- Acura has issued a service bulletin for dealers regarding rear windows prone to shattering.
- The problem is attributed to a fault in the rear defroster grid causing the issue.
- A class action lawsuit claims replacement rear windows are also susceptible to cracking.
Imagine you’re driving, and you hear something that resembles a gunshot. You look around and realize the rear window of your car hasn’t been shot but has spontaneously and unexpectedly shattered. A lawsuit in the U.S. alleges this could happen to owners of defective 2019-2023 Acura RDX models.
A class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Western Division) claims that the rear windows of RDX models can shatter without any external impact due to issues with the defroster system. Owners allege it sounds like a gunshot when the window explodes.
Read: Refreshed 2025 Acura RDX Starts At $44,700, Just $350 Above Last Year
News of RDX rear windows shattering won’t come as a shock to Acura dealerships. In June 2022, the carmaker sent service bulletins to dealerships revealing the rear window might shatter with no external impact because of incorrect specifications related to the rear defroster grid. Dealers were told to inspect and replace the rear window.
While this change should have fixed the issue, the lawsuit alleges the replacement windows are just as prone to shattering.
Acura has been in an ongoing legal dispute with the plaintiffs for quite some time. In December 2023, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett almost dismissed the case for lack of prosecution and as specified time periods had not been met. Amendments were made, but in July, Judge Garnett dismissed 19 of the separate claims made against Honda/Acura, while keeping some allegations in place.
CarComplaints reports the class action has been refiled after changes were made. It is being led by four plaintiffs, all of which own either 2019, 2020, or 2023 Acura RDX models that have had rear windows shatter unexpectedly.
In the case of plaintiff Franklin McIntyre, his wife parked the couple’s 2023 RDX at work in May 2023 and returned to find the rear window had shattered with no signs of an external impact. Acura said the rear window was not covered by the warranty, forcing her to pay $588.50 to have it repaired. A similar thing happened to plaintiff Christian Regnier on April 10, 2023, except the rear window of her 2020 RDX shattered as she was driving at highway speeds, again with no evidence of an external impact.
