My wife and I have been loyal drivers of Honda/Acura vehicles for years. We purchased our 2019 RDX in June of 2018, just a few weeks after its initial roll-out. We spent months in advance researching and contemplating this purchase, comparing the RDX against other vehicles, etc. Apple CarPlay was one of the major features that attracted us to this newer model. From the first day, we had issues with the infotainment system, particularly with the CarPlay. The system frequently froze-up, or the CarPlay feature did not function. This is a defect with the car/ interface with the advertised technology which is a distraction and nuisance to safely operating the vehicle. Our dealer was for the most-part, very diligent in trying to resolve the issue, including replacing the whole infotainment system. None of this improved the situation. Upgrades were uploaded, new phones (and Apple cords) were purchased to no avail.. A case was opened with Acura. My wife has sent several letters to Acura without written response. We received a call from a customer service representative who essentially told us that it is not a Acura problem, that we didn't do enough research in advance of our purchase, and that Acura considered the case closed. We have contacted the attorney general's office.

The general manager from our dealership has been trying to help us resolve the issue. He has graciously delivered the same exact car as the one we own (dealership loaner), which my wife has been driving now for 10 days now. The infotainment system operates essentially flawlessly. CarPlay, Waze, etc. all are functional. So, how is this not a vehicle problem? Unfortunately, the dealership cannot do an even-swap at 'zero net-cost' to us, and this would cost us some $2000+. This after we had paid full-price for the vehicle in 2018. So- how is it that Acura/Honda are not stepping up to the plate to solve this? How is it that other manufacturers vehicles do not have this issue? We're very disappointed in the response (or lack thereof) from Acura/ Honda.

Curious if anyone else has had affirmative response from Acura on this issue?

Many Thanks.

 

Welcome, Zero response from Acura. I cannot even get ANYONE to acknowledge that the Infotainment system is a known issue.

Here is a link <https://acurazine.com/forums/third-generation-rdx-2019-454/thank-you-good-luck-all-981263/> to a post regarding a forum user that did get Acura to take the vehicle back, return all his money plus an extra 5K for his troubles but it took a HUGE bunch of effort. Too much for me, maybe if I was 20 years younger OK. The bummer is I REALLY LOVE the car, might be the best I have ever owned, even better than my early CL and TL....but not with the Infotainment system unexpectedly crashing when I need it the most like trying to navigate a road trip through unfamiliar areas. Thats always a guaranteed crash.

 

Yikes...15 months of headache. You buy a new car expecting it to run pretty smoothly and as you had expected once you were handed the keys and to have a non-stop return trip to resolve a problem that has gone nowhere sucks.

Sorry to read and hopefully this can get resolved.




As these systems get more complex, they are more apt to issues -- like software systems. The issue is that many of these car manufacturers make...well, cars. When it comes to software that is meant to engage and be intuitive to an everyday user, that's still not mature IMO. I don't have near the same problems and I'm from a different manufacturer but my sedan's MMI is glitchy too. When it comes to my Infiniti, connecting Bluetooth is always a bit of a challenge too.

 

Are they willing to trade you into a 2020 for $2,000 difference?

 

The question for you is, How is the 2019 Audi's version of Apple CarPlay behaving?

 

I use Android Auto.

I posted about my issues with the phone/car app here: https://acurazine.com/forums/car-tal.../#post16470720

 

I am more interested in Apple CarPlay behavior - Thanks

 

Call A Lemon Lawyer. If the issue was reported while in the pertinent time period then you're covered.

Lemon lawyers won't cost you anything.

 

I was about to ask this. This is actually a good idea since the OP drove over a year in his one model year older car.

I would’ve paid the $2k to change it to a model year newer with 0 miles on odometer.

 

Why on earth would someone do that. The problems with the Infotainment are not solved even with the 2020 models.

 

Well he said the loaner has been working flawlessly for the last 10 days so obviously there must be something wrong only with his car.

 

 

ha ha ha ha.......I seriously doubt that unless the loaner had something in it different than the rest like, New version of internal hardware or some software version we do not have. Sometimes before version 13.1 totally broke the system you could get a stretch of it working fairly well but eventually it would raise its ugly head again. I mean if you thinks its fixed, that's all it could be. Its not as 2020 models are having the same issues.

 

What mcp meant to say was "the loaner has less wrong with it than the OP's car at this time for the 10 days he drove it. That could change at any second or with the next update"

Maybe the OP should update the loaner and see what happens...

 

I don't see many 2020 owners saying they are having infortainment issues. I think I read one or two in this forum. Obviously there are some serious issues with some of the 2019 cars and Acura should fix them. However who knows whether it was a hardware issue too and Acura changed the CPU or increased the RAM in the middle of the 2019 model year or the 2020 model

 

Additionally, sometimes a supplier is changed mid-model year as well, especially if the vehicle is selling better than anticipated. Not saying this is the case here, but another possibility, if in fact the late manufactured vehicles are less prone to the hick-ups

 

The more likely scenario is Acura finally figured out it’s a hardware issue, which I have stated for months on this forum and elsewhere.. it will just cost them big bucks to swap an entire years worth of RDX’s produced infotainment systems. I hope it’s true because I really want to keep the Acura.

 

I agree with you!

 

If it was hardware it would most likely be affecting many many peoples units and many times hardware problems can be fixed with firmware updates, different then your typical software update as the firmware controls the hardware. I have almost no issues besides the occasional car play disconnect, and we have no proof they have changed any of the hardware with the newer models, would be good to compare

 

A Law Firm that specializes in Auto Defect class action suits after a investigation into numerous complaints and then actually file the case would not do so if it were just a tiny fraction of Acura RDX owners.

 

We love the car too! It's fun to drive, but this problem with the infotainment system , particularly Acura/ Honda lack of response/ customer service has really detracted from our ownership experience.

 

Nope. The current 'offer' is to take the current 2019 Loaner vehicle (which seems to be working perfectly all around..). Its got 8- 10K fewer miles than hours. The calcs don't include interest paid on current vehichle, and the service program that we've paid for is not transferable to the new vehicle. The new vehicle would be 'certfiied pre-owned', with a 100,000 mileage warranty..
Still, after we've paid full-price for the original and 15 months of headaches, paying $2000K more for a 'working version' of our original vehicle seems ridiculous..

 

Hi All- Thanks for all of the great input. The loaner is the same 2019 model as our original. Without looking deeper into the manufacture date, I would surmise that the loaner was built later than our original. I should also mention that in one of our early calls with Acura Customer Care, they indicated that there seemed to be cluster of issues with these vehicles in our geography (New England). I do wonder if there was a change in supplier that has fixed some of the initial problems.(intentionally or not..).
I happened to drive both of the vehicles yesterday. Both were 'updated'. The loaner vehicle operated fine, but our original car still had issues with CarPlay and did not recognize Waze..

 

Exactly why I dumped the RDX.. Too many issues for a car that cost this much...You shouldn't have to deal with daily issues in your daily driver..

 

If the loaner has 8-10k fewer miles then $2,000 isn't a bad offer if they also throw in the Service Program for free. Don't think about your sunk costs since you will never recover them but figure out the best cost effective option going forward.

 

My infotainment system has been flaky since I got the vehicle in June 2018. I don't use CarPlay so all of the issues I've seen are with the base functionality. I am near certain that the issues are caused by software, not the hardware. I say this because even after a system update, it's still flaky, albeit different issues. By flaky, I mean it's slow, non-functioning modules (ie. "No audio connection for FM Radio") and locking up (ie. infinitely spinning loader). I can get all functions to work but it takes escaping out and going back in to the app (ie. Satellite radio) multiple times. I agree with one of the OPs that the deficiencies in the system are a safety issue because of the distraction.

 

If it was a software issue everyone would have the same problems and that isn't true.

 

If it was a software issue everyone would have the exact same problems. I think what makes it difficult to diagnose is that everyone could be using a different IOS version and different cables (OEM vs generic) plus we don't know if everyone has exactly the same hardware (CPU and RAM). I can't wait to see the problems when they have Android Auto.

 

It may depend on something such as how a user interacts with the infotainment, what apps are running etc..... Could be a lot of things but one thing is true Acura is not helping in resolving the issues and owners have different interpretations on the glitches.

 

and herein lies the problem. There are probably 6 different iPhones in common use, each has about 4 RAM variants and probably 6 or 7 versions of iOS.

Then, there are the apps that are running on the phone and the multitude of options on the car. Does it react different in going from FM to CP? From aux?

 

That is why BMW is going to a subscription service to cover Carplay. It costs a lot of time and money to keep updating their cars to work with Carplay.

 

Ummm.. No, it's a money grab..Because they are offering wireless which doesn't work very well (facepalm)

 

I would so do the 2K swap. Less miles, and you get the CPO warranty on top of your warranty once it runs out. Sounds like a fair exchange. Pretend you are paying 2K for Acura Care Extended warranty, 10K less miles, and working infotainment system.

 

Why don't you go in there and try and make a deal for a 2020? They should work it so you don't pay more than the $2K, give you a refund on the extended warranty (most of those do have a buy-back), and then you at least are moving forward.

Honestly, I feel for you guys that are having massive issues, but I got my car (in New England) over a year ago, and since the February update it's been solid. My car play works, my 5.1 files work (yes, I still get the screech on occasion), but I never had to reset, restart, reload, unplug or do any of that stuff, and mine is an old original 2019. I am even using CarPlay with iOS 13.2 and it works fine.

There has to be something inherent to certain physical cars that makes them suck so bad. I am in no way excusing Acura for letting you guys twist in the wind, but they've sold a ton of these cars and they're still selling well and the only place you hear negative stuff about them is here in the forum.

All in all, Acura is just doing a shi tty job of customer support for those with issues. And that is really unsat.

 

As far as transferring extended warranty to a different vehicle, an AcuraCare warranty can be refunded on a prorated basis.

Aftermarket extended warranties are generally a bad idea, and some dealerships push them because they are a huge profit center for the dealership. It's unfortunate that some buyers get lured into this trap.

As for the infotainment, multiple professional automotive reviewers have dumped all over it, so it's not just a bunch of complaining enthusiast RDX owners. But AFAIK that speaks more to the poor design and performance, not "reliability" defined as the thing functioning as designed and not crashing and taking down other electronics ( dashboard ?!!! ).

BUT, Consumer Reports and other entities that poll owners about such things are picking up a relatively high incidence of problems with the infotainment system. And considerable buyer discontent as a result. Enough to drop Acura's overall reliability and customer satisfaction into the bottom of the toilet bowl. They better do something, and quick!

 

I've finally reached a point where I don't have anxiety every time I get in my RDX due to the Infotainment system. I haven't have some of the issues others report - like the main instrument cluster going out - but CarPlay was making me crazy - it's completely worthless. The touchpad interaction with Waze is clumsy, at best, so I finally just turned it off for my phone's connection to the car. The other part that made me crazy was that the SiriusXM presets don't load until that's the "front" app in Infotainment, so the left steering wheel controls give you the Function Unavailable, etc. until you go switch to Sirius, wait for the presets to load and then switch back to CarPlay. Too much clicking around. So now, with no CarPlay - Sirius stays as the front app when I shut off the car and restart, I can just open Waze, still have the ability to listen to music from the phone and it's been very reliable this way. The other bonus is I can actually use the phone now without fear of CarPlay dropping out 3-4 times on my drive and having to reach for the phone to put it on speaker while the car figures out what's going on.

Basically, I've abandoned CarPlay and it's been better. Makes me crazy that I have a $40k+ car that I have to carry pliers around (to pull the fuse when the Infotainment system crashes and won't turn off) and I can't use one of the key features I got the car for... Still like driving it. Maybe some day 4-5 iterations from now they'll figure out how to make CarPlay work. Oh well...

 

I’ve put 2800 miles on my 2020 A-Spec SH-AWD. My infotainment rebooted once unexpectedly just as I was pulling out of the neighborhood heading to work. That was within the first week of ownership. I use apple carplay for music and HomeKit (the garage door open automatically pops up when I get to the neighborhood). I say that to say this: mine hasn’t shown many issues at all outside of the one I just described.

There has been an over the air update that came after my one system reboot. I used the system religiously and reliably all last week while traveling for the holiday.

I hope y’all’s gets fixed soon. I know how infuriating sucky infotainment systems can be (I hated mine in the TLX).

 

Careful around here. Last time I posted that my car was not having a lot of the issues described by others I was labeled a "fanboy" and chastised for posting as such. Good grief! I'm way to old to be a fan boy.
PS - My 2019 has 29,000 miles on it and I am not giving it up.

 

I don't think we're ever too old to be a fan boy. Or an errand boy. Or a boy toy. But I digress.

There certainly seems to be a lot of variability in what owners are reporting.

 

It amazes me that people actually buy this car. Too many KNOWN issues for me, and that's disappointing because I really wanted to buy one based on looks and features, but no way! Perhaps most agree because I simply hardly ever see on in the Chicago metro area.