2020 Acura RDX window and wiper problems

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, the contact heard an exploding sound and noticed that the sunroof had exploded, causing fragmented glass to enter the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

NHTSA complaint #11742784 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the garage when he heard a noise and went to inspect the vehicle. The contact discovered that the rear windshield had cracked and imploded. There was no impact to the rear windshield that could have caused the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA complaint #11740393 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

My rear window in Acura RDX 2020 shattered spontaneously.

NHTSA complaint #11735925 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

My car was parked and off at a local park, I loaded my [XXX] son in the backseat of the car and then I got into my car. Before even turning car on I heard a loud pop sound and got out to look around and then realized it was the back windshield shattering. Apparently this is a known issue with Acura where the rear windshield will spontaneously shattered for no reason. Safety wise this is a concern since I have a child in the back seat and glass is shattering into the car as well as outside on pavement . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11732013 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The rear glass in my 2020 Acura RDX Aspec randomly shattered when I closed my rear driver side door. My car was not running and hadn’t been running for over a hour and there were no signs of impact to the glass. There is a TSB from Honda about this being an issue already. I bought the car used and have owned it for a year. My extended warranty doesn’t cover the rear glass. It was going to cost over $1000 to fix as the dealership would not cover the cost and my car is out of its factory warranty. Didn’t have much choice but to use Safelite. Now there are glass shards stuck in my tailgate and apparently no way to remove them without removing the glass from the tailgate and removing the tailgate from the vehicle. Other complaints show that this can also happen while the car is running and in motion which seems like a major safety concern. With the glass shards stuck in the tailgate my car has been devalued by no fault of own. Honda knows this is an issue but will not issue a recall and it could also be a safety issue.

NHTSA complaint #11730391 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated that after entering the vehicle and pressing the engine start button, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. Immediately following the sound, the rear window shattered without impact. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,055.

NHTSA complaint #11722267 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Rear windshield shattered upon closing the driver door to start and drive the car. No impact from a random object or use of defroster.

NHTSA complaint #11718355 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

•What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? REAR WINDOW SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTED AND CRACKED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. IT IS BEING REPAIRED ON SATURDAY BY SAFELITE PER MY HARTFORD INSURANCE •How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I COULD NOT SEE OUT OF MY REAR WINDOW, IT WAS ENTIRELY FRACTURED AND HAD A HOLE IN IT. IT ALSO SPILLED GLASS ON THE ROAD AND IN MY CAR. •Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? YES, IT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY ACURA/HONDA HOWEVER THEY DID NOT INCLUDE MY VIN NUMBER ON THE ISSUE, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN THE SAME CLASS OF ISSUES. •Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? YES, THROUGH MY INSURANCE CARRIER HARTFORD IT WAS BROUGHT TO SAFELITE WHERE THEY PUT ON A CRASH COVER BEFORE THEY REPLACE THE GLASS THIS SATURDAY. •Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? NO

NHTSA complaint #11717220 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting a vehicle safety defect complaint regarding my 2020 Acura RDX. The rear window of my vehicle suddenly shattered without any impact, collision, road debris, or external force. At the time of the incident, the vehicle was stationary. There was no warning or visible damage prior to failure. The glass shattered unexpectedly, creating a dangerous condition and risk of injury. I was required to file an insurance claim and have the rear window replaced. I am concerned this may indicate a defect in the glass, manufacturing process, or vehicle structure. I request that NHTSA review this incident, determine whether similar failures have been reported, and evaluate whether this represents a safety-related defect requiring investigation or recall. I can provide photographs, repair invoices, VIN, mileage, and additional documentation upon request. Sincerely, Joyce Burnett Phone: 757-636-6167 (Mobile) VIN: 5J8TC1H57LL013150

NHTSA complaint #11714836 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

I used my automatic start and came outside and got in the car and my rear windshield cracked.

NHTSA complaint #11714271 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

My back window just shattered on its own while the car was sitting in the driveway. It wasn't running, and nothing hit it. The glass just suddenly cracked and spidered everywhere without any warning

NHTSA complaint #11713749 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Rear windshield shattered on its own, without impact from any object

NHTSA complaint #11713069 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The rear windshield shattered out of nowhere while parked outdoors on a cold day (<20 degree weather). There was no impact involved in the shattering. Dealer stated that I must go through insurance in order to get rear windshield repaired. Upon further searching this is a problem that is common with the Acura RDX model from years 2019-2023 there was even a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) on May 20th, 2023 involving 'Rear Windshield Glass Shattering' caused by 'Incorrect specification for the rear defroster grid' showing that the company is aware of this issue.

NHTSA complaint #11712938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Sometime between 9pm on January 13th and 8:45am on January 14th, the rear glass of my 2020 Acura RDX shattered inside our closed, insulated garage. No cause could be found inside or around the garage and I googled and found out the rear defroster grid causes stress on the class and is actually quite common. I also have a video but it’s too large to upload.

NHTSA complaint #11710899 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

I am the owner of a 2020 Acura RDX. Approximately 64,000 miles. Car was parked in my driveway. My wife heard a loud bang. Back windshield shattered. Pieces of glass inside and outside the vehicle. The window had no prior dents or cracks.

NHTSA complaint #11709752 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

On January 6, 2026, as I left my house and was driving to work, I heard a loud gunshot/explosion sound. The trunk window had a whole and it started to shatter. The window completely shattered and fell. No evidence of a rock hitting the window was present. The temperature was 45 degrees. The coldness was not an issue, as this car has been in below 0 degree weather. I called Acura dealership. They told me they had never heard of this issue and didn’t offer to inspect the vehicle. I had to find a fix outside of Acura. No warning lights or prior failure issues with windows. The defroster was not on either.

NHTSA complaint #11709164 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The whole rear glass unexpectantly shattered. My Car was parked in the driveway and I found it this way later in the day. The whole rear hatchback glass was shattered everywhere. Glass pieces were starting to fall inside. I called the my local Acura dealer Bobby Rahal and they said this was problem with the RDX but Acura was not covering them. He said there is a TSB tech. service bulletin. This is a very dangerous defect that needs to be recalled.

NHTSA complaint #11707816 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

The contact owns a 2020 Acura RDX. The contact stated upon closing the driver's side door, the rear windshield shattered suddenly. The contact stated that there were shattered pieces of glass in the rear seats of the vehicle and his daughter car seat. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact related the failure to TSB Number: 22-014(Rear Windshield Glass Shattering); however, the vehicle was not covered. The manufacturer was notified but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 102,000.

NHTSA complaint #11707620 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

My rear windshield spontaneously shattered with me sitting in my driver's seat in a parking lot. I just started my car, put on my seat belt when I heard this loud noise and saw the rear windshield shattered. I found no object in my car that could have caused the problem like a rock.

NHTSA complaint #11707130 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

While entering the vehicle in the parking lock, I closed the driver door and the rear view mirror shattered completely on it own.

NHTSA complaint #11706459 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

I was leaving noticed I could not see out of back windshield. Thought it was ice and put on the defroster. Went to scrape ice and noticed the windshield was shattered in pieces. Did not see any object around vehicle that could have hit or fell on it yo cause damage.

NHTSA complaint #11706365 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Rear windshield shattered while parked. There was no accident/impact. Just spontaneously shattered.

NHTSA complaint #11706270 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

On November 22, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., I visited Chandler Mall and remained there for about an hour and a half. When I returned to my vehicle and began backing out of the parking space, I noticed that my rear window was completely shattered. I immediately put the car back in park and got out to inspect the damage. Pieces of glass along the edges of the window were continuing to fall. There were no signs of vandalism—no rocks, objects, or visible fingerprints. I filed a report to determine whether security cameras may have captured any incident that could have caused the rear windshield to break, but so far no suspects have been identified. I am now waiting for the replacement part and an installation appointment with Safelite. Based on others’ experiences, some people have reported hearing loose glass inside the trunk door after similar issues, which is discouraging. I am hoping to have the rear windshield replaced without further problems or risk of future shattering.

NHTSA complaint #11703385 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Drove vehicle to work in the morning and had the front and rear defroster on (they turned on automatically due to exterior temperatures when I used autostart on my AcuraLink app). When I got to work, I parked my vehicle and had no issues at that point. But, in the afternoon when I came out to my car the rear window had spontaneously combusted. There were no obvious signs of damage, nothing on the ground that would have fallen, and nothing around. When I got home I did some searching and found that Acura is aware of this issue and had issued a TSB to fix the windows, but that they are no longer doing so under warranty. The TSB is related to the window defogger, which can apparently malfunction and overheat, causing thermal contraction/expansion to break the glass. I had glass all over the inside of my car. Imagine if I were driving it and it exploded, it could have harmed me or worse - I could have been so surprised/startled that I swerved and wrecked, possibly harming others as well. This is a disaster. There's no recall on this? There's no requirement to continue to fix a well-known problem spanning several years (2019-2023 I believe)? They are just replacing the window and apparently, some of the windows being used still have the defective defogger. I'm lucky to be alive and typing this.

NHTSA complaint #11702932 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Spontaneous rear tailgate shattered glass while parked. Yes, available for inspection. If I had driven the vehicle off the lot, I could have had flying glass to the vehicle behind me. Yes, the vehicle was immediately taken into the dealership & awaiting repairs. Vehicle has been inspected by Acura dealer. No, there were no signs of the problem prior to failure.

NHTSA complaint #11703027 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The vehicle was parked overnight safely as always outside of my home. The rear tailgate windshield shattered without warning, incident or contact. The vehicle was inspected and the windshield was replaced by an automobile window company in Maryland.

NHTSA complaint #11695444 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Rear windshield broke with out any impact.

NHTSA complaint #11694304 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

While at work the rear windshield exploded. I had the workplace look at their camera's. They said that it looked normal, no one drove next to my car and it was by itself.

NHTSA complaint #11689777 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

While my wife was driving on the highway going about 50mph, the rear window suddenly shattered without any apparent cause, startling her. Fortunately, she didn't yank on the steering wheel and was able to pull over safely. After conducting some research, I discovered that this is a known issue affecting 2019–2023 Acura RDX models and is currently the subject of a pending class action lawsuit. The window was inspected and will be replaced by our car insurance.

NHTSA complaint #11656696 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

My back window on my 2020 Acura RDX shattered while it was parked at school. When I opened my passenger door to put my backpack in, I heard some cracking. I walked around the front of my car and when I opened my driver's side door, I heard and saw the back window glass falling inside and outside of my car. I viewed the cameras at school and could tell the glass had cracked earlier, but believe the hole in the glass occurred from a combination of the pressure change opening my door and the vibration from shutting the door. One of my fellow teachers who came out while I was looking at the damage searched online and discovered it is a known problem for my year and model car. I called the service department at my local Acura dealership and immediately drove there. The service tech told me that he believed it would be covered since it is a known issue although my car is out of warranty. Acura posted a Service Bulletin (22-014) on October 28, 2022 that includes the VIN of my car in the affected vehicles. The bulletin states that the rear glass can shatter or break with no external impact due to incorrect specification of the rear defroster grid. The service manager called me the next afternoon to tell me he spoke to an Acura rep and they would only cover half. I am responsible for paying almost $400 to repair my back window that Acura knows is a safety issue to break since there has not been an official recall. It is not safe to operate a vehicle with a broken back window, in addition to the issues of weather exposure and not being able to secure the vehicle from others being able to access it. This repair should be covered by Acura since they are clearly aware of this issue and my car was included in the affected vehicles, even though my car is not under warranty anymore. Windows breaking are a safety issue and should be covered by the manufacturer due to their negligence.

NHTSA complaint #11655303 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.