2019 Acura RDX Engine Problems

Completed 100,000-mile service work at the dealership, 1 month following the work, while driving, all engine codes went off and the car went into "limp mode". I was unable to drive at normal speeds while on a major highway and going through a busy intersection. After multiple assessments at the same dealership, a "software update", a replaced spark plug (that was previously replaced during service work a month prior), it was found to have a warped head gasket with coolant leaking into the engine. It has not been inspected by police or insurance agents. It has been inspected by Shottenkirk Acura of Huntsville (Alabama) and a secondary mechanic with the same findings of engine failure. This should not occur at 116,000 miles in a Honda motor!

I started driving on the freeway for a few miles in the rain and suddenly started to hear a low rumble/rattling sound from the engine area. The car began to cycle through error messages for every one of the electronic safety systems (Brake system, vehicle stability assist system, electric power steering system, adaptive cruise control system, collision mitigation braking, & road departure mitigation) The car then began to lose drive power (wouldn’t maintain/increase speed when pressing the gas pedal). I moved over to the furthest right lane/slow lane and continued to lose propulsion from the gas pedal. Being forced to such a slow speed on the freeway in inclement weather was very unsafe for me and my wife who was in the car with me. I had to drive on the shoulder in order to exit the freeway and the engine rattle got increasingly louder and worse sounding. I pulled into a parking lot and the car was not drivable. AAA tow to a AAA certified mechanic repair shop and was told that there was metal debris in the oil pan and oil filter which was signs a faulty engine components that has now destroyed the motor. I’m currently without the RDX and being told it is in need of a whole new motor.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. While the contact’s wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the engine seized. The contact's wife restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. Additionally, the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

My vehicle stopped in the middle of the road as I took exit from the highway. I was almost rear ended as I was entering the parking lot .The vehicle just stalled. I took it the Acura Dealership for fix and they have not taken care of recall issue. I am being asked to spend money on fixing other electrical errors first before they fix the recall on my vehicle.

Near the first of the year 2024 I received a fuel pump recall notice for my 2019 Acura RDX. To date, no parts for addressing this issue have been available and no timeline has been made available as to when parts would be available. I am planning my annual trip to the Eastern Sierra in early September where no Acura dealer is available nearby. Should the fuel pump fail during that trip it would be a significant inconvenience for me, including interruption of medical appointments, room and board expenses, pet sitting expenses, etc., as I have been told by Honda that in such an emergency situation the car would have to be towed to the nearest dealership, with the part being specially ordered which would take 2 weeks and that I may be responsible for my room and board, and other costs during that period. I find this behavior to be outrageous. Additionally I have been told by my local dealer that it is not possible to determine possible failure beforehand as either it is working or it has failed. This is totally opposite from what I was told by Honda which was to schedule an appointment with a dealer to determine the status of the fuel pump so that they could special order one for replacement if it demonstrated potential failure. This entire issue reeks of poor and ineffective management of this situation by Honda, likely putting costs over safety putting me at substantial risk for this trip that was planned a year ago and likely will cost me my deposit and access privileges if canceled. As such, I am requesting that NHTSA hold Honda/Acura accountable for this disgraceful behavior, putting owners of their vehicles at substantial risk, and demand that they explore and take immediate actions to resolve the parts shortage in a reasonable amount of time.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light suddenly illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power and started to decelerate. After pulling off the roadway and restarting the vehicle, the failure was self-corrected, and the vehicle operated as designed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 57,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to move or shift into neutral(N). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no additional assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V215000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

2019 RDX with 20k miles. Was accelerating to go over a rise from low speed to passing speed and power cut out and had to pull to shoulder. Was slightly raining when occurred and 44 degrees out. Check engine light came on. Had to stop vehicle on side of road as power was lost. If wasn’t 0600 in the morn and during busier hours it could’ve caused an accident since I was accelerating to merge. Dealer couldn’t find any codes since vehicle goes into essentially protection mode from just accelerating. Going from 15-55mph. Told me to bring it in again if it happens. I may be injured the next time it happens. Is extremely unsafe where all power is cut when you need it the most. Had vehicle for 1000 miles and has happened once already. Very scary feeling.

While driving on a two lane road at app 60 mph, we accelerated to pass a slower car, Our 2019 Acura RDX lost power and coasted down to about 20 mph and the check engine light was flashing. we had no control over the speed of the vehicle (limp mode), which was very scary and could have caused a serious accident. It was raining earlier but not at the time of the incident. This should be a recall and not just a Acura Service Bulletin 20-053 since it can be life threatening.

For the second time, while accelerating in rainy conditions, the engine lost all power and went into limp mode. The check engine light came on and blinked. I was able to pull over and turn the car off and then back on the the check engine light was gone.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated that upon exiting a highway and coming to a stop light, the vehicle would not accelerate above 25 MPH without warning. The contact was able to reach his destination and after explaining the failure to a friend; he was informed that his vehicle had gone into limp mode. Upon restart of the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal driving operation. The contact hooked up his vehicle to a scanner and no fault codes were found. The contact then called the manufacturer where he was informed that this failure was a known issue and that he would have to take the vehicle to the dealer three times after experiencing each failure. The contact was not informed as to what would happen after the third visit to the dealer. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where it had yet to be diagnosed and remained in their possession. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

I was driving in the rain on a dark desolate road. The engine began to malfunction, suddenly losing most power. The car would only go up to 20mph. I believe this condition is known as “limp mode”. Simultaneously the “check engine” light was illuminated. When I pulled off the road I shut the car off. I waited a couple of minutes and restarted the car. The condition miraculously disappeared. This was a very frightening experience because it happened on a major highway in the middle of the night.

Today, when accelerating on an onramp, merging into interstate traffic, the vehicle suddenly decelerated to about 30mph. Traffic, including a semi, was approaching at a higher rate of speed. I was able to get off the into the emergency lane but was concerned about being struck from behind. I stopped the engine, restarted it, and had no further problems. I tried to reproduce the problem but was unable. I contacted the dealer but was told it would be hard to repair if it wasn't reproducible and was advised to see if it recurred.

On July 20 2021, I was driving at 45 mph when I pressed the accelerator and the car did not accelerate while making a loud sound. I pressed it again and it repeated the behavior. Meanwhile the car became slower and slower. There were no warning lamps or messages. I stopped the car and after about five minutes, I restarted it and it worked as usual. However, the technicians at the dealership were unable to confirm the issue with the vehicle losing power while driving through a DTC check. They mentioned that there were no PGM-FI DTCS present and are not sure what component may have malfunctioned. It was so scary, I am afraid to drive this car. This issue is extremely dangerous because the car rapidly decelerated in the middle of the road. This could have easily caused a potentially fatal crash in traffic. It unsafe to drive this car knowing that this issue could repeat at any time without warning.

My wife purchased this car about one month prior to this incident. It was presented as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. While traveling on the PA turnpike, the car suddenly and with no warning went into "limp mode", with only enough power available to maintain about 20 mph. The "check engine" light came on, and we continued at about 20 mph on the shoulder, hoping to come to an exit. After a few minutes and no exit in sight, we stopped and turned off the engine while considering what to do next. When the air inside of the car became uncomfortably warm, I turned on the engine so we would have a/c. Immediately, it became apparent that the engine was working normally: no "check engine" light, plus other positive indications. We resumed our trip, arriving home safely. Our safety was at risk since the engine lost power with no warning whatsoever, and occurred while we were in a travel lane. As of this report, the car has not been taken to a dealer.

Driving on the highway ~ 70mph in a rain the vehicle had a loss of engine power and went in to limp mode. It was a harrowing experience in the bad weather with traffic and no place to safely pull to the side of the road. Vehicle would only crawl @ ~ 5mph. This is the second incidence in a year. Its a major safety issue. Acura says it cannot be fixed unless they can duplicate the problem with my vehicle. Highly unlikely that will happen. I pointed out that other owners of the RDX have had the same issues. Acura stated that they do not listen to online forums. This is a serious issue in my opinion that will one day or perhaps already has caused loss of life.

I exited a highway, decreasing speed to merge with local traffic, tried to accelerate and car revved but would not go over 30 mph. Drove home with safety flashers on, then tried to back into driveway to keep front of the car accessible, but the car would not shift into reverse. Toggled back and forth between drive and reverse and it finally shifted and I back in. Had the car towed to the dealer, they had it for 2 days but could ot duplicate the problem, and told me it was probably a communication error among the various car computers. I have since learned that this has happened twice to my neighbor who also has the same model/year vehicle. I have not gotten any satisfaction from the dealer.

I HAD MOVED TO THE LEFT LANE TO PASS A SLOW MOVING TRUCK ON TH PA NORTH EAST EXTENSION. WHEN I HAD ALMOST PASSED THE TRUCK MY ENGINE LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING AND MY CAR STARTED TO DECELERATE. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET OVER TO THE SHOULDER. I HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART IT TO GET THE LIGHT TO STOP FLASHING AND GET THE CAR TO ACCELLERATE. FORTUNATELY IT HAPPENED BEFORE I ENTERED THE TUNNEL.

TRAVELING 70 MPH DOWN INTERSTATE IN LIGHT RAIN WENT TOO ACCELERATE TO PASS A SEMI AND THE CAR NOT WOULD NOT RESPOND IT STARTED SLOWING DOWN AND THE ENGINE LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION TO GO FROM 70 TO 40 . VERY LUCKY WE WERE NOT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, THE LEFT SHOULDER WAS CLOSED DUE TO CONSTRUCTION. TURNED ON HAZARD FLASHERS AND MANEUVERED TO AN EXIT AND PULLED OVER. WE LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND RESTARTED. SEEMS FINE NOW BUT READING ONLINE THIS IS A COMMON AND DANGEROUS OCCURRENCE. IT SEEMS THAT A HIGH NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS MENTION RAIN IN THEIR EXPERIENCES. ACURA NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED (MAY HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED).

I WAS DRIVING DOWN AN EXPRESSWAY AND HAD STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL. AS THE SIGNAL TURNED GREEN, I ACCELERATED AND AS SOON AS THE CAR WAS OUT OF THE INTERSECTION, IT WENT INTO THE SO CALLED 'LIMP MODE' WITH ALL POWER GONE. THE CAR STARTED TO FLASH ALL LIGHTS LIKE CHECK ENGINE, BRAKE SYSTEM, ACC SYSTEM ETC. AND I HAD TO STOP ON THE SHOULDER. CALLED EMERGENCY SERVICES AND GOT THE VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. IT IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I COULD HAVE BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND BY OTHER CARS.