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Hog-wash results. From a 51 month owner, my 2021 RDX Aspec Shawd with 28k miles in all weather conditions has been flawless. Besides normal maintenance and just putting in a new battery - most reliable vehicle I have owned in decades.
JD Power's data is real, it's the methodology that's flawed. The owner-reported "problems" are unweighted, which skews the results. CarPlay connectivity issues ... one problem. Lane Keep Assist performs poorly ... one problem. Touchpad not intuitive ... one problem. Complete transmission failure, 2 months in service ... one problem. That's silly.
For what it's worth, the various JDP survey results do often result in manufacturers making positive changes. If automakers didn't find the data useful, they wouldn't subscribe to it. I'm sure Acura knew their Touchpad interface was not well received, for example, but the JDP surveys gave them specific insight into owner opinions of it.
Hog-wash results. From a 51 month owner, my 2021 RDX Aspec Shawd with 28k miles in all weather conditions has been flawless. Besides normal maintenance and just putting in a new battery - most reliable vehicle I have owned in decades.
And I have a 2023 that had to have its transmission replaced, and rear brakes replaced due to squeaking (and yet they still squeak). My 2019 had 10+ defects.
2019 - RDX - Tech - has a horrible rating on JD Powers although, you can’t know this in 2019 when you buy a 2019.
I could mention my exploded tempered glass front panel on the panoramic roof at highway speeds- just like the more common rear window shattering problem. I’ll spare you the terrifying details. Acura would not cover it under my certified warranty. I was told verbally only (Honda warranty wouldn’t send me an email) that i should have been using an Acura brand kayak carrier instead of tieing my kayak upside down on the Acura crossbars and Acura rails. $3,500 replacement - $500 insurance deductible.
Limp mode merging onto a highway is going to kill someone. I hope the personal injury lawyers find this post.j. I just wish people didn’t have to die for it to be escalated.
I had limp mode twice on a road trip in Sept 23. Acura’s response - “No codes were thrown so there’s nothing for us to fix”. The last time was about a year (I’d have to check exactly) before my extended warranty expired. Now It just happened again as i moved into left lane to pass slow moving semi’s going up a mountain in the center and right lanes. Engine drops to about 2,500 RPM’s max and another semi is now bearing down on me in left lane. I had to cross two lanes of semi’s in the center and right lanes to get off the highway since there was no curb lane off the center lane. All three lanes of semi’s almost crushed me. Such a nice 500 mile road trip home.
Since i am now maybe 6 months outside of warranty, the TSB is no longer covered. WHY ISN’T THIS A RECALL!?!?!. I understand there is a TSB to cover repairs (maybe it’s the intercooler if it was raining they speculated) - but per my dealer, only if you are under warranty - EVEN THOUGH I WAS IN JUST BEFORE MY WARRANTY EXPIRED WITH THE SAME ISSUE. $950 if I want to replace the intercooler. I haven’t gone to the dealer to see if codes were thrown this time. I haven’t even begun to address the issue with acura customer relations. I haven’t had the energy to control my emotions but I’ll start that process soon.
And of courser there is the constant connectivity issue with Apple CarPlay. Stop car; turn off engine; open and close door to reboot the system; star car; wait for infotainment system to reboot; apple CarPlay connects. Zero fix from Acura. I must have rented 50 cars since I bought this RDX in 2019 and i have NEVER had a connection issue with any other car - including low end cars. Service suggests unpairing my phone after every apple update. It doesn’t fix the issue but i do it anyway.
I planned on keeping this for 10 + years but i can’t risk my life. Should i just drive it off a cliff so no one else will die in it? What’s an Acura customer to do?
Spin it any way you want, but Lexus is definitely better quality.
The only widespread problem on the Lexus boards is the draining of the 12v battery. Other than that, the newer models do seems to have various glitches because they are full of new tech. I think Lexus has fallen a bit, but not enough to dethrone it.
The only widespread problem on the Lexus boards is the draining of the 12v battery. Other than that, the newer models do seems to have various glitches because they are full of new tech. I think Lexus has fallen a bit, but not enough to dethrone it.
It obviously depends on a model, but overall, I agree that quality and reliability of Lexus exceeds Acura. I have Lexus 2012 ES350, I know its from different time, but that thing is approaching 14 years old with 150k miles, and it has been bullet proof. Only regular maintenance and normal wear items. I never even went to a dealer once during warranty period to address any issues.
I only like how Acura drives and handles compared to Lexus, but with quality and reliability Lexus is a clear winner.
And I have a 2023 that had to have its transmission replaced, and rear brakes replaced due to squeaking (and yet they still squeak). My 2019 had 10+ defects.
Dang - I had a couple vehicles like that - whether a bad one or a lemon, it really doesn't matter - 20/20 hindsight tells me if I get another one in the future to punt quickly (trade it in). Reliability is #1 for me, the rest is just icing on the cake (everything has pro's and con's).
Is there a large disconnect between Honda quality and Acura quality, and if so, why? It seems that Toyota and Lexus have about the same dependability year in and year out. What about Nissan and Infiniti?
You would think that the mainstream and luxury divisions would be closely coupled in terms of reliability.
Is there a large disconnect between Honda quality and Acura quality, and if so, why? It seems that Toyota and Lexus have about the same dependability year in and year out. What about Nissan and Infiniti?
You would think that the mainstream and luxury divisions would be closely coupled in terms of reliability.
Honda and Acura are right next to each other in the link in the original post, Acura below Honda.
My bad. It seems that Nissan and Infiniti are decoupled for some reason. Surprising to see Audi way down there. For a number of years, at least on Consumer Reports, they seemed to be doing pretty well in the reliability category.
Dang - I had a couple vehicles like that - whether a bad one or a lemon, it really doesn't matter - 20/20 hindsight tells me if I get another one in the future to punt quickly (trade it in). Reliability is #1 for me, the rest is just icing on the cake (everything has pro's and con's).
I thought about that, but the cost was too much (around $15K) especially considering that I'd probably buy an RDX again. Anyway, it has been OK since the transmission was replaced. I will definitely trade it before I get out of warranty which should be in about 2 years.
"Among infotainment issues, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity (6.3 PP100) is
the top problem, followed by built-in voice recognition "
"Annoyance with driver assistance alerts grows over time"
These are complaints about functionality, not things breaking.
Those were key findings.
The ratings come from:
"The study, now in its 35th year, covers 184 specific problem areas across nine major vehicle categories:
climate; driving assistance; driving experience; exterior; features/controls/displays; infotainment; interior;
powertrain; and seats."
That looks pretty comprehensive to me.
Also:
"...it is not unexpected that the most problematic vehicle category is
infotainment (49.1 PP100)—nearly twice as many problems as the next-highest category, which is
exterior"
If something is not working as advertised, it should be counted against a car's dependability.
Top 3 luxury compact suvs: Lexus NX at 77, NX Hybrid at 74 and the RDX at 64.
At the end of the day both JD Power and CR are based on surveys, not actual reported repairs from dealerships or repair shops. I take both with a huge grain of salt.
"Every year, Consumer Reports asks its members about problems they’ve had with their vehicles in the previous 12 months. This year we gathered data on more than 300,000 vehicles from the 2000 to 2024 model years, with a few 2025 models that were introduced early enough to be included.
We study 20 trouble areas. This ranges from nuisances—squeaky brakes and broken interior trim—to major bummers, such as potentially expensive problems involving out-of-warranty engines, transmissions, EV batteries, and EV charging.
We weigh the severity of each type of problem to create a predicted reliability score for each vehicle from 1 to 100. Those scores inform the final reliability ratings we assign to every mainstream vehicle. (To calculate a vehicle’s Overall Score, we combine the reliability rating with data collected from our track testing, as well as our owner satisfaction survey results and safety data.)"
Love these Amazing, Accurate and World-Class rankings
Of course Mini is more reliable than Honda and Subaru is #1 in CR and below average in JD hahahah!
Next year, they will say Land Rover is the most reliable brand in the world!
Love these Amazing, Accurate and World-Class rankings
Of course Mini is more reliable than Honda and Subaru is #1 in CR and below average in JD hahahah!
Next year, they will say Land Rover is the most reliable brand in the world!
JLR works hard to stay at the bottom. They won’t give it up so easy.
Love these Amazing, Accurate and World-Class rankings
Of course Mini is more reliable than Honda and Subaru is #1 in CR and below average in JD hahahah!
Next year, they will say Land Rover is the most reliable brand in the world!
Exactly. These are surveys of car owners, not the results of actual documented repairs or breakdowns.
One person's "driving experience" opinion should have no bearing on a vehicle's dependability or reliability rating. I have no doubt that many of the complaints about infotainment or tech simply come down to people just not knowing how to use it vs it not actually working.
Exactly. These are surveys of car owners, not the results of actual documented repairs or breakdowns.
One person's "driving experience" opinion should have no bearing on a vehicle's dependability or reliability rating. I have no doubt that many of the complaints about infotainment or tech simply come down to people just not knowing how to use it vs it not actually working.
JDP studies aren't done for consumers -- they're done for the manufacturers. Although we can't see the detailed results, the subscribing automakers can. And if the tech is confusing to some owners, it's critical that the manufacturer knows it. They also want to know if the software is buggy or if the glovebox hinge is breaking too early. What shocks me is how long some automakers take to respond to problems or perceived problems.
JD Power releases the various studies rankings each year to maintain buzz and keep automakers interested in improving their position. To improve, Acura needs to know where they're coming up short, and the detailed results they purchase from JDP provide them. We're never going to know exactly why Acura is ranked where they are, although I suspect it has a lot to do with infotainment and the touchpad. Still, mechanical stuff does break, and it only takes on minor but very common issue to both frustrate owners and impact a brand's score. I contend that while not completely useless information, anybody choosing a vehicle based solely on the JDP's rankings is doing it wrong.
JDP studies aren't done for consumers -- they're done for the manufacturers. Although we can't see the detailed results, the subscribing automakers can. And if the tech is confusing to some owners, it's critical that the manufacturer knows it. They also want to know if the software is buggy or if the glovebox hinge is breaking too early. What shocks me is how long some automakers take to respond to problems or perceived problems.
JD Power releases the various studies rankings each year to maintain buzz and keep automakers interested in improving their position. To improve, Acura needs to know where they're coming up short, and the detailed results they purchase from JDP provide them. We're never going to know exactly why Acura is ranked where they are, although I suspect it has a lot to do with infotainment and the touchpad. Still, mechanical stuff does break, and it only takes on minor but very common issue to both frustrate owners and impact a brand's score. I contend that while not completely useless information, anybody choosing a vehicle based solely on the JDP's rankings is doing it wrong.
That's all well and good but it's wild that you have two surveys here with pretty big disparities between brand rankings.
I would tend to trust CR more as JD Power is essentially selling licensing rights to use their "awards" in advertising. If we are being honest, they are a PR firm conducting surveys as needed to make up "awards". As you mentioned previously the "problems" aren't weighted. A blown engine is weighed the same as not being able to connect to bluetooth. It's disingenuous to call this a dependability survey. Call it a satisfaction survey because that's what it is.
CR is a bit more scientific in their survey and analysis.
CR is a bit more scientific in their survey and analysis.
I wouldn't say more scientific. CR has a captive audience, and many would argue that a truly random pool is the only way to properly survey anything. And while I'm sure automakers care what CR readers have to say, it's the JD Power surveys they pay a small fortune to subscribe to. If the data were weighted, JD Power would actually mean something to just about everyone, but even without the weighting the data still matters to the folks who design and build the cars. I contend JD Power should provide automakers with the raw data, but weight the results that are published for public consumption. Of course that leads to another debate ... who determines the weighting? What's a minor annoyance to one customer might push somebody else move on from a specific model. Some people find capacitive "buttons" to be nothing more than an irritation. I avoid them at all cost.
JDP studies aren't done for consumers -- they're done for the manufacturers. Although we can't see the detailed results, the subscribing automakers can. And if the tech is confusing to some owners, it's critical that the manufacturer knows it. They also want to know if the software is buggy or if the glovebox hinge is breaking too early. What shocks me is how long some automakers take to respond to problems or perceived problems.
JD Power releases the various studies rankings each year to maintain buzz and keep automakers interested in improving their position. To improve, Acura needs to know where they're coming up short, and the detailed results they purchase from JDP provide them. We're never going to know exactly why Acura is ranked where they are, although I suspect it has a lot to do with infotainment and the touchpad. Still, mechanical stuff does break, and it only takes on minor but very common issue to both frustrate owners and impact a brand's score. I contend that while not completely useless information, anybody choosing a vehicle based solely on the JDP's rankings is doing it wrong.
I was actually surprised how quickly Acura pulled the plug on the TTIP, starting w/the 2025 MDX (rather than dragging it out to the end of the current gen MDX cycle)! Consumers have spoken!
Acura ranking below Mercedes is really saying something...
Well to be fair this "dependability" study really has nothing to do with dependability or reliability. Seems to be based on feelings like "driving experience".
Well to be fair this "dependability" study really has nothing to do with dependability or reliability. Seems to be based on feelings like "driving experience".
The list is in line w/my personal experience for Acura, BMW, and Mercedes over the last 5 years. I can't comment on the other makes...
