34 complaints reported

2017 Acura MDX Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
34
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2020

THE TRANSMISSION IN THE CAR DECELERATES UNEXPECTEDLY, THE VEHICLE STALLS WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE, IT ALSO JERKS WHEN SHIFTING GEARS, ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, SWITCHING LANES AND SIMPLY DRIVING AND TRYING TO MANEUVER FROM A STOP. WE HAVE ALSO HAD A WARNING POP UP ON THE DASHBOARD TO IMMEDIATELY STOP THE VEHICLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET BECAUSE THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION, WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THEY DONT SEE THE SPECIFIC CODE AND TO JUST HAVE IT TOWED IN NEXT TIME. I BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR SAFETY, WE JUST HAD A BABY AND NOW I AM SCARED TO DRIVE THE CAR ON A DAILY BASIS, WHAT IF IT DOESNT ACCELATE WHEN NEEDED AND WE GET HIT! WE HAVE BROUGHT THE TRANSMISSION ISSUE UP MUTLIPLE TIMES; HOWEVER, ALL WE HAVE BEEN TOLD IS THAT THIS IS A NORMAL THING FOR THE ACURA MDX 2017 YEAR WE HAVE. THIS IS NOT NORMAL, IT IS EXTREMEMLY UNSAFE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2018
Aug 2019

WHILE DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY, I HAVE HAD AT LEAST 3 EPISODES OF DECELERATION WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE. I WAS TRAVELING BETWEEN 60 AND 75 MPH. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN WHEN I DECELERATE TO SLOW WITH TRAFFIC OR CHANGE LANES TO EXIT. WHEN I ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE, THE CAR (2017 MDX) CONTINUED TO DECELERATE RAPIDLY, FOR UP TO 5 SECONDS, PUTTING ME IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ON THE HIGHWAY. I WAS NOT USING CRUISE CONTROL AND HAD THE LKAS TURNED OFF. ADDITIONALLY, I WAS NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO ANY OTHER CARE FOR THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM TO BE A FACTOR.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2019
May 2019

I WAS DRIVING 80MPH SOUTHBOUND ON 45 IN HOUSTON, TEXAS ON SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019, DURING MEMORIAL DAY TRAFFIC. WITHOUT NOTICE, MY CAR BEGAN TO DING AND STATED TO 'STOP DRIVING'. IT ALSO SHOWED A TRANSMISSION ERROR AND PARKING BRAKE ERROR. IN ADDITION, THE CAR SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AUTOMATICALLY, DISABLED THE GAS PEDAL AND I WAS UNABLE TO REENGAGE DRIVE. AT THIS TIME, THE HIGHWAY I WAS ON WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITH CEMENT WALLS ON BOTH SIDES WITH NO SHOULDER. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE NEAREST EXIT AND LEAVE THE HIGHWAY. ONCE OFF THE HIGHWAY, I RESTARTED MY CAR AND WAS STILL UNABLE TO PUT IT IN DRIVE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2019
May 2019

NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING FREQUENTLY SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR IN OCTOBER 2017; THE DATE REQUIRED BELOW WAS A RANDOM DATE I CHOSE. WHEN ACCELERATING QUICKLY TO ENTER A HIGHWAY, THE TRANSMISSION HESITATES BEFORE DECIDING WHICH GEAR TO JUMP INTO. THIS ALSO OCCURS, TO A LESSER EXTENT, WHEN I HAVE TO STOMP ON THE GAS IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SINCE IT MAKES ME VULNERABLE TO AN ACCIDENT; WHEN I STOMP ON THE GAS PEDAL, I EXPECT TO GET ACCELERATION. I DON'T EXPECT THE CAR TO PAUSE IN ORDER TO DECIDE WHICH GEAR WOULD BE THE BEST TO JUMP INTO. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE COMPUTER WAS TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH GEAR WOULD BE THE MOST ECONOMICAL, FROM A GAS PERSPECTIVE, TO SHIFT INTO. THIS IS NOT FOR NORMAL ACCELERATION, BUT WHERE I NEED TO ACCELERATE VERY QUICKLY. ADDITIONALLY, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION JERKS WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I PURCHASED IT IN OCTOBER 2017. WHEN I COMPLAINED ABOUT IT TO THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER, THEY SAID THIS WAS "NORMAL" AND NOTHING THEY COULD DO.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2019
May 2019

TRANSMISSION IS JERKY, CHOKING AND DOESN'T REACT FOR 3-4 SECONDS. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY RESET A TRANSMISSION CODE WITHOUT REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION WITH A NEW ONE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2019
Aug 2018

THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD AND ROUGH, SLIPS IN AND OUT OF GEAR AND ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS (BOTH BEING ON THE FREEWAY) THE TRANSMISSION GOT STUCK AND WOULD NOT RESPOND AT ALL AND I SAT IN THE CAR COASTING AS IF THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR IN TO ACURA 6 TIMES AND HAVE RECEIVED NO HELP AT ALL. I HAVE CONTACTED ACURA CORPORATE AND STILL RECEIVED NO HELP. I'M HIGHLY CONCERNED FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILIES SAFETY. THIS IS NOW MY DAILY DRIVER AND THE TRANSMISSION IS ONLY GETTING WORST OVER TIME. IN REGULAR CITY STREET DRIVING, BRAKING IS SCARY BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION ACCELERATES BEFORE IT SLOWS DOWN AND THE CAR SHIFTS DOWN SLOWLY SO BY THE TIME I ACTUALLY STOP THE CAR, THE CAR IS STILL SHIFTING DOWN. THE CAR JERKS WHEN I PRESS ON THE GAS OR WHEN I BREAK TO STOP. I'M AFRAID AN ACCIDENT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IF I HAVE TO SLAM ON THE BREAKS TO AVOID A COLLISION BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION CAN'T DECIDE WHICH GEAR TO SHIFT INTO. ACCELERATION IS A BIG PROBLEM AS WELL. IF I'M AT A COMPLETE STOP AND PRESS THE GAS TO GO THE CAR LAGS AND THEN JOLTS INTO GEAR AND THEN JOLTS AGAIN INTO THE NEXT GEAR. I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THIS CAR AND I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING IT AT ALL I'M TRULLY SCARED I'M GOING TO BE INJURED OR MAYBE WORST.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2018
Apr 2018

THE 9 SPEED TRANSMISSION IN MY ACURA MDX SHIFTS VERY HARD GOING INTO FIRST AND SECOND GEAR WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREETS AND IN TWO SEPARATE CASES THE CAR DID NOT SHIFT INTO THIRD GEAR AND HALTED THE CAR AS I STEP ON THE GAS THE ENGINE ROARS BUT THE CAR DID NOT MOVE. ONCE IT FINALLY SHIFTED INTO GEAR THE CAR JOLTED FORWARD. THIS HAPPENED IN THE RAIN WHICH WAS EXTREMELY SCARY AND UNSAFE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO TWO ACURA DEALERS TOTALING 4 VISITS TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND NO ONE BELIEVES THAT ANYTHING IS WRONG BECAUSE ACURA IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. A LOT OF OTHER CUSTOMERS ONLINE REVIEWS EXPLAIN THE SAME ISSUE I'M HAVING. I HAVE CONTACTED ACURA CORPORATE OFFICE AND WAS ASSURED WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS A MANAGER WOULD CONTACT ME REGARDING THIS MATTER AND THAT WAS THREE WEEKS AGO AND I HAVE HEARD NOTHING FROM THEM. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR OR HAVING MY FAMILY IN THE CAR AT THIS POINT.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2018
Mar 2018

ON FEBRUARY 23,2018, I PURCHASE A NEW 2017 ACURA MDX WITH TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE. THE VEHICLE HAD 378 MILES WHEN I PURCHASED IT. IT HAD NEVER BEEN TITLED AND WAS SOLD AS A NEW VEHICLE. UPON TAKING DELIVERY OF THE VEHICLE, I NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE HESITATES WHEN SHIFTING GEARS. WHEN STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON A FLAT PAVED, CITY STREET, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCES POOR ACCELERATION WHEN TAKING OFF. I AM PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL DOWN REALLY HARD, YET THE VEHICLE IS MOVING VERY SLOWLY--NOT EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE I AM APPLYING TO THE GAS PEDAL. THE ACCELERATION IS VERY POOR, ESPECIALLY WHEN PULLING OFF FROM A STOPPED POSITION. WHEN I AM GOING DOWNHILL ON A PAVED CITY STREET, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES EVEN WHEN NO GAS IS APPLIED. EXPERIENCING ROUGH SHIFTING, ESPECIALLY IN LOW GEARS ON ALL PAVED ROADS. DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY DUE TO EXTREMELY SLOW ACCELERATION. SOMETIMES WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO STOP, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES. WHEN I TRY TO MAKE A LEFT TURN AGAINST ONCOMING TRAFFIC, THE VEHICLE HESITATES AND COULD CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. ALL DRIVING TAKES PLACES ON CITY STREETS, HIGHWAYS AND PAVED ROADWAYS. ON ONE OCCASION, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE FROM A PARKED POSITION. I RECEIVED AN ERROR CODE SAYING 'TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, PULL OVER WHEN SAFE." THE POOR ACCELERATION PROBLEM IS WORSE WHEN I ENABLE THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL AND LANE KEEPING ASSIST FEATURES. I HAVE RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. EACH TIME THEY TELL ME THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. THEY EVEN SAID THAT I NEED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE MORE SO THAT THE TRANSMISSION WILL LEARN MY DRIVING PATTERNS AND MAKE THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2018
Sep 2017

THE VAN STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AND STARTED JERKING. THE GEARS WERE NOT SHIFTING WELL AND GOT AN ERROR MESSAGE P0730. IT WAS VERY UNSAFE AND WE WERE LUCKY NOT TO HAVE BEEN DRIVING ON FREEWAY. HUGE SAFETY ISSUE .

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 ACURA MDX, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2017

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2017 Acura MDX has 34 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.