Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 Acura RDX owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH upon depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road, where she turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure recurred several times while driving. The contact stated that she veered to the side of the road, turned off and restarted the vehicle on each occasion, and the vehicle operated as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. …
The contact owns a 2019 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to move or shift into neutral(N). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no additional assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V215000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
On July 24, 2022, while driving from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois back to our home in Lisle, IL, in a heavy rainstorm, our RDX suddenly started flashing the engine light and lost power on Interstate 57. We were fortunate to be able to maneuver it to the side of the road, and off the nearby ramp at Bradley, IL. We 'googled' the circumstances on our iphone, to learn that this is considered a serious, potentially life-threatening situation, and that Acura recommended immediate Service Bulletin 20-053, dated May 25, 2021, states the symptom as "The MIL is flashing with loss of power." It indicates "Corrective Action" for the RDX as "Update the PGM-FI and replace the intercooler, the intercooler outlet pipe assembly and the intercooler outlet hose." Affected vehicles include "ALL" 2019-2020 RDX models." Despite the Service Bulletin that was issued, many RDX owners, noted the same response from …
My car has been shaking on acceleration but no engine light or any warning popped up. When I called an Acura dealership, they said they would have trouble diagnosing the problem without a light on. A few days later, while accelerating on the highway, my car started shaking violently and lost power. The engine light started flashing. I could have gotten into an accident because I could no longer accelerate on the highway. I had to slowly pull off to a safe stop. This could have been a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Someone could have crashed into me behind me and I could not quickly get into a safe area. I brought it to an Acura dealership and they could not find anything. The engine light had turned off. Though, when I took the car again, the car was still shaking on acceleration. I was afraid to drive at normal speeds since it is extremely safe. …
The breaks did not work while in a parking lot right after switching into drive. No major risk of any injury where this occurred. Not reported to the dealer, not inspected. No injury, no property damage. I left my wife in the vehicle with the car in park and went into the store. I came out 15 minutes later, car was running. I got in, put my foot on the break, and switch to drive? The car started rolling forward on its own. I repeatedly tried the breaks, but no response. I had steering. I gave it a little gas, and the engine reved like it was in neutral. I looked down and that point the car indicated it was in neutral. My wife said that none of the drive indicators were on while I had the issue. At some point the breaks started working, after I gave it a little gas? I got the car into drive, and tested it before moving on to verify it was behaving correctly. …
On July 12, 2025 my husband, the driver, and myself, owner of the vehicle and passenger this day, were driving on the freeway at approximately 7:00am in the middle lanes of the freeway. Without any codes or warnings beforehand, we heard the car make alarming beeps and automatically loss all power to the engine while traveling at highway speeds. This situation put my husband and my lives at risk and in a dangerous situation as there was traffic on a busy freeway and lost all power to the vehicle and made even maneuvering off the freeway a dangerous action as we had no warning beforehand there was something wrong. My husband was able to get us safely out of harms way. …
on 2/3/22, after only 12 hours of owning the vehicle, I merged onto 287 South and upon speeding up and merging into the center lane, I lost all acceleration and my dash lit up like a Christmas Tree. An 18 wheeler was coming behind me in the middle lane at 65 mph while my car slowed down to 25 mph. I was thankfully able to get over to the side of the road without being hurt or even killed. Upon bringing it into the dealer, the codes showed that it was a bad engine coil and spark plug. This was repaired under warranty. Fast forward to 5/16/22, I exited the highway, came to a complete stop at a red light. Upon the light turning green, I went to accelerate and limp mode activated again. I have video of the incident and dealership is unable to find any issues with the vehicle. Both times it was either raining or had just stopped. …
On 9/22/22 travelling on I-290 near Boylston, MA I was passing a large tractor trailer in the far left lane going up a hill. It was and had been raining very hard for at least the previous hour. When I stepped on the accelerator to increase speed, the car suddenly decelerated to about 20 mph and the check engine light began flashing. I was able cross all three lanes in very heavy traffic to the shoulder. I then slowly made my way off the interstate to a gas station right beyond the exit. My passengers and I were very concerned about the suddenness and the abrupt reduction in speed on an extremely busy roadway. A call to the nearest Acura dealer service department confirmed he had seen nearly the same symptoms the prior week under similar road conditions and the same model car as mine. He found no codes on the other car. …
Transmission intermittently gets stuck in a gear while driving and will not shift until car is powered off and on again. Brake system, LKA, power steering, vehicle stability/traction control, hill assist, cruise control, collision mitigation, and road departure mitigation intermittently stop working and error. Infotainment and audio intermittently error or get stuck on after powering off vehicle. Trunk randomly opens when no one is in range of the vehicle. Horn randomly sounds for approximately 30 seconds on hot days after vehicle is stopped. Engine cylinder heads, transmission, and horns have been replaced without resolution. MOST bus system has been replaced twice without resolution. All issues have been recorded on video and documented with the local Acura dealer and Acura Client Relations, but neither has been willing to help reach a resolution.
Three hours into a four hour road trip, we had been driving in the rain when needed to overtake a slow car in the right lane. Went to accelerate when car lost all power and a check engine light came on flash. Pulled over to the emergency lane and turned flasher on. Car had to be glided into the lane as there was little to no power when using the gas. Thankfully we had not passed the vehicle yet when we lost power and the car behind us had enough room to slow down. After turning the car off and on again check engine light went off and car had normal power again. We were able to drive it for the next hour without further issue. We will be bringing this into the dealer to have it inspected. Currently car has only around 18k miles on it and have never had this issue before.
Transmission complaints in other RDX years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2019 Acura RDX?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2019 Acura RDX, 8% of the model year's 440 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2019 Acura RDX transmission problems?
No. NHTSA lists no transmission & drivetrain recall for the 2019 Acura RDX, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2019 Acura RDX transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 7,000 miles, and 76% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.