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2021 Acura Rdx

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Rdx years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Acura Rdx are substantially higher than the model-year median of 36.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 12 of 111 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Forward Collision Avoidance complaints

6 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jan 30, 2025
EngineForward Collision AvoidanceUnknown Or Other

While accelerating off the entrance ramp onto the highway, The engine randomly slows down automatically…the car reduced speed drastically without applying brakes and without cars around me or in front of me.

NHTSA ODI #11639766

Mileage unknown · Aug 28, 2022
Forward Collision Avoidance

What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Car automatically applied brakes on several occasions, despite no obstacles in front of the car. Incident 1: While driving through an 3-way intersection, the car slammed on the brakes automatically. There was a van in the opposite lane waiting to turn left. There was 2-3 feet of …

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What component or system failed or malfunctioned? Car automatically applied brakes on several occasions, despite no obstacles in front of the car. Incident 1: While driving through an 3-way intersection, the car slammed on the brakes automatically. There was a van in the opposite lane waiting to turn left. There was 2-3 feet of space so there was no risk of collision, but the car slammed on the brakes causing me to come to a sudden stop in the middle of the intersection. Incident 2: I was changing lanes to go past a stopped car in the left lane (It was waiting to make a left turn) The car automatically applied brakes, even though I would not have hit the car. Cars behind me had to slam on their brakes to avoid rear-ending my stopped car. Incident 3: While driving on a freeway at 65 mph with light traffic and no cars in front for at least 1000 ft the car flashed the automatic brake warning. It did not actually apply the brakes, but could have caused an accident considering the speed. Incident 4: While driving on a 2-lane road with cars parked on the sides of the road, the car displayed an automatic brake warning despite no collision being imminent. Incident 5: While driving down a suburban street with no trees or obstacles in sight, the automatic brake warning flashed. How was safety put at risk? Sudden stopping in a road, highway, or intersection could cause an accident. I am concerned for my safety, because if the car stops unexpectedly in the middle of the road, other cars may hit me. This is the same system used in some Hondas, so a recall of Honda vehicles may need to be extended to Acura vehicles. Has the problem been confirmed by dealer? Yes. The service advisor told me that his car has the same problem, but that it is normal and there is nothing they can do about it. Were there any warnings? Usually happens when there is a radar reflective object above or off to the side of the path of travel. The BRAKE warning appears when automatic braking is applied.

NHTSA ODI #11481593

Mileage unknown · Aug 8, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesSteering

All software systems failed, disabling the vehicle. Error messages included failure in braking, steering, and other vital systems. Acura roadside assistance determined that the car had to be towed to the nearest dealer. The dealer confirmed the issue was a "DTC P061B PCM internal malfunction" and performed a "PGM-FI software upd…

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All software systems failed, disabling the vehicle. Error messages included failure in braking, steering, and other vital systems. Acura roadside assistance determined that the car had to be towed to the nearest dealer. The dealer confirmed the issue was a "DTC P061B PCM internal malfunction" and performed a "PGM-FI software update to correct the issue." The vehicle was completely disabled, and we were 4 1/2 hours from the nearest dealership. There were no warnings or communications prior to the incident.

NHTSA ODI #11478200

Mileage unknown · Apr 4, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceVisibility/wiper

Purchased my 2021 in November of 2020. Two weeks after, i was driving with adaptive cruise on at 65 mph on a freeway. 100 yds ahead i could see a diesel going slower than i, so i looked and saw no one coming at all, so i moved over to the passing lane. I got 5 feet into the lane and the car slammed on its brakes, on its own!!! …

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Purchased my 2021 in November of 2020. Two weeks after, i was driving with adaptive cruise on at 65 mph on a freeway. 100 yds ahead i could see a diesel going slower than i, so i looked and saw no one coming at all, so i moved over to the passing lane. I got 5 feet into the lane and the car slammed on its brakes, on its own!!! Thank god no one was behind me or i might have died!! I reported this to Acura within 1 week, and then reported it to DOT the next week. I own one of the first 2021 s made, so i didn’t see a lot of feedback. Now after a year and a half i get on the DOT website and see many complaints like mine. This has happens to me maybe once every 3 weeks. Why has the DOT done nothing about this??!!! Also the DOT says there are no recalls on my car but if you go to the Acura website it says my car is under recall for a driveshaft problem, of which i never received a notice. Why does the DOT exist??

NHTSA ODI #11459605

Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2021
Forward Collision Avoidance

On 3 separate occasions my Collision mitigation braking system has malfunctioned. The first time I was driving at 55 with my cruise control set with no cars in front, behind or beside me when, without warning or reason, the orange brake light abruptly flashed on my front dash panel and my car abruptly stopped in a whiplash mann…

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On 3 separate occasions my Collision mitigation braking system has malfunctioned. The first time I was driving at 55 with my cruise control set with no cars in front, behind or beside me when, without warning or reason, the orange brake light abruptly flashed on my front dash panel and my car abruptly stopped in a whiplash manner. The second occasion I was driving on the interstate at 65, on this particular interstate, the 64, it splits to the right to a separate interstate, the 264, and cars wait until the last minute to go 3 lanes of traffic over to get off. My car again without warning or reason flashed the orange brake sign on my front dash panel and my car abruptly stopped. Thankfully the cars rushing over did not hit me but there were honks and swerves and I could have been hit or caused an accident. The third incident occurred 8/25/21 with my son in the car while the feature was disabled, I was not close to the car in front of me, at least 2 car lengths as we were sitting in traffic and all trying to merge left, thankfully this time I was able to take control of the brake because I was going at a speed of ~5 but it scared my special needs son to the point of not being able to go back over that bridge.

NHTSA ODI #11430610

Mileage unknown · Jun 8, 2021
Forward Collision Avoidance

On May 9th we were driving on the freeway at around 3 pm on a sunlit clear day. It was a straight section of road. Dry pavement and traffic moving reasonably well. The car in front of us was at least 100 yards in front of us and about the same for the vehicle behind I believe. We were going around 50 mph. The car slammed on the…

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On May 9th we were driving on the freeway at around 3 pm on a sunlit clear day. It was a straight section of road. Dry pavement and traffic moving reasonably well. The car in front of us was at least 100 yards in front of us and about the same for the vehicle behind I believe. We were going around 50 mph. The car slammed on the brakes so hard the seat belt restraints engaged as we flew forward, enough so that my wife and I were both sore the next day. Items on the back seat flew onto the floor. If there had been a car behind us we would have been rear ended and potentially a multi car pile up. We took the car to the dealership the next day. They had the car for the day and returned it saying everything is calibrated as it should be. I have called Acura and they set up a case number and a case manager and said they would call me. They have not called nor returned my repeated phone calls. I have asked for a supervisor to call and that has not happened either. Acura’s case number is 12213602 and Simon is the case manager. His phone is 800 999 1009 x87723. The supervisor’s name is Terry. I don’t have an extension number for her. We have grandkids that ride in car seats in the back seat. Thank god this didn’t happen with one or both in the back seat with a car behind us. We have been driving cars with the braking feature on them for 10 years now (Ford and Infinity) and have never had anything like this happen. We’ve had the adaptive cruise pick up on something in the past and ease off the accelerator but never anything like this. The cruise was not engaged when this occurred. In googling this it sounds like we aren’t the only ones having this issue.

NHTSA ODI #11420161

Official recalls

3

26V332000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

May 21, 2026

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

24V064000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

Feb 1, 2024

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

21V939000 · Power Train:driveline:driveshaft

Dec 2, 2021

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.