Danrudy

Hi,
LEase ending on our 3rd MDX and was thinking of going a little smaller now that kids are older and getting the RDX.
(I was hoping for a new redesign of the MDX before January/Feb but that does not seem to be happening)
I have been reading much about the lawsuits over the RDX infotainment system. It is giving me great pause about this car. Has this been resolved with the 2020 model?
Is it "safe" to get into this car. I don't want any headaches. I just want things to work the way they are supposed to.

Thanks for any advice or replies.
D

mmotte

I must have been lucky. I bought a 2019 RDX Technology in March. Car infotainment system has had no problems. When I bought it, the dealership told me that the new software in my car had "solved earlier teething problems." It works great. In fact, car has been perfect in every respect. For an suv, it's actually great fun to drive every day. Peppy with superb handling. Sue and stable on highway; nippy on country back roads; plenty of room for passengers and bags; amazingly comfortable front seats. I'd buy one again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend it! M. Motte, Cranston, RI

Danrudy

THanks......That is good to hear...But, I do want to make sure I hear from others (you know, in case you are a paid shill for Acura

RDX2O2O

I like this car. No infotainment issue for my 2020 FWD Tech package. I increased sensitivity to high, and utilizing this is a breeze. Only issue is sometimes I think there is too much power for this car with FWD. But I couldn't justify the 2k extra (and more as I notice dealers discount FWD more then AWD). Something to consider. Also android auto is still "coming".

mmotte

As a Brit born before the decimalization of the UK's lovely old currency, I have to ask: "Does shilling earn dollars?" If it does, as a relatively new American with unfettered capitalistic tendencies (and ever eager to fit in as a bona fide Yank), I'd have to consider shilling as an option. Around these parts, it seems everyone is a shill for someone or something. Or am I misreading the culture? Acura, are you listening? A prospective shill (cash only, please) awaits your call in Cranston, Rhode Island...

Cuzz

The infotainment issues also have me concerned. I would really like to know what percentage of vehicles are affected. If the 2019 & 2020 RDX's are the same, how is it possible that one person is having problems, but another is not? I can only assume that both have the same infotainment system, but the person with no problems may not have done the correct sequence of button pushes to cause the problem. I wonder if the person that never has any problems with theirs only listens to FM radio and never connects their phone to the car, or ever uses the navigation, etc. And maybe they never take trips longer than an hour so the car's system never has to run for a 4 or 5 hour drive and as such it gets "rebooted" more often.

NooYawkuh

Any issues I've had have been momentary and minor. Nothing I wouldn't expect or wasn't cleared by restart.

mmotte

I regularly use FM radio, navigation and bluetooth phone connectivity. The longest trip I have taken is 3 hours in duration. Have driven the vehicle only 3K miles. Maybe infotainment system glitches lie ahead, but I have experienced none at all since buying car new in March this year. I would note that I have received two over-the-air updates to the software. The downloads were seamless and there are no noticeable differences to the operation of the system. Perhaps the version of the software that came with my car (later build--December 2018) and/or the subsequent updates have fixed the kinds of software problems that affected earlier versions? But I've had NO PROBLEMS at all.

tsxowner1

I have a 20 A-SPEC and haven’t experienced any infotainment issues. I highly recommend getting a 20 or at least a 19 with a later built date.

Danrudy

THis is a good point.
I will be a heavy user of infotainment with apple play for navigation, phone calls, music and Sirius XM pandora etc, podcasts etc.
It would also be helpful to have heavy users give their feedback.

Wander

Forum Rules:

1) Anyone who refuses to dump upon a vehicle when expected to do so, will be declared a shill, or a fanboy, or both.

2) Anyone who refuses to praise a vehicle when expected to do so, will be declared a troll, or a shill for a competitive manufacturer, or both.

3) Expectations change frequently, and without notice.

In my < pause > experience, the < click > problems with Apple CarPlay < random glitch > have not been resolved.

I mostly use it during solo road trips, when I wish to use iTunes music to stay alert, and navigation to stay on course and locate needed services. Simultaneously. Lately I've also been doing some Siri text messaging. So I guess I'm an infrequent heavy user. It is more functional under iOS 13 ( beta ), but still very glitchy. My 2019 Advance was very early production, and has all available updates.

As others have noted, I would say that the more things I ask the infotainment to juggle, the more it glitches.

Will it be glitch-free when iOS 13 is no longer beta, in a few days? I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Madd Dog

Driving is far and away my main concern, with infotainment far behind. Therefore I really like this car. Were that reversed, I could not recommend the RDX yet. The 2008 BMW I bought in 2007 was far head in some aspects to the 2019 RDX I bought in 2018. Although the RDX’s voice command system understands better, it does far less. I can’t mute and unmute the nav. Traffic information is worse in the RDX than it was in the BMW. The BMWs sound system never crapped out on me, and iDrive never crashed. Not so with the RDX.

We are talking about cars bought 11 years apart.

RDX2O2O

Agreed about the RDX infotainment. It took me a while to learn how to use volume adjuster for navigation and music on the steering wheel. Apparently the only way to increase or decrease nav volume is to wait until turn instructions come, and then increase/decrease volume. Otherwise it seems the default is volume adjustment for music.

beancount1

There’s another way. While in nav go to menu (upper right) and you’ll see “voice guidance volume.” Fairly easy but it would be nice to have a one click volume/mute on the main screen.

Madd Dog

My BMW nav had a mute/unmute selection right on the nav screen, and could be done by voice command. Carplays nav apps can be muted/unmuted. I don’t like being forced to screw around with the volume to do this. This is a routine feature, and there is no excuse for it not being there.

beancount1

Yep. My $89 portable garmin nav purchased in 2012 has mute/volume feature on the main map screen as well as other more intuitive features. It even updates roads and POI's for free!

mmotte

... I guess I'm an analogue old f@%t. My notion of a glitch was formed in 1979, when the syncromesh between second and third crapped out on my first car, a very used 1972 MGB roadster. I had to double de-clutch for hours on the roads between Devon and London with the engine straining at 65 mph in fourth. That car's radio never worked. I feel spoiled by every car I've owned since then--even the other English ones--and I'm so impressed by achievements like 10-speed automatic transmissions, 270+ hp 4-cylinder engines and "genuine" torque vectoring that I probably don't notice half the glitches present in my new cars. I will say that this 2019 Acura RDX AWD APPEARS to be glitch-free, certainly more so than the other 36 cars I've owned over the years. And I think I prefer fanboy--well, at my age, fan man--to shill. (Now I think about it, that MGB was amazing fun to drive on "B' roads with the roof down, cocooned by the plastic tonneau cover, with the drizzle running down my beak, and no infotainment system whatsoever...)

anoop

They are most certainly resloved! (haha.)

I don't know about the 2020 cars, but in my 2019 as a light user, I don't notice any issues other than the slowness when booting up and the clumsy UI design.

Wander

Well, if we're establishing a baseline with mechanical malfeasance of 1970's vehicles, one of my early hand-me-down vehicles was a 1976 International Harvester Scout Traveler SUV. It was proof that someone at the venerable farm equipment company had a great sense of humor, and a very high tolerance for engines that stall on a whim, usually with a semi looming large in the rear view mirror. ( That's a lorry, BTW ).

Fortunately, the glitches of subsequent vehicles have had less potential for lethal consequences. Unless we factor in driver distraction.

But I will say that my 2019 Acura RDX is the most fun-to-drive vehicle I've owned since my 1985 Toyota MR-2. ( Japan's answer to the tiny 2-seater British sports car, minus the repair burden ).

oblio98

When I first got my RDX last July, I had a few Infotainment issues but none that were that bad. When the first update hit, my system went from OK to AFU. I mean, it was horrible. The following February update took care of most of the issues and as of now my CarPlay (with Beta iOS 13.1) works fine and I am playing 5.1 files from a 256Gb HD with no issues other than the playlist feature still acts wonky, and I still get the "screech" from time to time.

Hopefully, one day, they'll fix the screech.

wargor

I haven't had many that I regret buying the car. It's a nice fun car to drive. My dealer always takes care of me so that's why my family stays with Acura.

Tom2

Infotainment issues still exist. Just browse the forums and you'll see many complaints. For our 2019 Advance, the only real issue (and it's not a big deal) with the infotainment is the left scroll wheel on the steering wheel sometimes stops working. You can usually get it to work again by hitting the power button next to it to turn it off and back on again. That usually makes it work again, but not always. Anyway, the latest software update was supposed to fix this issue, but it didn't fix it at all. The issue remains for now...

Danrudy

So....My take away is that there are still INFOtainment issue but they are not that big a deal.
But, it seems this it the feedback mostly from 2019 owners.
Are any heavy using 2020 owners (late) also experiencing issues? By heavy using i am referring to apple car play apps, bluetooth, navigation, cameras etc.
I really want to get the car but just dont want any headaches.
thanks

wargor

Any car you buy will have a headache or too. Bo difference between the 19 and 20 year models except for color. Go test drive and use all the functions to see how they work. If you like it buy it. Simple as that. If you need Android car, either wait for it to be available or move on to something else. I got my ASpec this March and i really haven't had any issues that would want me to get rid of the car. It works for me.

Wander

From what I can tell, the part number for replacement infotainment unit "black box" ( main computer, etc ) has not changed between 2019 and 2020. Usually a revision will generate a new part number. And AFAIK 2020's are now shipping with D.1.1.4 infotainment firmware.

But there could be differences elsewhere that have effects on function of the main infotainment system.

Unfortunately, it will be difficult to rule out problems based upon a brief test drive, but you might rule them in.

( Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence ).

Are you a beta tester or a "wait until the bugs are fixed" kinda guy? If you're not in a hurry, I would wait. There is "supposed" to be a major update coming SOMETIME that will add Android Auto. I'm betting there will be other changes as well. But when?

Madd Dog

There are also supposed to be either quarterly or yearly map updates. The car came out in June, 2018, I bought mine in August 2018, and there have been none.

tecwerks

Who cares, the built-in Nav system sucks. I already refuse to use it. Google or Apple Maps on my iPhone run circles around it.

So far running D.1.1.4 and IOS 13.1 beta 3 are fine on short trips. On longer ones, time will tell when I take one. Longer trips was always a guarantee of multiple Infotainment issues.

dugums

I have a 2019. I've only had minor issues with the infotainment - nothing that goes beyond what I've seen in other cars. I've had 2-3 CarPlay glitches in the 4 months I've owned the car, all of which were resolved by reconnecting the phone (I've had similar and worse issues in other OEM iterations of CarPlay, so I don't consider this out of the ordinary). I have also had USB playback issues, which many others have reported. If that's an issue that might apply to you, you might want to search the forum, but for me it wasn't a big deal as Bluetooth and Carplay work well enough for me. The USB connection seems to be something that Acura just messed up. The navigation for USB audio was better than in most cars I've tried.

Keep in mind that you can't compare the Acura infotainment system to a hypothetical "trouble-free" system. CarPlay can have issues in any car as it's mostly driven by the phone, even though I acknowledge that it seems like some people who post here have had more problems than typical. The Lexus RX has a glitch-free infotainment system in my experience (but only just released CarPlay support), but the whole thing is distracting and convoluted to deal with, I'd much rather deal with a few glitches here and there than deal with that mess.

quantum7

I think that the new RX adds CarPlay and now a touchscreen vs that horrible trackpad. Should be interesting to see RX sales when you take away one of the major complaints with the system. CarPlay and glitches should not have be a choice....other companies have figured it out.

fligster

I had issues early on and have had the no sound issue maybe 5 times since June 2019. My problem with the infotainment is that it takes forever to load most of the time and you can't do anything (change stations etc) until it is done. I drove 2,500 miles over 3 days when I moved from NJ to NV in July and had no issues during the trip.

Tom2

Funny thing--if you look at the Andriod Auto website and browse the list of cars that it's available, it's not listed as "coming soon" for the RDX as you see with other vehicles. Makes me wonder why...

dugums

The touchscreen will probably help the RX, but the menu structure is still.... interesting...

In terms of glitches, there are many OEM systems with them, all I'm trying to get at is that there are very few (if any) perfect systems, so you can't compare against a hypothetical "no issue" system. Especially in terms of CarPlay. There are inherent issues in CarPlay that have nothing to do with the manufacturer implementing their interface. I'm sure there are people who haven't had (or noticed) issues, but they exist across the board to some extent. That is not to negate people's experience that seems worse than the norm with the RDX, there certainly are better and worse implementations of CarPlay.

In my personal experience, I haven't had issues that distracted me while driving, I don't like touchscreens, and I like a bunch about the infotainment in the RDX. So, on balance, I don't see it as a deficient system.

quantum7

Very good summary and I totally agree. The more technology you add the more complex the system. Getting a perfect system for everyone may be virtually impossible.

I just think that Acura put this system out too soon and left its customers to be the beta testers on their system. I get that this is the case with first year cars, but Acura has a habit of denying any problem exists. I can promise that if I went to my local Acura dealer and asked if there are any reports of problems with infotainment, that they would say "not that we are aware of". By all accounts CarPlay has some serious problems for some Acura owners, Navigation is not great, updates...what updates, and AA is yet to show. I guess that it is not a problem is your car is not one that has frequent crashes or glitches, but not so fun if you have one of those. Of course it is difficult to get a true indication of how many problems exist and where. Many people do not use flash drives to listen to 5.1 flac files, so they would never notice any problems here. Likewise if you don't use Waze while making a call and listening to XM....and the list is endless. I guess that I would hope if there are better and worse implementations of CarPlay, that Acura would be better....

Madd Dog

The car is out for 15 months or so. IIRC there has only been one significant software fix, with many things still needing fixing. Plus no OTA map updates or AA as promised.

They had enough time to do better, far better.

ceb

BMW used traffic info over HD (from local Clearchammel stations) as opposed to getting it from Sirius/XM. I had an 09 335 and the car was crap, but the infotainment system was perfect and - quite simply - head and shoulders above anything that Acura has (or probably will have.

That said, I think we need to reconsider what we expect from an infotainment system and perhaps get back to basics. With everyone who is buying a new car these days owning a phone, is there a need for a nav system anymore or will CarPlay and AndroidAuto (or just screen mirroring) provide more nav funcionality? Do we need (or want) a new input method? We know how to use our phones, why should we forget that once we get in the car? Perhaps we need to have manufacturers integrate a proper phone holder into the car's design.

ceb

And this is my big gripe with (in this case) Acura. Don't promise something you can't deliver and make sure that the stuff you deliver, works.

I'm not even talking about CarPlay or BT glitches, I'm talking about stand-alone Acura soft/hardware that doesn't work as intended or as promised.

quantum7

Exactly.....Isn't this the whole point of CarPlay. Apple can update the IOS and Apps, the car simply needs to mirror the phone. Car makers design a system and it take time to build and bring to market. By then the system is already on the back side of technology. Let Apple and the Apps do the technical stuff. Acura can then concentrate on manual transmission S type vehicles!

Madd Dog

All they have to do is make Carplay and Android Auto work properly.

we are still waiting.

carol godso

I love my RDX 2019. I did have issues but they have been solved. It is a fun SUV to drive and very roomy. Lots of cargo space.

mmotte

I agree with you about the driving and cargo characteristics. I really believe that the 3rd generation RDX is "best in class" as an enjoyable daily driver. I still have had no problems with the infotainment system and it's now been eight months since I bought the car.