2017 Acura MDX POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I was driving on the interstate yesterday ([XXX]) and the transmission suddenly downshifted gears and also went to neutral. I managed to pull to the shoulder, but the sudden loss of power could easily have been life threatening at a more crowded time of day or in poor weather. The car was towed to McDaniel Acura in Columbia, SC (I was out of town) and problem confirmed. I also called my regular mechanic (a Honda specialist) and he said this was a known problem and referenced Acura service bulletin [XXX] which says to reload new software. Codes were: Transmission code P0716 Parking Brake System U0401-68 Parking brake warning light on Blind spot warning light on Why hasn't there been a recall on this??? It's a known problem and I could easily have been killed and hurt others. If not a recall, at least at least do something to alert owners so they can get it fixed proactively if they want, as opposed to breaking down on the side of an interstate for hours. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Ive brought my MDX to the dealership service department 6 times for this issue, my car has been with the service department this last time since Nov 28th consecutively. In September I brought it in because my car would shift to park when the auto start/stop engaged, I would have to hit the brakes, shift back in to drive before I could take off. I was told there were 2 recalls that we remedied at that time. I brought my car back in a couple weeks later because the issue was persisting, I also started to get transmission and blind spot monitoring system alerts in those 2 weeks. I was told by the service department that the recall update wasn't "completed" when I brought it the previous time. The shift to park still was not fixed. At the 3rd time to the service department they replaced my starter. After this was done the issues with the car got worse, the car would give me transmission alerts, emission system alerts, power brake, blind spot, etc. & the "D" for drive on the dash would blink. Park would also blink. On the 4th trip they replaced my shifter assembly. After this the issues with the car further worsened and I would get all of the previously mentioned alerts, then my car would shift to neutral and another alert would pop up saying "pull over and park when safe to do so". Thankfully I was never on the interstate when this happened. I have to coast until I can pull off the road. After turning the car off then back on I was still not able to shift in to gear. I had the car towed to Acura, this (5th trip) time they replaced my transmission computer module. The car did the same thing the day after I picked it up. I had it towed back to them again, this latest trip they replaced my powertrain computer module, it did not fix the issue. My MDX has been at the dealership since Nov 28th because they do not know what to attempt to fix next. Im not being given any recourse. There are class-action lawsuits regarding this issue on the internet, so it is not unique to me
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, SEVERAL UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHUDDER. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE GEAR SHIFTER WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT INTO PARK. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO JOHN EAGLE ACURA (16015 KATY FWY, HOUSTON, TX 77094) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE IGNITION COIL CIRCUIT CABLE NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 36,000.
AFTER RECEIVING THE VEHICLE FROM ACURA IN MARCH 2020 WITH APPROXIMATELY 49,500 MILES AND NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS SLIPPING AROUND 20 TO 30 MILES PER HOUR. MY FIANCEE DROVE IT AS WELL AND FELT IT SLIPPING IN A CITY STOP AND GO UNDER THE SAME SPEED. WE CALLED ACURA TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SLIPPING AS WELL AS THE BATTERY MALFUNCTIONING. THEY TOLD US TO BRING IT IN AND WE DID. THE BATTERY END UP BEING DEAD A FEW WEEKS AFTER RECEIVING THE VEHICLE. IT WAS CHANGED. WE THEN WERE TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDS A TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGE AND THAT THIS MAYBE CAUSES THE PROBLEM. WE NOTICED WITH THE VEHICLE RECORDS THE FLUID WAS CHANGED AT 42,376 MILES PRIOR. THE TRANSMISSION FLUID ENDED UP BEING CHANGED AND WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD NEED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE A LOT FOR THE SLIPPING TO GO AWAY. THOUSANDS OF MILES LATER THE VEHICLE IS STILL SLIPPING WITH 53,000 MILES. WE FEEL ACURA KNOWS THE IS AN ISSUE BUT DOESN'T WANT TO FIX IT. WE NEED HELP. I'M NOT THE ONLY WON HAVING THIS ISSUE WITH THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE WHEN IT INVOLVES SLIPPING. I HAVE A FEW DOCUMENTS SUPPORTING MY CASE ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND THE CURRENT ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 ACURA MDX. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH ON A BUSY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY FAILED TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. IN ADDITION, THE ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE, BLIND SPOT, AND "STOP DRIVING" MESSAGES AND INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MAPLETON PALM BEACH ACURA (6870 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33411), BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE DEALER PERFORMED A SOFTWARE UPDATE ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,649.
WHEN PULLING FORWARD FROM A STOP INTO A CAR WASH, THE ZF 9-SPEED TRANSMISSION DROPPED INTO NEUTRAL WITHOUT WARNING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO LOSE ALL ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD. WHEN THIS HAPPENED, ALL WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH ILLUMINATED, INCLUDING STABILITY CONTROL, AIRBAGS, CHECK ENGINE, LANE DEPARTURE, AND FRONTAL COLLISION SYSTEM, AND THE DIGITAL DISPLAY FLASHED THROUGH EVERY COMPONENT ON THE CAR SAYING THERE WERE SYSTEM FAILURES IN THEM ALL. THE IMMEDIATE REMEDY WAS TO STOP, PLACE THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. WHEN RE-STARTED THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN, BUT ALL SYSTEM FAILURE LIGHTS AND WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH AND DIGITAL DISPLAY REMAINED ILLUMINATED.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2017 Acura MDX has 6 POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.