Several Acura customers report their Acura RDX vehicles’ headlights being extremely dim, to the point where they cannot see the road and where customers have even described the vehicles as “undriveable” at nighttime in breach of the implied warranty of merchantability.

Even after replacing the headlight bulbs with brand new bulbs, customers continue to experience the same issue with the headlights being insufficiently bright, indicating a deeper problem with the headlight components of the vehicles. While new bulbs cost as little as $300-$400, replacements of the entire headlight assembly are substantially more expensive, and can cost thousands of dollars. The issue appears to affect both the standard headlights and high beams. 

The issue appears to be affecting several Acura models, as early as the 2007 TL, and the 2013-2015 RDXs. Acura has not acknowledged any issue with RDX headlights despite widespread consumer complaints about the issue.

One user reports that the issue is caused by the heat from the halogen bulbs burning out the relevant components within the headlight. Another user reports that their mechanic informed them that the issue was related to delaminated reflective film within the headlight casing.

Acura’s terms and conditions include a mandatory arbitration provision and a class action waiver.

Nissan settled a similar lawsuit in 2021 over allegations that Nissan’s 2013-2018 Altima headlights are similarly defectively dim.