2013 ACURA RDX — Complaint #2153853
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING filed December 3, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2153853 (ODI reference 11702801) concerns a 2013 ACURA RDX and was filed on December 3, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on December 1, 2025. The report was geocoded to Tennessee based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same ACURA RDX cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2013 ACURA RDX shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The low beam headlights lights on my 2013 Acura RDX are very dim, and replacing the bulbs does not make any difference. I have read multiple reports that this is a common problem where the reflective material inside the projector style housing breaks down over time, and that the only fix is to replace the entire headlight assembly on both sides. Due to the poor lighting, I have had several near misses with other cars and obstacles that have been hard to see. Compared to other vehicles I have driven over by lifetime, this car really does has a significant safety problem. Headlight assemblies should not degrade this quickly, and replacing them is an expensive repair. I believe that NHTSA should investigate this issue for a potential recall, as not being able to see at night is a major safety issue.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2153853 |
| ODI Number | 11702801 |
| Date Filed | December 3, 2025 |
| Failure Date | December 1, 2025 |
| VIN | 5j8tb4h34dl |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING Complaints for 2013 ACURA RDX
Headlights are very dim due to degradation of the reflective projection surface. Internet searches indicate this is a common problem for the 2013-2015 Acura RDXs. The only solution is to replace the e
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2013 ACURA RDX. HEAD LIGHTS HAVE DIMMED WHERE ITS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. HAD THE WHOLE HEAD LIGHT ASSEMBLIES REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP 11 months ago FOR $4,000. Still have same problem with new ones
My low beam headlights have diminished in their effectiveness / intensity over time such that I fear driving at night due to possible danger of an accident. If I do have to drive at night, I have to
Have replaced low beam headlight bulbs multiple times within weeks/months of each time for months now. Low beam is so dim that vehicle is unsafe to drive at night without turning on high beams. Someth
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.