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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.

About this comparison →

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

Unknown Or Other complaints

30 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jun 9, 2025
EngineUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed ControlCrash

Drove into parking lot and as I was pulling into the parking spot next to the building, the vehicle started to surge forward as if I had my foot on the gas instead of the brake. The sudden surge caused the vehicle to plow into a brick building causing about $10K damage to the vehicle and $5K to the building. This was not the fi…

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Drove into parking lot and as I was pulling into the parking spot next to the building, the vehicle started to surge forward as if I had my foot on the gas instead of the brake. The sudden surge caused the vehicle to plow into a brick building causing about $10K damage to the vehicle and $5K to the building. This was not the first time this sudden surging occurred. It happened at least 3 times previously, and one time since. Fortunately, the other occurrences did not lead to any damages, but just some anxious moments. I took the vehicle to the dealership to get checked out after the last occurrence, but they said they couldn't duplicate it. I thought it might be some sort of "unknown" problem, until I started reading on Facebook and other internet websites of other people having the same scary "surging" engine issues. I believe there's more to it now, and an investigation is warranted.

NHTSA ODI #11665825

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 · Jan 28, 2025
Unknown Or Other

Rear window shattered without any certain impact due to a manufactured known defect. While I was driving the window shattered and all glass when flying every where. I contacted the dealer and the Acura corporate and they don’t want to know anything about it. I have my car sitting in my parking g lot because I don’t have $1000…

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Rear window shattered without any certain impact due to a manufactured known defect. While I was driving the window shattered and all glass when flying every where. I contacted the dealer and the Acura corporate and they don’t want to know anything about it. I have my car sitting in my parking g lot because I don’t have $1000 to pay to replace my rear window. Right now there is a class action lawsuit to Acura due to this issue but nobody is taking responsibility for this incident. I will appreciate if you can look into this because it is very dangerous and it can cause a big accident.

NHTSA ODI #11639203

Mileage unknown · Jun 24, 2024
Unknown Or Other

I took my 2021 Acura RDX to Pohanka Acura Service, Chantilly, VA 20151 after I noticed broken rear door weather strips on both sides which is very unusual for a new car. Dealer said it is not covered under warranty. Then I got them replaced by paying the full price for this to the dealer. I contacted the corporate HondaUSA for r…

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I took my 2021 Acura RDX to Pohanka Acura Service, Chantilly, VA 20151 after I noticed broken rear door weather strips on both sides which is very unusual for a new car. Dealer said it is not covered under warranty. Then I got them replaced by paying the full price for this to the dealer. I contacted the corporate HondaUSA for reimbursement for this issue and they said it would not cover under warranty. Even after they replaced the old weather strips with the new ones, I noticed same issue but at other location (weather strips were not attached to the doors at the corner). I took it back to the dealer again to fix and they said they cannot fix it as all RDX have same thing and they showed me some new RDX and I found the same issue in that car also. I am concerned whether these gaps will cause any problem due outside rain, wind, dust etc.

NHTSA ODI #11596265

Mileage unknown · Jun 14, 2024
Unknown Or Other

My sunroof exploded for no reason while traveling at highway speeds. Fortunately my sunshade was closed preventing shattered glass from entering the cabin which could have injured me. Shattered glass also damaged the paint on top of my vehicle which will require repainting. The noise made by the glass exploding startled me and c…

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My sunroof exploded for no reason while traveling at highway speeds. Fortunately my sunshade was closed preventing shattered glass from entering the cabin which could have injured me. Shattered glass also damaged the paint on top of my vehicle which will require repainting. The noise made by the glass exploding startled me and could have caused an accident in addition to the glass that flew off of the vehicle endangering vehicles behind me.

NHTSA ODI #11594354

Mileage unknown · May 24, 2024
Unknown Or Other

Panoramic sunroof has made popping noise when pulling into driveways 4/5 times within 3 weeks of owning vehicle. Have taken to dealer twice and they claim they cant replicate issue. I have recorded this noise during driving and shown to dealer but they refuse to fix. They have knowledge of issue and issued technical service bull…

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Panoramic sunroof has made popping noise when pulling into driveways 4/5 times within 3 weeks of owning vehicle. Have taken to dealer twice and they claim they cant replicate issue. I have recorded this noise during driving and shown to dealer but they refuse to fix. They have knowledge of issue and issued technical service bulletin requiring new sunroof and bolts because the current sunroof bolts and frame can not support its weight when vehicle flexes. Glass is at risk of shattering during vehicle operation.

NHTSA ODI #11590517

Mileage unknown · Mar 7, 2024
Unknown Or Other

Sunroof exploded! My wife was driving her Acura RDX on [XXX] in Sunroof exploded! My wife was driving her Acura RDX on [XXX] in Tucson Heading East to Vail Arizona, when she heard a loud pop--I heard it to as I was on the phone with her. My wife noticed a gush of air and cars behind her swerving dangerously as the sunroof glass …

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Sunroof exploded! My wife was driving her Acura RDX on [XXX] in Sunroof exploded! My wife was driving her Acura RDX on [XXX] in Tucson Heading East to Vail Arizona, when she heard a loud pop--I heard it to as I was on the phone with her. My wife noticed a gush of air and cars behind her swerving dangerously as the sunroof glass exploded out spraying glass all over cars following behind her. There was no inclement weather conditions. Nothing impacted the glass, the glass exploded out. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11575921

Mileage unknown · Feb 18, 2024
Air BagsSeatsUnknown Or Other

Approximately on 2/10/2024 shortly after i added my 2021 Acura to my auto policy my insurance co. GEICO notified me about the open recall. Nobody else has notified me on the open recall. I just purchased the vehicle on [XXX] from Autonation Acura In Torrance California. The recall notice Says "there is no remedy availableI" i pu…

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Approximately on 2/10/2024 shortly after i added my 2021 Acura to my auto policy my insurance co. GEICO notified me about the open recall. Nobody else has notified me on the open recall. I just purchased the vehicle on [XXX] from Autonation Acura In Torrance California. The recall notice Says "there is no remedy availableI" i purchased this beautiful CPO vehicle and I put $20,000 cash ( debit card) as a down payment and I had to pay additional costs for the extended 9 yr. warranty. I financed the rest. The vehicle price was $31.000 with 20.000 miles on it. The total costs $44.000. I haven't even made my first payment yet which is due february 20, 2024. My interest rate is high 8.99 is the rate and I have excellent credit. I've only put 20 miles or less on the car since I bought it. My auto Insurance Company now recommended that I do not drive it. My auto insurance could possibly go up in cost as well. I have not drove the car since I learned of the recall. I want my money back and I want to return the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11572570

Mileage unknown · Feb 13, 2024
Unknown Or Other

Since purchasing this vehicle new in August, 2020, I have noticed intermittent loud "popping" noises coming from the sunroof. This typically happens when driving over an uneven portion of the road and sounds like the glass is going to break. I am reporting this now because I have read numerous similar complaints by other RDX o…

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Since purchasing this vehicle new in August, 2020, I have noticed intermittent loud "popping" noises coming from the sunroof. This typically happens when driving over an uneven portion of the road and sounds like the glass is going to break. I am reporting this now because I have read numerous similar complaints by other RDX owners where in some cases, the glass has actually imploded.

NHTSA ODI #11571614

Mileage unknown · Jan 20, 2024
Unknown Or Other

I’d like to report an issue with this vehicle’s app companion, AcuraLink. AcuraLink is the official app offered by Acura, which delivers features that allow an owner to control and manage their vehicle remotely. I use the app for remote smart. On 1/17 at approximately 8am, I opened the app and sent a command to start the vehicle…

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I’d like to report an issue with this vehicle’s app companion, AcuraLink. AcuraLink is the official app offered by Acura, which delivers features that allow an owner to control and manage their vehicle remotely. I use the app for remote smart. On 1/17 at approximately 8am, I opened the app and sent a command to start the vehicle. The command failed, and I received a failure message to indicate this. I tried three more times, each time receiving a failure message, so I gave up and manually started the car. Approximately 45 minutes later, the car was back in our attached garage, with the ignition off, and our garage door shut. I suddenly heard the car start while in the garage. I went out, shut the car off, and went back inside. Over the course of 30 minutes or so, the car started two more times, in my attached garage with the door shut. This is an extremely dangerous scenario due to the potential of carbon monoxide and dioxide exposure. If this had happened in the middle of the night, I would not have heard the car running in the garage. This may have resulted in grave consequences for my family. It was as though the app continued to send commands to the car even after failure errors were received by the operator. I reported the issue immediately to Acura and have heard nothing back. I searched for similar stories on the social media site Reddit under the Acura group, and found multiple Acura owners reporting the same issue.

NHTSA ODI #11566634

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.