Acura MDX Complaints (2016)
377 consumer complaints on file.
- #11544717September 15, 2023STEERING, SUSPENSION
We have taken our 2016 Acura MDX to our local dealer three times in the past to complain about noises (clicking and thumping) coming from the front end of the vehicle. Each time the vehicle was under warranty and the response we got from the dealer was "no problem found". Two weeks ago (02Sept2023) we took the Acura MDX to the same local dealer and are told both of the front control arms need to be replaced. Since we are no longer under warranty it would cost us $1559.78 to replace both. And we are also informed that control arms on this vehicle do wear out frequently and they keep a supply on hand to replace the for the many customers that have had the same problem. While we have not had a direct safety problem with this car yet, the car is relatively young and does not have high mileage or rough use. Based on the fact that this Acura dealer has experienced many problems with this vehicles control arms I would like to register the problem with NHTSA to investigate further.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11533889July 23, 2023STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint is peeling and coming off of my roof, good and tail end of my suv. This can be a safety hazard if it continues to peel because that removes a layer of cover from the top which could lead to danger. The color is a pearl white. This has not been confirmed by a local dealer but it has been inspected by an insurance adjuster.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11532054July 13, 2023STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint on the roof of the car is peeling off excessively.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11530599July 6, 2023UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2016 Acura MDX in White Diamond Pearl with peeling paint just above windshield. There is a Service Bulletin (19-029) but I am told that my VIN is not covered. Same problem and same color within the year models. Acura has indicated that VIN was not manufactured where the Service Bulletin covers. Clearly, there is a defect with the paint regardless of where the vehicle was built. There is no safety risk from the defect and it is available at any time for inspection. Was unaware of the Service Bulletin until researching how to stop the problem from progressing since the paint is lifting and peeling off.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11527927June 20, 2023POWER TRAIN, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
I have a 2016 MDX v6 88k miles and I purchased the car as a Certified Pre Owned (CPO). I recently had two lights come on 1) Blind Spot Info System Problem and 2) Transmission System Problem. The car has been driving fine and has been well maintained. Since the lights came on, I've put about 8000 miles on it over the last 6 months and no change to the way it drives (transmission seems to work fine). It seems odd that both lights come on at the same time? Recently my family took a 150 mile trip and both went off during the trip but then did both come back on later that day. Looked on line and it seems many are having this exact issue. One of the websites I visited was - https://www.mdxers.org/threads/2016-mdx-transmission-system-problem-valve-issue-blind-spot-info-system-problem-light.178519/ . I can provide more links to websites if needed. The dealership wants us and others to pay for a new transmission and installation charges. It seems odd that most if not all are having these issues just after the warranty expires. Reminds me of that issue with Volkswagen a few years ago when they would pass emission test when they went to get tester because the computer was programmed to recognize the driving habits of being tested but the other 995 of the time it failed. Also seems odd that cars made in 2016 have a shorter life span than cars built in 1980's. My vehicle is currently in for service at the local dealership (Acura of Seattle) and they want me to pay $8000+ for a new transmission.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11515325April 3, 2023FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The auto engine idle stop on my 2016 Acura MDX has left me in precarious situations at stop signs and/or traffic lights at least twice before the recall notification I received in the mail a couple of weeks ago. The engine turned off as designed but then would not turn back on like it should without a delay. The worst incident was when my teenage Daughters were in the car with me! After receiving the recall notice recently and taking the vehicle into the dealership within days of the notification, my “software update fix” by the dealership (Napleton Acura in West Palm Beach) completely disabled my auto engine idle stop! After calling the service rep I dealt with later that day and telling him about it, I was told the software update made the “turn-off” feature more specific and mine didn’t meet the parameters! My engine was at normal operating temperature, my air conditioner was NOT on and I stopped at at least 12 lights on the way home with no engine stop. That was a week ago and still no engine idle stop has taken place! I’m a pilot and don’t appreciate being talked down to by a supposed “racing champion” named Zeke that feels the need to advertise his prior win on his service uniform! Not only that, but now my safety related “object approaching” notification for front driving and “rear warning” for close objects during parking/reversing are now non-existent! I paid extra for these safety related options and I’m not happy that they’ve been disabled because of the “software update!” How do I become part of the class action lawsuit against Acura/Honda?
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11507270February 14, 2023POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle hesitated and then accelerated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no additional assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11495300November 29, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Forward Looking Camera failed at 62k miles, it won't communicate with the computer according to dealership diagnosis on 11-18-2022. Replacement cameras are on backorder, with no availability date. Vehicle is available for inspection. The issue directly affects Forward Collision, Lane Departure and Cruise Control. It no longer warns me if approaching something too quickly. It no longer tells me if I drift into another lane or corrects it. Cruise Control stopped working as well. Distracting lights and beeping when driving, says windshield needs to be cleaned on instrument cluster. Issue began in mid 2022. According to my research, failing cameras seem to be an issue. Replacement camera is approx $1500, plus the labor to install and align.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11493954November 17, 2022POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Transmission shifted to neutral limiting controllable forward movement. This occurred without any warning while in traffic. This created a VERY HIGH SAFETY RISK. This issue occurred three times creating a need to have it towed into a repair dealer, diagnostics, and resetting of the electrical circuit. The diagnosis code was P0973.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11492993November 10, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
First on off glitching when ever accessory mode is used WHILE IN MOTION, FIRST BRAKELIGHT HAD WARNING THEN WARNING ABOUT TRAILER STABILITY ASSIST. WHEN I WENT IN REVERSE, THE WHOLE DASHBOARD INCLUDING THE NAVIGATION SCREEN WENT BLACK AND THE CAR FELT LIKE THE ENGINE STOPPED. THIS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES. I DON'T THINK THE ENGINE ACTUALLY STOPPED THOUGH BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR. THE BRAKE LIGHT ERROR MESSAGE HAS OCCURRED DRIVING FORWARD AS WELL, BUT NOT ACCOMPANIED BY THE BLACKOUT OF THE DASH AND NAV PANEL. Steering becane stiffer ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WHILE IN MOTION.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11479395August 15, 2022STRUCTURE:BODY
Good afternoon, my Acura MDX 2016 roof paint peeling off. It is known problem. also I found gov. document for warranty extension. but Acura refuse to fix my MDX paint job. because of my car is not in the warranty extension list. please check attached my photo file. this shows perfectly matched claim requirement. 2016 Acura MDX white pearl color (NH603P) what should I do please help me.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11478793August 11, 2022POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE
On a multi-day road trip, the car had a temporary complete loss of power on two separate days. Both times this happened after several hours of driving at highway speeds on I-15 in California, outside temperatures were in the 90s. After a slight deceleration and then applying the accelerator again, there was a 'clunk' like sound possibly from the transmission, and then a complete loss of power. The first time I tried to pull over to the breakdown lane, and then regained power after about 2-3 seconds. The second time, we were in the middle of traffic and were not able to pull over, but again after 2-3 seconds, the power came back. The engine did not rev up when applying the accelerator and there were no dashboard lights. This appeared to be either a transmission, fuel delivery, or engine management/drive by wire issue. While we luckily did not get into an accident, we did slow down significantly on the highway, requiring other drivers around us to break, or change lanes. I have made an appointment with my independent mechanic, but the car has not been inspected yet and I am not able to forcibly reproduce the issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11475517July 24, 2022POWER TRAIN, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
Transmission issues with my 2016 Acura MDX slipping into neutral and staying there while driving at high speeds on interstates. This could've caused injury to myself, my passengers, and other drivers on the road due to the high speeds. Without being to able to accelerate when needed, it could've resulted in harm. Transmission Service Problem and Blind Spot Malfunction lights appeared. I took the vehicle to Acura for service 3 weeks before the last incident and Acura said there was no problem and to bring it back if it happened again. 3 weeks later, it happened again. I had reported slippages in the transmission for several service checks with no issues found by Acura. After the most recent incident, Acura recommended to either keep driving and bring it back or replace the transmission. Diagnostics were run and error codes cleared. The CSR at Acura mentioned he saw this on at least 5 Acura 2016 MDXs this year already. The warning lights did not appear until the last issue. Several other incidents occurred with no warnings. All transmission maintenance activities have been performed.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11473579July 12, 2022POWER TRAIN
I have had the vehicle since beginning of March and I noticed the transmission slipping. I had the transmission flushed which made the problem not as bad but it was still there. A couple weeks later the transmission started slipping hard again and I had the transmission replaced by the dealer. I take it home and its shifting all over the place and not accelerating. Acura did a reprogram and I picked it up and the minute I left the dealer, it started to do a hard shift/slip between 4th and 5th gear that is not going away after a new transmission was put in. I'm not getting any warnings or lights, just the hard shifting that has caused me to return to the dealer on 3 separate occasions and now will be a 4th time. This can be dangerous because I do not know what the car will do at any given moment while I am driving.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470311June 21, 2022FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My mechanic replaced the battery on May 9th and could smell gas but I had just fueled the vehicle. Two days later is when it got worse while driving back home I pulled over and could smell gasoline inside the vehicle as if an open gas can was sitting in the passenger seat. I stopped using the vehicle and took it to my mechanic and he discovered a crack in the weld on the front fuel rail. This could have harmed my family, pets or myself if it had caught on fire. In 1 hour I used a quarter tank of gas because of the high pressure pushing the gas on to the engine. Vehicle taken to Anchorage Acura and the Acura mechanic confirmed what my mechanic found. There were no warning lights or indications of anything wrong until I could smell the gas.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11468001June 7, 2022ENGINE
This 2016 Acura MDX with the 9 speed automatic transmission and the Auto Engine Shut Off function will sometimes fail to restart the engine after cutting off. This presents a safety issue as the car stalls in traffic. This has happened multiple times over the last 4 years (most recently 06/02/2022). This issue was noted to the Acura service department who stated they could not find an issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11466584May 29, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving on the interstate miles in cruise control vehicle started to reduce speed quickly. upon pressing the accelerator (as a semi was right behind me) nothing happened. I attempted to pump the gas pedal in desperation of not being hit as no pull off lane was available. After about 4 minutes vehicle was able to accelerate once again no warning signs or lights came on at this time (i had my 4 young children in the vehicle) extremely unsafe and yet no resolution with said issues. This has occurred 4 times as of yet. #2 dashboard display vehicle in park (P)blinking along with codes; lane departure failure, transmission system failure, blind spot failure. During this time i was able to still drive. Dealership verbalized they could not resolve the issue as no codes ect.,(Popped up) or Registered upon diagnosis. Has occurred 3 times. #3 vehicle door windows are loose as if they were going to fall right off. #4 When I start the engine there's a loud noise prior to starting and during idle. #5 Air conditioner stops working in the front only on occasions. Especially on warmer days. #6 not shifting smoothly. #7 Doors sound as if not sealed appropriately. #7 safety features warning of not able to function due yo overheating
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11453913February 24, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the inadvertently slowed and decelerated to 30 MPH. The brake alert warning message was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451919February 14, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunroof exploded while driving on an empty road. This was alarming and could have been very dangerous had the cover been open as broken glass would have fallen all over me and my children. The dealership said they cannot help because there is no recall for this. No warning, just completely out of the blue, explosion and cracked completely while going 50mph.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451740February 13, 2022POWER TRAIN, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
My SUV would accelerate when going down hill and the message: “transmission system problem”along with “blind spot warning malfunction” would come on. Took to dealer the message went out. Will come on intermittently. This has gone on For past month. They sai it had to stay on for them to diagnose. Now car will not go in reverse at all. This transmission was replaced November 2019 because of a defect. They told me there is no recall but the other was a service bulletin that required my engine to be replaced as well. If there is a class action I want to be added as this is a big inconvenience and the company is denying there is an issue with the transmission computer system so they can get us to pay high repair fees. Please help!
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0