NHTSA Complaint #11396339 — 2020 ACURA RDX

ON 2 OCCASIONS WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE WOULD BARELY ACCELERATE BEYOND 5 MPH EVEN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO REACH NORMAL SPEED OF 35 MPH. THE VEHICLE RPM'S WERE AT 6,000 - 7,000 INDICATING THE ACCELERATOR WAS TELLING THE ENGINE TO PRODUCE PROPULSION, YET THE ONLY WAY TO CORRECT THE ISSUE WAS TO PARK, TURN OFF THE VEHICLE, AND RESTART THE ENGINE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A RE-OCCURRING ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION / DRIVETRAIN / SOFTWARE THAT HAS BEEN KNOWN WITH ACURA TRANSMISSIONS SINCE 2016. DEALER COULD NOT FIND A FAULT CODE, DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR OVER 150 MILES AND COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE ISSUE. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINS ONLINE SHOWING THE SAME ISSUE INCLUDING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED IN 2020. YET ACURA HAS ISSUED NO RECALL ALERT OR PERMANENT SOLUTION (CONFIRMED BY DEALER). ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE QUICKLY DEACCELERATING AND ENTERING "LIMP" MODE HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED WHICH APPEARS TO BE SIMILAR IN NATURE AND ROOT-CAUSE BEING THE TRANSMISSION / SOFTWARE RELATED ISSUE. THIS PROBLEM CAN RESULT IN UNEXPECTED ENGINE FAILURE OR INABILITY TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE IN A HIGH-RISK SITUATION SUCH AS HIGHWAY DRIVING, CROSSING AN INTERSECTION, CAUSING A VEHICLE PILE-UP, OR WORSE. AFTER 4+ YEARS AND THOUSANDS OF REPORTS OF THE SAME ISSUE, A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE INITIATED BEFORE A LARGER WIDESPREAD EVEN OCCURS SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED WITH TOYOTA.