2008 Acura RDX problems & reliability
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2008 Acura RDX, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2008 Acura RDX vehicles were involved in 11 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags → | 20 | 61% |
| Electrical System | 3 | 9% |
| Power Train | 2 | 6% |
| Structure | 2 | 6% |
| Tires | 2 | 6% |
| Wheels | 2 | 6% |
| Engine | 1 | 3% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 3% |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 3% |
| Seats | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Acura rdx Acura says that the filter in the transmission is none serviceable but now my car is in a shop to replace the converter and they said the filter should be replaced which is why the torque converter went bad in the first place but they say it’s not to be serviced and now the shop would have to split the…”
Power Train · filed Apr 30, 2024
“The srs warning light has been on for over a year. We had the 2 recalls 2016 & 2019 driver's side airbag repaired at acura of dayton in october 2019, and they reset the warning light. It came back on within a few days. The code is 31-21 increased resistance l/s airbag inflator. I've also been told the airbag won't…”
Air Bags · filed Mar 5, 2020
“The turbo on my 2008 acura rdx has an obvious manufacturers defect in that the waste gate actuator has a connection point that with operating time becomes oblong and does not allow the waste gate to open and close totally effecting performance and eventually cracks and breaks making the car go into an emissions fault…”
Engine · filed Apr 5, 2019
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
70 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2008 Acura RDX. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Driver's Airbag Inflator for 2013-14 ILX Hybrid and Other Listed Years and Models.
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 28, 2026
Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in rollover of internal chip memory. The rollover occurred on January 1, 2022 at 12:00AM local time
B23040A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 17, 2023
Dealer message - American Honda is investigating a potential quality concern with RDX Accessory Cross Bar kit. Due to this investigation, American Honda is requesting all dealers to return any uninstalled inventory to…
BPO05022022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 2, 2022
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 8, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2022
ServiceNews Article - The clock shows the incorrect time. This issue is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in "rollover" of the internal chip memory; the "rollover" will occur on January 1, 2022, at…
B21120A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 25, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 11, 2019
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
Dealer message - Today, May 24, 2018, Acura is announcing a warranty extension for 2002-17 Acura vehicles. This warranty extension applies in cases where any of the replacement driver?s and/or front passenger?s airbag…
BBOM05242018901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2018
Service bulletin - navigation system information.
B05-018 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 23, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2008 Acura RDX has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2008 Acura RDX?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.