Our RDX has developed a squeak when opening and closing the rear hatch. Does anyone know if they can be lubed and how? Looking for a little insight before trying to open things up.

 

Tailgate on my 2021 started groaning badly. Dealer had to replace the hydraulic under warranty.

Is yours more of a hinge squeak?

 

There's a TSB for this though I'm not sure your car would be covered - mine was a 2019 and they replaced the springs in the tailgate.

 

Interesting..do you know where I can get more info on that service bulletin? I'd like to look into it before I start squirting WD-40 in there.

 

Try a search here for TSBs - I had mine addressed back in 2019 so I don't know what how I came across it but it was probably posted here by someone.

 

Are there any DIY fixes for the squeaky liftgate hutch? Is replacing the springs the only solution, or could it be a matter of lubricating the liftgate's motorized mechanism? Any experiences?

 

I found manually moving the hatch up and down a few times and then setting the auto stop a little lower than all the way up resolved our squeak.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. Have you tried lubricating the motorized liftgate?

 

Yes, but it's a sealed motor so it didn't do any good.

 

Is the noise coming from the arms, or the motors?

 

Squeak or groan? Mine started groaning and they fixed it under warranty. I forget which part - motor maybe?

 

I couldn't find the service bulletin for this either.

Every time I brought my RDX in for an oil change, I mentioned the tailgate hatch is squeaky or groaning. They always said the tech was never able to repeat the issue or they sprayed lubricant in the housing. Total lies!

I asked about it again and now the tech came back saying it needed a spring replacement... $1K+ repair.

 

classical. The reason is that warranty labor rate pays them very little, so they turn down all warranty work as much as they can, but now that warranty is over they can get a lot more money for the same job.

 

This is why I would never feel comfortable owning a car without a warranty. I will get an extended warranty if keeping the car beyond factory warranty.

 

well, my point is that when they know you have warranty they are reluctant to admit that you have an issue because they get horrible warranty labor rate reimbursements, so they will do everything they can to pretend there is nothing wrong with your car.
Dealing with warranty is also big PITA for them, paperwork, and if its wrong diagnosis its all coming from dealer pocket.

 

The tailgate on my 2021 RDX started squeaking badly on the right side. I read that the tailgate motor is sealed, so lubricating it supposedly wouldn’t help but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I ended up using an entire bottle of silicone spray over the course of 10 days, and eventually, the squeak went away completely. It’s been several months now, and everything’s still working fine.