2013 Acura RDX
Complaints about this year name dim far more often than the other years of this generation — 38% of them, about 96× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Acura RDX was redesigned for 2013. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 162 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 33 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 22.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- dim — 38.3% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (191.4×).
- headlights — 44.4% of this year's complaints, against 1.4% across the other years of this generation (32.9×).
- night — 38.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.7% across the other years of this generation (14.4×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- headlights — 44% of complaints, 33× usual
- night — 39% of complaints, 14× usual
- low beam — 23% of complaints, 57× usual
What owners wrote
The low beam headlights on our Acura RDX are so dim that they cannot be used at night and we are forced to drive with high beams on for safety.
Low beam headlights have begun to dim so much that they are unsafe and ineffective at night. I understand that there may be a reflector problem with the headlights.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V182000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V061000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 13V143000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Acura RDX was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2013 Acura RDX? What happened to yours?
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