Hi guys,

I am getting frustrated with the quality of this vehicle. So far they have had to replace my steering wheel because the leather was bubbling, and perform the tailgate adjustment for the popping noise. Today while I was filling up with gas (for the first time) I noticed that the moonroof was raised on the left rear corner (where gas tank is). I checked the other side and it is flush with the roof line. Posting some pics. Can you all check your vehicles for any inconsistencies as well? My patience is thin and I’ve only owned the RDX for 10 days. Not sure what to do.

 

I'm the owner of a new 2020 Advanced with SH-AWD. I've already had it in the body shop just after 10 days of use. I noticed my rear bumper was not aligned with the fender. They fixed it, but I see a lot of other things that should just.... be better for a luxury brand. It's frustrating to have to deal with these small details for a new car. Quality control really does leave a lot to be desired. The weather stripping around the pano roof isn't even flat...it pops up slightly around the window. And I've got an annoying speaker rattle on the passenger door that I cannot track down. Nice sound system marred by annoying vibration sounds.

 

I can't tell from the picture - is the moonroof raised, or is the gasket pushed in?

It sounds like you've had a few problems, and it's frustrating after spending so much on a car not to have it perfect. But remember that the typical new car owner will have 1.4 problems with their new vehicle. Acura is higher than average at 1.7, but I guess my point is every new car has problems..

Either way, if you're not satisfied, take it back to the dealer and keep making fix everything that's not right. That makes sure that Acura is aware of every problem, and pays the price both in reputation and costs of repair.

 

I tried very gently to pry up on the weather stripping to see if it was caught therefore giving the appearance that the moon roof is sticking up. Unfortunately is not the case. When I feel the left side the moonroof is above the roofline on the left. On the right it’s even or slightly below roof line. I just don’t want to have the damn thing start leaking.

 

That's a bummer. I'm wondering if the problems are related - the popping noises/flexing. Maybe it popped the window out somehow.

 

do you mean the loud moan when the tailgate opens? I wanna get this checked out. How did they fix it.

 

no, this was a snapping noise the tailgate made after lifting about 6-12 inches

 

i confirm i have the same issue at the left rear corner.

 

My moonroof sits perfectly flush.

 

I noticed mine looks weird too the other day. I have like 200 miles on this car... Probably my last Acura, even as I sit and look at the panel alignment it's not perfect

 

Mine appears to sit flush, but the seal looks wonky/warped. It also makes noise (clicking) which has been addressed and temporarily fixed thru the dealer. It always comes back though. I can't stand these goddamn pano sunroofs. I don't think I'll ever buy another car with one if I can help it.

 

I was in a loaner where the seal was wonky as well. It had the popping sound backing off of sloped curves. I definitely think this is an installation / assembly issue. Not sure if it can be resolved without replacing the whole pano/frame. Sigh.

 

I had my frame replaced (due to popping noise). But same problem is back. Waiting for it to get bad enough and then will request the entire sunroof to be replaced.

 

If I were the OP, then I'd open a case with Acura.

 

We just complain more.

 

Well, I called the dealership. They informed me that several cars on their lot have similar issues. Looks like it is a case by case basis. I don’t want to get involved taking the headliner out and risking damage to repair this. Tonight now my damn suspension is creaking over bumps in the road. I am so fed up with the quality.

 

what does that say about us?

 

Early on I had a leak from the roof, the inner seal. They replaced both gaskets but the one you see did not lay flat. It took them two more tries to get it right, they told me they needed to remove the roof panel to get the gasket under. Apparently it is not glued in but instead hooks under the roof frame. I’d asked for it to be reinstalled or replaced. So far mine is staying flat.

 

My sunroof gasket was like that also when I first got the car. The gasket is being rolled down into the space between the glass frame and the roof during operation. I opened the sunroof slightly and rolled the gasket into it's proper place and put some slippery vinyl protectant on it before slowly closing the sunroof while holding the gasket in it's proper place. The protectant keeps it from getting caught on the frame during opening/closing and after a week or so, it was in its correct position all of the time. Haven't had any problems with it since.

 

But this is on the rear left corner, this part of the glass and frame never moves

 

This can't be normal. There is no possible explanation that can justified differences on the sides. It it unacceptable and should be addressed.

Many members here have stressed the importance of final walkthrough before taking delivery.

Few tips,
Go in bright sunny day
Never let the dealer rush you.
Do not take "we will fix it later" verbally. Ask him to document all things that needs to be address if you were to take delivery as is.
Note everything that didn't seem right and ask to see another vehicle on the lot for comparison.
Ask to test drive.
Open every door, every hatch. Especially the rear hatch for RDX (moaning and popping noise)
Look for seals and panel alignment. This is not hard to check and one of the standard methods when buying used cars.

Point is to never rush, I know the excitement and the wait is finally over can be whelming but better than to regret later.

 

Understood but I highly doubt that it is the glass panel that's out of true. You (or your dealer if you prefer) should be able to work the gasket back up to its intended position where it should stay.

You're right about the QC when it comes to the RDX. There was a nice list of things that my dealer needed to address when I took delivery. My gasket didn't get out of place until I had opened and closed the roof a few times so I fixed it instead of making another trip back to my dealer, which isn't really close to my home. You have a few things to get fixed so just have them fix it.

 

i agree completely. I would emphasize though that while it’s very important to do a full inspection before taking delivery, its not the buyers fault if something is missed. There are just too many ways problems might be hidden (never mind popping up later) and so many details to consider.

One of the best things about this forum and all the complainers (myself included) is that it gives people a good checklist to take with them on final inspection. I wouldn’t have known to check for half the issues raised on this board if it hadn’t been for the cantankerous fussbudgets here, and I thank you all for helping me make sure that knew what I was getting into, and that I didn’t have a lot of problems from the start.

 

It also makes it necessary for those of us who thought everything was OK with our cars to check for problems we might have. Damn. Now I have to go check my sunroof!

 

You called?
I don't recall which forum it was on, but I suggested to somebody to schedule at least two hours for the pickup and to focus on things like cosmetics that the dealer can say "you did that".

The popular consensus was "we ain't got time for that". I hope they didn't end up with issues.

 

the truth is, we probably spend more time inspecting lesser priced purchases, especially if we knew we couldn’t return it after purchase.

all manufacturers should adopt the Tesla policy, 7 days and below 1k miles. They do this because their dealership isn’t stocked with sales man on commissions and the take home is essentially your test drives. A much better model and it shows their confidence in the products.

most of the days. Dealers simply just want you to take the vehicle on the spot, upon delivery. Once you take it, your problems becomes services department’s. His/her job is done. He/she will continue to act nice and friendly (especially if you lease) but not much use after the sales.

At my local MB dealership, the service managers are the stars, no one gives a woot to the greased hair salesman standing by the latest SLR chitchatting

 

Driving a loaner RDX since I had to bring my car in yet again for the suspension. The moonroof on the loaner is perfect and sits flush. I won’t accept this kind of poor quality on my vehicle knowing this does not affect all RDX’s. Nor will I accept a “fix” for this at 350 miles, which will minimally involve removing the headliner of the vehicle to try and tighten the frame down. Worse yet this might need a whole new moonroof to make it flush like the loaner is. We all know once something’s taken apart even by the most careful hands, things never go back to factory spec. I can see a nightmare of rattles and leaks ahead of me.

 

Sorry for your troubles, but I don’t know exactly what your options are. Refusing a fix seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Lemon laws won’t help you if you don’t let them fix the issue, and would only apply if the problems are persistent and unsolvable. I recommend you have them try to fix everything, no matter how minor, and document all requests, refusals, and work done. If you want to start setting up a LL return check the laws in your state and plan ahead. Contact a lawyer. At the same time, give Acura and their technicians a chance to fix things; not every car is going to be perfect off them line and they might very well be able to a good job of tightening everything up and getting it factory fresh (and spec).

 

So true. I’m fine with my car, but right now I’m really pissed about a pair of jeans I bought...

I think some states do have a minimal period for return, and some dealers have even better policies. It would be good if it were standardized, and at least 48 hours. 1000 is pretty generous, considering the loss of value that would likely represent. Either way, it’s one more thing to be aware of during a car purchase. Caveat emptor.

I wonder if this is true, though. Service departments get paid by the company to fix problems from the factory, don’t they? So it would seem that the dealer’s and the buyer’s priorities are aligned.

 

Trust me I understand, and I have no problem with a car going in for a minor fix or two. However, to make my car right its going to require a lot of work. I have a dent in the spoiler from the snapping issue. That requires a new unpainted lift gate which has to be painted by a 3rd party and reinstalled. I need new suspension components to fix the creaking noise which makes the car sound 30 years old - we actually had this issue on another one of our cars several years back - a 20 year old Maxima! I had a new steering wheel put on because the leather was unwrapping. Brakes are a problem - squealing. Moonroof needs adjustment or replacement which either way is major work removing a headliner. This is big stuff we are talking about on a car that I have filled with gas once.

 

I can also now add the roof as a problem on my RDX. The only thing that's it's gone in for so far was the brakes... I was about to schedule yet another visit for suspension cacophony that manifested itself as the temp dropped below 40F...and this morning after leaving parked out on the driveway overnight while it rained, the roof is leaking around where the map lights are (I was backed in the driveway on a slight incline downward). This is getting beyond irritating. ... And similar to you, I'm only on my 3rd tank of gas.

 

Wow unbelievable. Couple questions for ya... Do you have any visible warping/buckling around seal or the frame like the pictures above? Where they able to fix your brakes squealing? The loaner vehicle I am in has no issues - moonroof sits flush, suspension is quiet, brakes do not squeal. This is not normal what we are experiencing.

 

Also - get that thing to the dealer at your earliest convenience ! That headliner has to be replaced if you have water coming through - Its going to stain, warp and might already have mold forming depending how long it sat leaking on the lot before you purchased.

 

The warping around the seal wasn't an issue for me. Everything (visibly anyway) looks even/flush with the roof. I've even driven in heavy rain before, and it was fine. It was only when I had left it parked outside on my driveway at that slight incline there's water dripping in; wherever the leak is I think just pooled all the water downward toward that center roof console. I'm assuming it's a small area that's not sealed somewhere and the heavy rain overnight just compounded it. It shouldn't happen at all, but I guess better now and fix it (hopefully) than finding it after the car's a couple of years old. At that point, I'd just assume it was wear and tear would probably have paid for it to be fixed.

The brakes were 99.9% fixed. They changed out the front rotors and it stopped the grinding sound when braking. There is a slight 'squeal' when driving in the morning or after the car's been parked a while but it goes away within a few minutes.

The loaner I had when they were working on the brakes was a 2019 base RDX and everything felt fine on that one.

 

So I got some feedback from the dealer on the leaking roof. What he said was that all these seals around the moonroof (at least on Honda/Acura) are not waterproof--that they all will let in some water. That said, there are drain tubes (first I'd heard of this) to channel an incoming water down the car. When there's heavy rain and if car is on a steeper incline, the drainage tubes can overflow causing some water to not drain out...hence the leak around the map light area where the water was pooling. This he said was after consulting with Acura, that their recommended action was to do nothing to the roof/seal, etc. Now, in his defense, all the times I've had it parked in the rain where it's not inclined, I've not had issues. But I'm thinking people that park outside who live on a hill get drenched?? LOL

 

One word - UNACCEPTABLE. You have a case with Acura as far as I am concerned. Guaranteed your car is going to have mold and start to smell if the leak continues too.

 

While the dealer may be technically correct, that sounds like an admitted design flaw.

Contact a lemon lawyer.

 

Wow. Totally unacceptable. Is the earth flat?

you should consider taking some of the following action:

1. Get the dealer to document what was explained to you. Have him put it in writing (which I doubt he will do)
2. Contact corporate with above to get a response.
3. Have pictures and #1 posted all over social media, tagging #acura or related hashes. Twitter, FB, Reddit etc.

let the internet know how ridiculous the response is. Drain hole for sunroof that is not water proof, and if you parked in an incline, water will accumulate somewhere in your roofline, lights, or somewhere in your car... WTF

if you failed at 1 and 2, lawyer up!

 

All the more reason that I wish these moronic pano sunroofs were an option rather than standard. Noise/rattles + leaks to look out for.

 

If it makes you feel better, the normal non-pano sunroof on my TLX is also not flush on one side, and flush on the other, so I wouldn't say everything would be fine with a regular sunroof.

Gotta love that Ohioan attention to detail.