I’m ready to get another car equivalent to my 2016 RLX hybrid. I’d also like to trade my Ridgeline for a hybrid Ridgeline. Honda had all this figured out with the RLX hybrid power train and today in 2025 model year could have been doing great business like Toyota/Lexus is currently enjoying. Yes, Honda’s Accord and CR-V hybrids are doing well. Honda could have been doing much better here in August 2024 with putting the RLX hybrid power train and it’s proven software into more Honda and Acura vehicles.

For the next year I’ll keep with what I own. There’s rumors a Lexus 300h replacement is coming a year from now and if it has better overall performance, it may be considered.

What are my fellow RLX hybrid owners considering going forward?

I embark on long term relationships with my cars. The RLX-SH is a dream, and I will stay with that for the foreseeable future. IMHO Lexus is too many $$s for essentially the same car as Acura. My fifth Acura.....love the brand!!

I am also disappointed in Acura for abandoning the Sport Hybrid technology. That said, I can understand some of the reasons that Acura let the hybrid tech go:

1. I understand that sales of Acura Sport Hybrids was poor and the reason that we received substantial discounts from MSRP for my 2014 RLX-SH and my wife's 2018 MDX-SH was because they had sat on the lot for a long time. Part of the blame for the poor sales was Acura's focus on the gas mileage of the Sport Hybrid in the little bit of marketing they did rather than focusing on the improved performance and adding the improved gas mileage as an added bonus.
2. As has been discussed on this forum for years, the Acura name simply lacks the "snob appeal" of other brands, so when prices get north of $50,000, many buyers want a brand that screams money and wealth. Regardless of the amazing technology that Acura develops, they are saddled by many buyers as being "just a Honda" making it difficult to move volume at higher luxury car prices.
3. Honda/Acura is one of the smaller auto makers and simply lacks the corporate strength and financial clout to continue to make "niche" market vehicles. They are limited in their production capacity and are hesitant to retool production lines to make low volume models that can be highly profitable, or can be money losers if they sit on the lot and require huge discounts to move.

Like DanL07RL, I love my Sport Hybrid and I also keep my Acuras for a long time. I'm almost 10 years into ownership of my 2014 RLX-SH (I bought it in March of 2015) and I would normally be looking for a replacement by now. Acura has nothing that excites me and, while I have browsed over on the Lexus website a few times, I am still going to wait another year or two to give Acura a chance to bring something new to the table. Note: I don't consider a GM-made EV at all exciting. My hope is that the 2026 model year will bring some new Acura technology that is not an EV. If not, I may be forced to go to the dark side and look at the Lexus models.

One final note: I have had at least half a dozen offers from people to buy my RLX-SH, so there definitely is a niche market of loyal Honda buyers who have coveted the Sport Hybrid models from afar and would love to drive one.

Thanks for these comments. My timeline is to buy a replacement to my RLX Hybrid in the next two years before the leading edge of hard regulations kick in for 2027 and to then hold that vehicle for ten years. By 2037 surely the grid, charging stations and the larger EV situation will have been sorted.

in the meantime, Toyota is killing with its fleet of hybrids and PHEVs. Yes, our RLX hybrid sold poorly during 2014 - 2020. Here in late 2024 it is a wholly different market and hybrids are the rage. I may be crazy, I think Acura could modernize the head unit electronics and start making 2020 version RLX hybrids and would see profitable sales as a 2025 release. In the meantime, put the RLX/MDX hybrid drive train in the MDX and Ridgeline plus probably the Pilot platform to immediately increase customer demand. I have friends and relatives who are waiting in line and paying list prices for hybrids and PHEVs as evidence of strong consumer demand for these fuel efficient and low range anxiety vehicles.

I think Honda knows. I am pretty confident that they will come out of a new RLX sport hybrid in the near future. Rather it's going to be what we expect, that's another question.

Sadly, I can see Acura resurrecting the Sport Hybrid technology in the MDX because of the volume they sell, but I am less confident that they will bring out a new flagship sedan with a Sport Hybrid version.

All sedan sales are suffering with the market clearly favouring SUV's right now. I've been doing some basic research into the Lexus LS and found that its sales have tanked from over 35000 per year to 1300 a year due to the shift away from sedans. If the massive might of Toyota can't sell a reliable and extremely well built luxury sedan like the LS, then Honda's chances of gaining any sales volume from an RLX replacement seem unlikely. Of course, the RLX Sport Hybrid offers a sporty driving experience not found in the LS, but I'm not sure that there are enough buyers willing to shell out luxury car dollars for an occasional romp around in Sport Mode.

Alas, I am beginning to think that my next car might be an MDX, hopefully a new Sport Hybrid version that Acura debuts in the next couple of years. Like wstr75 said, the powertrain technology is already perfected and Acura only needs to upgrade some of the infotainment unit features to become acceptable in today's market. If Acura continues down the road to BEV only, then I'll just have to join the "dark side" and see if Lexus bothers to update the LS Hybrid from the milquetoast version currently available.

I think the LS bombed because its typical buyers arent into the radical designs that pervaded the rest of the lineup. Honestly if they brought over the Century sedan and called it the LS it would probably do better. I think its design is timeless. But I also think Lexus’s interiors have gone downhill. While leather is nice, they’ve moved away from the wood trims in a bid to capture younger buyers and I think that was a mistake.

see Honda does bring hybrid to their sedans. other than the luxury, the major difference is AWD. if Acura is keeping the sedans which is likely, eventually they will either put hybrid or jump to BEV directly . i think it depends on how the BEV market and technology will turn to

I'll be dumping my RLX Hybrid as soon as humanly possible. The transmission is trashed and the stealership says its "normal behavior". I don't know of any $50-60k 'near luxury' vehicle that violently surges when you are backing up.

I'd rather take my chances with Chevy at this point!

The RLX Hybrid was my 3rd Acura (06 TL and 14 RLX).

:-(

-D

I would trade in my 18 RLX SH if Acura added back Sport Hybrid tech to the 4th gen RDX or 5th Gen MDX (still keep my 19 MDX SH until the 5yr/120k Acuracare expires). My RLX CPO warranty runs out in 2025 because of time instead of mileage (only 42,000 miles). The CPO warranty was charged $1500 a few years ago to replace broken motorized rear glass sun shade. I imagine it will be $3000-$20,000 range if I have any issues with the EV powertrain or with tech specific to the RLX (HUD, Krell, LEDs, 3.5L, etc...). Love the RLX powertrain and 28-30 mpgs average; but, miss the utility of the RDX we had previously. We both really liked the utility flexibility (roofbox, bike rack, extra space for +2 weeks of travel, some off road capabilities) and the MDX/RDX being interchangeable depending on our needs when we had both at the same time.

I have time to wait a few more years; but, if I had to pick TODAY my top choice would be the Mazda CX-70 hybrid because of the more sporty looks over the CX-90 hybrid.

Well said and an excellent description of my dilemma of enjoying my 2014 RLX, but in looking for a replacement from the Acura line-up I am perplexed seeing anything that meets my tastes of some luxury and reliability and fuel economy ......... Demosan

Update: There are rumors the redesigned 2026 TLX will be available in a ICE/Hybrid version.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a6...rids-possible/

https://electrek.co/2025/02/11/acura...re-not-enough/

What certainly makes me worried is the recent rod bearing recall of V6 engine vehicles from Honda and Acura which currently does not cover RLX SH - but, it seems it is happening here and there, and that is a major reason why I may consider replacing it in about a year and a half once my Acura Care warranty expires. It has been paid off, so I have no stress about paying or replacing it with something else. But... what to get? One thing is for sure: I do not want a loan with 5-6-7%... So consideration is selling RLX-SH, adding 10k and getting SUV of some sort, possibly Lexus with the V6 engine, I dunno... so, if not Honda/Acura, then:

Germans - way too costly, and retention value is in freefall/always has been, but I'd love to get X3 M40Xi... if not then X5 40Xi... but again, maintenance and value retention, are not great...
Japanese - I would only consider Lexus (V6 of sorts) - no clue which exact model... Some SUV that is V6 I guess, but they are out of my budget range mostly...
No other choice to be honest...

It'd be great if 2022+ MDX gets that recall and gets it sorted out, because I like how they look, and if engine is good, that would be a solid pick

2016 RLX Sport Hybrid Advance, 77K flawless miles. Considering a ZDX-S, drove one ... almost made an offer, but wow, my RLX-SH drives ... better.

Question - Is the reason the 3.5L in the RLX is NOT in the rod bearing recall because these cars / engines were built in Japan? Mayne different suppliers for the affected machining problem?

Apparently only three of us that has reported the issue two in the states and me in Canada. Others need to come forward in order to get the recall started. It may take a couple of years for a recall to get out if Honda decides to do it.