Wiper problems of the 2020 Acura RDX - part 1

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

•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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Rear windshield broke with out any impact.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Open the driver door to start the vehicle and while closing the door the back windshield shatter.

Rear window randomly shattered. I was just sitting at a red light and it shattered. Nothing hit it or damaged it. I read online this is a reoccurring problem others have experienced with 2019 models and newer. This needs to be addressed. If I was going down the road this could have caused an accident.

The rear windshield glass shattered while the car was parked in an open area. There wasn't an impact incident of any type. Acura is aware of the issue on this model of Rdx (there's a service bulletin) but is refusing to cover the repair out of warranty. I know hundreds of owners have already filed complaints but wanted to add our incident as well.

The rear windshield completely shattered after getting in the vehicle and shutting the drivers side door. The vehicle was off and not in motion. There were no warnings, or other symptoms or any other indicators that this was a faulty windshield. The weather has been below freezing for the last 4 days. The problem has not been confirmed or reproduced nor inspected as this just happened and was unexpected. Thankfully the vehicle was off, however this could have impacted my safety and those around me if I had been driving.

My windshield completely shattered while parked out of no where. This could’ve been a huge safety hazard if I was driving or had my children in the car. I am very disappointed to see this is very common for other Rdx owners when it is such a hazardous situations for many! this needs to be recalled!! these car are expensive enough to have to deal with this dangerous and expensive issue that isn’t caused by the owner, but a manufacture issues!.

Car parked outside during work hours, turned car on for 10 minutes to warm up, upon coming back the rear windshield was completely shattered… (used rear defrost button).

I am submitting this formal complaint to report a recurring safety issue with my vehicle, a 2020 Acura Rdx. Specifically, the rear window glass has unexpectedly shattered on two separate occasions without any apparent cause or external interference. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the rear window glass is the component that failed, and it is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the sudden shattering of the rear window glass posed a significant safety risk. Broken glass could have flown into my eyes or injured anyone near the vehicle. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, Acura is aware of this issue as it has been reported by other owners of similar models. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? the police have inspected the vehicle following the incidents. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no, there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. To provide more context: the first incident occurred during cold, snowy weather, which I initially suspected might be a contributing factor. However, the second incident took place during moderate weather conditions, eliminating extreme temperatures as a possible cause. Both times, the vehicle was stationary while I was inside my workplace, and surveillance footage confirmed that no individuals or external factors were near the vehicle. After researching this issue, I found that other Acura Rdx owners, particularly models from 2019-2024, have experienced similar occurrences of rear window glass shattering without cause. Despite this, Acura has not issued a recall or provided guidance on resolving the issue. I urge the NHTSA to investigate this matter.

The rear windshield spontaneously smashed while my vehicle was parked in my driveway.

Rear windshield spontaneously shattered for the second time in less than 3 years while it was parked in my driveway. There was no external impact or foreign objects that may have caused it. I called an Acura dealership immediately and they acknowledged that this is a known issue with Acura Rdxs, but since there’s no recall and my warranty ended, they refused to help fix the issue. Went to a local auto shop and they also pointed out this has been a common issue with Acura Rdxs. This is extremely dangerous and unsafe for drivers and passengers.

Vehicle was parked at a parking spot and all of a sudden there was a loud “pop” and the rear glass started cracking!.

Acura 2020rdx. Rear windshield spontaneously shattered. No impact was made. The trunk was opened with button from inside the car. After being open for over a minute, there was a loud pop, the rear windshield had shattered. The car is available to inspect. The broken rear windshield poses a safety hazard because my car is unsecured and my garage door openers could be accessed. No warning lights were given.

Rear windows broken by itself. No known cause while driving. I heard a bang but didnt realize at first what it was until I pulled over and looked at the car. I had it replaced at safelite. Waited 2 weeks. There is glass in my tailgate which is impossible to remove. Did not know others had this issue as well until recently saw it online. Honda needs to address this issue.