My Advance is missing tailgate struts. Just noticed this. It still opens and closes as necessary and even stays in the open position by it self. Hmmm

Another minor, but under-acknowledged nice feature of the RDX.

 

See those humps in the ceiling on either side of the hatch opening? Those house the lift mechanism for the hatch. No magic required.

 

 

Good thing. Metal-Munching-Moon-Mice like to eat the gas struts.

 

Doubt that will be a DIY to replace the strut equivalent when they fail. Time will tell.

 

Look at the installation instructions for the accessory remote-start if you want to get an idea of what's involved in getting access to that area. It's not pretty. I hope the mechanism is robust.

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/BII07802-02.PDF

 

I have opened the tailgate many times in my 3 months of ownership, yet only realized/discovered this when I started this thread. I had noticed the humps in the rear view mirror, but never really paid any attention, just figuring they were to cover the hinges. I have no concerns about failure or having to access them.

My post was partly showing my amazement, and also a little tongue in cheek in it's presentation...I don't know if this is a new "feature" on the 3G RDX, or if previous GENs were strut-less as well. This is the first SUV/Crossover that I have owned (out of many) that didn't have these struts.

 

This is the first car I've owned with a power tailgate and I don't know if they're mostly similar but it did occur to me there must be a lot of stress on those hinge mechanisms. Have to ever tried to lift a gate with the gas struts removed?

 

The first generation VW Touareg used the same design struts for the tailgate. Absolute PAIN IN THE ASS to fix when it breaks btw. Not sure why Acura decided to go this route other than to force expensive dealership visits down the road.

 

 

Yeah because you drive around with your tailgate open all the time and those pesky normal struts totally get in the way. The design is cool and it definitely does look nice, but a PITA when it goes bad. That was my whole point.

Cool that you like it, hopefully it proves reliable or you will stop liking it if it goes bad after the warranty period. Assuming of course you keep it till then or aren't leasing. I buy cars with the intention of keeping them till they stop moving, so things like this do worry me. I realize it may not worry everyone else though.

 

I never had a problem with gas struts on any of my SUVs or hatchbacks. I never noticed them nor thought they got in the way. I can't say that this design is much of an improvement. The volume taken by the hinges obstructs some of the rear view. Just substituting the gas struts with linear actuators seems like a much simpler and more reliable solution. But time will tell. There has to be A LOT of torque on those hinges.

 

Exactly! I know on the Touaregs many failed prematurely. It's a really stressful position for the hinges to be in.

 

I agree about the rear view ( or lack thereof ), but the rear speakers share that space.

BTW, yes, this is a new feature for 3rd-gen RDX. For better or worse.

Powered linear actuators are another solution, and those are common in other Honda/Acura vehicles with powered rear hatches.

The hatch is composite ( plastic ) to reduce the weight the mechanism needs to deal with. So try not to get shot at from behind.

But just so we're clear on this, the "hinges" are in exactly the same place as any other hatch. The lift mechanism is different, and it will experience different forces than a strut-based system.

 

Never mind. I was thinking of another vehicle.

The rear speakers share space with the humongous D pillars.

 

Did you also notice that the entire rear hatch is made from a composite material (maybe glass fiber reinforced plastic) that makes it extremely lightweight so that gas struts aren't required?
Only the outside of the hatch is a metal 'skin'.. likely aluminum.. (i didn't try a magnet on it so not positive).

 

Actually, I think the entire hatch is composite, skin included, but I could be wrong.

There is a comment in the owner's manual that the hatch mechanism will reverse if it encounters resistance, but you shouldn't test it because you may deform the composite hatch. Of course, I tested it anyway...

BTW, the magnet test is negative, so definitely not a steel skin.