Acura MDX Complaints (2017)

268 consumer complaints on file.

#11525380June 5, 2023
POWER TRAIN
While in a residential area we were accelerating from a slow speed as we were leaving one corner and preparing to enter a second corner. We were in comfort dynamic mode at the time. The car then suddenly lurched forward followed by the drive-train immediately entering into neutral - losing all forward power. We were able to coast across the end of a residential driveway. We then turned the car off, and waited about 15 minutes before restarting the car. At that point everything worked normally with no indication of a continuation of the problem. Although the transmission went into neutral during the incident the shift clearly remained in the drive position. We were very careful about checking to see if we had somehow been at fault - bit this was definitely not driver’s error. We were fortunate on two fronts. Firstly, had an adult or child been in the crosswalk we were approaching at the time it could have ended badly. Secondly, we were at slow speed in modest traffic and had enough momentum to safely coast out of traffic. However, the incident was unsettling and we remain highly cautious about driving the car now. Later that evening we drove the car for about 30 minutes attempting to recreate the incident or see if we noticed anything odd at all about the transmission, shift, or electronics. We did this on a secluded road, using each of the car’s dynamic modes, at varying speeds, and changing acceleration. However, we were not able to recreate the incident. We did not notice anything odd about the car and no warning lights came on. There were also no warning lights leading up to or during the incident. The vehicle is available for inspection if requested. To be fair, we have not yet contacted the dealership. However given the seriousness of this issue and potential danger we felt it was important to report it right away.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11521831May 13, 2023
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
On Friday May 5th, 2023 myson was driving our 2017 Acura MDX in heavy rush hour traffic on Interstate 355 near Homer Glen when suddenly and without warning the transmission failed and caused sudden deacceleration. He drove the car which was going 7 mph and engine revving and starting to clatter to get off the freeway. The check engine light came on. He called and informed me while on the exit ramp. I instructed him to pull into the Gas N Wash filling station at 15930 W 159th and shut the engine off, I left home immediately and upon arrival I looked under the hood for oil leakage or low level and belts broken. When I started the motor a knocking sound caused me to turn it off. This could have caused an accident due to heavy traffic at 70 MPH posted speed limit. The car has been towed to local mechanic shop for diagnosis. My online research indicates a Class Action Suit and countless complaints of similar unsafe operation and transmission failure. We purchased this Vehicle new in 2017 from Rizza Acura, Orland Park, IL and have had regular maintenance performed since purchase date.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520417May 4, 2023
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
at highway speeds, the transmission unexpectedly shifts to neutral with no warning. The only indication is unexpected decrease in speed and accompanying engine rev. My typical driver response is to take foot off accelerator, then put back on again. Engine overrevs then shifts in to gear. I'd estimate it's out of gear for ~ 5 seconds, but hard to say in the heat of the driving moment. This happens 1-2X most highway trips, but not occur at lower speeds (it does not shift very smoothly in lower gears at times, but it's not currently a safety issue). I've taken it to my local dealer (Hendrick Acura, Durham, NC) and contacted Acura Customer Care, and am trying to get a diagnostic scheduled (it's been a process). The behavior started to worsen over the past several months (e.g. the slip to neutral has lengthened in time) but shorter slips have been occurring for a longer time period.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11518890April 25, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Purchased used vehicle in 9/2021 and since then we have had 5 incidents with the Idle Stop feature. It seems to shut down the engine and it takes 5 min to restart. The last time it happened was on a busy highway and there was traffic. I stopped because of traffic and when I tried to press gas it completely shut off. The previous times it happened at lights or intersection. After the third time, I made it a point to turn off the idle stop but if you forget you run the risk of the shut down which could cause major accident. I should not have to make sure to turn it off every time. I do have EG Assurance coverage and will be taking it in. My fear is that the idle stop issue does not happen every time and they may say they don’t see any issues. I am hoping something can be done as I have taken it in to Acura dealership and they can’t find anything wrong. Thankfully I do see that there are complaints about this and it’s not that we were “doing something wrong”
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11518896April 25, 2023
SEAT BELTS
Copied below is my email to the Piazza Acura dealership. They will not provide a loaner. ________________________ My name is [XXX] and I purchased a new 2017 Acura MDX with AWD and the tech package from your dealership on 27 August 2016. In early April of 2022, the front passenger seat belt of my MDX stopped working. I was asked to come into your dealership to confirm that it was not working, and I did so on 12 April 2022. At that time a new seat belt was ordered, and I was told it would take about a month at most. For your reference, the part number, order reference number, and date of order are included below. · Part number: 04814-TZ5-A00ZA · Order reference number: U3990412 · Date ordered: 12 April 2022 It is now past the one-year anniversary of this safety warranty problem being brought to your dealership’s attention, and the theoretical delivery date keeps getting pushed out. Just today, I called the Parts Department and was told there is a new shipping date of 04 June 2023. Frankly, I don’t believe it and feel like I’m just being strung along. I ask you [XXX], what would you think if you were in my situation? This MDX is my only car, and I have had limited use of it to carry passengers for over a year due to the effective loss of the front passenger seat. Because this is a safety issue, my hands are further tied in that I cannot trade or sell my MDX. It is very strange that this seat belt stopped working, and I have to wonder if it was a design or manufacturing defect. Nevertheless, I have been the only one dealing with the consequences, and I have had to do so for over a year. I am unwilling to continue to do so, and now propose that Piazza Acura treat this like any other extended warranty repair situation and provide me with a comparable late-model MDX loaner free of charge until such time as Piazza Acura and the Honda Corporation can provide me with and install a new, manufacturer-supplied front passenger seat belt. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11516694April 12, 2023
POWER TRAIN
On a 2,000 mile family road trip the car shifted to neutral two times at highway speeds. Fortunately, I didn't lose my power steering or power brakes. The car remained on but I had no power. Then the car jerked, the rpm's dropped to 1,000 and then jumped around a little and the car took off again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501707January 13, 2023
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
I was on the feeder road of a major freeway in Houston Texas at a stop the brake fully applied. The auto engine idle stop was enabled. When I removed my foot from the brake the engine did not restart. The lights, radio remained on but I was unable to drive my car or change the gear shift. Being on a freeway feeder was a dangerous place to be stalled and had to wait in major traffic for a tow truck to come as the vehicle could not be started or turned off. Completely inoperable. The check engine light was on and oil light. I was towed to a nearby maintenance shop where a p2638 code was listed. After the car was towed the car would restart. Prior to the incident there have been other occasions where the vehicle struggles to restart the engine from the auto idle. However there were no warning lights. Additionally I scheduled service with the dealership the next day and they show an auto idle recall as an item for repair. There is no recall listed on Nhtsa. Additionally I see a class action lawsuit was filed earlier this week for a potential ongoing, long term issue related to this product.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493325November 13, 2022
SEAT BELTS
On Tuesday, November 8, 2022 I had my 20 month year old grandson in a rear facing car seat and he wrapped the middle seat seat belt around is neck and was choking and coughing. I was on my way to pick up my other grandson at school about 4 miles from my home and when I arrived at the school I opened the back door on the driver side where he was sitting and to my surprise and fear he had the seatbelt wrapped around his neck. I tried to remove it seatbelt when he was in the carseat and it was too tight there was no give. I yelled for help and a lady in her car helped me. The only resolution was to cut the middle seat belt. He had to be taken to emergency because he had red marks around his neck.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492351November 4, 2022
POWER TRAIN, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I had the transmission system failure error came on the dash and the car wouldn’t drive to D or reverse then blind spot and adaptive cruise control error propped up
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487050September 29, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, PARKING BRAKE
My 2017 Acura MDX has many issues with both the transmission and electrical. It has an issue shifting between gears, makes a loud sound like metal on wash board, then loses power for 3-5 seconds. I went to put the car in drive and it would not go in drive recently. I've now had to replace the transmission at 79,006 miles. The electrical system lights up when driving telling me my electronic parking brake has been engaged and also that there is emission system issues. My daughter was terrified and crying since i had a loss of power at the same time my dash lit up and I had to get across 5 lanes of traffic to the shoulder of road. The towing company had to remove battery cable to get my electric parking break to release. This is a dangerous and scary automobile
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485766September 21, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel pump (High - pressure & low- pressure) failed which has caused significantly reduced acceleration and caused the engine to stall in mid operation of the vehicle. I (Driver) was the only person in the vehicle and there was no crash. I would say there is high risk of a crash and it is a serious safety hazard. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.This vehicle component was checked by an independent service center and got it repaired. Fuel pump & high pressure pump was ordered and replaced on the vehicle. I paid $1977.59 as the total cost for parts and labor plus tax.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11482647September 2, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The car several times now has stopped in traffic and died after the idle stop was initiated while stopped in traffic. It will not start up for at least 30 seconds to a minute. We were almost rear-ended because we were stuck in the middle of the road. I was told that Canada has issued a recall because of this issue
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481779August 29, 2022
ENGINE, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Driving down the freeway cruising around 70 miles per hour when the multiple sensors tripped and car started to slow down to 50 mph. Took the exit and when I came to a stop the car was moving very slow. Had to go over an overpass and it barely made it over. Close to home so drove the car slowly. The car at times would stop moving and took a little time for it to pick up and started moving slowly again. The sensors that showed were the electric parking brake problem, emissions system problem, transmission system problem, blind spot info system problem. Had I not been close to home or no exit near, my car would have kept slowing down on the freeway. Family car and I also had my kids with me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481815August 29, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Traveling on I-49 north at approximately 80 mph without any sign of a problem when suddenly the car began breaking, shifted into neutral, hazards flashing, and every light on my dash lit up (Emission system Failure, Braking Failure, and Transmission Failure). At first I thought it had something to do with the cruise control, so I tried turning that off, which did not help, so I pulled over to the shoulder safely. This really could have been dangerous had there been more traffic because the car could not accelerate. Once on the shoulder I engaged the parking break as the car would not shift into park or any other gear. I turned off the car while I called state police and roadside assistance. After a while I was able to turn the car on and move it to reverse because I was about 30 yards past an entrance ramp that I could go to off the interstate. All lights were still lit up on the dash. It sounded rough. This was a very dangerous situation and Acrua needs to address this. It is currently awaiting evaluation at Acura of Lafayette.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481031August 24, 2022
ENGINE
The auto engine disable function causes the car to stall unexpectedly. The car engine stops, and the car changes from Drive into Neutral. The only way to re-engage the engine is to place into Park and restart the car. Sometimes, it requires more than one attempt. Fortunately, this has only happened while the car has been stopped, but it has happened at several busy intersections, holding up traffic and creating a safety risk for me and others. Reading online, this is a known issue with suggestions to report this to NHTSA to include in the overall tracking. Hoping for a fix before someone crashes into my stalled car. I listed the last known date, but this happens with frequency (about 1x/week).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481035August 24, 2022
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
My car routinely sends a warning alert that there is an approaching object. It happens more frequently, when the temperature is hot, and it happens mostly when I am stopped at a traffic light. Occasionally, the alerts continue as I'm moving, which is really distracting, but even sitting at a traffic light is distracting and creating a safety issue. I listed yesterday's date, but this happens nearly every day that I drive this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474456July 18, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Complete Transmission failure at 77,000 miles. Vehicle lost power at highway speeds causing a dangerous situation and stranded our family 650 miles from home. Had vehicle towed to the nearest acura dealership where I was told the transmission was terminal and needed to be replaced. Three weeks later the dealership has failed to find a transmission and nothing has happened. Acura extended a good faith discount on the repairs 4k down from 9k because it failed just out of warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474571July 18, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
When applying brakes, irrespective of speed at which I am traveling, I experience a distinct vibration/judder in the front brakes when applying the brakes on my 2017 Acura MDX.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11466572May 29, 2022
ENGINE
The vehicle stalls and loses all power when coming out of auto idle stop. This is a default feature that shuts the engine off when the vehicle stops to create fuel efficiency. But it is creating a terrible safety issue of having vehicles unexpectedly stopped on the roadway. The feature cannot be permanently turned off. Common issue on MDX forums without any real solution from dealership mechanics.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459728April 5, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sunroof exploded while driving for no reason!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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