PWMDMD

acuraada

There is a reason why CR ranked Acura 13th out of 31.

Damion Goodrich

I would look long and hard at all your options. I hate my new RDX. Had it less than three months and I want rid of it now. I'm thinking of trading.

MI-RDX

When reading the 'same issues over and over' make sure you're looking at unique complaints versus the same individual(s) regurgitating the same thing over and over and over and..........

Really skews the perception.

anoop

Don't have much experience with Hyundai, but I agree Toyota/Lexus does much better than Honda/Acura in terms of reliability and quality. Honda does sportiness a bit better.

MI-RDX

Yep, Honda/Acura build 'driving' machines, Toyota/Lexus build 'riding' machines.

zroger73

A Corolla owner might agree, but a Tacoma owner might not.

PWMDMD

As with most things I think it's complicated. As consumers we all want to think every car company wants to be the best, most reliable, best driving car maker possible. In reality every car company has their own set of values and goals. Few can be the very best they can be and most are the best they can be within certain constraints like $$. Honda/Acura knows they don't build the best quality car but until it starts to hurt their reputation and ultimately their bottom line they have little incentive to change anything. So why compete with Lexus for big $$$ when they can spend less to be "sporty" in their own little niche? As consumers we just have to be honest with what we want and what each company offers. Lots of sporty cars have terrible reliability but if you don't want to drive a appliance-like Lexus you only have limited options - the car companies know you have limited options. My 2 cents anyway....

acuraada

You want "unskewed" problems ? Check out the one pack videos.

I agree that we can't discern reliability ratings based on forum complaints but in the context of statistics, the opposite doesn't automatically hold true.

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MI-RDX

I said it skews the perception - not the existence.

Someone relating a problem 20 times does not equate to 20 occurrences but to someone casually reading a forum it might appear so. This is exacerbated when people who don't even own the vehicle, so have never experienced the problem, also repeat it.

Stew4HD

As the old expression goes: "One "Oh shit" wipes out 1,000 at-a-boys"

No amount of us saying we really like our RDX's matter against one person wanting to or already having dumped their new vehicle.

It seems that saying you like the vehicle or defending it in any way puts you into the "Fanboy" category and therefore ignored. Tis the way of forums..

Happy driving

acuraada

Complains are easier than compliments

JB in AZ

Thank you for this comment, I like it!

See that wasn't hard.

skarface

https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...your-rdx-been/
Looks like more than half of the people who responded have issues with their RDX. Maybe the perception is accurate, considering Consumer Reports, JD Powers, etc. all align with Acura having not so great quality anymore.

tecwerks

Other than the infotainment system being buggy I am very happy with my RDX A-Spec. NO other issues. Paint is perfect. I guess consistency is the real issue.

PWMDMD

skarface

I'm sure it's skewed with people that joined the forum since they were having issues but I was still pretty shocked to see more issues than non-issues. I thought like others that people without issues were just not as vocal on the forum but apparently that's not true. A majority of people are having issues so the perception that there are 'a lot' of issues seems to be correct.

MI-RDX

Except that the majority of people involved in forums are either aficionados or are having problems - the average 'Joe Six Pack' who's happy with his vehicle isn't even aware of the existence of the forum. Along that line there are (as of now) 84 responses which barely registers as a measurable percentage of '19 RDXs on the road. Point being the sample population of that poll is not a reflection of the owner population as a whole, nor a meaningful sample size - by extension the poll results are statistically invalid and should be considered 'for entertainment only'.

Add to that the vagueness of the poll - 'issues' aren't even defined so that someone who doesn't like the way something is implemented versus not functioning (lack of 100% LED lighting, or digital speedometer, or being unable to set the default MID screen, come to mind as examples) will vote for it being a problem/issue where it's just something they don't like. If it was that damn important to them they shouldn't have bought the vehicle instead of getting it and then bitching about the car when they should be looking in the mirror to see where the fault really lies. (Same holds true for those who buy a sub-$50K vehicle yet expect it to have all the amenities/quality/features/performance of one selling for $60K+.)

I'm not making excuses or 'covering' for Honda/Acura. I believe the RDX was rushed to market and some things could have been vetted more thoroughly than they were, but I knew that could be the case going in. Anyone who believes a first year, clean sheet design vehicle will be 'issue free' when it hits the street is fooling themselves. Hardware wise I've had zero problems (discounting a bit of intermittent brake noise which lasted 2 days and hasn't returned) which is less than expected. But the infotainment system software falls short - be it a problem of design, or cutting features/shortening test cycles to meet a production deadline. Whatever the cause it's software that can, and appears to, be addressed - it just takes some time.

skarface

So, the results aren't valid, even though they align with most publications that review quality and your own experiences (even though you expected problems and people who didn't are just dumb for expecting a great issue free product). Examples of issues are literally provided in the post and in the poll. The infotainment system has issues but some were saying they have no issues with their RDX so this helps clear some of the "I have no issues, my car is great" posts. The chances of someone getting one of those unicorn cars with no issues is worse than a 50/50 coin flip. It's actually kind of funny that you disagreed with it then basically were an example of someone with issues that thinks they aren't a big deal and others should just suck it up and wait for Acura to get around to fixing it...lol

Dereileak

no brand is perfect, I know someone who had a BRAND new 2018 lexus, and it stranded them 3 times on different road trips, the whole car just shut down and died. Dealer fixed it and it did it to them 2 more times when doing 10+ hour trips, ended up being a lemon and they got a new one. Any product or mechanical device can have problems, no one is perfect. You will get lexus's, toyotas, honda's, acuras with major problems sometimes, and one random son of a gun will get 200k miles out of his fiat, but for 99% of the time, the opposite is true, and that fiat will be a piece of crap, and lexus, honda, toyota, and acura will give you a high quality product, and when there are issues, thats why you have a warranty

Julie Mango

@securityguy ... I am one of those currently car shopping and the numerous complaints about the infotainment system, soft breaks, rough transmission have definitely been disheartening. I didn't notice these issues on our test drive; so I'm definitely going to take on a longer test drive and pay closer attention. It seems like you love your RDX. Tell me more - I'd love to hear your unbiased opinion (Pros and Cons). Thanks!

Dereileak

ross7777

PWMDMD

Except if it doesn't say what someone wants it say and then it's crap...lol.

PWMDMD

I agree about putting too much weight on forum posts and I prefer to look at all available evidence which includes the silly surveys. Even that will undoubtedly be biased but it is possible to see trends. I don't put too much weight on a random engine problem that has not been reported anywhere else but if there are multiple people all complaining of the same issues with a transmission and it's also reported in something like CR and in multiple reviews then well...sure that gets more weight to me.

For example, few here would say the infotainment is not buggy. Sure, some claim to have had no problems but it's brought up frequently enough to suspect it's a real issue.

JB in AZ

Exactly! I haven't had any issues with my infotainment, BUT, I may use it differently than others. I have an Android phone, so I COULD complain about the lack of Android Auto, but I knew it wasn't there when I bought it. I always just listen to SiriusXM, and my phone pairs fine every time I get in the car, and haven't had any issues with call quality or not releasing it back to radio when call ends...

Some people are much more picky than others, and I am one of those more picky people...especially with the caliber of vehicle this is. So If I have an issue,, the forum will hear about it.

JB in AZ

@Julie Mango Just a comment. Keep in mind when you see many posts with negative slants, see if there is a trend Are most of them from the same poster?

I read everything I could before buying my Advance in January, and yes, read many posts here about how disappointed some buyers were, and that some were having infotainment "issues". I still bought it and 1 month and 1,500 miles later, I'm still very happy with my decision. I took several test drives, and tried out everything I could think of that I had read about. Love the RDX! Is it perfect? NO. I would prefer to get over 30 MPG! LOL (but I AM averaging about 28!)

Sounds

dagnabbit!

zroger73

I had several infotainment system bugs, but they varied from minor annoyances to not applicable. I rarely use navigation, CarPlay, or play music from USB drives. As long as SiriusXM plays when I start the vehicle that covers 99.9% of my normal use. However, I expect all of these features to work and to work reliably.

Excusing infotainment system bugs is like excusing an SH-AWD system that won't drive the rear wheels if the right turn signal is on while listening to AM radio. Sure, you don't need SH-AWD most of the time, but it should be available and function properly 100% of the time. Another analogy is having a transmission failure causing it to skip 5th gear and being told that's no big deal since you can use 4th or 6th gear instead until 5th gear can be fixed.

What sent me over the edge was primarily the engine vibrations and transmission shift quality. If I hadn't had those issues, I could probably have overlooked or been more patient with some of the other issues.

Even if only a few dozen people complain about the same issues, these issues likely exist in a large number of vehicles, but go unnoticed by most owners because they rarely or never use all of its capabilities, don't care about the problem, or aren't bothered by it. That doesn't mean the problem is insignificant or doesn't exist, though.

EFR

Well, my A-Spec has been flawless (5 months in). No issues with anything.Never been back to the dealer. Hard to imagine how, in the world of standardization, that varying results happen...but I guess they do.

acuraada

Where are the defenders of the faith?

Some diehard here will tell us people come to forum to complain, many happy problem free RDX owners out there don't bother to posts.

But if forums and surverys aren't good indicators then what is? Acura's own data on services? They will never release those. Maybe if you are close with your local dealer service managers, you might get a glimpse of actual reliability.

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ross7777

Madd Dog

As a car, it is a great car. As a smartphone, lots of bugs early, but the new software upgrade improved the smartphone aspects and appears to have cut down on the bugs. I was pi$$ed about not being able to zoom the map, and now I can. I thought sending a destination from my phone was cool, but it never worked, but now I can with the upgrades.

I use carplay less than I thought I would, but that has nothing to do with Acura. I can and will still use it as needed, but that is where I had had my lockups. With the new software update, I will see how it goes.

I still think it is a great car to drive, and that is what I bought it for.

ross7777

PWMDMD

Sure there is inherent bias in reading these forums but that doesn't make them useless. Read other forums of what are traditionally thought of as well made vehicles and while you will see complaints they tend to be much more random and isolated. When you see multiple posts about the same issues from different people separated by weeks, months or years you can conclude this issue is likely real and relatively widespread. No one is saying all Acuras or even a large percentage of Acuras are flawed. They most certainly produce many flawless to nearly-flawless cars that make their owners happy but the concern is they still produce many more flawed cars than some other manufactures and they produce enough of these cars that it's a gamble to buy one. You want don't want to have to get lucky to get a $50K car that words as expected.

My other comment is it really depends which forums you read. If you visit forums about other poorly made cars than yes they are all bitching and moaning posts. If you visit forums for cars that are well made there are always complaints but not like the poorly made cars.

ross7777

JB in AZ

In addition to what you posted, I will add:
I would argue that the respondents to CR's surveys tend to be in two main groups: Those who are disappointed in their choice of vehicle (whether it is features that don't work properly, or buyer's remorse), and want to speak out about that, possibly attempting to get the manufacturer's attention (similar to many forum posters) and those who are extremely happy and want to let everyone know that as well. There are also many who are in the group who feel that: "yes, everything works as it should...but it is just another vehicle" It's this third group that is also mostly absent from forums and CR's surveys, and I believe that represent a much bigger portion of the buyers.

And I guess there is a fourth group of forum posters: those who are true auto enthusiasts and truly enjoy talking about cars, and helping others when they are able to. BTW, this is the group I belong to.

zroger73

Probably a very small percentage. I'd guess if you called 100 random RDX buyers and asked if they were members of Acurazine, 99 of them would probably ask, "What's Acurazine?" Neither manufacturers nor dealers advertise these forums. They are largely found "by accident" when performing Google searches for specific issues or when someone links to them from other forms of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

I've been a member or moderator of several automotive forums for over twenty years. My daily engineering job pays the bills while I toy around with automotive journalism as a hobby. I'm primarily a Honda/Acura enthusiast, but enjoy learning about, driving, and sharing facts, opinions, and observations about all brands and models and the automotive industry in general from concept to delivery.

Assuming 99% of owners never post their positive experiences here because they aren't members, that same 99% never post their negative experiences here, either. It goes both ways, so there can be just as many people who have problems with their vehicles and don't sign up here to complain as those who are completely satisfied and don't sign up to praise.

Some people think these forums are like hospitals or body shops. You don't check into a hospital unless you're ill and you don't take your car to a body shop unless it's been damaged. These types of forums may have a bias towards owners with problems, but they also attract enthusiasts who are seeking to share their joy and become a part of a community.

I'm also on several Facebook groups for various models. All day long I see just as many people sharing photos of their new rides and boasting about how happy they are with their purchases than those who are complaining about a defect or asking for advice for a problem. With all that said, I quickly noticed an unusually high complaint-to-praise ratio for the 2019 RDX not only on the Acurazine forum, but the Facebook group as well. The majority of the complaints revolve around infotainment system problems that continue to persist across three software versions to date since the RDX went on sale almost nine months ago. The reset of the complaints seem to be about the transmission followed by squeaks and rattles followed by engine problems.

It's also worth pointing out that I see an increasing number of issues across all brands and models as manufacturers scramble to incorporate the newest technologies such as CVT's and high-gear-count automatic transmissions, turbocharging, direct injection, safety and driving assistance features like CMBS, ACC, and LKAS, etc. Before we had all this stuff, most complaints were limited to a rattles, leaks, and hesitations. As vehicle complexity increases and new models are rushed to market as quickly as possible - often existing ONLY as a computer model right up until production begins - expectations are higher and the number and types of potential failures increase.

acuraada

Well said zrogers.

RDX has it's first year bugs. Its not so difficult to see at this point. If you have a problem free RDX, great! Enjoy! I for one will continue to sit on the sideline and monitor it's trend. It is a great car and still my top choice.

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Midnight Mystery

I like how you roll...