shevlini

I have been chasing this for a while - I have a 2022 MDX A-Spec. What I found - if brake pushed hard, release and hit gas, there is a 1 second delay. This is the cannot hit the gas and brake at the same time thing (Toyota's unintended acceleration thing.) If I use the brake hold button, there is absolutely no delay if it is engaged. I had my brake fluid flushed and the pedal was higher - this nearly eliminated the issue for a month or so. Issue back again I am giving you all the detail to help come up with a work around. My thought is to get the brake switch to shut off sooner without making the brakes staying engaged. Thinking of a spring or strapping a feeler gauge to the pedal to push the switch earlier My thought - If I can get it to shut off the lights a 1/2" before, it will compensate for the delay. I had it for 14 months and not far from dumping the car. I drove a 2024 MDX S-type and it has the same built in delay - just a MUCH higher brake pedal so it is less noticeable.

anoop

Interesting. I thought the hesitation in the RDX was due to the turbo, but if the MDX (non Type S) has it, then it probably has to do with the transmission. I don't like the hesitation either especially when working with tight on-ramps to a congested highway.

Funz51

i believe this question has already been answered, although personal input is always accepted.
fix/deal with it:
1) do the 'ECU reset' function once a month (takes 20 seconds)
2) tap the right paddle before slamming throttle
3) after driving a little, flip that big dial in the middle of the dash (comfort - sport and back if you want)
Either of these will minimize that delay.
try it, and please report back!
funz

wavshrdr

It was so annoying I sold my RDX and will never buy another Honda if they all exhibit this behavior. It wasn't just from a stop, or if you were brake torquing it, even at about 5 mph, there was a huge hesitation before it would actually start to accelerate with any sense of urgency. It clearly wasn't as a result of lack of boost either. I don't have this issue with the EV I am currently driving. No hesitation whenever you hit it. It really killed the enjoyment of the RDX for me and could be dangerous if when trying to shoot across an intersection.

jmhumr

EVs naturally have instant torque because they use motors. You can’t really compare it fairly to an ICE car.

For what it’s worth to anyone shopping for an RDX, I don’t experience any of the frustration in this thread. The car is just as responsive as any other ICE car I’ve owned.

wavshrdr

Well you can but the RDX will match up very poorly. It has the worst lag of any car I've driven in recent memory. There was a like a very loose connection between the throttle and the drivetrain. Even if it was manually in first gear, it would still hesitate massively. Put it in drive, and go help you if it had to decide to drop a gear if rolling at about 5 mph.

The difference is most EV (except Taycan) only have one gear (in effect) and no clutch. It is like your car always being in first gear but being able to rev way out. With the RDX, even trying to replicate similar conditions as I mentioned above, it still sucked. Put a manual Civic in first gear and mash the throttle and it immediately accelerates, maybe as quick as an EV, but there is a sense of immediacy. Best way is I could describe it is you would push the throttle, and the car almost seemed like it was waiting to make sure that is what you really wanted to do. Are you sure you want to accelerate? Are you really, really sure you want full throttle right now?

Where the RDX got really tripped up is when you started to take off, such as turning onto a road. Then maybe you noticed some traffic coming and let off a bit. Then, if you hit it again, it was caught totally off guard before it would actually start pulling hard again. Or take off sort of slowly and then at low speeds have to accelerate hard to merge and it was clueless. Even with an ECU tune, it was quicker once it got moving, but it was still horrendous initially. I think there was like a half second delay before the RDX really got moving and it wasn't all turbo lag. I've been driving turbo cars for 40+ years, and it felt like there was some sort of software programming that interfered with everything.

Maybe it was some sort of unintended acceleration coding, but it was even more intolerable when I towed something. This issue and the horrendous trackpad control of nav and audio were the kiss of death for me. I loved many other things about the car but that interface and the continuous lag really put me off. Not to mention the mileage was pretty poor given the size of the vehicle. I had considered a Pilot at the time and it didn't have the lag.

Now I am dealing with a Tesla where they removed the turn signal stalks and went to a touchscreen for the gear shift lever. Absolutely stupid effin' design decision along with yoke. At least the yoke I was able to replace not long after buying it and finally someone has come out with a kit to put turn signal stalks back and have a physical gear shift lever again.

Texasrdx21

Never experienced that delay or lag on my RDX. However, the instant torque of a EV is something most ICE owners have not experienced yet (till they take a test drive). It’s just a blast drive and make most ICE vehicles feel slow. Tesla is the king in area.

What EV did you switch over too?

markAZ

I've never noticed this either. Maybe a tiny bit of turbo lag sometimes, but never anything close to this issue.

sonyfever

Some tips for those that cannot stand the responsiveness issue with RDX, especially 19-21. There are three components at play here:

1. Turbo lag: K&N filter reduces turbo lag a bit, but without bolt-ons or ECU tune, nothing much can be done to mitigate the lag.
2. Safety control loops: The CMBS, VSA, and TCS all adds a little latency to the throttle input and the power train response. If the responsiveness bothers you enough, try disabling TCS. Don't worry too much about losing TC, because the VSA and SH-AWD logics are still running, and IMHO, the safety net from them is large enough that unless you do something really stupid, the car can still save the day easily on dry pavements. Disabling CMBS or VSA greatly improves responsiveness, but obviously I don't advocate doing that for safety reasons.
3. AT: This is the part I don't understand well. On my car, the AT can be responsive after say a throttle mapping reset*/air filter change/ATF flush, but over time it can become sluggish again especially in 1-3 gears. My workarounds for the inconsistency are:

• The 10AT definitely responds to different driving styles. So I intentionally use a tiny bit more throttle input than needed in the low gears, then coast early in the high gears. This driving style seems to keep the AT alerted and responsive.
• When the 1-3 gear changes become sluggish, I do a throttle mapping reset. If the sluggishness come back very soon, I know it is about time to change the air filter or ATF.
• My car is at 80k and I have observed consistent pattern:
  A throttle mapping reset is needed around 3-4k miles. New air filter around 7-8k. For ATF, I have been following the MID suggestion which is 30-40k. But I would probably just do ATF flush every 30k to coax the 10AT.

* Throttle mapping reset: When the car is off, go WOT on the throttle pedal, then press engine start twice to power on the car. Hold WOT for 30 seconds while the instrument panel is in Christmas tree state, then turn off the car.

wavshrdr

TLR - sold RDX and ordered a Model Y and Model S long range. Y was boring AF in it own way, ordered Model 3 long range to replace it. Model S long range was sold for Model S Plaid. No plans to sell either the 3 long range or S Plaid as both have been awesome cars.

Maybe the 2021's were better than my 2020 in this regard. As for what EV I went with, that is a simple question with a complicated answer. I traded my RDX for a Tesla Model Y long range (aks MYLR). At the same time I put an order in for the Model S long range (aka MSLR). I got out of my RDX for what I paid for it so it was a good time to dump it. I had debated between the MYLR and the M3LR. Since I wanted to tow, the Y was the logical choice. While it may be the most popular Tesla, I think it is the worst Tesla. Only big plus was the acceleration isn't bad, only if you get either the performance version or add acceleration boost to the LR. It did tow quite well, but obviously a big range impact. I did add acceleration boost to the Y which knocked off about a half second 0-60 off a fairly quick time of about 4.9 to begin with (I had a 7 passenger one).

After about 6 months, I was pretty bored and there were things I liked a lot better about the RDX than the Y. Seats are better, and ventilated. In Texas I would get swamp butt every hot day in the Y if I drove more than about 40 minutes. While a low CG, the handling of the Y is sort of clumsy as well. Acceleration was definitely its strong suit. With 6 adults in the car, and a kid in a car seat, it was far quicker than a current gen V8 Mustang. Range was less than promised like many EVs. Seats were generally comfy but as mentioned, no ventilation and living in the South, was a big miss on Tesla's part. Tesla prices shot up through the rough and I exited the Y with a very nice profit and ordered a M3LR. The wait time was shrinking quickly on it and my MSLR had been delayed so long form the original time I ordered with the Y, I thought the 3 might beat it.

Finally the MSLR came in. It was vastly better than the Y. Not only did it have better range, but it used less energy as well. Adjustable suspension made it far more comfortable. The hatchback added a lot of versatility but rear leg room wasn't as good as the Y. For not much more money, the S was a vastly better car than the Y and far quicker but not as fast as Tesla claimed. In the US, Tesla doesn't equip the 3 or S to tow, but in other countries, they can. I had ordered the MS LR when the new ones were going to come out and I had locked in the 79k price. I sold my Y for 65k and we were in on the 3 for 51k. I had seriously thought about the MS Plaid (aks MSP or Plaid) but for the extra 50k at the time, I didn't think it was worth it.

Very shortly after the MSLR arrived our M3LR did as well. The 3 was so much better than the Y I couldn't ever imagine driving a Y again. Still had the crappy non-ventilated seats but the car was so much more nimble, more efficient, cheaper to insure, quicker, etc. Hard to believe they shared so much in common. I added acceleration boost to it as well and dropped the 0-60 time to about 3.7 (no rollout games). One thing most people don't realize about the performance versions of the 3 & Y are basically just acceleration boost until about 60 mph. Yes they are quicker to 60 than their long range counterparts but if you were to run a performance version against a long range at about 60 mph, they are pretty much dead even. Tesla did use a different rear motor in them but some of the early LR's had the same rear motor and a company offered a Ghost upgrade to turn your long range into a performance.

While I like the MSLR, the fact that it was significantly slower than the claimed 0-60 times, and that a Model 3 performance (M3P) would typically beat it to 0-60, it really started to bug me. I bought the MSLR with the thought it should be faster than the M3P, at least to 60 and much faster at higher speeds. The second part was true. The MSLR really started to come alive at about 60 mph. My typical 0-60 was about 3.3-3.4 and the 1/4 mile about 10.8 and about 128. So right in line with a Lambo and you have a 5 seat family car. It was very soft off the line though and my M3LR wasn't much slower to 60.

Tesla prices were going through a crazy cycle and continuing to climb like crazy. I stumbled upon a slightly newer Plaid version than my MSLR and a pretty good price at a dealership. I ended up making a trade for the Plaid and about 15k out of pocket for a car with some updates mine didn't have as well as less miles and a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4s ($2400 for a set new). I couldn't make that trade fast enough. Model S brakes are a little lacking for repeated high speed use which is easy given how quick the car is. Even the MSLR will overtax the brakes of repeated highspeed usage. Based on how quick it is pulling from 60 mph and up, it would be a low 10 second car if Tesla really uncorked it.

So for the Plaid I put on the track pack brakes which are massive carbon ceramic brakes. This raises the top speed to 200 mph (but doesn't totally unlock it). They let you get to about 202-203 typically before mine shuts down. They rebalance the brake balance a bit and adjust the track mode that the LR versions don't have.

So, in the end, we ended up with the M3LR with an acceleration boost. I added a trailer hitch and Mountain Pass Performance adjustable coilovers to it. It does easily as well as the Y ever did towing and is twice as fun to drive daily and far more efficient. The Plaid is for when it's really too hot to ride a sportbike, and I still want something super quick to drive. I never thought we'd be where we are at when I first started thinking about selling the RDX. I'll probably take the ZDX for a test drive when I can find one. It looks too much like its GM counterpart inside, though, and I think they could have done more to differentiate it. So, for now, I have a deposit on a Rivian R2 to fill out the SUV side of the house.