10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,547 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.

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problem #19

Mar 222024

MDX

  • miles
On highway and switching lanes. All of a sudden ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE AND ALL DRIVER ASSIST LIGHTS CAME ON. Pull over light came on as well. HIT ON LEFT REAR SYMBOL CAME ON. Was never hit just a close car on driver left rear side when switching lanes. Made it home and vehicle wouldn-??t switch back into drive mode. Acura didn-??t do its due process and assumed a new transmission was needed. Replaced and a month later ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE sign starts flashing again. Now dealership is saying I need a new catalytic converter. Refused as I believe Acura has been incorrect about the diagnostic. They also stated my vehicle was in a collision and it wasn-??t. They refused to check electrical issues and update software as these things are not in my control. It is my belief the car had a faulty collision warning which is causing other issues as well as Acura refusing to probably assist and diagnose without me continuing to be falsely diagnosed

- Norwalk, CT, USA

problem #18

Feb 212024

MDX

  • miles
The sensor under the hood malfunctions causing the car alarm system to go off and battery to get drained. Multiple batteries were changed because initially the thinking was that the battery needed to be replaced. Car alarm would go off in the middle of the night (with a new battery) when parked in the garage. All the electrical systems and lights would start turning off and on as if the car is possessed. Manufacturer is aware of the problem. Many others are complaining on the internet. There are variety of hacks including rigging the sensor that are suggested. Dealer said the entire control unit had to be replaced for $1122. Repair was made. They said when they run out of parts (control unit) they also disconnect the sensor. So you have cars on the highways that are no longer appropriately indicating when the hood is down (shut correctly or whether it is a false alarm. I called the manufacturer they didn't take responsibility (Case 14470102) with Acura/Honda.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #17

Aug 222023

MDX

  • miles
Paint peeling on roof, there is an existing issue regarding mdx pearl white paint peeling but only covered 2014 to 2016. My 2017 pearl white mdx also has the same issue, and a lot more people complaining as well online. I contacted acura and they said that my vin number is not part of the issue. Which is BS. My car has only 31,000 miles eventhough its almost 7 yrs old, it is well kept, garaged suv.

- Lakewood, CA, USA

problem #16

Jan 042022

MDX

  • miles
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-??

- Coppell, TX, USA

problem #15

Apr 032022

MDX

  • miles
Sunroof exploded while driving for no reason!

- Stockton , NJ, USA

problem #14

Aug 082020

MDX

  • 12,000 miles
Starting, seat pushed forward against steering column moving down radio blaring driver climate control went to low passengers to 80 degrees blower to high and car lunged forward. Dealer said previous complaints were discovered and addressed to be two fobs entering vehicle at same time and and vehicle confused they advised only one fob in car at any one time. Questionable answer not substantially proven? and we will always have two fobs. Vehicle was stationary in gear.

- Valparaiso, IN, USA

problem #13

Aug 062018

MDX 6-cyl

  • 12,000 miles
Mechanical fire

- Sammamamsh, WA, USA

problem #12

Dec 012019

MDX

  • 16,000 miles
The noise volume of the advanced safety technology, such as lane departure warning and blind spot information, does not change with increased vehicle speed nor with increased radio volume. Therefore, the technology is not audible unless the vehicle is at a stop or at low speed or if the radio is off. This renders the technology useless during most vehicle trips. The vehicle manufacturer was contacted, but no resolution was given. This is a safety issue, as drivers who may rely on this technology may not be aware that the technology is activated when they cannot hear it.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #11

Aug 072018

MDX

  • 14,000 miles
Car caught on fire while we were driving with all the family inside

- Frisco, TX, USA

problem #10

Aug 132019

MDX

  • 10,000 miles
While driving, I received the message "advanced driver support system: U3000-49". this is the second time this error has appeared on the console. First time this had occurred was on 9/28/18 and again on 8/13/19. The dealer says I dont drive the car enough and in turn the battery for the camera does not have sufficient charge. Every time I bring this car in for an issue they reset the error message and inform me to let them know to come back if the issue appears. This happened with my trunk and my jerky transmission. On another note, I have had issues with a choppy transmission. The car jerks from 1st to 2nd everytime. They know about the problem but refuse to fix it. The 2019 models dont have this problem as I test drove. It is a safety issue because when you press the accelerator it gives a jerk and in the winter if you are not prepared it can catch you off guard.

- Glenview, IL, USA

problem #9

Aug 282019

MDX

  • 40,000 miles
Vehicle anti collision activated on straight city street at approx 35 mph when other vehicle had made right turn and was no longer in collision path. Brakes automatically applied to dead stop, causing following vehicle to take evasive action.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #8

Aug 202018

MDX

  • 6,700 miles
The brand new SUV (2017 Acura MDX AWD tech package) has about 7000 miles and for the last 300 miles it is having problems which are critical safety issues, when the gas is slightly pressed to increase speed in a moving vehicle. This issue is seen at least once a day or once in 2 days. The SUV has auto braking feature and it is definitely not related to that. 1. the car brakes by itself (slightly slowing down for 1 to 3 seconds) 2. the car speeds up unexpectedly and then brakes by itself. I took in the car few times to the Acura dealership and they said they did not see any issues in the computer. So now I am very concerned and worried to put my family in the car.

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 062018

MDX

  • 16,000 miles
Car caught on fire in the middle of the road. I was inside of the car with my three kids, my husband was driving, the car started smoking, we stopped in the middle of the road and everybody ran out of the car and the car caught up in flames, we heard an explosion, the police officers and firefighters arrived and they stopped the fire. They filed a report with city of issaquah #18-09696. We called the dealership and Acura customer relation and they didn't want to go see the car and check what caused the fire. Firefighter mentioned it could have started in the engine. From my point of view, this was a manufacturing defect and should be covered by the car's warranty. I would like to request for a compensation, the money spent on the car so far.

- Sammamish, WA, USA

problem #6

Dec 192017

MDX

  • 1,200 miles
Multiple errors in safety warning and action systems such as the collision mitigation and warning system. For example, while driving on a four lane highway (undivided, no head-on traffic), my vehicle was in the far-right lane, 800-900 feet behind a truck in the left lane. The truck began slowing and moved into the wide left-hand turn lane leading to a signal controlled by a traffic signal. When I was about 2-300 feet behind the truck, now stopped (awaiting a left-turn light), the collision mitigation system flashed the word 'brake' in the heads-up display and went into full braking mode to the limit of the anti-skid system. There was no other traffic on the road within 3-3500 feet of the intersection. This has happened numerous times where the collision mitigation system went to full braking with no other vehicles possibly representing a danger. Numerous other warnings of the sensors alert at random. Most recently, while stopped at an intersection with my foot on the brake ' the engine idle-stop system working (I.e., the engine was not operating) ' we received a warning to 'brake' and warning of approaching vehicles (which should not happen). We frequently get warnings of non-existent trafffic approaching from behind while sitting in a parking slot, transmission in park, parking brake on (or off, both). Cruise control was not used in any of these cases. There are dozens of other false warnings, both audio and visual, that do little more than to train us to ignore them, not a good attribute of any warning system. Backup collision sensors frequently alert to hazards which cannot be seen: I've actually shut down the engine, get out and looked to see if something like a shopping cart might have rolled into the vehicle's path, only to find nothing whatsoever behind the vehicle. Warnings are both in visual (word/graphics) and audio form.

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #5

May 282018

MDX

  • 48,000 miles
Acura MDX 2017 bought brand new. Has shut off completely 5 times in the last 60days. 3 times in the last 2 days. Come to a stop, entire car shuts off along with electronics. Occured the last three times at an intersection waiting to turn left or at a red light.. can't move. Have to restart the car. Dangerous. I've taken it to Acura and they say nothing is wrong. Service tech told me another MDX owner is having same issue.

- Ventura, CA, USA

problem #4

Feb 012018

MDX

  • 6,000 miles
On several occasions as I reduce speed, the car suddenly accelerates when I release the break to start accelerating again. The acceleration happen when you are going at slow speed. The first time I took it to the dealership it had happened in 4 occasions and I had atributed the incident to lack of experience in driving a new car. Because it happened in front of my daughters school ' and in theory I could have actually killed a child ' I promptly deliver it to the dealership. During the test drive with the technician, the car changed gears from the comfort mode to sport mode on its own. Because it was a safety issue, they informed me that an engineer from Acura would come and inspect the unit. After a week with my car, they just did an update into the transmission software - and informed me they were unable to recreate the issue. Thirty three days later' while dropping my dad at his dialysis ' at a turn - the car went form 3 miles to 25 miles, and it was fortunate that it was 5:45 in the morning ' since I could certainly would have cause an accident considering I almost ran a light. I called the dealership and on February 1, dropped again the vehicle at the dealership. 11 days later I called back to follow up and was informed by the service manager that Acura should have contacted me on Friday February 9 to let me know that they would be sending an engineer to check the vehicle again. Our concern is that this is a safety issue documented on two previous complaints in this forum, that constitute a serious risk for my family and community. At 11:00 am on February 12 I have yet to hear from Acura although they are aware of the issue.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #3

Jan 052018

MDX

  • 12,000 miles
Occassionally, the yellow brake alert goes off when driving around a right hand bend with a car coming the other way. There was absolutely no chance of a collision where braking was necessary. Also, I have had once instance where the car applied the brakes and brought the car to a complete stop when it was unnecessary.

- Danvers, MA, USA

problem #2

Dec 282017

MDX

  • 3,800 miles
It was 46 outside when I was driving down I-10. My sunroof exploded with no apparent cause. Only car on interstate at the time. Not passing under overpass or following behind any vehicle that could've thrown rocks. The break in the sunroof was in an upward fashion, as if it broke from the inside out (as if related to increased pressure). The piece of glass that was broken was a large sheet, still intact. It seems if an outside obstacle (such as a rock or debris) would've caused the sunroof to shatter, the glass would've been in many more pieces/shards. I took it to my dealer who said it 'must have' been a rock and they wanted me to file an insurance claim. After I refused, they offered me a 'good will warranty' to cover the cost but never did admit that this issue was more than likely related to a manufacturer defect.

- Gonzales, LA, USA

problem #1

Apr 112017

MDX

  • 2,700 miles
I was driving 70mph on AZ state route 51. I heard a loud bang, like a gun shot, and a sudden noise like turbulent air and highway noise. As I slowed the vehicle I looked around to see if there were any broken windows which there weren't. pulling over and inspecting the vehicle I noticed 2/3 of the moonroof was missing and a few pebbles of plate glass on top of the inside cover. The remaining glass was angled up like it had been sucked up not deflected down from an impact. I was a navy fighter Pilot and this is the same sequence of events I experienced with the loss of a canopy and sudden decompression. I have a master's degree in aerospace engineering and I know the location of the moonroof is a low pressure area like the top of an aircraft wing. There were no other vehicles in close proximity, no objects flying off the road, nor was the vehicle under an underpass. This is a combination of a design flaw and possibly a defect in the moonroof glass. The vehicle is 3 months old, less than 3000 miles driven and the moonroof has never been opened. Acura takes no responsibility. This is a safety hazard as a less experienced startled driver could be so distracted as to cause an accident. The fix is a wind deflector in front of the moonroof. I am having one installed at my expense by the Acura. I would prefer a metal sunroof or a factory roofline modification to deflect the airstream and prevent the low pressure area causing this problem. Googling moonroof explosion yields numerous incidents from multiple manufacturers. There needs to be a fix before a fatality occurs. Captain, usnavy(ret)

- Phoenix, AZ, USA