2020 Acura RDX Engine Problems

My 2020 vehicle lost all power when I was attempting to pass an 18-wheel trailer on the expressway. I took it to the dealership which was less than a mile away. They told me I needed a head gasket replacement @$6500. They replaced the HG and it ran great for 5-6 months. Then exact same thing happened again on expressway. It was another head gasket. After searching online I found a lot of history on my vehicle where the 2.0L turbo engine was failing prematurely.

Re: NHTA recall 23V-858 This particular recall has been active since 12-18-2023. I have checked with my local dealership, Scanlon Acura in Ft Myers, FL, to arrange for a repair several times. Each time I have been told that they do not have the part. On Friday, 12-6-2024, a spoke to a service representative at the dealership. He advised me that they did have the part and scheduled an appointment to replace the defective part on Monday, 12-9-2024. When I arrived at the dealership, I was told that they did not have the part. Something is not right here. I suspect that the dealership does not want to replace the part because it is time-consuming, expensive, and represents an action where they do not receive enough compensation. This recall has been active for nearly a year, and NHTSA should intervene to expedite this process in order to prevent possible car crashes and injuries.

Engine judders at 2k rpm around 60 mph. Car has 92k miles with timely documented service maintenance. Took car to the dealership and said there’s a head gasket leak on cylinder 4 and needs to be replaced. Contacted American Honda about the issue and they said they cannot cover the repair cost. They also don’t have the replacement part for the fuel pump recall for a long time as well.

The emission light flashes and puts the vehicle in "Limp mode." The speed is drastically reduced and won't exceed 30 mph. Horrify experience. The problem seems related to rain and acceleration. Now the car is towed. No warning before it happens. But the emission light was flashing afterward.

On a long road trip ([XXX]) from Milwaukee, Wi to Bowling Green, Ky. and from From Bowling Green, KY to Orlando, FL. While driving from Bowling Green, KY about 8 hours into the drive, we were in a massive rain storm which started in Atlanta, GA. and did not end until we crossed into Florida. About 60 miles past the border of Florida traveling on [XXX], I needed to over-ride the cruise control traveling at about 80 mph and allow for a merging vehicle, so I pressed hard on the accelerator and the vehicle essentially shut off and the MIL was flashing. I was in the left lane (two lane highway at this point) traffic was moving quickly, but fortunately I was able to merge safely across traffic to the right shoulder without causing an accident because the vehicle was slowing at a rapid rate. The vehicle came to a stop on the shoulder with my wife and two kids freaking out. I shut off the vehicle, successfully restarted the vehicle and accelerated into traffic. Fortunately this did not happen in the mountain pass where there is no shoulder to pull into. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

We experienced loss of power in heavy interstate traffic. We had been driving in the rain for some time on I-10 in Florida. We were in the right lane behind a vehicle that was traveling much slower than other vehicles. There was a gap in vehicles in the left lane so I signaled and pressed the gas pedal significantly so I could quickly get up to a matching speed for the left-lane vehicles. At this point the engine stumbled a couple of times and the Check Engine light began flashing. No matter how hard I pressed the gas pedal, my vehicle would not accelerate. Cars behind us had to brake quickly to avoid hitting us from behind. I turned on my emergency flashers and made my way to the right-side breakdown lane. After stopping, I turned our vehicle off and restarted the engine. No warning lights were lit and I was able to resume our drive. This is a known issue with our vehicle and other Acura/Honda vehicles. There is an existing Acura Technical Service Bulletin (TSB), 20-053, that addresses this issue. This TSB was applied to my vehicle in March of 2021. Apparently, the TSB has not resolved the issue. This is a serious safety issue. At the very least, the car behind us could have hit us and this could have caused a multi-vehicle accident. If a semi had been behind us and couldn't stop quickly, we could have been killed. In online discussions there are a number of people that have experienced this issue. This is not an isolated incident and should be investigated.

Driving about 75 (local speed limit) from College Station Texas to Plano, Texas over the Easter weekend and vehicle suddenly lost all power, check engine light illuminates, and I have to pull over. After several minutes, light is extinguished. Restarted vehicle and service engine light illuminates (B17). Had not been on before. I drove about 65 the remainder of the trip and took it to the Dealership in town. The incident can not be replicated per the shop. 22K miles.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle went into limp mode and experienced unintended deceleration to 5 MPH with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,986.

While driving on I-95 north, the check engine light began flashing on and off. We had been driving in a thunderstorm for approximately 100 miles, when it began flashing. Then suddenly the car began slowing down. There was no response to repeatedly stepping on the gas pedal. As the car slowed down I was able to get over to the shoulder, and put the car in park. Again trying to get a response by stepping on the gas pedal, but there was no response. I shut the engine off, then restarted the car. The car ran fine, after I restarted it. I continued my drive from Florence SC to NY, and then returned from NY to Florida without any further incident.

Under heavy acceleration, the vehicle began "bucking" and then lost all power. The check-engine light began flashing. The engine was still running but did not provide power. I Had to pull off the road, shut the engine off and then restart to clear the problem. This has happened twice in two days. The Acura dealer says it is an issue with moisture entering the turbo-charger but did not have any suggestions to correct or prevent this from happening again.

This car has 21,000 miles, while accelerating the car lost power and the engine light came on, almost caused a severe crash with semi truck. There are numerous articles post about this exact same problem with 2019 and 2020 Acura RDX and some information indicates it was due to solvents used in the manufacturing process of the in tank fuel pumps. It is more pronounce in warmer climates and rain. Acura needs to issue a recall before people get killed from this deficiency in their product.

While traveling to my dealer on interstate 69 in Indiana, in the rain, I had to accelerate to avoid a conflict with a truck. When I pushed the accelerator to the floor, the Check Engine Light came on and the car went into limp mode. I had to pull to the shoulder and restart the car to continue. The dealer provided me a loaner 2021 Acura RDX, VIN #5J8TC2H5XML023677 with 740 miles on the odometer, which experienced the same phenomena, Check Engine Light coming on in the rain under acceleration, when I was attempting to merge onto Interstate 69 at Illinois road in Indiana. Pulling over to restart the engine allowed me to continue.

- 2020 Acura RDX Aspec - my 2nd one of this model!!!!! - Tue, 18May2021 - travelling at ~65 mph on the Houston Hardy Toll Road and lost all ability to accelerate and MIL (engine light) came on - I was able to pull over 4 lanes to the right shoulder safely - I turned the car off, waited ~30 seconds and then turned the car back on - I drove to the dealership, Gillman Acura, which is ~21.4 miles, and delivered the car - Gillman Service Rep advised that they were applying the intercooler replacement fix associated with Acura Service Bulletin 20-053 - issued 21Apr2021 - Dealership replaced intercooler, I picked up the car on Thu, 20May2021 - drove ~22 miles home and the very next day, Fri, 21May2021, when i was ~3 blocks from my house, the VSA - vehicle stability assistant light came on - 21May2021 and the car is back at the dealership for repair - The RDX is a rolling death trap and I pray that it doesn't take one or more fatalities and/or serious injuries to Acura owners and/or others before Acura does the right thing - a recall - In Apr2021, I purchased the first 2020 RDX Aspec, VIN: 5J8TC1H6XLL014219, and experience the "limp mode" issue on 4Jul2020 while traveling on I-10 west from Tallahassee to Houston - vehicle had 2.8K miles and experienced limp mode - see NHTSA complaint > 11339164 - Dealership exchanged the first car and now I've experienced "limp mode" with the second car

I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY AT 4:30AM WHEN I SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER FROM THE ENGINE AND IT WENT INTO LIMP MODE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS FLASHING AND FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC SO I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND SAT FOR A FEW MINUTES AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR EVERYTHING WAS WORKING FINE. I HAD A 12 HOUR DRIVE AHEAD OF ME AND I NEVER STOPPED THINKING OF HOW THAT COULD HAVE ENDED UP SO BADLY. LATER THAT DAY AS I WAS DRIVING THROUGH ATLANTA I SHUDDERED TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THIS LACK OF PROPULSION HAD OCCURRED. MY GUESS, QUITE BLUNTLY, IS THAT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. I HAVE READ ONLINE OF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENING TO A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE. ACURA NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED!

AFTER A STOP AT THE VA WELCOME CENTER, I ATTEMPTED TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC ON I-81 NORTH. THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO THE SHOULDER AND AVOID BEING REAR ENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DUNCAN ACURA. THEY DETERMINED MULTIPLE CASES OF SIMILAR MODELS HAD THE SAME COMPLAINT. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR LOSS OF LIFE AND SHOULD BE REMEDITED IMMEDIATELY. ONE ONLINE SOURCE SAID ACURA HAS KNOWN OF THIS PROBLEM SINCE 2016.*DT *TR

FIRST TIME OCCURRENCE; I AM THE FIRST TIME OWNER AND BOUGHT MY CAR NEW. APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR AND 3 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. ATTEMPTED TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY. GOING ABOUT 55 MPH AND ATTEMPTED TO ADVANCE TO 65 MPH. RPMS INCREASED TO ABOUT 4500-5500 BUT NO SPEED INCREASE. VEHICLE MADE A ERVING ENGINE SOUND. FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEM CAME ON AND AGAIN SO SPEED INCREASE WITH PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL. CAR THEN STARTED SLOWING DOWN AS IT WAS NOT RESPONDING TO MY FOOT ON THE GAS. HAD TO MERGE ONTO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURN THE VEHICLE OFF THEN BACK ON.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 ACURA RDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ACCELERATING ABOVE 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOSS MOTIVE POWER AND STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND WAITED FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE RESTARTING THE VEHICLE AND, THE VEHICLE OPERATED AS INTENDED. NAPLETON'S PALM BEACH ACURA (6870 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411, (877)363-2817) WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS NOTIFIED OF AN UNKNOWN TSB RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED TO CALL BACK IN JANUARY 2021 FOR ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT SUBJECTED TO A RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDED THAT THE VEHICLE BE DIAGNOSED AND THE RESULTS FORWARDED TO A REPRESENTATIVE. THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,300.*DT *TR

DRIVING IN THE RAIN, ACCELERATING ONTO A HIGHWAY, OUR 2020 ACURA RDX LOST POWER AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS BLINKING, AND WE WERE FORCED TO PULL OVER. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR, THE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS OFF AND WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE NORMALLY. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER ON 10/24/20 BUT THE ISSUE COULD NOT BE REPRODUCED. WE WERE INFORMED THAT ACURA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND MAY BE WORKING ON A FIX. THE PROBLEM IS ALSO WIDELY REPORTED ON THE ACURAZINE INTERNET FORUM. RESEARCHING THE ISSUE, IT APPEARS TO ONLY HAPPEN DURING RAINY CONDITIONS AND WHEN ACCELERATING.

AT APPROXIMATELY 10A OCT 14TH 2020 TRAVELING SOUTH BOUND ROUTE 15 IN LYCOMING COUNTY PA WEATHER CONDITIONS LIGHT RAIN 65DEG F DRIVING 2020 ACURA RDX WITH 2800 MILES ON ODOMETER. UPON APPROACH OF TRUCK TRAFFIC IN RIGHT LANE MOVED INTO LINE OF FASTER MOVING TRAFFIC IN LEFT LANE TO PASS TRUCKS WHEN THE ACURA RDX IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER AND SPEED, ALMOST CAUSED A CHAIN OF REAR END COLLISIONS AND THE VEHICLE FLASHED THE ENGINE LIGHT ON THE DISPLAY AND WOULD NOT MAINTAIN MORE THAN 25 MPH IN A 70 MPH ZONE. LEFT THE ROADWAY SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED IN APPROXIMATELY THREE MINS AND VEHICLE FUNCTION WAS NORMAL FOR THE REMAINING 40 MILES OF THE TRIP. OCT 16 2020 CONTACTED HONDA MOTORS USA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WAS TOLD TO CONTACT DEALER (150 MILES AWAY) FOR DIAGNOSING. UPON SOME QUICK RESEARCH DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT FOR MANY 2019/2020 ACURA RDX OWNERS. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT ACURA IS AWARE OF AND IS NOT ADDRESSING. CURRENTLY THERE IS NO RECALL AND NOT ONE OWNER HAS HAD ANY RESOLUTION TO DATE. I REQUEST THE NHTSA INTERVENE IMMEDIATELY TO ENGAGE ACURA IN RESOLVING THIS CRITICAL VEHICLE DESIGN FLAW. THIS IS A DEADLY ISSUE. THANK YOU.

I WAS ACCELERATING TO APPROXIMATELY 55MPH TO PASS A VEHICLE. AS SOON AS I COMPLETED THE PASS,THE ENGINE DECELERATED TO 20 MPH AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS FLASHING. FORTUNATELY FOR US WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE CAR SAFELY OFF OF THE ROAD. WE THEN SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. WAITED ABOUT 5 MINUTES RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND IT RAN FINE THE REST OF THE WAY HOME.