When I'm closing the tailgate via the button (aka. the motor), does it auto reverse when it senses resistance? I tried that on my 2019 RDX, I tried to stop the tailgate from closing by pulling it with my hand, to my surprise the tail gate just kept on closing (with a lot of force) and didn't auto reverse. I tried the same thing on a 2018 RDX (loaner), it detected my hand even with minimal force applied and auto reverse.

So this feature is missing from 2019? Can someone try it out on their RDX? Thansk!

 

I have accidently stuck my foot under the bumper while taking stuff out of mine, the hatch closed down on me, beeped and raised back up without much force applied to my head and shoulders. I don't know if that is much help to you

 

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Thanks! I'll try it out again. If it doesn't auto reverse, I'll bring it into the dealership.

 

Because my car was in an accident, the striker for the latch was no longer properly aligned.
Every time the hatch tried to close, it beeped and reversed. I had to manually force it to latch.

Reversed every time.

 

Just tried again. Press the button on top of the tailgate to close the tailgate. Stick out my arm to stop it from closing. It pushed down my arm with a lot of force while I resist the gate from closing. Then the motor starts ticking and I finally let go. The tailgate still closed and latch.

I guess it's back to the dealership. Thanks all!

 

 

 

I have the exact problem like you, nothing can stop the tailgate to close. Could someone please post a video to show the auto reverse in action. Cheers

 

The car is new and it's under warranty. The tailgate should NOT persist in closing against resistance, any more than an elevator door should. But I have experienced an elevator door failing to reverse because it was MALFUNCTIONING.

FWIW mine reverses against moderate counter-force at any position. A light touch doesn't do it.

If the tailgate is malfunctioning, get it scheduled for dealer service. ASAP. It is an obvious safety hazard.

 

 

So if you were leaning in to get something out of the back, the tailgate would continue until it pinned you against the bumper at which point it would auto reverse saving you from being crushed -- just like the DeathStar trash compactor scene in Star Wars
Still doesn't seem right.

 

Mine will reverse when only partially closed ( halfway or so, stopped with my arm... I decided against trying it with my head ), but it takes some force to trigger it. From parts listings, there are "pinch sensors" along the sides of the hatch, in addition to the sensor mechanism in the motor drive.

There is a separate motor that drives the final closing and latching sequence when the hatch is nearly closed. In other Honda/Acura vehicles I have often had it reverse at that point because the cargo tray has shifted to the rear from dragging something out of the vehicle.

 

No matter what I do, I couldnt get the tailgate to reverse at arms height. Like I said in previous post, I used my arm to hold up the tailgate until it started to tick and it still wouldn't reverse.

After I read some of the replies, I did another test. I put a slipper (crocs) right at the edge of the latch and try to close the tailgate. The tailgate did auto reverse, but it looked like it pinched the crocs quite hard. I would not want that to be my foot.

I haven't brought it back to the dealer yet. I will when my license plates come in. When I used their 2018 RDX loaner last time, I used a faction of strength to stop the tailgate from closing, and it auto reversed.

 

 

As a follow up, I took my RDX to the dealer. The service manager quickly duplicated the fact that the rear hatch failed to reverse. Long story short, the service manager contacted Acura tech. This is a current issue that has been identified. There is no fix/adjustment and Acura doesn't know what to do about the hatch's failure to reverse. For those of you who are bored I suggest you read the owner's manual regarding the operation of the rear hatch. Page 164 indicates that anytime the rear hatch is operated, children and people need to stay away from the opening door because the hatch could injure people. Page 167 states that if the rear hatch was opening or closing it would reverse if it encountered resistance. Can you spell inconsistence? The service manager stated he had never seen a rear hatch operated in such a way that it would pin people. As a side note, my wife recently went to the grocery store. While she was placing groceries in the rear, the hatch began to close and struck her in the head. It continued to travel until it closed.

 

So I guess your wife really lost her head over this.

( Sorry, I couldn't resist ).

As I previously noted, I have been able to verify that mine will reverse, but it takes more resistive force than seems reasonable to make it happen. And I did get surprised once while I was putting my puppy into a dog crate in the back, and I apparently triggered the hands-free access resulting in a surprise klonk on the head. I don't remember how I resolved the immediate situation, but I do know that the hands-free access was disabled immediately thereafter. This is a remedy I wholeheartedly recommend for vehicles so equipped. Safety first.

 

Thanks Wander
I hate to bring up other brands. However we also own a 2017 GMC Denali. It has the kick trigger for the tailgate as well. We have made many trips to COSTCO, hooked my boat to it etc, etc. I have never tripped the tailgate. Moreover, when I tested it by pressing the button to close it, when it touched my hand it automatically reversed. Acura has some work to do. BTW, disabling the kicking feature was the first thing I did. Thanks again.