JustAnotherOne

My dealer did not find any pgm-fi software update. SA told me over the phone that technician found it. But when I took delivery, the invoice said - PCM reset performed. Transmission may re-learn according to user expectation. I asked my SA again and he apologized for the confusion.

My SA also owns a 2109 rdx tech. He drove my vehicle and said the slight jerk between 2nd to 3rd is normal and on his vehicle too. He said he has experienced it on all rdx's he has driven. But he thinks it is usual behaviour with upshifts and not the same as shudder or roughness for which transmissions were replaced in early builds. He agreed that some people mention this during service maybe because they drove smoother shifting vehicles before rdx. It is more of personal preference and that's probably the reason why others do not report any issue. His explanation is of no value to me but that's the thought process even when I called acura corporate. My question to them was, why does it not happen between 4 to 5, 5 to 6 and so on. They had no answer. So they told me to drive till first service and see if it gets better. I have 3000 miles on mine right now and oil at 50%. I did notice that with warmer outside temprature the jerkiness is reduced.

briankklein

Lance H

I am driving RDX with AWD, did not notice the shifting issue. But one time I drove the RDX without AWD borrowed from dealer, I did notice significant shifting stalling from 2nd to 3nd.
Maybe the shifting stalling only happens on the RDX without AWD?

briankklein

Vegas RDX

My shifting issue seems to have disappeared which I complained about on earlier in this discusion. Early morning driving it was most noticed as others have commented on during a cold engine factor. However the other day I did a few FULL throttle off the stop light just to experience the adrenaline seen in the new TV commercial for the RDX. Although I didn't engage in any drifting that day, I wasn't disappointed by the response. Having come from a 2016 NX200T this vehicle still impresses me. However, back to the discussion the shifting issues mine seems to have disappeared. I have learned early with my past 2016 NX these turbo 4's don't like to be babied. This isn't your fathers Buick, the RDX likes high rev's and "once and a while" FULL throttle experiences to open it's nose a little. I've also noticed my gas milage has improved. Currently I have 1000 miles on the clock so far and I'm really enjoying this vehicle. I'm thinking the 10 speed transmission is very capable of more than were giving it. And if it's not it's still under warranty if there is really something wrong. With all the competition in the SUV market these days don't think Acura is going to blow its chance to hold on to number one for a while.

Madd Dog

homepro

Regarding the Harsh Shift, I bought my RDX Tech in September 2018 and as soon as I drove off the lot after purchased I noticed the harsh shift and immediately returned and had the tech drive it and he admitted the issue, but told me to put on 1000 miles as the adaptive leanring of the transmission would learn how you drive. BUNK!. After returning the car to dealership where they finally recognized the issue, they did a clutch re-learn with no improvement. I had at least 5 other intermittent issues including, passenger airbag light not always going off, even after 2 seat weight calibrations. The Audio cut out on the radio twice. The Parking brake (E-Brake) came on by itself and souldn't release. Was stuck in my driveway on Thanksgiving day. Still does that rarely, but dealer could not reproduce. Climate control replaced for intermittent operation. Still flaky. Can't change the radio stations from the steering wheel control...again intermittent. After 5 repair attempts, only 2 issues were remedied, and only the climate control module was replaced because it happened to the service manager when he went to move the car. I had to document everything with videos and photos to prove that these things actually happen. Even had a scary issue when passing a car at 70MPH where the car lost power and I had to pull over in heavy traffic. Almost had an accident. Once again it could not be reproduced. I finally gave up and filed the lemon law and it has now been 3 months waiting for a remedy. As you might expect, Honda claims that the transmission issue is not severe enough to create a problem. All the other issues are intermittent and they were unable to reproduce them. I have been an Acura owner sing 2000 and have bought 8 New Acura's with no issues whatsoever before this car. I fully expected some glitches on a new designed car, but the way I've been treated is disheartening for a loyal Acura owner. I have anxiety every time I get in the car as the shifting issue is present when cold, and still acts up under certain circumstances. I drove 2 other new 2019 Acura RDX and the shifting was smooth. I am anxious to get this issue resolved.

jjacke

I bought mine in October '18 and had all the issues you described minus the parking brake and loss of power. The thing that pushed me over the edge was gas getting into my oil. I traded mine last Monday and will never buy another Acura.

PAPI007

I find this hard to believe, The gas in the oil thing was an issue with the 1.5L Turbo engines not the 2.0. Just another reason to justify to yourself that you made the wrong choice for your needs when purchasing the RDX. Don't fret, there are lots of others that did the same thing.

jjacke

Hard to believe or not, it was verified by Acura. The dealer was asked to change the oil by Techline and I was sent on my way with instructions to "keep an eye on it." I was an automotive service advisor in my past so I know my way around cars. When the level of fluid on the dipstick is over the normal level by at least 1.5 quarts, is dripping, and smells like gasoline, you know there's a problem. I didn't need to "justify" a wrong decision and don't appreciate you calling me a liar. If you love your car and it's giving you lots of enjoyable road time, congratulations.

SandwichViking

You might want to look more closely at all the oil dilution posts on this site.

This is a problem with the 2.0, as well. You just don't know it yet.

bobby2478

Wow, that's a problem that simply should not happen (oil dilution due to gas leaking into oil). Curious if it's the same root cause / faulty part that's the root of the problem with the 2.0 as well as the 1.5? Depending on how widespread the issue is it could lead to another recall over time after they have enough issues because of it. I'd assume they have to have so many instances all traced back to the same defective part before issuing a recall.

dukeh62

Believe it. It's happening. The head tech at my dealership has confirmed it's happening to mine.

PAPI007

I also have an 18 Accord 2.0T which is basically the same engine as my RDX. The car has been oil dilution free and I expect the RDX to be the same. And if by any chance there is gas in the oil, I'm still trekking along trouble free. My neighbor has the same 2.0T with over 50k miles, same, gas free. Maybe we are just the odd balls!

bobby2478

Even if there is a problem it wouldn't be likely to impact every RDX (more than likely the majority wouldn't be impacted unless it was a design/construction flaw vs a defective part). Although at this point there is no way to know how widespread the problem is or whether it's due to the same reason as the 1.5 or something different

Madd Dog

Every car you own must be run well up to operating temperature for a while at least once a week. My wife used to ask, “why are we taking my car to....?” And I answer that it is because your car has only gone local this week, maybe 5 miles at the most, so out on the road it goes.

Cars need to be driven. And maintained.

PWMDMD

How do you or your neighbor know? Have you both done UOAs? I see all sorts of yahoos claiming they do or don’t have fuel dilution based on smelling the oil or looking at the color of the oil or the oil has bubbles or the oil level went up or down or because it stayed the same when the truth is without a UOA you have no idea.

Also, climate and driving habits seem to have a large impact on the degree of fuel dilution - cars in cold climates and with daily short trips seem to fair the worst. While this may not be you or your neighbor these are fairly common conditions and there is building evidence the fuel dilution does exist in the 2.0. Now, whether or not it’s a problem is another discussion. I have never personally seen a UOA that has shown excessive wear metals with fuel dilution but I have heard of valve train problems in higher mileage cars.

PWMDMD

With a flashpoint of 350F the fuel dilution here is MUCH higher than 1.8%. Blackstone is known for “estimating” fuel dilution and grossly underreporting the actual value.

dukeh62

@PWMDMD Any recommendations on which lab to use for more accurate oil analysis results?

PWMDMD

Basically any of the other commercially available labs will run an more accurate fuel dilution - I know Polaris measures fuel dilution accurately with gas chromatography.