I'm considering a 3G RDX. It seems a decent all around vehicle. However I am concerned about the track pad infotainment system. How bad is it compared to the 2018-2020 TLX knob system?

I could see getting used to the track pad, especially if voice commands work well for many functions.

However I am concerned about one very critical feature in Android Auto that I heavily rely on for commuting. That is when using Google Maps navigation through Android Auto, I frequently check alternative routes, since my commute is prone to traffic and accidents. While the older TLX knob system takes a long time to get anything done, once it is on that check alternative routes, it is easy to continue doing so. I heavily rely on that and need it to respond quickly as I may make quick commuting decisions based on what it tells me.

I am concerned how that function will work in the RDX, as that is not something I can check with a test drive.

 

Four years later, I am still not adept with the track pad. However, it is my wife's car, and she likes it okay. Android Auto seems to work fine.

 

Are Google Android Auto voice commands workable in the 3G RDX? Can I simply say "Hey Google, show alternative routes"? and avoid having to fiddle with the touchpad altogether for this?

 

I'll try using the Google assistant next time I drive the RDX but I will say, the track pad isn't bad. I use the alternate routes feature quite often. What's difficult is if you need to toggle between routes with and without tolls.

 

i wouldve bought this car in 2019 if it didn't have a touchpad. held out waiting for it to change and it never came. dealbreaker.

 

my only gripe with the trackpad on AA is that it is not mapped to the screen like it is for the stock software. If it were it would be so much better.

also the scroll part on the right should have a function too, IMO it should at least snap you over to whatever you have on that side of the screen. pretty basic stuff they could implement.

otherwise i like the trackpad i dont like trying to press a screen while going down the road.

 

Trackpad is bad but usable, which is why they changed MDX to touchscreen.

Not sure why you can't check alternate routes on a test drive. Would the dealer not let you pair your phone to test it?

I interact with CarPlay using voice. When it shows me alternate routes, I haven't tried picking one with voice. I use the trackpad for that and it's a bit messy, but I rarely use that since I live in a place where traffic is usually light and the default route usually is best and/or I already know the best route during a given time and Apple Maps just adjusts to that as I start on that route.

 

In my opinion - track pad is perfectly fine when interacting with the built-in system. Android Auto is solid, especially on with the full screen update. Voice response is much better than Acura's built-in voice commands. However, using the track pad to interact with Android Auto is very tedious and pretty much impossible to do while in motion. It loses the true-touch aspect and functions more like an actual laptop trackpad. You also cannot play music from a USB drive while using AA - you're stuck with whatever is on your phone (either on-device or streaming service).

 

We have a 2020 and recently bought a 2026 and the trackpad is fine. It just take a little bit of getting used to. I don't believe would be a fan of a touchscreen as I would need to lean forward quite a bit in order to be able to do so.

 

Did you try it in the MDX? When they redesigned it, they moved the screen closer to the driver. This is pretty much industry standard now, and is what Acura has been following as well. BMW is the only one I'm aware of that has retained the old method of access (iDrive) in addition to providing touchscreen capability. Everyone else (Audi, MB, Lexus, etc.) are touchscreen only. In some sense they are "too much touchscreen" because even the HVAC controls have been put in there.

 

I had a ZDX loaner for a day while they were sorting out something for my 2024 RDX.

Definitely prefer the touchpad. I dont think just because every company is doing something its necessarily good.

 

I wish the track pad functioned as a mouse. Instead it skips around to the actionable fields on the screen.
Sometimes it's difficult to land on the field you want. Sometimes not easy to see where the cursor is to move it accordingly.
Sometimes it skips too fast and I end up pressing the wrong button.
I'm used to it now but there are days where I want to smash it with my fist.
On AA side, I wish it kept the screens how I set them.
Instead it resets sizes when car starts and the rear view camera turns on.
One other gripe is with the radio. AA doesn't integrate it and you have to go through home screen to select it.
And if you're on the radio screen and you get a message, you have to get back AA to hear it.
Other than sluggish cruise control and collision detection, these are all first world issues and I still love the car.

 

What year is your car? With 2022 and newer, the responsiveness of the system was improved.

If you use a radio app on your phone to access the radio, would that work from within AA?

 

I’ll never understand why companies think it’s a good idea to move basic functions that need tactile feedback onto a touchscreen. Obviously its cost savings but its a complete 180 for safety.

 

I thought the RDX was one of the better ones for having usable basic tactope functions compared to other modern vehicles.

 

I heard that was due to customer preference in the Chinese market. This along with flush door handles. Now flush door handles are disallowed by law in China for new cars starting 2027. And EU has forced companies to have a certain minimum number of physical controls, and was followed by China.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/chin...r-door-handles
https://www.autoblog.com/news/europe...-the-us-follow

The new design language being used by VW is pretty cool. Picture in the 2nd link above.

 

RDX has one of the best interiors. I like it even better than the MDX, because all the buttons are so easily accessible and console slants out towards the driver rather than being vertical like in the MDX. The ADX is the worst of them all where the HVAC controls are recessed.

 

Same thoughts on the interior here. 2025 Advance. Me (and my teen kids) like it A LOT - and way more than a 2025 Lexus RX 350 "Luxury" trim interior we tried for a few weeks. Quieter; nicer 'feel' to the seats and more comfortable. 'Real' controls. The exterior design is also still very pleasing and I get frequent parking lot compliments.

Similar thoughts on track-pad, too - I like it fine for Acura stuff but for moving 'around' within Android Auto, it can be pretty brutal and rage-inspiring. I don't have the mythical system update yet, so maybe that will help w/ the responsiveness while using Android Auto (or, at least I can wish).

Wheel spacers should arrive/go on today

 

I never liked the Trackpad on my TLX. How you use it in the Acura environment is different from when you're in AA/CP! I don't know of any car maker that allows the "style" to be different!

The iDrive controller on my current X3 is so much more reliable and I'm sure it's prevented some accidents!

 

I think the control issue in AA/CP is something Google/Apple *could* implement software support for, but won't due to the cost vs benefits. Compared to the total car market out there, it's not worth it to them to incorporate a relatively small (and now shrinking) set of users with the Acura touchpad interface. Sure would be nice if they did though!

And iDrive...agreed it's the easiest and most intuitive. 1st gen RDX interface is actually not far off from that and one of the things I miss most about it vs my 3rd gen.

 

Works well for the Acura stuff but is not great when using AA/CP

 

Knob works great with Android Auto, trackpad is much much worse. Touchscreen is actually not much better tham the knob.

Problem with trackpad is that it moves 1-2 icons per swipe, and Google maps have so many icons it takes forever to get somewhere. On the knob it is one icon per click so you learn to quickly remember the number of needed clicks.

Perhaps try Tomtom on Android Auto, has far fewer icons and it has auto-switch-to-fastest-alternative as an option so you don't need to interact as often.

For me the trackpad is a disqualifier for Android Auto. My wife does everything by voice so it is ok for her. She mounts her phone at the vent and does music via youtube music on the phone so she doesn't have to deal with the trackpad.

 

I have a 2022 RDX with the latest FW update.
I didn't notice any response improvements, but appreciate the wide screen when navigating.
I suppose a radio app will work, as long as the app is AA compatible. I use one to listen to a station in Europe. I wouldn't install one for local stations.

 

I thought the trackpad was going to be a big issue...I was used to it in a day. I had a ADX for a loaner, personally I could care less about the touchscreen. I think having a screen with 10,000 fingerprints all over it looks messy.
I prefer the trackpad and use voice for everythng else.

 

No idea how people bitch and moan about that track pad so badly, it's fine, might take a bit to get used to but works fine once you realize how to use it.

Maybe people are too accustomed to fidgeting with shit while driving, then I can see the issue. But that's what steering wheel controls are for, for the most part.

 

How did the ADX compare to the RDX?

 

Here are my thoughts from having one as a loaner.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rdx-.../#post17005777
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rdx-.../#post17005798
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rdx-.../#post17005859

I don't think highly of it and would take the RDX over ADX 10 out of 10 times, the premium is 100% worth it. But for whatever reason, the ADX seems to be selling very well. Maybe they have some killer lease deals.

 

Its Dirt cheap thats why. You can get one fully loaded at about the same price as a CRV and it has way more features.

 

Its essentially a slightly fancier HRV

 

Just picked up a 2026 RDX Aspec and trackpad is fine it took me all of one day to get used to it. I’ve been out of the Acura game for a while but based on past RDX loaners I had (2020-2022) the track pad on the 2026 seems much more responsive and accurate not sure if they updated processing power or what since then also seems more fluid to use than the previous year RDX trackpads. FWIW dealer told me it’s usually ‘older’ people who gripe about trackpad.

 

It's too bad that statistically speaking, these same "older people" are the the people with money. They voted with their wallets and that's why Acura got rid of the trackpad from the MDX and most likely future cars.

You may or may not know it but you are in the minority in this opinion (and that's ok since you found something that works for you).

 

I'm sure that when the engineers designed it they thought it was easy to use. When the RDX was designed touchscreens were already the default. The engineers probably thought it was easier to use than a touchscreen.

However the average population isn't as dexterous or as willing to learn as the average automotive engineer. Its essentially a failed experiment by engineers.

 

This is called innovation for innovation sake.

The RDX interior was inspired by the NSX which already had a touchscreen. If a touchscreen worked for the NSX, it would certainly work for the RDX. But they had to go "innovate".

 

To me it’s not a big deal and at least in my car it seems much more responsive and accurate than in the previous year TLX and RDX I have driven as loaners that had it. A touchscreen would be nice but would require moving the display several inches forward and probably other console changes as well. I know I’m in the minority but the other features of the car far outweigh the trackpad. I do agree it would be nice for Acura to implement something like what the Lexus NX has in their 14” display but Acura isn’t Lexus and never will be.

 

I don't like the Lexus implementation either because they unnecessarily move the climate controls into the touchscreen. With the new interior design language in the ES, the seem to have moved them back out, except they are still haptic controls rather than physical buttons. I prefer the Acura system, even with its touchpad, over the NX just because the Acura has physical climate controls and I rarely use the trackpad since most of my interaction with the system is done with CarPlay using voice.

 

My girlfriend test drove an ADX the same day I bought my RDX. What are your impressions of the ADX touchscreen? I agree with you on physical buttons I much prefer that over haptic controls.

 

I've had one as a loaner for a day and didn't interact with it at all. Did not even pair my phone with it. I did find the location of climate control knobs was not as ergonomic as the RDX. They are recessed which makes them hard to get to. They copied the design from the Integra, except in the Integra they are not recessed. It seemed easy to access and since Honda already does touchscreen on the entire Honda lineup, I would imagine this one is totally fine.

 

For safety alone, the touchpad is better. If anything touchscreens have forced car makers to be lazy, remove buttons/switches and then integrate that into a touchscreen.

 

How is a touchpad safer when you have to be looking at the screen while hunting all over the touchpad to hit the right thing?

Again, NSX had a touchscreen. If a touchscreen was good enough for the NSX, certainly it is good enough for the RDX. JLR cars were also always touchscreen. Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans have always had touchscreen. All of these had physical climate controls, although Land Rover/Range Rover recently started to integrate them into the screen, sadly.

 

With the acura interface its pretty easy to select things at a glance. With a touchscreen you have some may options that require your fully attention and sometimes lean over to interact with properly.

Yes touchscreen has its positives but im also a fan of having a clean thumbprint free screen