10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,682 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 #17

Feb 232023

MDX

  • miles
Vehicle was stopped at a traffic light (transmission in Drive) and the automatic idle shutoff engaged, turning off the engine. When the traffic light turned green, the brake was released and we found that the transmission had shifted to neutral and would not shift back into Drive. We had to restart the car. Being stalled at a green light is a serious safety hazard as approaching vehicles would not anticipate my vehicle being stalled.

- Brandon, MS, USA

problem #16

Jan 172023

MDX

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that upon locking the doors with the key fob, the vehicle would remain unlocked. Due to the failure, the contact believed that someone entered the vehicle and changed certain setting from the original setting. The contact was informed by the dealer that the setting change should not have shown on the multi-information display (MID) screen. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,400.

- Cypress, TX, USA

problem #15

Aug 302022

MDX

  • miles
While in traffic the auto start sometimes fails to engage and the car stalls. Battery lights come on and the car goes into neutral on its own. I have to sit there and wait about 5 minutes in traffic before it restarts. Battery checked out fine. It has happened 3 times now. This is dangerous, and can/will cause a collision.

- Silver Springs, FL, USA

problem #14

Nov 042022

MDX

  • miles
When stopped at a light or in traffic the vehicle engages the auto idle feature. (turns off the engine to save gas). Upon releasing the brake, the car should re-start, instead the car does not start. The car jumps out of the drive gear into neutral on the transmission. The electrical system goes crazy and does not allow you to either turn off the car's electrical system or re-restart the car using the car's on/off button. This has happened to me at least 5-10 times over the last year. Each time the car becomes immobile in the middle of the road or highway for up to 2 minutes, until the electrical system resets and allows you to turn off all the power and re-start the car. It's a very scary and dangerous situation, when my vehicle is stranded in the middle of a highway or a road for up to 2 minutes, as traffic tries to avoid crashing into my vehicle. Searching online, I was able to see that this same condition has affected many MDX owners but Honda does not seem to have recall or fix for this issue.

- Livingston, NJ, USA

problem #13

May 012022

MDX

  • 59,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated temporarily. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving to her destination. The contact stated the had occurred four times. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.

- New Rochelle, NY, USA

problem #12

Aug 212022

MDX

  • miles
When the idle stop comes on it shifts the car to neutral and I must shut off the car to get it to start again. This happens while on the highway and is unsafe.

- Metuchen, NJ, USA

problem #11

Aug 122022

MDX

  • miles
On a few occasions, while at a stop light the auto idle engaged. When I lifted my foot from the brake pedal, which should restart the engine, the car Shifts automatically into neutral and cannot restart the engine. The dash shows a message saying that I must now shift to park. I have to then turn the car off, while in traffic, and then restart. This happens while in traffic, causing everyone behind me to wait or drive around. I have taken this to Acura of Stamford twice already, and they cannot recreate it. I have pictures of the car when it was in neutral. Other people have reported this occurring on a 2019 mdx as well.

- Stamford, CT, USA

problem #10

Jul 192022

MDX

  • miles
I was driving my car with my infant daughter in the backseat. We were stopped at a red light in the middle of a busy intersection. The car was in idle mode. When I went to turn left the car shifted into neutral. I could not go into drive. I had to turn the car off and turn it back on again to get it to move out of the intersection. We almost got rear ended. When my husband brought the car in the shop they ran diagnostic testing and said nothing was wrong. Only that the problem may be caused by a low battery. They replaced the battery and let my husband drive home. I want to know why there was no low battery warning light" Also why do I have to almost have a collision to find out the battery doesn-€™t work"

- Tucker , GA, USA

problem #9

Jul 012021

MDX

  • miles
I have had problems with the car stalling or shifting to neutral from drive after the auto stop feature is engaged. This typically happens when the engine tries to restart after having shutoff at the stop. It is difficult to replicate the problem and the dealer can't seem to replicated the problem but it has happened to me many times, particularly in hot weather or after long drives. Typically it happens after a long drive or a lot of around town driving (maybe when the engine is hot?). The dealer does not believe it is related to the fuel pump replacement but that is when it seemed to have started happening but this is entirely speculation. Very frustrating as I have been to the dealer 3 times with the problem and they cannot "replicate" it. They supposedly also replaced the battery and updated the software in the car but that has not solved it. I am growing concerned because it is very dangerous, particularly when stopped at a busy intersection. The last stall happened and it took a minute or so to get the car running again at a busy and large intersection. I am also worried about the happening when on an incline. It doesn't happen all of the time, sometimes there is just a hesitation but the car starts and lurches forward. I have a 2019 with about 35K miles on it and have used primarily for long distance trips and not much around town driving. I have attached the dealer work orders for the three visits but stopped bringing the car in because it has been a waste of time as they are unable to find the issue. Also, I have reported the issue twice to American Honda and they have sent me back to the dealer with no results. This is a dangerous situation and I noticed that there is a related recall for the Acura TLX model with the same engine. This problem is ongoing and has happened to me twice in the past 2 days if I forget to disable the auto shutoff feature. Thanks.

- Chevy Chase, MD, USA

problem #8

Mar 302022

MDX

  • miles
I was stopped at a light and as the light changed to green I began to accelerate to enter the on ramp to 75N. While driving onto the on ramp many warning lights came on as my car shifted into Neutral on its own. I couldn-€™t accelerate, switch it back to drive.or depress the break as it was locked. The car stopped and would not move on the entrance ramp to a busy highway. I called 911 because I was almost hit multiple times as I could not move the car. FDOT came to assist and saw that I could not depress the break, remove the emergency break, or get the car to move. After a few minutes we turned the car off and it started back up with no problem. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealer on 3/30/2022. Upon searching on the internet, I saw that this is not a new issue. I could have been killed yesterday while on the phone with 911 on the on ramp to the highway with vehicles approaching at a very high rate of speed and having to slam on their breaks and swerve off the road to avoid hitting me.

- Odessa, FL, USA

problem #7

Mar 012022

MDX

  • miles
On several occasions when auto start/stop is engaged the vehicle will shift into neutral on its own upon restart. The engine will just rev and not go back into drive until you put it in park and then drive again. This has caused us to stall in front of a semi and 2 other vehicles. The dealer has replicated the issue on multiple occasions and is now there for a 3rd time. First 'fix' was charge the battery Second 'fix' was adjust exhaust and transmission valves Third 'fix' is replacing the fuel pump There was a 2019 recall for Acura MDX but this VIN does not show up for that.

- Olathe, KS, USA

problem #6

Mar 012022

MDX

  • miles
When at a red light, I pushed the brake and the auto idle stop feature become engaged. When the light turned green and I lifted my foot off the brake, the car went into neutral and would not move or start. In order to turn the car back on, I needed to put the car in park mode and then restart the car. This is a safety hazard since this happened at a busy intersection, with no warning, and cars needed to go around me. This happened twice before I could bring my car in to get it checked. The Acura Service Department changed our battery.

- Happy Valley, OR, USA

problem #5

Jun 062019

MDX

  • 300 miles
Infotainment system experiences periodic failures causing inability to control climate/temperature controls, communications, navigation, and vehicle settings including safety settings. It occurs when driving in city and on highway regardless of conditions or speed, when stationary, can at times be corrected by pulling off the road and restarting the car, but sometimes it just takes time to resolve. Acura stated this is caused by the connection to the cell phone, but occurs even when no phone is connected to or in the car. This issue is a significant distraction to the drivers attention, and can for exposure to extreme to outside temperatures below freezing and above 95F in high humidity mo summer heat. Multiple attempts to repair the vehicle have failed, arbitration with ncds ruled in my favor for Acura to repair the vehicle which they cannot do, it is a known issue with Acura vehicles and they continue to sell, and there are multiple current class action lawsuits against Acura and their parent Honda motor company for the identical issue with different models from the same model year. My attemepts to trade and sell the vehical have been thwarted by occurances of critical failure of these electronic/computer based systems. I am currently arbitrating Acura (non-legal) for the resolution of these unsafe driving experience.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

problem #4

Jul 162020

MDX

  • 17,900 miles
While driving at highway speed, there was single "pop" sound that seemed to come from inside the dashboard between the on demand multifunction display (odmd) and the instrument panel. The navi screen then became solid black. After a very short time and while still at highway speed, the navi screen briefly showed the view from the backup camera. After a few seconds both the navi screen and the odmd screen became solid black and remained that way. Then, within seconds, light colored, grayish smoke began flowing out into the vehicle from the cd slot on the odmd. Immediately, there was an odor in the car like that from burning plastic or electrical insulation. As soon as possible the car was pulled off the highway and the engine was turned off. The smoke continued to come out of the cd slot until the engine was turned off, then the smoke stopped coming out. After several minutes the engine was restarted and the car was driven to a safer location.there was no smoke coming from the cd slot after the car was restarted and while driving the car to the dealership for service the next day. An odor like that from an electrical fire remained noticeable in the vehicle. Prior to the event, the driver observed no vehicle warning indications, and both the navi and the odmd appeared to be functioning normally. The cd player was not being used. The dealership service manager advised me that they consulted with Acura engineering personnel, inspected and tested wiring inside the dashboard and have isolated the cause of the problem to "a short in the radio." The dealer says that the odmd and the hard disk drive have been sent to alpine to determine the cause of failure at alpine's request. I have asked the dealership to confirm that the repairs to the vehicle will ensure that this kind of event will not recur.

- Hoover, AL, USA

problem #3

Feb 072020

MDX

  • 8,300 miles
While driving my 2019 MDX I noticed that the back-up camera was on remaining on, and I could see the road behind by vehicle. I pulled off the road and turned the car off and then restarted thinking this would correct the problem; however it did not correct the problem. I also noticed that the lights that indicate that I am backing up remain on even when the car is in park. Inside of the vehicle, the climate control isn't working. The car appears to be "safe" to drive, with the exception of the distraction from the backup camera remaining on; and, not being able to defrost/defog the windows or warm the car. The Acura dealer in ardmore, pa will be servicing the car on 02-10-2020.

- Lansdowne, PA, USA

problem #2

Dec 312019

MDX

  • 18,000 miles
The automatic collision mitigation system had a complete 100% lock up of my brakes during a cross of an intersection. Although I was wearing my seatbelt the force of the stop threw my head into the steering wheel. It is a complete miracle that the car behind me did not rear-end me. This system routinely gives false positives when going around corners when you are in the center lane and it beeps and pulses the brakes. This time, the car stopped completely and I hit my head and was lucky to not cause an accident. There should be a way to 100% permanently turn off or Acura needs to fix their software. Too many false positives and actually is less safe with it on.

- Brentwood, TN, USA

problem #1

Feb 082019

MDX

  • 4,088 miles
While driving approx. 40 mph and slowing to turn into gas station, the car completely turned off. I was unable to put car in neutral or get off of road. Tow truck called and had to be drug onto flatbed. Garage replaced battery and still unable to start. Needed to replace timing belt, tensioner pulley, water pump, engine short block and heads. Car with only 4088 miles, no S/S of issue prior to incident, etc. Garage not sure what caused issue, best guess is manufacture defect in timing belt. I asked to end lease or for new vehicle, but Acura denied. Car will be returned to me despite my concerns.

- Montrose, PA, USA