NHTSA Complaint #11439682 — 2013 ACURA RDX

Unfortunately, I am writing to report a dangerous situation that occurred while I was driving on November 3rd, 2021. This involved a safety issue that could have resulted in serious injury to me and other drivers on the road. As I was traveling on a very busy street in Miami, FL at a speed of 45 MPH, my steering wheel suddenly became very heavy and hard to turn which made me have no control over my vehicle. I eventually pulled to the side of the road almost hitting not only the car in front of me but a pedestrian on the sidewalk. I did not understand what was going on as I have never encountered this situation in my life. I then could not move my vehicle because my steering wheel was heavy, and then there were a lot of flashing indicator lights like “check power steering” and other codes. As I sat there, a bit in shock, I tried to move the steering wheel, but it would not move at all, so I had to have the vehicle towed because it was unsafe to drive. As I started to research what had happened to my vehicle, there were several reported cases re: the same issues with the electronic power steering (EPS) control unit failing while driving. There were several detailed customer complaints on Acura customer owners’ forums. In addition, I found several reported cases on Acura service bulletins, one of which was the service bulletin 19-021. This has been a frustrating and nerve wrecking experience. I maintain my vehicle by following the service/maintenance manual and have been a proactive vehicle owner by investing in the upkeep. However, this does not seem to fall within the purview of what I have ever experienced in the past and concerns me that my SAFETY was jeopardized, so that is why I am reaching out to your organization.