2020 Acura RDX VISIBILITY/WIPER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Vehicle was parked at a parking spot and all of a sudden there was a loud “POP” and the rear glass started cracking!
Rear windshield spontaneously shattered for the SECOND time in less than 3 years while it was parked in my driveway. There was no external impact or foreign objects that may have caused it. I called an Acura dealership immediately and they acknowledged that this is a known issue with Acura RDXs, but since there’s no recall and my warranty ended, they refused to help fix the issue. Went to a local auto shop and they also pointed out this has been a common issue with Acura RDXs. This is extremely dangerous and unsafe for drivers and passengers.
Rear windshield shattered upon remote starting vehicle and rear defroster turning on. This occurred during winter weather, between 25-30 degrees after the car sat overnight.
Acura 2020RDX. Rear windshield spontaneously shattered. No impact was made. The trunk was opened with button from inside the car. After being open for over a minute, there was a loud pop, the rear windshield had shattered. The car is available to inspect. The broken rear windshield poses a safety hazard because my car is unsecured and my garage door openers could be accessed. No warning lights were given.
The back window shattered in January of 2024 and again today 12/19/24. Both incidents happened after i started the car in my garage. It was a loud pop and the entire windshield shattered. I wasn't aware that Acura had a technical service bulletin (TSB 22-014). When I called the dealership to explain what happened and that I wasn't aware there was an issue until I saw it the internet and they told me that since the window had already been repaired once and it wasn't the original that they had to have it inspected and I had send pictures before they would tell my if they would pay to replace the part that is causing the issue.
My vehicle was parked overnight and when I went to go to work this morning, I found my rear window glass shattered. There is evidence of vandalism for all my doors were locked, and everything was present inside as well as no form of any external impact before I park inside the garage or nothing falls from the ceiling. It is a common problem known for the third generation Acura RDX, where the rear class window spontaneously shatters. This is definitely a safety hazard for it can happen when driving on the road and diminishing rear window visibility.
The rear window exploded it is said to be a defroster on the rear windshield. And no While I was parked when I watched the glass exploded if I was driving the exploded could have shocked me and glass shatters feel inside the car that could potential cause cuts, Acura and private company’s have acknowledge the problem. Yes when it was replaced, there suggestion was the bring down the windows while warming up the car so that the glass temperature won’t change as fast. No worry just exploded
Rear windshield glass shattered spontaneously. There was no impact or object that caused this to happen. This is the second time this has happened. Shattered glass has now fell inside my car.
I had remote started my car 10 minutes before I was going to get in since it was 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside. When I got out to my car, I sat down in the driver's seat, and after I shut my door, my rear window shattered. There is some sort of issue with the rear defrosting system, there are no other explanations for why this happened.
My car was parked in a parking lot and the rear windshield spontaneously shattered. There was previously no damage to the window. My rear dashcam shows evidence that the windshield shattered with nobody in or around the car. I spoke with police officers who reviewed security footage in the parking lot; they confirmed that the damage was not an act of vandalism and happened spontaneously. I have read online about numerous complaints of this issue and the current class action lawsuit against Acura/Honda for this problem.
On Saturday, November 8th, 2024, I walked out to my vehicle, rear windshield intact, no damages, start my car, and turned on the rear-defroster. 20 seconds later, I hear cracking, as I am about to pull out, and to my surprise, my entire rear windshield is cracking and making popping noises. I put my car in park, and the entire windshield is crumbling and shattering before my eyes. There was absolutely NO impact whatsoever. I then, contacted the dealer, and dealer asked me to drive to the dealership, which is 10 miles away, while glass is falling into my trunk area, and flying out onto the highway. The dealer put me in a loaner until they heard from the warranty department. My car is 4,000 miles out of warranty, but they were still going to see what they could do. It has been five business days now, as today is November 15th, 2024, and I have still yet to receive an answer. I have not received information if my vehicle has even been inspected by the dealership. There were no warning lights, messages, or any issues with the vehicle. I take care of the vehicle directly through the dealership, where I purchased the vehicle from and should show all of that on the CarFax. I have, however, found several open lawsuits where claimants are filing cases against Acura for a faulty rear windshield. Please advise!!!!
back window spontaneously burst. vehicle was stationary. I was in the vehicle while it was parked.
While driving my car in Albany New York on December 3 roughly about 15 minutes after starting the car and continuing onto a residential road the back window, spontaneously shattered without impact. The rear window defroster had been on at the time and had just cleared the frost before the drive had started. Not only did the window break a portion of the window fell into the trunk of the car and the rest of the window completely shattered into a little pieces that it was not possible to see outside of the back window. The sound of the breaking glass was so loud. It sounded as if snow was falling off the top of the car, but NO snow was present that day. The loud noise along with the lack of visibility caused issues with operating the vehicle and bringing it into a safe parking spot that was off of the road
Rear windshield spontaneously shatters. There are numerous lawsuits filed on this issue but Acura is randomly covering replacement of shattered windows apparently by how hard dealerships are calling them on it. My rear windshield shattered while my RDX was sitting in my garage warming up last month on Dec 7th, 5 or 6 RDX owners along with myself posted photos of our shattered windows on the RDX Owners Facebook page.
Rear window shattered when the front passenger door was closed. The car was sitting in the driveway and there was no external impact. Acura issued TSB 22-014 for a known defect ("incorrect specification for rear defroster grid') but is only replacing windows for cars still under warranty. This is a safety issue and deserves a proper recall.
Rear windsheild glass shattered spontaneously.
I entered my 2020 Acura RDX after it was parked for several hours while I was at work. The outdoor temperature was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon closing the drivers door I hear a crashing noice and noticed the rear lift gate glass shattered and fell into the rear cargo area. This appears to be a very widespread issue with this make and model and is a serious safety concern that should be recalled.
Rear windshield shattered. While vehicle was parked.
The rear windshield shattered when the car was parked in the driveway and warming up/ using the defroster.
On Jan 22, 2024, I got into my 2020 RDX at work's parking lot, close the door lightly and the rear glass shatters. This is the second time this happened. The first time was back in Nov 2021.
Car was parked and OFF at dealer waiting for service. I received a phone call that back window shattered and that this was not covered under warranty but the dealer will cover 99% of the cost of parts and labor. This is obviously a manufacturer defect and is very dangerous. Why isn't this a recall?
Opened my Garage door , went into the garage and opened drivers door then sat down in drivers seat . Closed drivers door and crash went the rear window on tail gate. The window Shattered into a million pieces.
Rear window shattered for no reason causing serious safety issue.
On October 25th 2023 I got into my 2020 Acura RDX. I closed my front driver side door, didn't slam it, and my rear window shattered. Glass everywhere.
The car was parked in ~40 degree, sunny weather while running some errands. Upon returning to the car, entering, and closing the driver's door, the rear window glass (on the tailgate) shattered. The glass was shattered throughout the entire glass panel, including at the edges. A ~15"x"10" section in the middle fell into the luggage compartment. Acura service bulletin 22-014 describes this behavior and attributes it to an incorrect spec rear defroster grid. Thankfully this didn't happen while driving, but if it did, it could have been quite dangerous to the driver, due to the surprise, and to following cars due to flying glass.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2020 Acura RDX has 63 VISIBILITY/WIPER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.