2020 Advance SHAWD. I’ve noticed there is a slight whining noise when cruising around 60 mph and when the rpms are around 1700. Sounds a little bit like the noise a hybrid car would make. Is this turbo noise?

 

I’m no expert on turbos but if it only happens at 60 mph, I’m guessing no. If it were the turbo it would happen at 1700 regardless of speed and it would be more noticeable at low speed.

 

If the whine increases with speed from there, it could be a wheel bearing.

 

We have the same car and I've never noticed a whine like that. How many miles do you have on your car, maybe the differential is due for an oil change?

 

My 2019 A-Spec, around 27,000 miles started having a whining noise yesterday coming from the front driver side. It is not loud and sounded like an electric motor type of whine, noticeable only at above 20 ~ 30 mph. No warning light on the dash and no visible sign of any parts failure on the outside.
Took it in today and was told the torque converter is most likely the culprit. They will order the part and told me to come back next week when the part arrives. In the meantime, don't travel far with the RDX. Luckily, still under warranty.

 

I had a wheel bearing whine on my RSX. Some key clues to a wheel bearing whine:

1) accelerating or coasting or low/high rpms didn't make a difference. The whine is in a specific mph speed range.

2) The whine was a bit different if the road was bending left vs right vs straight.

 

Is it like a faint whistling sound? I had something similar with my 2023 tech and they ended up replacing the transmission.

 

yes, a faint whistle sound. For mine, only noticeable above 20 ~ 30 mph and the noise pitch change depends on the speed. Very obvious between 30 and 50 mph going up and slowing down.
dealer said it is torque converter, will report back if anything changes.

 

In my case it was most noticeable around 55 to 65 mph.

 

Dealer just called me back saying that the Tech found metal shavings in the transmission oil, so I am getting a new transmission.
Check for abnormal noise once in a while, people!

 

Turned out to be similar problem to mine.

 

Did you notice the new transmission shifting smoother or it is the same?
The reason I asked is because the 2024 RDX AWD loaner I have seems to shift much smoother than my 2019.

 

The whine is gone but the shifting is far from smooth. Not much different than the original one, though. The transmission is probably the single weakest attribute of the RDX. And I think the same is true now for the MDX as well.

 

With the 2024 RDX SH-AWD, I would say that the sunroof popping noise, squeaky brakes, and rough shifting from 1st to 2nd were all gone.
In addition, much plush ride and wireless phone charging, etc. I would love to get this RDX, but will wait a couple more years and see.

 

Most of those changes were addressed with TSBs and the 2022 mid-model refresh. The price gap to trade your 2019 for a 2022 should be shrinking so that's an option to consider.

There's also a 25 RDX second-refresh being announced later this year. That should drop the 22 costs (and 24 costs) even further if you wait.

 

Let's hope it's not a second-refresh - 6 years is a long time for the 3rd gen RDX - as the next model needs a complete revamp to stay competitive IMO. My 21 will be 4 years old in December, I personally would not consider a "refresh" RDX model after 4 years - there are other options. A lightly used MDX Type S, Ford Explorer ST or the new 2025 Tesla Model Y Performance are more attractive options!

 

Just to update that the RDX ended up getting a new transmission (not a rebuilt one) and the whining noise is gone.