My SUV has been in service over 15 times stemming from electrical issues with the dash harness, multi times for loss of power while driving, loss of infotainment systems, and piping noise coming from the speakers. The loss of power and 'limp mode' has happens 3 times. Once at highway speed after an out of state trip, and twice on my way to work during humid conditions. The electric issues have happened multi times during all driving conditions. I was on my way home from work today, and I started to smell something burning. I worked my way out of the main highway when smoke started pouring out of the AC vents. A few moments later I could see flames coming out of the dash behind the infotainment screen.
2020 Acura RDX acceleration complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 19 of 19, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On 2 occasions while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle would barely accelerate beyond 5 MPH even while attempting to reach normal speed of 35 MPH. The vehicle RPM's were at 6,000 - 7,000 indicating the accelerator was telling the engine to produce propulsion, yet the only way to correct the issue was to park, turn off the vehicle, and restart the engine. This appears to be a re-occurring issue with the transmission / drivetrain / software that has been known with acura transmissions since 2016. Dealer could not find a fault code, drove the vehicle for over 150 miles and could not reproduce the issue. However, there are numerous complains online showing the same issue including a class action lawsuit that was filed in 2020. Yet acura has issued no recall alert or permanent solution (confirmed by dealer). Issues with the vehicle quickly deaccelerating and entering "limp" mode have also been reported which appears to be similar in nature and root-cause being the transmission / software related issue. This problem can result in unexpected engine failure or inability to operate the vehicle in a high-risk situation such as highway driving, crossing an intersection, causing a vehicle pile-up, or worse. After 4+ years and thousands of reports of the same issue, a federal investigation should be initiated before a larger widespread even occurs similar to what happened with toyota.
November 22, 2020 10:15 pm route 287 (in route to edison rte 1 exit). 2020 acura rdx a-spec - a few minutes after accelerating safely onto a merging lane (with trucks) the engine performance light starts blinking and car started to slow down almost to a roll. As the truck's headlights got closer, it managed along with several other cars to switch lanes as I turned hazard lights on and steered the car into the shoulder. I turned the car off (hazard lights still on) waited a few minutes and when I turned it back on the engine performance light was off and I was able to drive home. Acura needs to address this before something tragic happens. Car was purchased in june and was under 6700 miles when this happened. It was also serviced with maintenance b a week prior to my trip.
Car lost all acceleration and went into limp mode attempting to overtake someone on the freeway, accelerating from 60 to 70 MPH (in a 70). I had to navigate from left lane to right shoulder across 3 lanes of traffic. Terrifying. Car was remedied after turning off for a few minutes. Of note, this was a long (3+ hour) trip in the rain. A quick search revealed a ton of other acura owners with a similar issue' noting specifically that it doesn't generate an error code thats stored that honda/acura can use to troubleshoot. My car was cpo, under a week since purchase, 6,000 miles on the odometer. Crazy there isn't a recall. Very dangerous
While driving northbound on I-75 through the leading edge of the remnant of hurricane sally on 9/16/2020 my vehicle suddenly lost speed control and the check engine icon started flashing. I managed to safely pull off the interstate onto the shoulder and stopped the engine. After reviewing the owners manual I verified that the gas fill door was closed. Started the engine and had no icons or warnings. I then got back on the interstate but about twenty miles later the car again lost speed, 9 maintenance warnings and multiple alarm icons lit up. This time the max speed obtainable was about 20 MPH. I managed to drive on the shoulder to an exit and stop. I called acura and they had aaa send a tow truck to take car to the dealer in macon, ga. The dealer said two cylinders were not firing and numerous codes were reported. They were able to reset the computer to eliminate the alarms and take it out of "limp mode" but they could not say what caused the problem or what the permanent fix would be. My vehicle had 4314 total miles and had only been owned for less than 3 months when this occurred. This could have caused a multiple vehicle wreck resulting in injuries or deaths to my family and other motorists.
When accelerating on the expressway, the car suddenly lost propulsion without warning. The car would not maintain a speed or accelerate. After the car started to slow down, I had to coast to the shoulder of the expressway and power cycle the car. After restarting the engine and two attempts, the car would still not accelerate.
While driving at a consistent rate of speed on a 65 MPH highway the vehicle suddenly and without warning lost engine power. The vehicle began to rapidly drop speed and the check engine light would blink when the accelerator was depressed. I was forced to abandon the highway and pull over onto the shoulder - not in an emergency lane - in between north and south bound traffic because the vehicle would not accelerate over 20 MPH or exceed 2,000 rpms. After 3 hours of waiting in this dangerous location acura roadside assistance was unable to locate a tow truck. I turned the vehicle off and back on and noticed the check engine light ceased blinking. I then proceeded to return home and the problem returned a second time, this time accompanied with numerous indicator lights (e.g., awd problem, ABS problem, etc). The vehicle was towed to pohanka acura in chantilly, virginia. I was told the first time they cleared the codes they returned, but after a second time they did not. They were not able to replicate the problem, did not fix anything, and said it was caused by fuel choice. This is significant problem and safety risk known to acura. There is a patent history of acura choosing to not identify the root cause, associate this anomaly with fuel choice, and return the vehicle to the owner. In my opinion this is a negligent business practice and acura should be responsible for any injuries or damages associated with these unexpected, unannounced "limp mode" events.
- 2020 acura rdx aspec purchased apr2020 new - ~2,800 miles when incident occurred on sat, 4jul2020 - was traveling on I-10 west at ~70 to 75 MPH - attempted to pass a vehicle (on the left) when car lost all ability to accelerate and orange engine light began to blink in lower left corner of dashboard - I was pushing accelerator to the floor but no acceleration, no engine revving - vehicle slowed down to ~20 MPH by the time I was able was able to get over to shoulder safely - turned car off waited ~30 seconds turned car back on and car appeared to function properly - I reported issue to acura dealership - service rep advised that this is a known issue, but service manager said he knew nothing about this issue - I researched issue and discovered that my vehicle appears to have experienced "limp mode" - as have many other 2019 and 2020 acura rdx models - at time of incident was using adaptive cruise control with one bar spacing between vehicles, start/stop was on, comfort mode, always use premium (93) fuel, gas tank was ~1/2 full, weather was clear ~90 degrees - after restarting car realized that had changed to sport+ mode - at this point, I no longer trust the safety of this vehicle - this could have caused a catastrophic accident had there been a fast moving vehicle (e.g. 18 wheeler) behind me - up to and including death - vehicle is currently at dealership for analysis
From the day I took delivery of my 2020 rdx advance in august, I've been completely crazy about it. Now, however, I'm feeling sad and disillusioned, but more importantly, I don't feel 100% safe driving it. Recently, after spending a few weeks in georgia, we were driving back home to northern virginia on I-85n in north carolina. It was and had been raining steadily the entire trip. There was moderate/heavy traffic moving at speeds between 60-75/80 MPH. Somewhere just south of charlotte, the car suddenly started slowing down, even though I was pressing the accelerator! It was barely moving in the middle of traffic. The check engine light was blinking and the engine was rattling and sputtering. I immediately turned on the hazards and started crossing the two far right lanes to get over to the narrow shoulder. Terrifying. Fortunately, we were only about a 1/4 mile from an exit. We slowly made it on the shoulder to one of gas stations there. After checking the support section in the app and calling a tech at my home dealership, I shut the car off and let it sit for about 15 minutes. It started and we were able to finish the trip without further incident. We made it home safely, but the remaining six hours of the trip were mentally excruciating. We drove as slowly as safely possible in the right lane. I couldn't get it out of my head that it could happen again at any moment. And, I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind that I won't be able to get over that extended feeling of uncertainty while driving it. At least, not for now. I took it to the dealer on 11/25/19. They said they could not duplicate the issue, and that there were neither error nor fault codes stored. I had been hoping they would give me some explanation and reassurance that everything is fine. I wanted to feel 100% that the car is still safe to drive, but I'm not feeling that now.
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