— An Acura RDX infotainment class action lawsuit settlement has been preliminarily approved and nearing a final settlement hearing in December.
Current and former 2019-2020 Acura RDX owners and lessees are included in the class action lawsuit that alleges 2019-2020 Acura RDX vehicles are equipped with infotainment systems that freeze, fail to start, crash, fail to shut down and cause problems with phones and other devices.
Hardware and software defects allegedly are the cause of the infotainment issues, something Honda denies in the settlement. The automaker says it "expressly and vigorously denies the allegations" in the RDX infotainment lawsuit and says there is nothing wrong with the vehicles.
However, Acura wants the matter over with to save on the expense and time of a trial.
The plaintiffs allege Acura dealerships frequently cannot replicate the infotainment system problems and allegedly told owners there was nothing technicians could do.
The Acura RDX infotainment system settlement was placed on hold after the judge saw issues with the settlement, but those issues have been cleared up.
Acura RDX Extended Warranty
Beginning on the effective date of the settlement, the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty that came with the new vehicle will be extended to cover qualified infotainment system symptoms.
The extension will add two years or 24,000 miles to "cover certain Infotainment System Symptoms if the vehicle is within six (6) years or 74,000 miles of the original purchase or lease date of the vehicle."
However, the infotainment symptoms are the same as listed in previous technical service bulletins (TSBs).
- Acura TSB 20-001 — "Center display unit stays on with the ignition turned to OFF and the door open, display switches between the Day Mode and Night Mode, the Drive Mode Not Available message appears, or the disclaimer is stuck on."
- Acura TSB 20-031 — "Popping/crackling from the speakers, blank display, no sound from the audio system, or network loss message."
These two service bulletins were combined into Acura TSB 21-009.
Dealership Assessment and Assistance Program (DAAP)
According to the Acura RDX infotainment system settlement agreement, dealer technicians will be provided additional training regarding the infotainment systems.
Two Years of Free AcuraLink Security Service
A 2019-2020 Acura RDX customer who submits a valid claim form may be able to receive two years of free AcuraLink Security Service if they made more than one service visit to an Acura dealership for infotainment system issues "not resolved during the initial warranty service visit excluding any customer visit as a result of a recall or product update."
Reimbursement for Certain Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Acura RDX customers may seek reimbursements for certain expenses related to the infotainment systems. This includes an Acura RDX customer who paid for battery recharging because the battery drained due to an infotainment system that didn't shut off when it should have.
Reimbursement is also available if a customer returned their RDX to a dealer two or more times for infotainment system repairs and the customer had to pay for transportation costs.
Acura RDX customers who want to receive reimbursements must complete claim forms and provide documentation showing proof of expenses. Those forms must be postmarked by February 4, 2022.
The 18 owners who sued are expected to receive about $6,700 each, and attorneys representing those owners are expected to receive nearly $3.9 million.
The final settlement approval hearing will be held December 6, 2021.
The Acura RDX infotainment lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division - Banh, et al., v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP, and Goldenberg Schneider, LPA, and Niekamp, Weisensell, Mutersbaugh & Mastrantonio.
