- The problem
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
- The risk
- An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- The fix
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
Vehicle safety record
2016 Acura RDX Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 41 complaints about the 2016 Acura RDX with NHTSA, most often about the transmission & drivetrain (9) and the electrical system (8). Those complaints describe 3 crashes, 2 fires and 3 injuries. It is covered by 2 recalls, the latest in March 2019 for the inflator module. For comparison, the 2015 has 420 and the 2017 has 80.
NHTSA data checked
BFewer problems than a typical RDX year, for its age
#143 most complained-about 2016 vehicle
- Complaints
- 41
- Recalls
- 2
- Crashes
- 3
- Fires
- 2
- Injuries
- 3
- Deaths
- 0
Most common 2016 Acura RDX problems
Share of all 41 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
2016 Acura RDX recalls 2
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2011-2015 CR-Z, 2010-2014 FCX, and Insight, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013-2014 Fit EV, 2007-2014 Ridgeline, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid, 2007-2016 RDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, and 2010-2013 Acura ZDX vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
- The risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- The fix
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are JY0, JY1, and JY2.
What owners say
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41 complaints about the 2016 Acura RDX
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 2.
Unknown lkas sytem lights came on and will not go out. All of them. 3 Weeks ago everything locked up and I had to take to a dealer, they replaced the alternator but the system still malfuctioning and now the emissions control lights stay on with a p0443 code, replaced the evap control valve and the light keeps coming on..
On May 25, 2026, while driving my 2016 Acura RDX AWD on the interstate at highway speed, it suddenly began running rough and felt as if I was driving over low, spaced-out speed bumps. The check engine light started flashing, and multiple safety-system warnings appeared, including AWD System Problem, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) Problem, Hill Start Assist Problem, Electric Power Steering (EPS) Problem, and lane-keeping warnings. The vehicle lost normal performance, and I was concerned about safely continuing in...
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interstate traffic. The interstate shoulder was narrow, and the shoulder was ending where traffic was merging onto another busy interstate. I pulled over as soon as I could safely do so. The vehicle was then towed to the dealership for diagnosis. The Acura dealership diagnosed internal engine damage, cylinder misfires, and broken piston rings and advised that the engine required replacement. The vehicle had approximately 170,526 miles at the time of failure. Prior to this incident, the vehicle was operating normally, had been regularly maintained, and had not been involved in any collision. There was no indication that an engine failure was imminent. After researching the issue, I learned that Acura and Honda have issued technical service bulletins and warranty extensions involving certain J35 V6 engines equipped with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM), addressing conditions including excessive oil consumption, piston ring problems, spark plug fouling, and cylinder misfires. I am submitting this complaint because a sudden engine failure while operating at highway speed presents a potential safety risk. The failure also caused multiple vehicle systems and warning messages to activate simultaneously. The vehicle is currently available for inspection.
On several occasions, the car alarm starts randomly sounding. When my son went to the vehicle, the lights on the dash board were flashing on and off and there was a clicking sound. We replaced the batteries in the key fobs. The battery was low so we had that recharged but the problem continued. We replaced the car battery and that appeared to solve the problem for about 6 months. The same problem occurred again. The only way to stop the alarm from going off is to disconnect the battery. Leaving the door unlocked...
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does not stop this from happening. When we searched online, it is clear this is a common problem with this car, but there have been no recalls or TSB issued. This is a safety issue because we need to disconnect the battery and leave the car unlocked when we leave the vehicle. This has not been inspected by any service center. Based on our research, Acura will recommend replacing the smart power control unit at a cost of up to $1500 or more. We are hoping that others have reported this as well.
The driver side airbag. And yes, it can be inspected. I was involved in a low impact accident, where I struck a minor curb. The airbag deployed in my face, causing a loss of consciousness and ongoing concussion. No warning signs at all. Not yet, the vehicle is being looked at on Monday. The vehicle was inspected by the police.
The contact owns a 2016 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle while turning to the left or the right. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed to function as intended. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering gear and suspension had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2016 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 25 MPH, there was a loud clicking sound coming from underneath the vehicle on the front passenger side of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's wife took the vehicle to the local independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the front passenger's side axle was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,495.
A judder from the torque converter is felt when driving between 20 and 60 mph
Please see attached photos regarding unsafe issue with our Britax 1 for life clicktight carseat purchased 2021 and utilized from the end of 2021 to Dec. 2024. The harness strap would not tighten with ease, so I tugged with light force and the bolts that held the button to loosen the harness popped out. The harness then would not tighten at all. We threw the seat away but wanted to report the issue to you out of concern for others who are still utilizing this seat.
The contact owns a 2016 Acura RDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH a deer had jumped in front of his vehicle. The contact stated that he depressed the brake pedal with force, however, the pedal did not respond and depressed to the floorboard with no resistance. The contact stated that he was pumping the brake pedal when he crashed into the deer. The contact stated that the vehicle continued forward for several hundred yards before he was able to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that he was...
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able to drive the vehicle to a dealer, it was an out-of-state dealer since he had been traveling when he crashed into the deer. The contact stated that the damage was to the front bumper and to the hood of the vehicle which had been deformed due to the crash with the deer. The contact stated that the out-of-state dealer repaired the crash damage and replaced the brakes with new pads and rotors. The contact observed that the vehicle was having a failure of the tire pressure monitoring system light which was constantly illuminated, the windshield wiper motor was failing intermittently and the brakes continued to feel "mushy." The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who determined that the vehicle failures described by the contact were not duplicated following a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The transmission is Jerky and has a rough up and down shift. Vehicle has stalled and shut off without warning. My wife says the vehicle acts as though its about to die when ac compressor/blower kicks on.
While driving in the left of I20 East's two lanes on a descending hill with 5 cars ahead and an unknown number of cars behind at 70+ mph and all cars packed in close to the car ahead, I saw the lane had no real shoulder before a drop-off and the right lane had a narrow shoulder before it dropped off into woods and brush. The right lane was packed with 18-wheelers. In order to avoid constantly breaking the full length of the hill, I shifted into manual mode and a lower gear, but the car ahead began to brake suddenly...
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and hard. Just a second before that car broke, I unlocked the shifter and was moving it forward to Drive. As the car ahead was drastically slowing, I had to hit the brakes hard to avoid rear-ending him, and the momentum of sudden braking threw my hand and the shifter all the way forward into Park. The transmission immediately produced a harsh grinding sound, I no longer could disengage the transmission from Park, and the only controls I now had were brakes and steering. Alarmed I knew I had to get to the right shoulder but I couldn't look back to see how close trucks were behind the one to my immediate right, but by braking that truck slowly moved ahead of me, providing a brief opening behind him in the right lane. As I cautiously moved into that opening, I could see an 18 wheeler approaching but still a short distance back. I continued slowly drifting into the right lane with blinkers on, when suddenly the approaching truck behind veered partially into the right shoulder in anticipation of passing me in the narrow shoulder lane. In the split second of his veering, I slowly continued into the shoulder lane causing him to veer back into the right lane, his rig full of new cars jerking back left. As I gradually slowed to a stop, the truck was approaching so fast that in my rearview mirror it looked like he might not miss me. As he shot by, he cleared me by not much more than a foot, his draft shaking my car. AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION GOING INTO PARK @ 70MPH
From the time purchased there has been a hesitation/sputtering during acceleration. I took the car in during the warranty period and they said nothing could be found. It has continued for 6 years. I have read of similar problems with this model and year.
After getting my tires rotated, the Check emission sensor, check transmission light, and check blind spot system all came on at once and my transmission began jerking.
Vehicle constantly surges during acceleration, seems as if the transmission is bad however, it also feels as if the fuel filter is clogged. This sputter occurs at various speed. Vehicle has less than 64,000 miles. Is there a fix to this issue?
The contact owns a 2016 acura rdx. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, the moon roof shattered without impact. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
While accelerating the car started stuttering and lost power. It seemed like it was in neutral. At the light I shifted to park and back to drive and the same problem occurred. I was only 2 blocks from home so I checked all fluid levels and they are all ok. I drove the car around the block several times and the problem went away.
While driving approximately 40 mph I traveled over a 50 toot, 2 lane bridge the fcw and brake warning engaged. There was no other cars in front of me. This occurs each time I travel over this bridge (approximately 20 times). It has also happened when travelling over similar bridges. The first time was june 2016. Most recently, november 2020.
Happened twice. Press accelerator and engine bogs way down, warning lights seem to cycle through numerous issues. Dealer could not find anything wrong. Someone said that internally the electronics switched it to highway mode where the engine switches from 6 cylinders to 3 cylinders in order to provide better mileage. First time it happened I was 6 miles from home so I carefully drove it slowly home, called the dealer, and they had it towed to the dealership. Second time I was 100+ miles from home. Knowing I was now...
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driving a 3 cylinder instead of 6, I gave myself plenty of room to get up to highway speed since all of the driving was at highway speeds except for two stop signs. I was very lucky that I was not driving in a situation where I needed to accelerate rapidly. This time I drove it carefully to the dealership and again they could find nothing wrong. Suspect that they reset it by disconnecting the battery to reset the entire system which is what I will try when it happens next time. (Do not want to drive a hundred miles again like that. Would rather get my hands dirty and reset it in order to drive safely that far.) First time around 40,000 miles. Second time around 50,000. Both times speed was around 20-40 mph, slight acceleration, then it bogged down.
DEFECTIVE KNOCK SENSOR AFTER 40,000 MI.....4 YEARS
2016 Acura rdx with approx 31,000 miles. After approx 1.5 Mile trip parked it at a shopping center, turned off the engine and locked the car. Within 3 min the engine spontaneously caught fire and burned the entire engine compartment before the fire dept put it out. Contacted honda and told them they should look at it to see if it was an inherant safety problem. Honda said they were not interested in looking at the car and to let my insurance handle it. Took it to the dealership where it was purchased after being...
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told by them that they would look into it as it still had a power train warranty. Dealership failed to provide an inspection of the vehicle and was told by honda not to honor the warranty and let insurance handle it. Vehicle is totaled and if the insurance co sells it at an auction there will be no evidence left of what caused the spontaneous fire to erupt on such a low mile engine.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 acura rdx. While driving approximately 65 mph, a banging noise was heard coming from under the subframe of the vehicle and the air conditioning would no longer blow cool air. The vehicle was taken to bradshaw acura (2450 laurens rd, greenville, sc) where it was diagnosed that the air conditioning system bolt had erroneously detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 88,000. The vin was invalid.
Hands free link causes battery to drain and this issue is with lots of honda and acura different models and honda knows about this problem and still choose to ignore it.Class action lawsuit filed in california about this issue.
The tale lights, park lights have discontinue to work, the brake light above truck door is not working. There is not blown fuse or bulb. Did not realize until march 9th, when my daughter pulled me over to turn on my lights at night. I had head lights but no rear lights at all.
I was driving my 2016 acura rdx down a local city road midday. There were no cars in the vicinity. While driving (about 35 mph), I suddenly and without warning heard a loud noise of glass shattering. There was no prior sound of any animal or object hitting the car. I turned around to see my rear driver side window had shattered in its entirety into the car. I stopped the car to assess the situation. I did not see any animal or rock/debris - just the glass shattered onto the rear passenger seat and floor.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 acura rdx. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shook violently, stalled, and various warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (curry acura, 685 central park ave, scarsdale, ny 10583) where it was diagnosed that the spool valve failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure occurred numerous times. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,592. **Tr consumer stated third attempt to repair the car. Updated 11/19/18*jb
Acura RDX: every year compared
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 352 | 5 | F |
| 2019 | 441 | 5 | F |
| 2018 | 78 | 1 | C |
| 2017 | 80 | 1 | C |
| 2016 | 41 | 2 | B |
| 2015 | 420 | 3 | F |
| 2014 | 245 | 3 | F |
| 2013 | 163 | 3 | D |
| 2012 | 15 | 2 | A |
2016 Acura RDX vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Acura RDX | 41 | 2 | B | |
| 2016 Acura MDX | 378 | 7 | D | Compare |
| 2016 Infiniti QX60 | 29 | 1 | B | Compare |
| 2016 Porsche Macan | 0 | 1 | A | Compare |
| 2016 Porsche Cayenne | 0 | 2 | A | Compare |
| 2016 Land Rover Range Rover | 0 | 13 | C | Compare |
| 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport | 0 | 11 | B | Compare |
| 2016 Audi Q5 | 0 | 5 | B | Compare |
| 2016 Audi Q7 | 0 | 1 | A | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2016 Acura RDX
Does the 2016 Acura RDX have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 2 recalls for the 2016 Acura RDX: inflator module (March 2019); inflator module (February 2016). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 2016 Acura RDX?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the transmission & drivetrain (9), electrical system (8), engine & cooling (7).
How many complaints has the 2016 Acura RDX had?
41 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on October 17, 2015 and the latest on September 26, 2026. Of these, 3 describe a crash and 2 a fire, and together they report 3 injuries and 0 deaths.
Is the 2016 Acura RDX a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 65 out of 100 (grade B: fewer problems than a typical Acura RDX year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Acura RDX years have the most complaints?
2019 (441), 2015 (420), 2020 (352). See every Acura RDX year compared.
What should I do if my 2016 Acura RDX has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data