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
What owners actually said
111 reports
Mileage unknown · Oct 30, 2023
StructureUnknown Or OtherInjury
The panoramic sunroof exploded on our Acura RDX model 2021. Me, my wife and our 3 month old son were returning from dinner, we took the ramp and about to merge on a highway then we heard a loud and sudden explosive noise which scared all of us. Thank God we had the sunroof blind partially closed over the real infant seat, so the…
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The panoramic sunroof exploded on our Acura RDX model 2021. Me, my wife and our 3 month old son were returning from dinner, we took the ramp and about to merge on a highway then we heard a loud and sudden explosive noise which scared all of us. Thank God we had the sunroof blind partially closed over the real infant seat, so the glass shatters left some minor cuts on my left forearm and back (glass pieces got between my back and driving seat). Also, the glass pieces did cut the sunroof blind/rolling cloth screen. We are glad that we made home safe and not sure what is the process of getting the issue fixed by the manufacturer and thorough cleaning up of the glass remains/dust. Please advise.
NHTSA ODI #11552681
Mileage unknown · Sep 20, 2023
Unknown Or Other
This morning (09/20/2023) - I was driving on the interstate (I-78 in Mississippi) - I heard a large bang/explosion and then began hearing external noise. I thought a tire on a vehicle nearby had blownout but realized the traffic near me was not slowing down. I pulled off the interstate and inspected my tires. Discovered all my t…
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This morning (09/20/2023) - I was driving on the interstate (I-78 in Mississippi) - I heard a large bang/explosion and then began hearing external noise. I thought a tire on a vehicle nearby had blownout but realized the traffic near me was not slowing down. I pulled off the interstate and inspected my tires. Discovered all my tires were fine, but realized I could still hear the road. I discovered that my sunroof had exploded/shattered. I had not heard anything hit it or seen any debris flying through the air prior. Thank goodness my fabric divider was on and I did not have the sunroof open at the time - glass shards would have been all on me and throughout my car.
NHTSA ODI #11545739
15,000 miles · Aug 17, 2023
Seat Belts
The contact owns a 2021 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while his son was in the car seat in the rear driver's side seat, he pulled the rear middle seat belt pretensioner and released it; however, the seat belt pretensioner retracted and tightened around his son's neck. The contact attempted to remove the seat belt, but the s…
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The contact owns a 2021 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while his son was in the car seat in the rear driver's side seat, he pulled the rear middle seat belt pretensioner and released it; however, the seat belt pretensioner retracted and tightened around his son's neck. The contact attempted to remove the seat belt, but the seat belt remained tightened. The contact stated that he used a utility knife to cut the seat belt. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
NHTSA ODI #11539229
Mileage unknown · Jul 16, 2023
Service Brakes
Since buying this car I’ve had a few occasions where the car has not slowed down and feels like the transmission is pushing the car more than it should under hard breaking.
NHTSA ODI #11532587
Mileage unknown · Jun 8, 2023
Seat Belts
The rear driver side seat belt has frayed repeatedly over the last 2 years. This puts my young child at risk of the seat belt failing in an accident. The seat belt has been replaced by the local Acura dealership 3 times, but the cause of the fray has not been identified. Fray #1 was first seen with a Nuna Rava child car seat …
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The rear driver side seat belt has frayed repeatedly over the last 2 years. This puts my young child at risk of the seat belt failing in an accident. The seat belt has been replaced by the local Acura dealership 3 times, but the cause of the fray has not been identified. Fray #1 was first seen with a Nuna Rava child car seat installed in the forward facing configuration. The fray was in the upper section of the OE seat belt between the car pillar and where it exits the child car seat. It was replaced in March 2022. This was replaced on goodwill from Bob Lindsay Acura dealership. Fray #2 was noticed in the same location in the new (March 2022) seat belt and replaced in December 2022. This was replaced on goodwill from Bob Lindsay Acura dealership. Fray #3 was again noticed in the same place in the December 2022 seat belt and replaced in January 2023. This was replaced on goodwill from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. The original thought was the tension from the car seat was causing the fray in the seat belt; however, the dealership and Honda provided no reason or explaination for why the belt was fraying or possible remedy solution beyond directly replacing the seat belt. The child has since outgrown the Nuna Rava child seat in January 2023 and is now a Diono Monterey high-back booster seat. This Diono booster was installed at the same time as the January 2023 seat belt replacement. Fray #4 was seen in the January 2023 seat belt at the same general location as the previous frays on 8 June 2023.
NHTSA ODI #11526012
Mileage unknown · May 7, 2023
Unknown Or Other
On 10/2/2022 the rear glass shattered on my RDX for no reason. It was parked in the driveway. Safelight replaced the glass but was unable to get the glass out of the tailgate and shards were being randomly released. I then had the entire tailgate/glass replaced with original Acura tailgate/glass. On 5/7 /2023 the glass sha…
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On 10/2/2022 the rear glass shattered on my RDX for no reason. It was parked in the driveway. Safelight replaced the glass but was unable to get the glass out of the tailgate and shards were being randomly released. I then had the entire tailgate/glass replaced with original Acura tailgate/glass. On 5/7 /2023 the glass shattered again for no reason. Parked in the garage with door closed. I attached pics of both incidents. The last two pictures are from the 10/2 incident.
NHTSA ODI #11520817
Mileage unknown · Apr 8, 2023
EngineService BrakesCrash
While sitting in a long row of stopped vehicles at a traffic light for an extended amount of time due to an accident I had the Automatic Brake Hold feature activated { I did not have to have my foot on the brake while sitting still) as well as the Auto Idle Stop OFF button meaning {the engine shuts down when you come to a stop.}…
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While sitting in a long row of stopped vehicles at a traffic light for an extended amount of time due to an accident I had the Automatic Brake Hold feature activated { I did not have to have my foot on the brake while sitting still) as well as the Auto Idle Stop OFF button meaning {the engine shuts down when you come to a stop.} Apparently, the Brake Hold feature timed out with no warning whatsoever and because the vehicle moved forward the Auto Start Stop feature activated at the same time and the vehicle lurched forward rear ending a new expensive SUV in front of me. The impact was hard due to the quick lurch of my vehicle. I have damage to the front of my vehicle and all of the electronic features started flashing including the emission control. The driver advised she was very shaken up and if a pedestrian or bicyclist had been in front of us it could have been very tragic.The vehicle is being towed to A local Acura dealer for evaluation and I have a Case number assigned by Honda with no case manager assigned yet. There were no warning lights/lamps at all prior to the vehicle Brake Hold timing out and further searching through the manual only says it times out after 10 minutes but does not advise what happens when that happens or what warning will be used.
NHTSA ODI #11516100
Mileage unknown · Mar 13, 2023
Air BagsSeats
My wife, 78 years old, is petite. She weighs 75 lbs, height 4'10." The front passenger seat sensors don't register her as sitting in the seat with the result that the passenger air bag is not engaged (the dashboard light indicates the air bag is OFF). My vehicle, 2021 Acura RDX, passenger seat has 2 seat sensors while the MDX mo…
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My wife, 78 years old, is petite. She weighs 75 lbs, height 4'10." The front passenger seat sensors don't register her as sitting in the seat with the result that the passenger air bag is not engaged (the dashboard light indicates the air bag is OFF). My vehicle, 2021 Acura RDX, passenger seat has 2 seat sensors while the MDX model has 4 seat sensors that would register her weight and the air bag system would be engaged. We have not had an accident. The MDX seat is not compatible with the RDX. Acura says that nothing can be done to rectify the problem. I consider this problem a safety defect.
NHTSA ODI #11511627
Mileage unknown · Mar 4, 2023
Service Brakes
Rear brakes: Rear brakes and rotors make odd noise or extraordinarily high pitched screeching sounds coming from outside the car when your brakes are applied. When using brakes in reverse the noise is very load. This happens when all the time wither the vehicle is cold or warm. Driver must use additional force to stop vehicle …
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Rear brakes: Rear brakes and rotors make odd noise or extraordinarily high pitched screeching sounds coming from outside the car when your brakes are applied. When using brakes in reverse the noise is very load. This happens when all the time wither the vehicle is cold or warm. Driver must use additional force to stop vehicle while in reverse. I have made numerous complaints to the dealership, they are aware of the ingoing problem with the 2021, but they currently do not have fix for the problem. I have concerns that the brakes will fail while reversing out of parking spaces and leaving my home daily.
NHTSA ODI #11510123
Mileage unknown · Dec 29, 2022
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed Control
On 12/22/22, I was driving in a 2021 RDX SH-AWD with my pregnant wife and 2 year old son from Media PA to Pittsburgh PA . It was rainy and 35-40 degrees F the whole drive. Approximately 4 hours into the drive we stopped at a rest stop on the PA turnpike to get gas. While attempting to merge back onto the turnpike from the servic…
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On 12/22/22, I was driving in a 2021 RDX SH-AWD with my pregnant wife and 2 year old son from Media PA to Pittsburgh PA . It was rainy and 35-40 degrees F the whole drive. Approximately 4 hours into the drive we stopped at a rest stop on the PA turnpike to get gas. While attempting to merge back onto the turnpike from the service road to the right of the turnpike, a truck was coming up behind me in the right hand lane of the turnpike. I was traveling approximately 40mph on the service road, so I went to accelerate to safely complete the merge in front of the truck. Near the end of my acceleration sequence (I estimate I had gotten to approx 65mph) my car went into “limp mode”. I felt an unexpected and immediate loss of power and my check engine light/“MIL” began flashing yellow. I was luckily able to barely avoid a collision with the truck that was approaching. After the light started flashing I was unable to turn the knob to switch drive modes (it was in snow mode at the time this all happened). I was unable to do anything but attempt to drive to safety with severe power loss. I was able to coast my car with minimal accelerator response to the next exit off the turnpike and into a motel parking lot. I shut down the car and then turned it back on. When I turned it back on, the MIL light was no longer flashing and I had normal power restored to the vehicle, but interestingly the auto stop/start feature no longer worked. I was able to drive the remainder of the way to Pittsburgh without any further loss in power, though I was anxious the entire drive considering the major malfunction I had just experienced while attempting a merge at highway speeds. The vehicle only had approx 10,500 miles on it at the time of the incident. The vehicle is currently at the dealership being diagnosed. A case has also been opened directly with Acura/Honda.
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.
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.
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.
2021 Acura Rdx Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year