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I’m not sure what’s going on with my car. At this point I’m thinking I just need to make a new thread detailing my repair history LOL. No codes, but I’m experiencing power loss with a very loud turbo whistle sound on acceleration and shifts so rough I keep expecting my transmission indicator to flash. I barely made it over the small hills near my house without giving 60% throttle. Dealer called today and said they found stored codes and will let me know as time goes on.
Update: Dealership called me this morning and stated no fault codes stored, so I am SOL(I predicted correctly in my original post).. I spoke to the SA and SM and voiced my displeasure about the whole situation. I advised them that it is complete BS that they are feeding a customer the standard line of no fault codes stored, so nothing could be done to my vehicle to investigate the problem. I also stated this is my wife's vehicle and she travels on the interstate daily and the diagnosis they have provided me so far has left me with little faith in Acura brand or their service department. They did offer to keep me in the loaner vehicle and do some extensive test drives with our vehicle to replicate the issue. I advise them per the Acurazine forum the issue seems to primarily occur during humid or raining conditions(which was my scenario) and just my luck we have no rain forecasted for the next 7-10 days in the Atlanta area. I advised the SM and SA to read the pages that are documented on the AZ forum and hopefully develop a clue as to what is going on with these 2.0T engines in the RDX. I advised them I will call once there is some rain in the forecast to schedule an appointment. I picked up the vehicle put it immediately in sport+ and floored it at every single traffic light on my journey back home this am, just to see if it acted funny in anyway, nothing occurred, but it was a enjoyable ride home .. I will report back to this thread, if I do decide to take it back in for the SA/master tech to drive around my vehicle for a few days.
Sorry about your luck with the stored codes. Just take a road trip when it starts raining to make it happen again and record it with video!
Room for one more in the club??? Limp Mode happened to me yesterday in my 2019 RDX Advanced SH-AWD which only has 3,843 miles. Auto-Idle was off, LKAS was on. I had driven about 3 miles in stop and go traffic before getting to an on-ramp that has a full stop before merging onto the highway. Before getting to the stop sign, I switch from Comfort to Sport Mode. I accelerated somewhat aggressively (not pedal to the metal), and a few seconds later I tried to accelerate again to pass a truck on my left when I noticed the loss of most of the power. Similar to other reports on here, I was stuck at about 2000 - 3000rpm (can't recall which) and I couldn't really get past 40mph. Then, all the dash error lights came on and the center dash screen warned of all systems (SH-AWD, Braking, Steering, Lane Departure, etc.) having a problem and to see a dealer. A screen shot of the dash after pulling into a gas station is below.
Once at the gas station, I tried to restart the car after both 1 minute and 10 minutes of waiting with no change. I call Acura Roadside Assistance and they dispatched AAA to flat-bed tow it to Park Avenue Acura Service in Maywood, NJ. The woman at Acura Roadside Assistance called the issue "Christmas Lights", so Acura seems to be well-aware of this issue. She said either a "hard reset" fixes it, or they need to check other things. I'm awaiting a call from them this morning, but there goes my Labor Day weekend without a car. No loaners available and no car rentals either in this area. *smh*
Between the Apple Car Play issues, where I lose the screen every 5 minutes and now this, I will never buy another first model year car ever again. My 2007 Honda Accord, which was the last year for that model, did not give me one issue in 11 years. Sure, it's a simpler car and doesn't have all the technology the 2019 RDX has, but Acura needs to improve their brand image when it comes to reliability. If they want to be seen as cutting edge with technology in their cars, they need to make sure they get it right. Having Apple Car Play actually be a safety issue in 2019 due to random disconnects while needing the maps/directions and having to constantly disconnect and reconnect the phone to get it back, is ridiculous. Apparently, from what I hear on car reviews, VW and other car makers have seamless Car Play experiences.
Anyway, will post an update once I hear from the dealer. Beside the 2 issues, I love the car and it drives great. I'm hoping Acura comes through on permanently fixing these issues.
Last edited by EE4Life; 08-31-2019 at 01:21 PM.
Reason: Corrected 2018 to 2019
I'm not sure that was limp mode. It happened to me but on a 2015 Honda Accord. On my car the check engine light kept blinking and it wouldn't go above 40 mph. But no other lights were on as you are showing in your post. For my car the issue was a bad spark plug.
After calling 3 times, Acura finally spoke to me. They say the only issue they saw was water in the airfilter. They asked if I had driven through rain or water. The car is driven once a week and has not been driven through rain or puddles, nor was it raining the day the issue occurred. As a matter of fact, I checked and it hasn't rained here since August 23rd...over a week ago. Acura said that since this is not a design issue, Acura will not cover the air filter replacement, $135. I have to pay it. If this doesn't fix the issue, then they will have to investigate further.
Will do my research on these forums, but has anyone else had this mystery water in the air filter issue? And did it cause the issue I had yesterday as described in my post from 8/30/19?
First of all, $135 for an air filter replacement is ridiculous. Secondly, their explanation doesn't make sense. It sounds like they are also charging you for the diagnosis. I would talk to the Service Manager and tell him it hasn't been around water for a week and there is something else going on and that is not normal and should be covered under warranty.
First of all, $135 for an air filter replacement is ridiculous. Secondly, their explanation doesn't make sense. It sounds like they are also charging you for the diagnosis. I would talk to the Service Manager and tell him it hasn't been around water for a week and there is something else going on and that is not normal and should be covered under warranty.
A new air filter part is $20 from curry Acura, sounds like a bunch of bullshit, with how much air goes through the filter it would dry out VERY fast
Update on the 2019 RDX Advanced with the "Air Filter Having Water Issue" (Misfit14)
Today, I went to the dealer service location (Park Avenue Acura Service in Maywood, NJ) to pick up my 2019 RDX and they said the only code they received was a MAF (Master Air Filter?) and Turbo error code. They claim this was due to the air filter being wet, even though I have not driven through water, rain or puddle, nor had it rained in over a week. The car has no record of the 10 other dash warnings and lights which I took a pic of and shared in my earlier post.
First. they say I have to pay the $135 for the air filter replacement as per Acura Corporate policy and since there is no manager on Labor Day I can't discuss the reimbursement. So, I pay and wait for my car. As the car wash guy drives it up, I noticed the car sounded different, but I thought it was maybe due to how he was driving it the 40 feet or so to me. As I left the lot, the car is still under-powered, shifts strangely, but no error codes on the dash and I head right back to dealer royally pissed. After driving for 10 seconds I knew the car wasn't fixed. How did the technician not see that the car was still driving like crap!?!? It's actually worse, as I couldn't get the car above 20mph.
I stormed into the dealer and they finally gave me a loaner. They said they may need to get Acura TechLine on the phone. I would sure hope so, as their technicians just saw one error code, "fixed" it by replacing a part and cleared the error codes. I will demand my $135 back, plus cost of Uber trips to the dealer. In all fairness, the service woman who helped did her best and followed protocol, but the service manager, dealer and Acura will hear from me tomorrow. Will post an update tomorrow.
Quick question - For Lemon Laws, I have now brought the car to service 2 times in 4 days for the same issue. Does this count toward 2 strikes? I am seriously thinking of getting out of this car, which I own, not lease.
Filed the lemon law at the beginning of the year as I had so many intermittent issues that I found the dealers unable to reproduce the issues except for the transmission harsh shift, where they attempted a clutch relearn with virtually no improvement. After their final repairs and arbitration ruling in favor of Honda, my case continued to 2nd arbitration. Honda provided several engineers to fight this case. Despite having multiple pictures and videos, they shot down all the issues as “unable to reproduce” since no error codes were set. The only verifiable issue was the harsh shift, but they still didn’t fix it.
My case continues to a trial by jury. I traded the vehicle in 2 months ago as I had had enough of this car. I was leasing it and took a big hit but am glad to get rid of a problem car. This was my 8th Acura since 2001. I drove 2001 MDX, 3 TL’s, 2 RDX, TSX and lastly 2016 RDX Advanced before this one. I Never had any issues with any of them.
For those of you having these issues and dealer can’t reproduce them, including the Limp mode that happened to me, GOOD LUCK getting anything fixed.
Here is my full report that was submitted to my lawyers to try and get this resolved:
SUMMARY OF ISSUES WITH 2019 RDX VIN 5J8TC1H57KL007282 UPDATED 6/1/2019
Purchased 2019 Acura RDX on September 15, 2018. From Gettel Acura, in Sarasato Fl.
Upon delivery of vehicle, we drove the car out of parking lot and after about Ľ mile I noticed that there was a shaking when accelerating at low speeds and transmission was shifting strange in lower gears. I turned around and went back to dealership and spoke with Service Advisor about this shaking and he had a tech go for a ride with me. He acknowledged that there was a slight issue with what he called a “harsh shift” in gears 2 and 3 and explained that the car would “learn” my driving parameters and transmission would adapt to my driving. He said to drive it for about 1000 miles and it should go away.
This issues has been verified by Gettel Acura and a clutch break-in procedure was performed on October 24, 2018. Problem persists and is very intermittent making it difficult to verify with snapshots. Issue is most apparent from a dead stop, accelerating in COMFORT mode in slower traffic. During turns left or right, there is a stronger jolt during the gear shifts. On occasion the transmission shifts with less jerk motion, but does not perform as smooth as all other gears.
I test drove 2 other identical RDX and could not feel this shift issue at all.
Brought Vehicle in on Nov 30 for transmission issue again, Dealer was unable to find any error codes and stated that transmission was operating as designed. I continue to have the same issue especially when vehicle is cold and in slow stop and go traffic and during turns at slow speeds.
On November 21 when returning from a cruise in Miami, I was unable to remove the parking brake that I did not set. It appears to come on randomly. After several attempts of turning the vehicle on and off, I was finally able to remove parking brake. This was in a parking garage at the cruise terminal.
On Thursday Nov 22 (Thanksgiving day) The E-Brake went on by itself and I was unable to remove it. After several attempts, I called Acura Care to see if there was something I could try, but because of the holiday, the only thing they could do was to tow it to the dealership. After turning the car on and off and waiting for over an hour, I was finally able to get the parking brake off.
Brought vehicle to Gettel Acura on November 23 to check this issue, and dealer was unable to reproduce. This issue continues today and I have video showing that it goes on by itself and sometimes will not disengage without several attempts. The Electronic brake continues to come on randomly.
The Passenger Airbag light still continues to stay on even with my wife seated with seatbelt on. She weighs 105 lbs. Gettel Acura performed a seat weight calibration twice for 65 lbs and was unable to reproduce the problem. I have multiple videos showing that the light stays on and by re-starting the car, it clears. This happens randomly and on several occasions I did not notice it on until I was driving. I had to pull over, and re-start the cat to be sure my wife was safe.
The Climate control was changing settings on its own and Dealer was unable to duplicate issue. However on the next service appointment, when the service manager went to move the vehicle, the climate control went to LO mode. He had the module replaced. The other issue that is still present is that the climate control never comes out of re-circulate mode so no fresh air enters the cabin. Unsure if there is a fix for that.
The radio station control from the steering wheel doesn’t work most of the time, requiring to go out of navigation and change a station manually from the touch pad. An error indicates” System Error, Function Unavailable” This is distracting as it requires taking eyes off the road to manually change stations. Once again, this is another random intermittent problem.
Another intermittent problem is that the radio volume cuts out randomly and I have a video that shows that.
I experience a major malfunction when attempting to pass a vehicle on freeway. Engine lost power and I had to pull over. Engine light was blinking but did not stay on. Turned off the car and re-started and all seemed well again. This issue only happened once. No error codes stored.
update on the 2019 rdx advanced with the "air filter having water issue" (misfit14)
today, i went to the dealer service location (park avenue acura service in maywood, nj) to pick up my 2019 rdx and they said the only code they received was a maf (master air filter?) and turbo error code. They claim this was due to the air filter being wet, even though i have not driven through water, rain or puddle, nor had it rained in over a week. The car has no record of the 10 other dash warnings and lights which i took a pic of and shared in my earlier post.
First. They say i have to pay the $135 for the air filter replacement as per acura corporate policy and since there is no manager on labor day i can't discuss the reimbursement. So, i pay and wait for my car. As the car wash guy drives it up, i noticed the car sounded different, but i thought it was maybe due to how he was driving it the 40 feet or so to me. As i left the lot, the car is still under-powered, shifts strangely, but no error codes on the dash and i head right back to dealer royally pissed. After driving for 10 seconds i knew the car wasn't fixed. How did the technician not see that the car was still driving like crap!?!? It's actually worse, as i couldn't get the car above 20mph.
I stormed into the dealer and they finally gave me a loaner. They said they may need to get acura techline on the phone. I would sure hope so, as their technicians just saw one error code, "fixed" it by replacing a part and cleared the error codes. I will demand my $135 back, plus cost of uber trips to the dealer. In all fairness, the service woman who helped did her best and followed protocol, but the service manager, dealer and acura will hear from me tomorrow. Will post an update tomorrow.
Quick question - for lemon laws, i have now brought the car to service 2 times in 4 days for the same issue. Does this count toward 2 strikes? I am seriously thinking of getting out of this car, which i own, not lease.
Problem resolved!
According to the service director, the vacuum hose came unattached somehow, which caused the MAF (Mass Air Flow) error code. He said there were no other permanent error codes and that the car is in good shape.
I've driven the car 20 miles or so and the power is back. Let's hope it stays this way, but I am not sure how a vacuum hose just becomes unattached. Will have to keep an eye on it. They still don't know how the air filter got wet.
No, they did not. However, the service manager said they can reimburse me for the Uber rides to and from the dealer, but cannot give me back my money for the replaced wet air filter. He said he can throw in some discounts on my next service. I'll be sure to ask for some savings and perhaps a free detailing. They also did not charge me for returning the loaner with less gas than it had when I left. It's something.
Honestly, I am just glad the issue is gone and it's not a protracted back-and-forth with this service location and Acura engineers.
No, they did not. However, the service manager said they can reimburse me for the Uber rides to and from the dealer, but cannot give me back my money for the replaced wet air filter. He said he can throw in some discounts on my next service. I'll be sure to ask for some savings and perhaps a free detailing. They also did not charge me for returning the loaner with less gas than it had when I left. It's something.
Honestly, I am just glad the issue is gone and it's not a protracted back-and-forth with this service location and Acura engineers.
Wow I’d be furious if they didn’t refund me the $135. As for the gas, other luxury automakers don’t require you to fill up their loaners so that’s not much of a plus.
A friend of mine ( he doesn't do forums ) bought a '19 RDX Advance in January. He drives a lot. Twice per month he drives round trip from New England to one of the Southern states. He will not fly. He puts on about 40,000 miles per year. Traded a BMW X5 for the RDX because he had had good luck with Acuras in the past.
All was well until one night in June on the Jersey Turnpike traveling about 80 mph, the car went into limp mode. He got it to the breakdown lane and called Acuralink for help. They told him they couldn't send anyone on to the turnpike, but they would contact turnpike emergency to have his car taken to the nearest exit where Acuralink would have someone meet him. This all worked. The second driver took his car to the nearest dealership and dropped him off at a motel.
The next day he contacted the dealer and was told there were no codes. They asked him if he had driven in the rain or gone through a puddle during his travels. He had driven through a shower about two hours before the incident.
He picked up the car and continued on his way without trouble.
By the time he got home, he decided that he could trust the RDX anymore so he went back to the original dealer and traded it for an MDX Hybrid which he says gets 30 mpg highway.
. They asked him if he had driven in the rain or gone through a puddle during his travels. He had driven through a shower about two hours before the incident.
.
So I guess we can conclude that Acura is aware of the problem (although many dealers claim...."first I've heard of it"). The fact that they are asking about rain/water means that it is on their radar. Acura needs to figure this out.
So I guess we can conclude that Acura is aware of the problem (although many dealers claim...."first I've heard of it"). The fact that they are asking about rain/water means that it is on their radar. Acura needs to figure this out.
Agreed. What bothers me is this most recent post says the rain shower was 2 hours earlier. You would think things would have dried out in the engine by then.
Agreed. What bothers me is this most recent post says the rain shower was 2 hours earlier. You would think things would have dried out in the engine by then.
Nope. It happened to us several hours after the rain stopped. That was back in June. We haven't had a 2nd occurrence.
Has anyone had their 2020 RDX go into limp mode while driving? I read through the thread and didn't see where anyone identified their RDX as a 2020. Is it possible that it only happens to the 2019? There were a few folks with messages saying it happened to them that didn't identify what year their car was. That information would be very helpful.
This happened to us 9/21. Took to Acura service on 9/23. They informed me that Acura is aware and there was no code when they hooked it up. Talked to the dealer who sold the car to us and he said to call Acura customer service to report it. 800-382-2238. They did not end up helping as they said there was nothing they could do since there was no code. Aspec- AWD- build date 9/2018- had been raining earlier in the trip- driving in sport mode.
"I'm assuming the intake tract setup on the RDX is very similar to that of the Accord."
i remember reading on the forum that someone else was having some issues and the dealer did find water in the intake. they wanted to charge the customer for it. i cant remember if that was due to the "limp mode" or not ill try and find it and report back.
i found it post 332.
Quote:
Originally Posted by misfit14 update on the 2019 rdx advanced with the "air filter having water issue" (misfit14)
today, i went to the dealer service location (park avenue acura service in maywood, nj) to pick up my 2019 rdx and they said the only code they received was a maf (master air filter?) and turbo error code. They claim this was due to the air filter being wet, even though i have not driven through water, rain or puddle, nor had it rained in over a week. The car has no record of the 10 other dash warnings and lights which i took a pic of and shared in my earlier post.
First. They say i have to pay the $135 for the air filter replacement as per acura corporate policy and since there is no manager on labor day i can't discuss the reimbursement. So, i pay and wait for my car. As the car wash guy drives it up, i noticed the car sounded different, but i thought it was maybe due to how he was driving it the 40 feet or so to me. As i left the lot, the car is still under-powered, shifts strangely, but no error codes on the dash and i head right back to dealer royally pissed. After driving for 10 seconds i knew the car wasn't fixed. How did the technician not see that the car was still driving like crap!?!? It's actually worse, as i couldn't get the car above 20mph.
I stormed into the dealer and they finally gave me a loaner. They said they may need to get acura techline on the phone. I would sure hope so, as their technicians just saw one error code, "fixed" it by replacing a part and cleared the error codes. I will demand my $135 back, plus cost of uber trips to the dealer. In all fairness, the service woman who helped did her best and followed protocol, but the service manager, dealer and acura will hear from me tomorrow. Will post an update tomorrow.
Quick question - for lemon laws, i have now brought the car to service 2 times in 4 days for the same issue. Does this count toward 2 strikes? I am seriously thinking of getting out of this car, which i own, not lease.
Problem resolved!
According to the service director, the vacuum hose came unattached somehow, which caused the MAF (Mass Air Flow) error code. He said there were no other permanent error codes and that the car is in good shape.
I've driven the car 20 miles or so and the power is back. Let's hope it stays this way, but I am not sure how a vacuum hose just becomes unattached. Will have to keep an eye on it. They still don't know how the air filter got wet.
Last edited by Mototech22; 10-08-2019 at 03:04 PM.
So I guess we can conclude that Acura is aware of the problem (although many dealers claim...."first I've heard of it"). The fact that they are asking about rain/water means that it is on their radar. Acura needs to figure this out.
What, so according to Acura you aren't supposed to drive the RDX when it's raining outside lol? What are you supposed to do, pull over and garage your vehicle if it rains? While I can understand driving through standing water, it's ridiculous if they ask whether it was raining or not. If it's seriously not designed to be able to handle driving in the rain that's pathetic.
What, so according to Acura you aren't supposed to drive the RDX when it's raining outside lol? What are you supposed to do, pull over and garage your vehicle if it rains? While I can understand driving through standing water, it's ridiculous if they ask whether it was raining or not. If it's seriously not designed to be able to handle driving in the rain that's pathetic.
what? you want it to work in sun AND rain? I am sure Acura suspects what the problem is....again, see discussion above. They are just using some of the owners with this problem as beta testers to find the solution and hopefully apply to next model. My commute requires numerous rapid accelerations (from rest, and while moving) and I drive in the rain. So I think I will wait as long as possible to pull any triggers.
I have a '20 A-Spec with 3,180 miles and have not run into this issue. I'm going to be commuting tomorrow in some pretty heavy rain. I'll drive it and check the air filter box on Thursday to see if there's any moisture inside in the morning. But, reading thru some of the posts, I'm not thinking this is an air filter or vacuum issue. Hence why the $135 charge doesn't really add up. That's some M-B AMG level of air filter change cost, and those usually take two filters, plus the European tax. This sounds more like a Throttle Position Sensor system issue, or something peripheral to the Drive-by-Wire system. A vacuum leak will cause a rough idle, but it generally won't keep the car from going above 40 or 20MPH. I actually have a nagging TPS issue in my 2005 Pontiac GTO and it causes "Safe Mode" to activate, a rough idle and the car to barely get going, sometimes to the point of being dangerously slow. I've got it somewhat sorted, but it pops up every now and again ... but the only difference is, it always pops a CEL along with the Safe Mode.
But, that being said, water getting in the air filter (and I'm assuming the MAF, hence the reduced performance) would also trigger a CEL and codes. A vacuum leak might not. Either way, the Japanese are notorious for covering up major issues with their cars with bullshit excuses. "Oh, water is getting in your airboxes, we're going to do a recall so please bring it in so we can seal the box better from the elements *cough*so-we-can-reflash-your-ecu-and/or-replace-some-defective-part(s)*cough*. It's how they keep the guise of being top in reliability. Nobody would bat an eye at some bullshit water getting into the airbox, especially if they give the excuse that it was more open to increase performance. A comprehensive failure of the system that literally makes your car go? Yea, that'd shake people's confidence in the car/brand a lot more. Could be worse though. If it is the TPS system, at least it's not literally killing people like Toyota's cars did a few years ago. Remember that? And then they blamed it on "thick carpets." And people actually bought that shit? Yea, wonderful. Your TPS systems had a catastrophic failure and instead of it going into limp mode, they went WOT and straight up killed people. Yep yep yep.
8k miles so far on my 2019 and I have never had this issue. I have driven in heavy rain many times here and never had an issue. Not saying that others aren't but I have not had an issue.
From what I have read, it is not just rain or high humidity, but also demanding rapid accelerations during these conditions. So if you want to test your RDX to attempt to induce this problem, do some rapid acceleration from a stop or a simulated merge or pass where the turbo is getting maxed out.
From what I have read, it is not just rain or high humidity, but also demanding rapid accelerations during these conditions. So if you want to test your RDX to attempt to induce this problem, do some rapid acceleration from a stop or a simulated merge or pass where the turbo is getting maxed out.
^^this. In 15 months and 21k miles, my one instance of limp mode was in misty conditions when I accelerated quickly around a car swerving erratically in front of me at about 70 mph. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have been driving that fast given the conditions, and I now know to take it easy in the rain, but just a bit concerning that the power might not be there if I really need it in an emergency.
From what I have read, it is not just rain or high humidity, but also demanding rapid accelerations during these conditions. So if you want to test your RDX to attempt to induce this problem, do some rapid acceleration from a stop or a simulated merge or pass where the turbo is getting maxed out.
I was driving in stead rain with a few brisk bouts of acceleration without issue, thanks to incompetent NYC drivers. Everything was fine. Didn't get a chance to check the box today since it was too goddamn windy and I didn't feel like it. I'll check to see if there's any water tomorrow. Drove about 40miles in the rain yesterday.
Also, coming off the parkway, proximity alert went fucking crazy saying I was approaching an object as I merged onto a main roadway. Probably a lot of moisture or a wet leaf blew onto one of the sensors. This is why I shut that POS crash mitigation off. It probably would have slammed on the brakes if that dumb shit was on.
Alright, so finally got around to opening up the airbox. I found no signs of any water. '20 A-Spec with just over 3,300 miles. Here's some pics:
The intake tract leading to the air box. If anything, the water would have pooled in here since there's a valley that's the low point of the system. The actual bottom of the filter. It was dry to the touch. Bottom of the air box. No moisture. Drove in the rain less than 24hrs ago. And just to be thorough, top of the air box. Again, no signs of moisture on the box or in the intake tract.
Take from this what you will. I personally believe it to be a larger issue. For it to go into limp mode and not throw a CEL leads me to believe in may be an underlying issue with the ECU (though ECU issues can throw codes too), which is very disconcerting.
The article referenced above in this thread seemed very interesting but I confess that my knowledge of the Acura turbo system is limited. The article describes a limp mode that sounds similar to what some RDX owners have been experiencing. I quote the press release "indicated that a misfire condition could occur after steady-speed operation under significantly humid and rainy conditions. Ford’s analysis found that under those conditions, condensation could form and accumulate on the inside of the CAC tubes which could then be ingested into the engine during particularly hard acceleration near wide-open throttle. An engine misfire of up to three cylinders could occur if the amount of condensed water released from the CAC exceeded the engine’s operating threshold for water ingestion".
I am not sure that you would find water in the air box/filter if this is what is happening. I seems that it may be a very specific humidity and temp combo, along with a request for power/compression that leads to this condition. I am assuming that Acura is investigating something like this. Those who understand in detail how the turbo system works might have a correct insight.
Anyway, best of luck to everyone experiencing this problem. I can only wait so long for Acura to resolve some of the problems with RDX b/f I need to make a choice.
The article referenced above in this thread seemed very interesting but I confess that my knowledge of the Acura turbo system is limited. The article describes a limp mode that sounds similar to what some RDX owners have been experiencing. I quote the press release "indicated that a misfire condition could occur after steady-speed operation under significantly humid and rainy conditions. Ford’s analysis found that under those conditions, condensation could form and accumulate on the inside of the CAC tubes which could then be ingested into the engine during particularly hard acceleration near wide-open throttle. An engine misfire of up to three cylinders could occur if the amount of condensed water released from the CAC exceeded the engine’s operating threshold for water ingestion".
I am not sure that you would find water in the air box/filter if this is what is happening. I seems that it may be a very specific humidity and temp combo, along with a request for power/compression that leads to this condition. I am assuming that Acura is investigating something like this. Those who understand in detail how the turbo system works might have a correct insight.
Anyway, best of luck to everyone experiencing this problem. I can only wait so long for Acura to resolve some of the problems with RDX b/f I need to make a choice.
Oh, I agree ... but it seems people have gone to the dealer and they're being told that there is standing water in the air box which are causing their issues. I saw nothing of the sort. I also don't see how a vacuum leak sizable enough to put the car into limp mode and/or noticeably effect the idle wouldn't trigger a CEL.
Probably it’s related to intercooler (related recalls in China)
I was looking at this car since 2018 when RDX made the debut in China (live here) and decided to buy it till I read this thread. Kept reading the updates of the topic for the past months but recently there isn’t further posting - maybe there’s less rain in the winter so no limp mode incidents? Some developments in the other side of the globe as Honda started the recall in China of over 220,000 turbocharged Accords, which shows the very much similar limp mode problems like what happened(ing) in the states, humid/rain, no code etc. Over the Internet forums here, I read about one or two RDX limp mode complaints, but Acura sells only about 600 RDX here - the samples are too few to make Honda pay attention to the limp of RDX.
back to Accord: Honda’s explanation is that in the very damp humid conditions, there could be water condensation at the “exit” end of intercooler, and the water could be sucked into engine, causing it kicks in protection mode (the limp). The solution is to insert an aluminum pipe into the rubber pipe at the exit end of intercooler.
The “exit” end this is the aluminum insert
why the aluminum insert could solve the issue is beyond me, but some comments say that Honda uses rubber pipe to save costs, but the rubber tends to retain water on its walls, unlike aluminum which water condensation can’t stay on the wall to accumulate.
there are still other theories, because some Accords still shows certain limp issue after the recall (but I can’t verify the truth of these few internet complaints). Some suspects the high pressure fuel pump at fault.
hope it helps, and I think I will get the RDX after all..
2019 A-Spec, went into limp mode last year, took to dealership, took everything apart, 6 ozs of water in intercooler. Fought back and forth over 4 months with Customer Service, finally took car back. This year extremely cold temperatures again, start up car from sitting overnight, engine makes groan, black smoke starts billowing from exhaust. This happens almost everyday of the cold snap. Took into dealer today to have block heater installed, asked them to look at the issue I am having, just received the call, they need car overnight, issue with Turbo and water again. But they have no fox other then letting it "dry out" again.
08-06-2019, 04:15 PM
the issue seems to primarily occur during humid or raining conditions(which was my scenario) and just my luck we have no rain forecasted for the next 7-10 days in the Atlanta area. I advised the SM and SA to read the pages that are documented on the AZ forum and hopefully develop a clue as to what is going on with these 2.0T engines in the RDX. I advised them I will call once there is some rain in the forecast to schedule an appointment. I picked up the vehicle put it immediately in sport+ and floored it at every single traffic light on my journey back home this am, just to see if it acted funny in anyway, nothing occurred, but it was a enjoyable ride home 
