2020 Acura RDX Powertrain (other) Problems

Powertrain failed in 2020 Acura RDX Tech Pkg AWD. Only 2 weeks after the 6 year warranty expired on the vehicle the powertrain failed and set off the check engine light. Dealer service department found an excessive amount of shavings in the plug. The vehicle only had 41,345 miles on it before transmission/powertrain failed and there was only 1 owner for the vehicle. It was purchased brand new from the dealer and vehicle was well-maintained.

NHTSA ID

11728589

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

Under full throttle acceleration while merging onto highway the car would not deliver power and the check engine started flashing. Pressing the accelerator did not make the car go. I had to pull over and stop the car. I turned it off and turned it back on and was able to drive away. Both times, the weather was very humid and I was merging on a ramp that had an uphill incline. This happened twice within a few days. The first time was on 3-MAY-2025 and the second time was on 5-MAY-2025

NHTSA ID

11658858

Incident

May 5, 2025

My car transmission light came on...check engine. Then said blind spot warning not working. See dealer. My car transmission warning message appears every time I accelerate to 60mph. It switches to sport mode on its on and I am unable to switch it back. My cameras malfunction for blind spots. The car sound is louder and usually it's quiet. I take my car in regularly for servid3 with the dealer. This is very strange. I am scared to go past 60mph.

NHTSA ID

11523569

Incident

May 21, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH and changing lanes, the vehicle decelerated with an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to accelerate; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that after several minutes the vehicle started to operate as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 280,093.

NHTSA ID

11509836

Incident

Feb 24, 2023

Mileage

280,093 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving at 70 MPH in the rain, the vehicle upshifted and downshifted independently. The check engine warning illuminated. The vehicle continued to downshift. The accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond, and the vehicle continued to decelerate. The contact veered to the side of the roadway and parked the vehicle. The contact then turned off the vehicle for 30 seconds. The contact stated that as he restarted the vehicle, the check engine warning light was no longer illuminated. The vehicle then operated as needed while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

NHTSA ID

11458718

Incident

Mar 22, 2022

Mileage

36,000 mi

Pulled out to pass and when I tried to accelerate, the engine basically died. It didn't turn off, but dropped to limp mode and the check engine light started flashing. Engine stayed in limp mode until being turned off and on again. In limp mode, car would not even go 10 mhp on even a slight uphill incline. Doubt it would have made it up more of a hill. This could be a huge safety problem if there had been more traffic. Acura is aware of the problem and says it is a design flaw with the turbo intercooler, but they don't have parts to fix it. They said pulling over and turning the car off for a minute and restarting it should fix the problem, which it did for me, but that isn't always safe to do. Acura also said it is out of warranty and I will have to pay for the repair out of pocket. Owners need to be aware their car could die unexpectedly when trying to accelerate and what to do to correct it, and Acura/Honda needs to recall and repair this!

NHTSA ID

11437457

Incident

Oct 5, 2021

When accelerating, my vehicle continues to have sudden deceleration, loss of power and stalls. While driving, the vehicle continues to have very sudden decelerate and loses power which is very dangerous given the volume and speed of other vehicles on the road. When driving steady for more than 30 minutes, you can hear the vehicle downshift or trying to go into another gear. It's only a matter of time before an accident happens if it has not yet already happened to someone else where life if not worth the risk.. Given the number vehicle owners who have had this same experience, I do not understand why this vehicle has not been recalled. It needs to be recalled as soon as possible before a life is involved. By the time the dealer checks for transmission issues, of course they do not find anything after a 10-minute drive which is very frustrating for the owner only to experience this issue over and over again! I am an unsatisfied and frighten by my experience. This issues also seems to be getting worse and worse!!!!!! No crash.....yet!

NHTSA ID

11428094

Incident

Aug 6, 2021

The contact owned a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle inadvertently slowed down and without warning a strange noise came from the engine compartment and a sudden jerk to the wheel when the vehicle accelerated without warning up to approximately 100 mph. The contact was able to exit the highway where the vehicle made another strange noise from the engine compartment and the wheel jerked when the vehicle accelerated without warning again which resulted in the contact crashing into a group of 3 vehicles. There were 2 confirmed injuries which were the occupants of the contact's vehicle the driver and front seat passenger. The contact sustained a broken sternum, internal bleeding, decompression of lower back, and swollen right side foot. The contact's son sustained a lumbar fracture and a contusion. The contact does not know if anyone in the other vehicles were injured. A police report was taken and the vehicle was towed to an insurance lot. The vehicle was then towed to a salvaged lot and deemed a total loss. The contact stated she does not know if warning lights were illuminated. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and told the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 5,040.

NHTSA ID

11427232

Incident

Mar 20, 2021

Mileage

5,040 mi

Driving 40 MPH in heavy rain, had to accelerate quickly while changing lanes, engine when into derate. Check engine flashing, loss of power, engaged 4 way flasher, went 25mph to interstate exit.

NHTSA ID

11424098

Incident

Jul 2, 2021

I was on a three hour drive in the rain and around the 2.5 hour mark I attempted to overtake a vehicle by rapidly accelerating. The vehicle had a complete loss of power and the check engine light illuminated. The car would not accelerate however the engine was running. I had to get to the shoulder across multiple lanes without engine power. The vehicle would only drive at idle speed until I powered the vehicle down and restarted at which time normal operation resumed and the check engine light was no longer illuminated. This is the second time this has occurred on a lengthy drive in the rain both times when attempting to overtake another vehicle. The latest occurrence was on April 10th 2021. The Acura dealership was unable to replicate or find any error codes in the ECU and directed me to corporate Acura to file a case. There's been no traction with that case and the vehicle remains unsafe to operate in the rain.

NHTSA ID

11421972

Incident

Apr 10, 2021

While driving, the engine suddenly lost power and started blinking the engine light and went into the "limp mode" mentioned here: https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/nhtsa-report-2020-acura-rdx-lost-power-while-driving/ I was forced to pull over without power and wait with the engine off until it resumed normal function. This could have caused a crash without the power to drive on the highway.

NHTSA ID

11421788

Incident

Jun 22, 2021

My car's engine quit as I was about to make a right turn off a 6 lane road. It would not restart. By design, the transmission immediately goes into park (electrickly). There is no way for the driver to put it into neutral so it could be pushed or serviced by a flat bed tow truck. As a result my car blocked the turn lane requiring numerous cars to go around me putting my wife and I in danger of being hit. It also put the drivers of cars who were detouring around me in danger of collision with cars in the three thru lanes. The police placed one of their cars in the lane with lights on to mitigate the danger. They also tried to start my car un-succcessfully. The dealer repaired my car by replacing a defective "O" ring in the fuel pump pressure line. This was a recall item I had previously had done by the dealer

NHTSA ID

11417485

Incident

May 13, 2021

IT WAS MILDLY RAINING AND I WENT TO ACCELLERATE ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND ALL A SUDDEN WITHOUT WARNING THE CAR STARTED TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE AND STUTTER AND THE CAR LOST ALL POWER AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BY ANOTHER CAR BECAUSE I LACKED POWER. THE VEHICLE THEN REFUSED TO ACCELERATE AND I HAD TO DANGEROUSLY GLIDE OFF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT POWER AND THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED. EVERY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I THEN HAD THE VEHICLE FIXED AND THEY SAID IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH AN ENGINE COIL. THREE WEEKS LATER IN THE SAME SITUATION IN THE MILD RAIN THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED AGAIN. I WENT TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY IN A MILD RAIN THE CAR BROKE DOWN THE EXACT SAME WAY. I AM WAITING FOR IT GET DIAGNOSED AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

11414777

Incident

Apr 26, 2021

Mileage

13,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11396339

Incident

Feb 10, 2021

Mileage

2,700 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11359997

Incident

Sep 16, 2020

Mileage

4,314 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11355570

Incident

Sep 12, 2020

Mileage

811 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 ACURA RDX. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, WHILE DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT STATED SEVERAL UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STATED HE RESTARTED THE IGNITION AND CONTINUED TO DRIVE HIS RESIDENCE BUT CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO LOCAL DEALER ACURA COLUMBUS LOCATED AT 4340 W DUBLIN GRANVILLE RD, DUBLIN, OH 43017, (614) 761-1222, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE. THE CONTACT CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,390.

NHTSA ID

11348392

Incident

Jul 18, 2020

Mileage

1,390 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11343575

Incident

Jul 30, 2020

Mileage

4,900 mi

MY 2020 ACURA RDX HAS NOW GONE INTO "LIMP MODE" 4 TIMES SINCE I HAVE PURCHASED THIS CAR. TWICE, I ALMOST WAS INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS SUDDENLY LOSE OF ACCELERATION. IN "LIMP MODE" THE VEHICLE WILL NOT SHIFT GEARS AND YOU ARE FORCED TO TRY TO SLOW DOWN AND MOVE OVER TO A SAFE PLACE. YOU MUST THEN TURN OFF THE VEHICLE ~ WHICH SO FAR HAS RESET WHATEVER ISSUE HAPPENS AND THEN YOU ARE ABLE TO DRIVE NORMALLY AGAIN. MY VEHICLE ONLY HAS 15,000 MILES ON IT. IN ALL INSTANCES I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 60 - 65 MILES PER HOUR, WITH WET ROAD CONDITIONS AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO PASS A SLOWER MOVING VEHICLE. WHEN PRESSING DOWN TO ACCELERATE, THE VEHICLE TRIES TO DOWNSHIFT, BUT IT PAUSES AND THE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON ~ (LIMP MODE). I LOOSE ANY ACCELERATION AND AM FORCED TO TRY TO SAFELY MOVE OVER TOWARD THE EMERGENCY LANE TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE TO GET IT TO RESET. SO FAR, THIS HAS AT LEAST ALLOWED ME TO CONTINUE ON MY TRAVELS. BUT THIS IS VERY ALARMING AND DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR ON A TWO LANE ROAD TRYING TO PASS A SLOWER VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ID

11327150

Incident

May 22, 2020

Mileage

13,657 mi

WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX. 75MPH ONE RAINY EVENING THE ENGINE LOST POWER, AND WOULD NOT MAINTAIN SPEED. AFTER MITIGATING ONCOMING TRAFFIC FROM BEHIND I WAS ABLE TO GET OVER 3 LANES TO THE SHOULDER AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. AFTER RESTARTING THE IGNITION, THE VEHICLE RESUMED WITH NORMAL POWER.

NHTSA ID

11323102

Incident

Dec 13, 2019

Mileage

705 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 ACURA RDX. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS PASSING A VEHICLE ACCELERATING AT 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR FLASHED. THE VEHICLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE AND SLOWED DOWN TO ONLY 10 MPH. WHEN THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, IT OPERATED NORMALLY AND WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN HOME. THE SAME FAILURE OCCURRED RANDOMLY ON AN EARLIER MODEL VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT WITH ACURA OF AUGUSTA (1760 GORDON HWY, AUGUSTA, GA 30904, (706) 737-5200). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,400.

NHTSA ID

11277312

Incident

Oct 30, 2019

Mileage

3,400 mi