NHTSA Complaint #11320268 — 2019 ACURA RDX

MY 2019 ACURA RDX EXPERIENCED A TOTAL, UNEXPECTED LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PASS A TRUCK ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY. ALL PROPULSIVE POWER SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED JUST AS I EXPECTED THE TURBOCHARGER TO KICK IN FOR SAFE PASSING. I FIRMLY DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR A COUPLE TIMES WITH ZERO RESPONSE FROM THE ENGINE. THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A SENSE OF THE ENGINE MISFIRING. MY BELIEF IS THAT THIS PROPULSION FAILURE IS RELATED TO A TURBOCHARGER ACTIVATION ISSUE. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE MY DEALER HAS FOUND NO ONGOING ENGINE PROBLEM IN MY CAR, THE DEALERSHIP HAS ORDERED TURBOCHARGER RELATED PARTS AND INTENDS TO INSTALL THEM NEXT WEEK. ALSO, WHILE STRANDED, WE SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND REFERENCES TO SEEMINGLY SIMILAR ACURA FAILURES THAT OCCURRED IN WET AND RAINY CONDITIONS. WE WERE DRIVING IN COOL AND RAINY CONDITIONS AT THE TIME OF THIS FAILURE. FORTUNATELY, WE AVOIDED A CRASH AND COASTED TO A STOP ON THE LEFT SHOULDER. ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AND THE CAR PUT ITSELF INTO CREEP MODE, WHICH ALLOWED MOVEMENT TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER. A VERY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENT WAS LUCKILY AVERTED. THE VEHICLE WAS HAULED 130 MILES TO MY LOCAL ACURA DEALERSHIP WHICH REPORTED AN ENGINE MISFIRE INDICATION FROM THE CAR'S COMPUTER BUT NO FURTHER INDICATION OF PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT ISSUES.