1.9

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
88,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2007 Acura MDX:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #1

Mar 152013

MDX 6-cyl

  • 88,000 miles
The headrests in this car and all newer-model cars create an uncomfortable and dangerous position of the head and neck by forcing the driver's head forward into an unnatural position. People who are taller, or who have a taller torso are affected more than shorter drivers/passengers. Reclining the seat to avoid having your head pushed forward creates an absence of support for your upper back and torso. These unnatural and uncomfortable positions, while they may assist in whiplash-type accidents, can create neck and back fatigue and even exacerbate and/or cause disk injuries in the delicate cervical spine area. I'm sure these headrests are designed to comply with NHTSA requirements; however while the design may solve one problem (whiplash) it create an entirely different set of problems. A simple solution is to make the headrests adjustable in terms of the angle so that taller drivers are not forced into a hunched over, neck-pain causing position. This is not a minor complaint and is not specific to our Acura. These uncomfortable headrests exist in every newer-model car I've driven or been a passenger in. The NHTSA rules for these headrests are also creating a situation where owners of these cars are making modifications to alleviate the painful head/neck position caused by the headrests. People are removing the headrests, turning them around backwards and sometimes bending the supports to angle the headrest away at a more comfortable position which undermine the supposed safety benefits afforded by the head-forward design. Please, do something to correct the design requirements. They are hurting us and creating an even more unsafe condition when people modify the headrests. A re-design and recall of these current head-forward headrests is imperative to eliminate repetitive head-forward-type cervical disk injuries that are not caused by an accident.

- Loveland, CO, USA