also a mess....dash and pillar rattles, HVAC and wiring harness defects which required the dash to be pulled 2X, multiple trips to fix squeaky brakes, binding rear hatch (on opening), poor fit/finish on body panels, paint issues (rust on inner door panels on delivery)....to name a few.

My '22 Advance - delivered in February - has been virtually defect-free save except for squeaky brakes which seem to crop up on humid days or after the car hasn't been driven for a while...one would have thought Acura should have fully addressed this issue by now....

tecwerks

Both my 2019 ASPEC and 2022 Aspec/Advance were and are totally solid. My 19 had a couple issues fixed and my 22 I love even more. Zero issues

ELIN

These type of things shouldn’t be happening on an MMC. Acura should be turning out RDXs like a well-oiled machine, especially 2+ years after COVID started.

ELIN

Have you noticed most of those people telling you that don’t own a current model Acura? I would put more faith in what current owners have to say vs folks who owned back in the day and still think Acura’s reputation hasn’t changed.

garylee55

I did own an Acura 'back in the day'...I bought a new TL Type S back in '01. This was the model year that Honda was having so many issues with their 6Cyl vehicles with auto transmissions. Mine went out at 17k miles. Honda had over 35k report transmission failures that year on everything from the V6 Accords, the Honda minivans, and the Acura TL models. I lived in Atlanta at the time and had to deal with the Honda south east regional rep who was an absolute asshole. I swore I would never buy another Honda/Acura product again. And I did not, until the '22 RDX ASpec/Advance. I bought it in Nov last year and have been enjoying it since. I have been knocking on wood that it will not have any issues. But, if it does, I will get rid of it pronto and that will be last Honda product, full stop.

I'm sorry for the people having issues and it does not sound like Honda as a company is addressing these properly. That's really unfortunate.

ross7777

Hey at least you didn't buy a Toyota! Multiple recalls lately and the wheels are falling off their latest EV.

rgoldd

Ford has recalled like everyone one of their new vehicles for pretty decent issues maybe not major but significant.

ross7777

Interesting tidbit here:Every year, automakers set aside a dollar amount for every car sold to budget for anticipated warranty repair costs, which include recalls. According to Warranty Week data, Ford towered over its competitors in per vehicle budgeting in 2021:

Ford was $1,041 — up from $940 in 2020

General Motors was $713, up from $498 in 2020

Hyundai was $651, down from $1,171 in 2020

Stellantis NV was $630, up from $576 in 2020.

Meanwhile, Toyota fell from $423 to $401 in its fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, and Honda plummeted by more than half from $782 to $347 during the same period, reported June 23 .

fiatlux

Glass half empty outlook: well that explains why it's been like pulling teeth trying to get them to resolve issues under warranty.

ELIN

Assuming that Honda budget includes Acura, I think they've hedged on the wrong side. There should have been lessons learned from the '19 RDX, '21 TLX, and '22 MDX debuts but it appears the issues keep repeating with every subsequent debut.

ross7777

I assume it includes Acura but not 100% sure. I know we see complaints on this forum but how do we really know how widespread they are vs other brands?


Here is the full article:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...001/?gnt-cfr=1

ELIN

I have the misfortune of coming over from ownership of multiple Mercedes Benz vehicles and I've never had to deal with the infotainment and puddle light issues that I've had on my '21 TLX.
The worse part was I didn't have my car for 2 weeks while waiting for a part that drives the A/C so I could have cold air along with my hot air.

It's just a matter of time before someone tells me, "Go back to Mercedes"! Now I know why it's more common for Acura owners to go to the Germans rather than the other way around.
Like some in this forum, I saw Acura as the "value proposition" but is the proposition really there if you can't enjoy what you paid for?

Jeffola

I can't agree more. Today I read a recent article that on average new car initial quality dropped by 11%!

Acura looked to be the value proposition indeed, but I came from a 2021 BMW X3, and while there was much about the vehicle I liked, it wasn't enough.

To each his own, as I have grown older I never saw myself as a MB owner, before you consider going back, they didnt do too well in this article either.

ELIN

^^^^^^^^^^
That's a surprising list and thanks for sharing!
Is it more mechanical issues, electrical, or both?

Acura's infotainment should be running on all cylinders since its debut in the RDX 4 years ago. I don't remember MB's COMAND system being so tempermental (no experience with the current MBUX system).

If not MB, my fallback would be Lexus due to previous good experience with Toyota but I'm hoping that awful front grille gets a makeover as I'm not a fan of the hourglass/spindle.

TheDatanator

I’m in your shoes… Went to Acura for the value proposition and presumably problem-free enjoyment from a Honda product … coming from decades of German cars only to find the quality and overall experience severely lacking. My view on this entire situation is quite simple - there are two extremes we’re dealing with. One extreme has the folks who have had zero issues with their vehicle. The other extreme is those like myself who have had problem after problem and unacceptable experiences with the repair process and corporate. My issue with what I view from these two extremes is the inconsistency leading to these extremes with quality control when they build these cars and the even more alarming difficulty in getting some of these issues resolved. Corporate seems to turn a blind eye to many of these complaints, mine included, while at the same time the repair experience at the dealership seems to result in the fix one thing and break another situation. The ‘Precision Crafted’ ethos really doesn’t apply here both at corporate and at the local dealer level.

Jeffola

To make matters worse, read my next post (gimme a second, its a lot of typing)

Jeffola

So Acura called me Monday while I was on a flight for work. I called back when I landed, Was told "He will call you right back"
Wednesday I called Acura corp again, left message with voicemail
Thursday I left a message at 9am, they open at 6 there, 9 here. Left message. Got a call from the dealer (I called them this morning as well, the reg on the loaner expires at midnight) and said he tried to call me Tuesday that they (Wait for it) Dont hear the roof noise (Requested I send a video I have of it, I did, THEY HEARD IT NOW) Will go there to test drive with tech. Speakers are not crackling at this time, and they unplugged my Dash cam (been in there since mile 22) which was wired to the fuse block with a tap on the 12v outlets circuit. Yep, steering wheel is defective and nothing on the High beams being wonky and the steering wheel controls being wonky.

My lucky Acura factory rep called me back FINALLY to discuss. We talked, I talked ore, its how I get on this stuff. Told him that it is troublesome to me that I am having issues with my new car that are common to the vehicle since its MY19 release?

Here is why the likelihood of new ever getting a new Acura or Honda are zero..........

Literally, word for word, "Sir, I didn't sell you that car". He told me that, and when I went off on him he said they DO honor warranty repairs....... all this excuses spewing forth, I said it, and I mean it, I won't buy a car from a manufacturer that would say that to one of its customers. I was not happy, and I didn't take it out on him, its his job to deal with issues, and disgruntled customers, but to say that?

I won't support that type of blatant lack of appreciation for their customer base, I work hard for money money to make stupid automotive purchases and decisions.

fiatlux

Thats been the rub with Acura lately. If you get a car without problems, they’re great value and great cars. If you have problems that your dealer either can’t or won’t solve, or you have to rely on corporate, it’s painfully clear why they’re cheaper.

ELIN

When I buy into a car company, I'm buying into the whole experience. I've never had to deal with Acura customer service but I've heard too many similar stories to know that Acura is all about acquiring the customer but not necessarily holding on to them (reminds me of a famous Seinfeld episode about "reservations").

Jeffola

They are good at taking the reservation, but not holding the reservation. Just saw that episode the other day, classic.