Had the Intercooler kit TSB-20-053 installed a week ago. Just went through 3 heavy downpours and I’m pretty confident 99.999% (this is Acura after all) that my limp mode in a rain storm is resolved. 70mph and punched it to 90. No issues.

 

Good to hear it!

I’m trying to remember; did you have this issue documented or did you have to convince the dealer to do the work?

 

I had to convince the dealer to do the work. They fought me tooth and nail but when I mentioned its a safety issue IMHO as well as I was reporting the issue to the NHTSA they reluctantly performed the TSB and reflected that on the service order by writing it up like they were doing me a huge favor to keep me happy.

 

Well at least they did it. I don't understand though; don't dealers get paid for this work? Why would they be so reluctant to do it?

 

This is something I don't understand as well. I just don't get it. If the customer complains about an issue, that has been documented by Acura with a TSB fix, why would the dealers refuse, or at best make it difficult for the owner to have the work done?

 

Yeah I’m confused too. Don’t dealers just pass on the cost of TSB work to Acura?

 

[QUOTE=JB in AZ;16742152]This is something I don't understand as well. I just don't get it. If the customer complains about an issue, that has been documented by Acura with a TSB fix, why would the dealers refuse, or at best make it difficult for the owner to have the work done?[/QUOTE

I was told that unless a error code is logged or they can duplicate the problem the TSB will not happen. I finally had to point out that the TSB indicated that there is no related code for this issue as well as I doubted that they could duplicate the issue. They were just being assholes imho. Any future Acura dealings I am going to another dealer that’s not much further away.

 

[QUOTE=tecwerks;16742201]It's always nice to have a choice of dealers. Next closest Acura dealer here is about 100 miles away.

I don't know the general rule for how much population it takes to have more dealers for any specific brand, but it must also depend on the numbers of unites sold and related service activity. Tucson "metro" has about 1 million residents, but only one Acura dealer Two Honda dealers, but of course Honda sells a lot more units than Acura. There are two Lexus dealers, but same owner. Two Chevy. two Ford, one Cadillac, I believe (and it is a Cad/Buick dealer). one Volvo, one MB...one BMW...etc

 

I have to bring it in next week, and am wondering if I should complain and make them ‘fix’ it now, even though I don’t have any examples because I never stomp it in the rain, because of the reports.

 

low reimbursement by Acura for TSB work and/or specific requirements (not easy to meet, such as codes, paper work and etc) by Acura before they pay for work.

it’s like your health insurance that pays fraction of the cost “negotiated rate” and refuses to pay for half of the stuff…

 

New poster here, but I’ve been lurking for months!

I just recently got a 2019 CPO RDX A-Spec, and I live in Fort Lauderdale. I commute to Miami daily for work, and I’ve had a lot of rainy days in this car so far.

I got my car in the beginning of May and I experienced the limp mode issue while driving home after a long day of rain, after about a month of ownership. I didn’t show any CEL or any indication on my dash that the car was in limp mode other than there being a total loss of power and being unable to go past 40 mph. I took it into the shop for that issue and some other ones that I noticed after a month of ownership. Regarding the limp mode issue, I was told that they couldn’t duplicate it and the service advisor made it very clear to me that it wouldn’t happen again after they performed “a reset” on the engine. They didn’t do anything, because there was no such information detailed in the service report I received afterwards. It was a simple, “could not duplicate concern”, and I was back in my RDX.

A month after the initial service, the car did it AGAIN under similar conditions. So this time I documented it very thoroughly via recording on my phone. I wrote a lengthy email to the service manager, the dealer’s GM (I purchased the car from the same dealer I was getting it serviced at), and service director. I included the video proof of my issue, and attached the PDF of the TSB Acura released to address this issue. The service manager reached out to me personally, and took my case on himself. When I brought my car back in, they had it for a couple of days and couldn’t duplicate the concern again (I expected this), but still went ahead and did the repair because he was confident that it was what I experienced when my car went into limp mode.

I’ve had my car back for a week now, so I’m going to need more time to see if it resolved my limp mode issue, but I’m confident and hopeful that the issue can be left in the past. I’ve driven through some rainy days on 95 for the past few days, and haven’t encountered it yet, so here’s to hoping the TSB truly addressed the issue!

 

My sympathies.

For having to drive 95 from Ft. L to Miami. That is about the worst stretch of road there is.

 

I have had the TSB done on my 2020 RDX Advance SH-AWD. The vehicle had never gone into limp mode prior to the fix and hasn't after the TSB was completed. Let me explain why we chose to have the TSB done.

In 2018 my wife and I were rear-ended in our 2015 Accord Touring. The car was totaled. We replaced it with a 2018 Accord Touring 2.0. Last year I retired and purchased the RDX. We live in Florida where driving in heavy wet conditions is a normal occurrence at times of the year. With things opening up post-COVID, we plan on taking long road trips in the RDX where we will likely encounter long periods of wet conditions. The thought of driving on an interstate in traffic in wet conditions and having limp mode occur is not something we want to experience so we chose to have the TSB done. I worked directly with the service manager at our dealership and shared all of the above detail and he agreed to do the TSB. I had great reservations about having the front of the car removed and reinstalled, but the service manager assured me they had done this a number of times with no issues. When the work was completed I examined the front of the car closely and could find no evidence of the work, i.e., no uneven gaps or seams and no missing or broken clips.

Was it necessary? Perhaps not. But given the information available in the TSB about the possible cause, we chose to proceed with the TSB.

Now, fast forward to today:

We just completed a 3400 mile road trip up the east coast and back. Most of it on I-95 and other interstates and a mix of lesser roads. During one of the days we drove for an extended period in rain, heavy at times, and at one point on a two-lane road I needed to pass a vehicle. As I was passing the vehicle I suddenly realized the conditions where limp mode would occur were perfect: extended period of rain and hard acceleration. I thought to myself, "I hope the TSB truly resolved the issue" especially since a car was now approaching from the opposite direction. I was able to complete the maneuver without issue. Was it truly the TSB fix? I don't know, but my comfort level is much higher now.

Regarding the trip, most of it was on I-95 and other interstates and a mix of lesser roads. The trip totaled 3,354 miles with an average of 26.2 MPG (calculated) and 26.8 according to the car's trip computer. The highest MPG was 30.2, occurring on roads where speed limits were 55. My speeds on the interstates were in the 75 to 80 range.

One final tidbit related to the accident in the 2015 Accord. About an hour prior to the accident my wife was driving and said, "I really love this car. I'm going to keep it till it dies." Little did she know...

Ron

 

I would agree that I-405 through Los Angeles is worse. I have travelled both numerous times.

 

Only drove through LA once, I can’t compare that road. It was in Cali that I first saw what I thought was the Menachem Begin Freeway, but it must not have been because I started to see “Begin Freeway” signs all over the place.

 

I had read about the problem before we drove to FL with the RDX for the first time. We hit a monsoon on I4 going from 95 to 75. The car was a champ and the adaptive CC was great, but I never nailed it out of concern about limp mode, and had to lay back a few times. Fortunately, even though the car was newish, my Carplay was working and Waze took me off of I4 for a while due to congestion, which I4 is kinda famous for.

 

I've only driven LA traffic to and from LAX, both in rush hour ... granted it was only twice, but it moved at a steady 20-30MPH for the most part. It doesn't compare IMO to NYC rush hour traffic where you'll sit for a 10-15secs, move 150ft, and then sit for another 10-15+secs, rinse and repeat ... making you contemplate all your life choices that made you take a job in that godforsaken city in the first place. Thankfully I never have to commute to and from there again.

I also cruised thru Philly rush hour once and my buddy was freaking out about how bad traffic was when we were doing a steady 30-40MPH ... I looked at him like he was insane.

Sorry to hijack. Glad you got your limp mode resolved ... hopefully it stays that way.

 

Has anyone who had the TSB performed have their auto-idle stop function stop working?

I feel like my car hasn’t done it since I got it back. 🤔

 

Have not noticed that but I drive in Sport+ 95% of the time so it’s off by default.