The contact owns a 2014 Acura RDX. The contact stated that, while attempting to start the vehicle using the Push-To-Start feature, the vehicle hesitated before starting. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with an inoperable fuel pump. The contact was informed that the fuel pump assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Acura RDX hesitation problems
27 of the 2,191 owner complaints about the Acura RDX describe hesitation when accelerating, most of them for the 2018 model year.
- owner complaints
- 27
- worst model year
- 2018
- typical mileage
- 29,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20211
- 20201
- 20193
- 201810
- 20174
- 20161
- 20152
- 20142
- 20131
- 20101
- 20071
Often reported together
Jerking 7Fuel pump 4Sudden acceleration 3Shudder 3Check engine light 3Stalling 2Won't start 1
What owners say
On or about XXX, my 2021 Acura RDX, with approximately 121,078 miles, suddenly displayed multiple dashboard warning lights and system-failure messages while I was driving. These included the check-engine light, Road Departure Mitigation System Problem, steering, stability-control, braking-assistance and other driver-assistance warnings. Earlier, the tire-pressure monitoring system had also indicated a malfunction even though the tire pressures were correct. The vehicle initially continued to drive and the conventional brakes appeared to function normally. However, it then began hesitating when I attempted to accelerate. The vehicle would eventually gain speed, but the initial hesitation created a serious safety concern when pulling into traffic or attempting to accelerate. The check-engine light remained solid while the vehicle was stopped but flashed whenever I began driving and accelerating again. No crash, fire or injury occurred. The vehicle had undergone a full diagnostic inspection approximately two weeks earlier, and I was informed that everything checked out properly. There were no known drivability problems before this incident, and the vehicle has been maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommended service schedule. The vehicle was subsequently inspected by Elite Acura, an authorized Acura dealership in [XXX]. The dealership confirmed a head-gasket failure and a problem with the rear differential left-side actuator. The dealer recommended replacing the head gasket, four spark plugs, coolant, oil and filter, as well as replacing the rear differential left-side actuator and changing the differential fluid. The estimated head-gasket repair was $5,391.46, and the estimated rear differential actuator and fluid service was $813.85. The dealer also recommended rear brake pads and rotors. The head-gasket and rear differential actuator problems were confirmed by the authorized Acura dealership. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was at a stop light, car was stopped, the electronics on the vehicle looked like it went through a reboot, a/c blower fluctuated (turned off then back on), all displays went out and restarted like it does when you start the car. When the traffic light turned green, and I stepped on the gas, the car shuddered and hesitated, like the transmission, abs and traction control were all going haywire. Then the car drove fine. As long as I do not slow down too much or stop. Once I got home and had to back up into the garage, it went through that haywire cycle again. This was the 3rd time this has happened on this car. But after I shut off the engine, wait a little while and start it again, symptom seems to go away, until it decides to happen again. I have had this car since July of 2024, and since that time, I have had this happen to me 3 times and 2 times to my wife. I have read on the net and one of the possibilities talked about if the abs control unit, where soldered wires seems to be melting off of the circuit boards and causing intermittent connection, therefore exhibiting erratic behavior. There are even services on ebay where you can send in your whole abs unit and they will open them up, clean and re-solder the wires. This seems to be scary and concerning from a safety perspective. Please investigate the issue for us who are affected. Occurrences are getting more frequent (almost every other day) and it just happened again today 3/3/26.
I was at a stop light, car was stopped, the electronics on the vehicle looked like it went through a reboot, A/C blower fluctuated (turned off then back on), all displays went out and restarted like it does when you start the car. When the traffic light turned green, and I stepped on the gas, the car shuddered and hesitated, like the transmission, ABS and traction control were all going haywire. Then the car drove fine. As long as I do not slow down too much or stop. Once I got home and had to back up into the garage, it went through that haywire cycle again. This was the 3rd time this has happened on this car. But after I shut off the engine, wait a little while and start it again, symptom seems to go away, until it decides to happen again. I have had this car since July of 2024, and since that time, I have had this happen to me 3 times and 2 times to my wife. I have read on the net and one of the possibilities talked about if the ABS control unit, where soldered wires seems to be melting off of the circuit boards and causing intermittent connection, therefore exhibiting erratic behavior. There are even services on eBay where you can send in your whole ABS unit and they will open them up, clean and re-solder the wires. This seems to be scary and concerning from a safety perspective. Please investigate the issue for us who are affected. It is not just my year model car, but it includes Honda branded and different Acura and Honda model cars too. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that there was an abnormal gasoline odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where unknown repairs were performed. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start, and the vehicle was hesitating while driving. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 62,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
My 2018 RDX has started to jerk when I stop and then restart. I have noticed some hesitation and a bit of jerky driving but today it was very noticeable. I could barely go above 40 miles an hour after I started driving after a stop light and the car was very jerky. It seems to be either a fuel pump or transmission issue. I am going to check with the RDX dealership where I bought the car in 2018 but I wanted to report the issue. I also looked up the VIN on my car for a recall and the system said my car had not been recalled. Not sure why my 2018 RDX is different from other 2018 RDX models that were recalled.
The car hesitates to start and while driving jerks at around 20mph. This happened a few times in the last year. When taken to dealer, because they could not reproduce incident, said it can’t be diagnosed. I told them it jerks when accelerating at around 20mph and keeps doing it every time I have to stop at light and go again.
SAFETY ISSUE RECALL faulty fuel pump module causes hesitation and needs replacement, but cannot cannot schedule service as parts are not available
There is acceleration hesitation every time when I'm driving. The car seems to "catch" as it's accelerating and is very "jerky". The issue has gotten worse over time. I take my care to Acura for a second time next week to see if I can get it officially diagnosed; however, I've already been told there are no parts available and I'll just be "put on a list". This recall was announced in Dec 2023 and it's now Sept 2024 so I don't understand how this delay is acceptable. The additional details that I need to provide below only allow me to enter one date. I started noticing the issue last year and as I said it's gotten progressively worse. I last drove yesterday so used that date but it's been going on for about a year.
The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing engine hesitation while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Related recalls
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Acura RDX and 2022 CR-V Hybrid vehicles. A component in the right or left front driveshaft may have been improperly heat-treated, which could result in driveshaft failure.
- Risk
- Driveshaft failure can cause a sudden loss of drive power, or cause the vehicle to roll away when parked if the parking brake is not applied. Either condition can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the right or left front driveshaft as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BBY, NBW, and OBX.
Recall number 21V939000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Honda is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 CR-V, Odyssey, and model year 2013 Acura RDX vehicles. During sub-freezing temperatures, the brake-shift interlock blocking mechanism may become slow and allow the gear selector to be moved from the Park position without pressing the brake pedal. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
- Risk
- If the gear selector is moved from the park position without pressing the brake pedal it can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated brake shift interlock blocking mechanism free of charge. The recall began on May 13, 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009. Honda's campaign recall numbers are S96, S97, and S98.
Recall number 13V143000 · Recall details
Questions about the Acura RDX hesitation
Which Acura RDX years have hesitation when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2018 (10 complaints), 2017 (4 complaints) and 2019 (3 complaints).
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