Top Safety Pick +

2015 Acura RLX

large luxury car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention (2015 models); standard on 2016 models

2015 Acura RLX 4-door sedan — 2014 Acura RLX shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system	Advanced
Standard system	Basic

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Standard lane departure warning
Optional lane departure prevention

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Acura RLX Navi 4-door

The Acura RL was redesigned for the 2014 model year after a one-year absence from the market and renamed the RLX.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1341
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	4
Footrest (cm)	3
Left toepan (cm)	2
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	3
Upper dash (cm)	3
Lower instrument panel (cm)	3

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1341
Head
HIC-15	151
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm)	10
Maximum Nij	0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm)	23
Femur (kN)
Left	0.7
Right	0.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.44
Right	0.33
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.9
Right	1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	39
Right	52

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Acura RLX Technology 4-door 2wd

The Acura RL was redesigned for the 2014 model year after a one-year absence from the market and renamed the RLX. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Honda.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1222
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	6
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	6
Right (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	3
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-2
Rearward (cm)	-1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1222
Head
HIC-15	338
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	10
Maximum Nij	0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm)	31
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.7
Femur force - right (kN)	1.5
Knee displacement - left (mm)	1
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.43
Maximum tibia index - right	0.44
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	4.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	58
Right	61

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Acura RLX Technology 4-door 2wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Acura RL was redesigned for the 2014 model year after a one-year absence from the market and renamed the RLX. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Honda.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1227
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1227
Head HIC-15	244
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.6
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	42
Lateral force (kN)	1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	29
Average deflection (mm)	25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	6.25
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.34
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.0
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.3
Combined force (kN)	2.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	150
A-P moment (Nm)	84

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1227
Head HIC-15	119
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	37
Lateral force (kN)	1.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	41
Average deflection (mm)	32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.31
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.51
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	2.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	104
A-P moment (Nm)	41

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Acura RLX Navi 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,919 lbs
Peak force	20,314 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.18

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	36
Distance below top of head (mm)	34
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	13.9
Head contact time (ms)	64
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	334

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

Optional Collision Mitigation Braking System

Package name

Optional Advance Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-15 models

Advanced

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 7 mph.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 7 mph.

System details

Standard Forward Collision Warning

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-15 models

Basic

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
Autobrake not available.

About the original front crash prevention test