Acura RDX

johnny98

Folks, thanks for the input on carrying bicycles. I didn't realize that the RDX was so fragile. Kind of defeats the purpose of a utility vehicle (the U in SUV) if you can't safely carry anything inside.

Maybe I'll get a BMW 3-series and mount a hitch rack on that. That will be more sporty than the RDX, but still have the same utility.

ateixeira

Make it a wagon. :shades:

budh

Knowing that the headroom situation in the RDX is going to be tight for me, I have a question on the moonroof opening in the RDX for those that have one.

Is the left edge of the moonroof opening directly above the center of the driver's head? Or is it one to two inches to the left of that, allowing a bit more headroom if the liner is pushed back?

(That likely will decide if I can sit comfortably in the RDX.)

Bud H

varmint

In my experience, it doesn't matter much. Even if the edge of the opening is an inch or two to the left, you'll brush your forehead against it when you turn to look left (changing lanes, parking, etc.)

Best to visit the dealer and sit in one to make up your mind. Good luck.

kyfdx

Or... you could do the gangsta lean towards the center...

varmint

LOL I'll have to practice that.

c_hunter

How tall are you? I am 6'1" and there is a bunch or spare headroom. This is the first car I have had in years where the seat is not all the way back and all the way down to allow me to fit. I actually have the seat forward and up from the limits, and there is still a lot of headroom.

The moonroof opening edge is slightly to the outside of the driver's centerline. However, I would not want to count on the opening for headroom. For one thing, your forward vision would likely be interrupted by the windshield header at that point.

BTW, you ought to just go and sit in an RDX -- I often think it's pointless to cover issues like this online.

ladybugthepug

I'm considering the CR-V and RDX. My biggest concern is that the service/maintenance costs for the RDX will be much more than those of the CR-V, seeing that Acura is a luxury automobile. I've only owned Toyotas, so I have nothing to support my suspicions but my logic seems to make sense given that I know people who easily pay $400 to service Volvos, BMW's, etc. Can anyone give me their own experience in terms of the costs for servicing Acuras? Thanks.

flats

We've had Acura's since the Legend days and an accord snuck in there somewhere. So I can only really comment on the service/maintenance costs from an Acura perspective. Sometimes it does feel like I'm paying $400 for and oil and air filter change plus inspections. But it does pay to call the local dealerships in your area prior to your 30k checkup and see what they charge. Prices will vary. But outside normal maintenance, we haven't need any other repairs.

At the Acura dealerships near me, they give out loaner vehicles and are often stupid enough to give me a full tank of gas. Last November I managed to snag a MDX over the Thanksgiving holiday. I hulled people, turkeys, lumber, furniture, and brought it back on empty. Guess you could say I got a free coupon $75 in gas . Another dealership will arrange transportation to and from the airport for any service you drop your car off for. I'd rather leave my car at the dealership parking lot then the $10/day airport lot.

Also, the nice folks at Edmunds have true cost to own which you may want to check out. I put in an RDX/with Tech package and an EX-L AWD NAV and got $.72 and $.57 average cost per mile respectively. Check out the maintenance and repairs at the bottom. Your suspicions are warranted.
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/acura/rdx/100773236/cto.html
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/honda/crv/100808898/cto.html

Both are great vehicles though.

wwest

One of the major problems with dealers of luxury marques is the fact that their service bays must survive on servicing that SINGLE marque. The second issue is that luxury marques, especially those of Japanese origin, tend to be extremely reliable.

So what is the dealer to do...?

UPSELL...!

Provide more servicing than the vehicle actually requires.

The consumer's answer is to read and understand the recommended service guidelines in the owners manual and each time you take it in for service insist that ONLY the REQUIRED services be performed and have that written into the service writeup.

Be aware that it is the policy of most of these dealers to always do the NEEDLESS EXTRA sevices required under the "SEVERE SERVICE" guidelines.

stever

Yeah, but a lot of the lesser makes hire service writers on commission or base bonus money on stuff sold too - aka upselling. :shades:

One defensive measure you can take is to print out the estimated cost of the service for your zipcode from the Edmunds Maintenance Guide and ask the service writer why the dealer estimate is so much higher than ours.

novice

Most people like the sporty suspension of the RDX. But I've read a number of complaints on various sites and winder if there's a way to soften the ride without significant handling compromise? I'm speaking other than tire air pressure--are there other after market changes that can modify what some claim is a very rough ride depending on the road surface?

budh

For those who have taken their RDX through some long moderate hilly country such as the I-81 eastern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, or I-24 Tennessee area, how does the RDX act on those roads both with and without cruise control on? Is there a lot of upshifting or only a small amount? Does the turbocharger stay inactive most of the time, or is it in play frequently?

Bud H

budh

Not knowing Acura/Honda's tendencies to react to consumer comments .... how much chance is there that the 2008 RDX will have a V-6 engine as a choice (at least in the Technology Package versions)?

Bud H

c_hunter

No way to tell at this point. I personally would have preferred a V6, but have no real complaints about the turbo-4 motor after living with an RDX for 2.5 months now.

Most of us feel that the RDX will not get a V6 because it would overlap too much with the MDX. The RDX and TSX fall into the lower tier of Acura products, as opposed to the TL, RL, and MDX in the upper tier. They have been pretty consistent with keeping V6 engines in the upper tier.

In reality, nobody knows the truth but the product planners at Acura/Honda.

c_hunter

I drive through the mountains a lot to go skiing in WV. The RDX does fairly well and stays in 5th with no turbo boost most of the time (I get 24-25mpg on highway portions of the trips, and 21-22mpg overall). It does occasionally hang onto 5th gear longer than I would prefer on a long hill, boosting the turbo. I have learned to either use the (-) shifter paddle or push the gas pedal a little farther to force a temporary downshift into 4th, rather than let it boost in 5th gear.

I don't really hot rod the vehicle at all (what's the point in a 3900lb CUV) and find the RDX to have a very agreeable / mild demeanor overall, with decent fuel economy and a nice level of refinement. Despite the turbo powertrain and marketing hype, it is a very comfortable car.

c_hunter

Well, we bring our Acuras to the local Honda dealer for maintenance when needed, and I have not noticed any difference in cost compared to the Hondas we have owned. I do most of the routine maintenance myself at home, and there is zero cost difference there. If someone does pay more at an Acura dealer for service, I would question their sensibility or at least have them tell me why they feel OK spending more! In general, I think all dealer service is potentially a ripoff unless you know exactly what you're getting into and why.

The RDX does require synthetic oil, and that will boost the cost of oil changes by about $20-25 or so. I circumvented that difference by buying from an Acura dealer who offers lifetime free oil changes .

samsmom1

Bud- we just returned from a wonderful road trip with our new 07 RDX w/Tech. We drove from Columbus Ohio to Charlottesville VA the 1st day... up and down the mountains of West VA, etc. The 07 RDX is a dream on big hills! The stability control makes for a tight safe trip... I do not use cruise control but drove anywhere from 70 to 80 mph on these highways. I felt very safe.. the handling is superb on winding hills and turns. And the turbo kicks in when you need it- the RDX picks up speed fast with little effort. We are very happy we leased this car last month- my husband's previous was a 98 Nissan Pathfinder.

Sara

stathis

I really like the RDX looks, but there are a few things that could easily be improved dramatically:
1) the wheels. They're so plain boring. Even the CRV has better aluminum wheels.
2) the bumpers seem a bit wimpy. I know this is a safe car, but in a 5 mph fender bender, the RDX I think would suffer major engine damage. IMHO the bumber should be a bit more pronounced like the X3, and this would make the car a bit more aggressive/sporty looking.

I have signed up for the Acura advisory panel, so I hope to provide some of my suggestions to them.

c_hunter

This stuff is always subjective. I like the RDX wheels and think the CR-V wheels are a kind of girly. And I like the way Acura styled the bumpers into the overall profile -- they are hidden and don't stick out like traditional bumpers. The rear bumper is inset into the hatch opening and the bottom part of the hatch is soft/flexible bumper material made to handle impact damage. There is a bumper there, but it's not obvious. According to some press materials I read, the front bumper is designed to minimize damage in front end impacts -- I believe because a large portion of the front end is plastic and is lower cost to replace/repair.

Now that I think of it, the front and rear of the RDX are consistent with Acura's styling over the last few years. For instance, look at the TSX. Almost no rear bumper overhang, and no obvious front bumper either. TL is similar.

varmint

I don't recall anything special about the front bumper. I know the rear has that soft/flexible material specifically for impacts. That soft section is designed to be replaced easily and inexpensively (relatively-speaking).

FWIW, BMW switched to a similar rear bumper design with the refreshed 2007 X3.

johnny98

I think the RDX looks much better in person than in photos. Mazda CX-7 and Infinity FX look much worse in person.

jblaze13

I have to agree on the wheels. However, the optional 19" wheels look very nice. The front end is too pointy. I would need the front spoiler to fend off the long nose look.

extech2

Years ago it was highly recommended that a turbo engine should be left idling for a minute or two before shutting it down, in order to prevent damage to the turbo. Is this a requirement on the new RDX or you guys just shut it down and walk away? What about installing a shut-down timer?

c_hunter

Not needed on modern turbos -- the bearings are water-cooled even after the engine is shut off (by natural convection flow). Most turbo engines have a special extra coolant reservoir/plenum for this purpose.

extech2

Thanks for the reply. That's good news. If you don't mind my bugging you, how do you keep your eyes on the coolant temperature gauge on your RDX? The one we drove the screen didn't show the coolant temperature, if I remember it correctly.
By the way a previous poster rated the RDX higher than the Infinity FX 35. After we drove both cars the same day, I absolutely agree.

stathis

There is a coolant temp indicator in the cluster panel display. It is digital. Even the base RDX has indicator.

c_hunter

Yep, the coolant temp indicator is in the multi-info display (MID) in the middle of the gauges.

stathis

So far it seems the radio is not that great. I've already had the XM unit replaced because its tuner failed after a couple of weeks.
I also realized that the FM tuner is poor; there is static and poor reception on major stations. AM tuner seems to be OK.
I think this is a somewhat significant omission for a car in this price range. How much more cost would a decent tuner add?
Does anybody else have had radio reception problems?

pokeybonz

A fellow biker would like to know what you decided...

I have considered RDX and MDX as replacement for our 2000 CRV. We recently upgraded bikes (priorities) and don't want to leave them on top anymore, but don't want to be constantly adjusting seatposts. X3 requires removal of seat, and cargo area of X5 is a joke.

Really don't wnat a van.

ateixeira

Try a Mazda5 or a Kia Rondo. Do those count as vans?

ychen

I don't have problem with my radio in my RDX, XM or FM (I am living in Washington metropolitan area)

However, I wish the FM is also able to show text like the XM(i.e. title and name).

johnny98

I think you can fit 2 bikes standing upright with the front wheel off in a Toyota RAV4 or Mitsubishi Outlander. In a RDX, 2 larger bikes will fit if you remove both wheels. A smaller bike (like for an average sized woman) might fit with only the front wheel off.

If you're looking for something more upscale than a RAV4, I think your choices are very limited. Most of those have a longer and wider cargo area than the RDX, but not taller.

johnny98

fyi - there's a new RDX review in AutoWeek magazine and on their web site: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/FREE/70425008

ateixeira

Those guys really drive turbos hard. MPG with turbos is typically very poor with them.

varmint

Autoweek got 17.7 mpg overall. Assuming that includes track testing, that's not bad. We're seen lower numbers from other mags.

ateixeira

Motorweek got 21 mpg. Quite a bit better.

Maybe they kept it longer. Also, they're north of Baltimore, in more of a suburban environment.

varmint

Yeah, but somebody else (I forget exactly which mag) got something dismal like 12 or 14 mpg. That's the kind of thing you expect with heavy testing.

ateixeira

GASP! :surprise:

Did they ever lay off the pedal?

Meh, the Lexus GS hybrid I tested at the Taste of Lexus event was registering an average of 7 mpg according to its trip computer. A little less when I completed my lap.

varmint

I can't find the article I'm thinking of, but here's what Edmunds published in their full test.

Edmunds Observed (mpg): 11 City 17 Highway

Anyway, I don't think 17 mpg overall is really that bad for magazine testing. Now, if that were the best an owner were able to do in mixed driving... that's another story.

c_hunter

I'm still averaging 21-22mpg on most tanks, pretty happy with that.

nowakj66

I could not beleive it but I saw 4 RDX on the road in one day in central Ohio. Not at the dealer but on the road. :-)

Black, silver, blue and red. They are finally starting to get out there.

ateixeira

I think that's the full model name. More bikes now that the weather has warmed up.

kyfdx

???

ateixeira

Motorcycle. Saw a new one while walking at lunch.

rihoops

A little help people....I can buy a new RDX tech for 34500 delivered or try to buy a used RDX with 10500 in mileage. What should a used RDX cost?

johnny98

Is that US dollars or Canada dollars? Here in California, you can buy a brand new RDX Tech for under $34K.

bodble2

For sure it ain't Canadian dollars. It'll cost you $10K more in Canadian dollars.

ateixeira

I normally deduct 10% of the price the minute you drive off the lot. It's not new, it's used, doesn't matter how low the miles are. CarFax will show it's a 2 owner car when you sell it so that even affects re-sale down the road.

Drop 10% off the best price you can find for a new one, so $3000-3500 off in this case.

ts1234

Seems like Acura really missed the mark on the RXD.
Can they turn it around in the new model year?
Would a styling or engine change happen that quick.
Or is it locked in for 4 years?

TS