What are the common problems with the 2013 Acura RDX?
Owners of the 2013 Acura RDX have filed 163 complaints with NHTSA, most often about exterior lighting (90) and the airbags (36). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 39 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 163 owner complaints on the 2013 Acura RDX. Owners named exterior lighting most often: 90 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 101,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 163 complaints, 6 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2013 RDX
NHTSA's file holds 163 owner complaints on the 2013 Acura RDX. Owners named exterior lighting most often: 90 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 101,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | 90 | 9 | 102,000 |
| Air Bags | 36 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Visibility/wiper | 8 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 7 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 7 | 6 | 10,400 |
Of the 163 complaints, 6 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2013 RDX
The 39 mileages owners gave run from 100 to 150,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 13,000 miles, half at or under 47,500, three quarters at or under 76,000 and nine in ten at or under 125,000; 6 (15%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2013 RDX wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 33 of the 39 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2013 RDX can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 100 miles |
| 25th percentile | 13,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 47,500 miles |
| 75th percentile | 76,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 125,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 150,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 6 (15%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 554 NHTSA owner complaints on the Acura RDX that list mileage came after 24,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will an Acura RDX last? →
Is the 2013 RDX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2013 is a good or a bad RDX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2013 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 163 complaints, the 2013 ranks 5th of the 19 Acura RDX model years from 2007 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (442). The fewest: the 2024 (12).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 RDX | 53 | 33 | 68,057 |
| 2008 RDX | 33 | 19 | 60,000 |
| 2009 RDX | 15 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2010 RDX | 22 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2011 RDX | 16 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2012 RDX | 15 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2013 (this page) | 163 | 39 | 47,500 |
| 2014 RDX | 245 | 56 | 60,000 |
| 2015 RDX | 420 | 63 | 55,000 |
| 2016 RDX | 41 | 26 | 24,000 |
| 2017 RDX | 80 | 31 | 13,500 |
| 2018 RDX | 78 | 19 | 6,500 |
| 2019 RDX | 442 | 129 | 11,161 |
| 2020 RDX | 351 | 84 | 6,200 |
| 2021 RDX | 118 | 13 | 30,000 |
| 2022 RDX | 31 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 RDX | 24 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 RDX | 12 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 RDX | 31 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every RDX year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Acura RDX years to avoid →
2013 Acura RDX recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2013 Acura RDX. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2013 RDX lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2013 RDX.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 124 of the 163 complaints on the 2013 Acura RDX give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: RDX. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: RDX.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2013 Acura RDX questions
What are the most common 2013 Acura RDX problems?
NHTSA's file holds 163 owner complaints on the 2013 Acura RDX. Owners named exterior lighting most often: 90 complaints, and half of the 9 that list a mileage came after 101,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 163 complaints, 6 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2013 Acura RDX?
Of the 39 complaints on the 2013 Acura RDX that list mileage, the middle half came between 13,000 and 76,000 miles; 6 (15%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2013 RDX can cover.
Is the 2013 Acura RDX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2013 is a good or a bad RDX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2013 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 163 complaints, the 2013 ranks 5th of the 19 Acura RDX model years from 2007 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (442). The fewest: the 2024 (12).
How many recalls does the 2013 Acura RDX have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2013 Acura RDX. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2013 Acura RDX before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2013 Acura RDX.