I have been dealing with an issue and wonder if anyone else has this ?

2014 RLX Tech Package. Unbelievable hard ride, so much so that every bump is transmitted directly through the seats. I have had people in the car that have complained at how hard the ride is.

When hitting a bump (I do a lot of city driving) it's as if there is no shock absorbers whatsoever. There is also a ton of noise coming from every corner of the car over uneven road (Sounds like bushings are missing)

I don't know how else to describe it. My test drive in the RLX Advanced didn't give this harsh a ride.

Any suggestions?

 

Bring it into the dealer you bought it from?

 

the suspension is sensitive to tire pressure. a few PSI's off here and there can make a big difference. what are yours set to?

I typically keep mine at around 37F/36R and I get a nice tight but smooth ride.

Also, if you're not doing so already, try engaging "Sport" mode when you're doing lots of inner-city driving with narrow roads, tight-corners, and lots of bumps. The suspension and handling seems to tighten up even more when in "Sport" mode making it handle better in those conditions.

 

Not sure how long you have your car but my tire pressure was about 10 psi too high when it was delivered. holographique is right on regarding the sensitivity to tire pressure. The ride improved significantly once I adjusted that. I think it's the 19's. I had the same experience with my last TL Advance.

With that said, I still think there is room for ride improvement at low speed. The ride is perfect for me at highway speed. There are so many ways to adjust the suspension in these cars I'm sure Acura will get this dialed in. My hope is that the fix is something they can retrofit for us early buyers.

 

I've found the ride to be great on the highway but it does get pretty harsh when traveling into the city with some offset road damage or deep bumps - 38/36 has worked best for me. I have the 19's, but I drove one with the 18's and it was much smoother. - for what its worth my S6 has 20" wheels with 35 profile tires and that actually does much better with bumpy roads, but on the highway the RLX is the hands down winner.

-I'm in the Philly area and we have some very shitty roads like much of the northeast

maybe active suspension will be a future feature

 

Concur, blame it on the 19's wheels and the low profile tires. The younger gen drivers love the look but are less sensitive in the tush for ride comfort, that's why you see them flock to the aftermarket rides at SEMA. Hell, they'll pay for 23" rims on a Civic, painted in black too. In my older years, I can understand the logic for fat white walls.

 

Would love to say it's the Tire Pressure One dealer says to lower it. (set at the door sticker psi, another said to raise it. They can't get their act together. Either way the ride is horrible. One service rep told me right away something is wrong, and then after leaving the car they say it's all fine.

The rattles and noise are extremely disconcerting, and this is from a Honda/Acura guy for over 20years.

Have never been so disappointed.

What will it take to get out of this car ???

 

I'll trade you my 2005 straight up. Very smooth ride.

 

Sorry, but didn't you test drive this car before you put down ~$55 grand?

You could change out the wheels for 18's and tires with softer sidewalls. Maybe the dealer has a set of 18's he'd swap for the 19's? Worth a shot and would probably make a big difference. Search TireRack for smoother riding tires.

 

Well I test drove an advanced which shouldn't be different than the TECH. Did not drive like this one that's for sure.

Does Honda/Acura allow you to assign a lease ??

 

No

 

You always need to remain on the lease, they will let you transfer the lease, but you remain on it and ultimately responsible, so does not make any sense to try transfer it. Only option is to sell the car, but you would likely get clobbered on lost value.

 

When I test drove the RLX I did not find it harsh per SE, but rather jittery and lacked refinement in the suspension. I was less than impressed with the RLX ride, did not feel like luxury sedan ride. It was not horrible, but I felt it was far from harsh.

 

Doesn't the "SPORT" mode button soften or stiffen the suspension setting ?

 

if you are in a warmer climate, I would try summer tires like Continental DW, improve handling and they have a softer compound.

Doesn't make sense to accumulate a huge loss for a harsh ride, cheaper ways out of it and summer tires will make it track like a Porsche.

 

When I first started having issues I took it to the Benz dealer and to Audi

Audi didnt not want the car period
Benz said they best they can do on it would be 39k

 

No

 

^^^^^

So what exactly does the "SPORT" mode button do ?

I tried to look everywhere inside the Honda/Acura websites, but there is virtually nothing on this feature.

Even with the 2014 RLX Owner's Manual, it doesn't seem to say much about what type of engine performance and handling have been changed, other than the brief description printed inside the Owner's Manual as below :

 

I recently had the opportunity to test drive RLX/Navi, RLX/Tech and MDX/base back-to-back. I found the navi to have a smoother ride than the tech and attribute that to the smaller tires but surprisingly (to me anyway) the MDX was smoother than both RLX's.

That being said, I'm not an SUV guy so probably wouldn't do MDX. If I do get an RLX it would be with Tech but ask dealer to swap the 19's for 18's.

 

It changes steering ratio and assist level. Throttle mapping, transmission shifting, and makes the Agile Handling Assist and (I'm guessing) PAWS more aggressive. Essentially it changes EVERYTHING BUT the shock dampening.

 

^^^^^

Damn, it's the shock damping level that needs the most attention, in order to cater to as wide range of buyers as possible, who some want a rough, sport ride, but others want a soft, easy ride.

Even for the 4G AWD TL, some buyers/owners are put off by the rough ride, but others don't find it sporty enough.

That's why adjustable damping suspension is so important nowadays, especially for luxury brand sedans, to satisfy the various ride-roughness/handling-ability preferences for all buyers.

Maybe this is why BMW is so successful.

 

The car has dual mode dampeners. Acura's have always been somewhere between BMW firm and Lexus soft. I think the RLX continues to fall in this range. If someone can't figure out the ride/handling compromise (of any car) before they buy it, I don't see how it is the cars fault?

 

Agreed, but at this price point the car would be better suited with active dampers, not these dual mode dampers that don't seem to work very well on the RDX/ILX. Maybe the OP just has a bad pair of dampers?

 

The dampeners work just fine. They just don't work for every person in every condition. Active Dampeners from the MDX didn't work for everyone either. 99% of my MDX Advance customer left them in "Comfort" mode and never changed them in 3 years.

 

^^^ As an RDX owner in Canada, I can assure you that the dampeners are not working well. They are causing major problems in cold climate and although I can appreciate that Canadians are just a small share of the market, Acura should have done further cold testing and discover that something was wrong.

While I can understand that things do slip through the crack while developing and/or implementing new cars, ignoring the complaints and saying to the owners that this is a characteristic of the car is where it becomes unacceptable.

Colin...I am fully aware that in Hawaii, you will not be aware of what we are experiencing, and trust me, I am envious that you are free of this problem and live in one of the most prettiest part of the world. Life seems unfair.....wanna swap for 6 months?

 

In that case Acura didn't need these dual mode dampers, they should have gone with 'comfort' dampers.

I wonder if the OP's dual mode dampers are somehow stuck in the firm range? If that's even possible. If I were him I'd ask to drive another RLX Tech and see if the ride is different.

 

If Acura labeled it "Comfortable" or "Uncomfortable" which one do you think people would choose? Calling it "Sport" is jargon for Uncomfortable. If you wanted a bone-jarring ride then why pay for the Acura, the Pilot has that niche covered?

 

You are right, we don't get cold enough here for me to authoritatively comment on this. However, when has not being an authority EVER stopped anyone from commenting on this site... LOL

I am skeptical that the cold affects the shocks as surmised. Logically, the friction in the working bits of the shock should bring it up to operating temperature almost immediately. Unless it's something where the outside of the shock body remained cold while the internals heat up to the point where the tolerances go out of whack.

 

Come on, let be fair.

How can everyone figure out all the "ride/handling compromise" simply by cruising around the Acura dealership for a 30 to 60 mins of test driving, when the new (car) owner may be driving daily on much less-than-perfect road conditions around his/her neighborhood ?

It will take at least a couple of days to encounter what the new (car) owner will drive through on a daily basis.

Customer satisfaction is a very important factor in building up the image of a premium auto brand.

There is an AZ member in the 3G MDX forum, who has traded in his 2G MDX for a 3G MDX, and after having spent enough time with the new MDX, discovers that the 3G is not as good as his older 2G.

So he goes back to the dealership and expresses his concerns. That particular Acura dealership listens to his concerns, treats him with courtesy and respect, and eventually works out a deal for him which is to swap the sold 2014 MDX with a brand new 2013 MDX. Needless to say, the member ends up one happy MDX owner, and also Acura has retained a satisfied customer in good faith.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-2014-2020-414/couldnt-more-displeased-new-14-mdx-896430/

If every Acura salesman and every Acura dealership can be as caring and as accommodating as that particular dealership, rather than treating customer complaints as obnoxious and with an attitude, then Acura will be on it's road to success, building up excellent customer satisfaction and top reputation for it's premium auto brand.

 

http://imgur.com/gallery/k6XCKtb

 

Two weeks ago I traded in my 19 month old 2012 Cadillac CTS AWD coupe (21K miles), the car I bought when I got out of my '06 RL, for a 2012 CTS-V coupe (9K miles).

I took a hit on the depreciation, but made up for it on the V and I got a car with less miles.

The point really of my post is that the V has Magnetic Ride Control and what a difference. Firm yet not punishing ride in Tour mode, and Sport mode more suitable for the track. It really does work as advertised in that you don't get punished in rough pavement.

It used to be an expensive option, but Cadillac is now offering it as an option even on the entry level ATS.

 

I think Acura should consider at least a switchable dual option similar to what Cadillac is doing. GoHawks is right in that Cadillac's mag ride control is NICE. In my case, when I'm rolling with the family, I've got it in Tour mode and everyone gets a nice Cadi ride. When I'm by myself, I've got the car in Sport mode and it almost rides as if on rails.

Acura has the tech to do this, just add a button so the consumer has some control over it. Or just license the tech from Beijing West Industries, which bought out the part of Delphi that developed MRC.

 

And that nice Caddy ride is still sportier than most performance cars without being harsh.

 

I've never been in a GM with this tech, but I never really cared for the MDX application of this tech. IMO the soft was WAY too soft and the hard too firm. I think I preferred the regular MDX more.

I think the problem is that Acura does not actually have the technology. They would have to license it as you noted and this seems to be something they seem to really hate to do. Remember the Brembos on the TL? They used it for one generation and then made their own four piston design.

 

i just purchased a rlx tech last week and the ride was great up until the temperature dropped a few days ago. i haven't been able to get that smooth ride i tried different air pressures but nothing seems to be working at this point. i live in the bronx and i feel every bump in the road. idk if it has anything to do with me purchasing the tech but i doubt it. i should have went all the way and got the advance package. Besides that im very happy with the car

 

Don't think the Advance's ride would be any different, only additional options like Krell and low speed cruise control etc. The Hybrid should have a different ride and feel but the other models I imagine have the same ride.