179 of the
4,633 complaints filed about the Acura MDX
are about the throttle and cruise control —
4% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2017.
179
Complaints
4%
Share of all complaints
28
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate and lost motive power. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and then regained normal operation and accelerated as intended. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure had occurred three times while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.
NHTSA complaint #11746158 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving on the interstate over 2 hours from home the car put itself into neutral and almost caused us to get into a collision. While accelerating after a construction zone, the lights on the dash of the vehicle lit up with transmission, emissions, electronic parking brake, and more codes. The car shifted itself into neutral while running between 65-70 mph on the interstate. Multiple vehicles were accelerating after the 55 mph work zone area was over, and we had to swerve between cars to get to the shoulder of the road because the vehicle lost all acceleration capabilities. We have taken the vehicle to the dealer for past recalls and software updates and mentioned this issue happening before and were told that the vehicle showed no codes concerning the electronic parking brake issue. Upon further investigation, there are multiple reports and forums of this particular vehicle having the same issue. Its a miracle we didn't get involved in a massive collision with semi trucks and other vehicles amongst us when the vehicle lost all ability to accelerate. This could cause a huge problem if it were to happen again in a more populated area or at increased speeds. We were stuck on the side of the road for 4 hours waiting on a flatbed to tow it because it locks up the AWD system with the electronic parking brake and doesn't allow the wheels to move. This is the second time we've had it towed for this same issue only to be told that it's not a problem. I'm willing to bet that the company knows exactly what the issue is but won't issue a recall because they don't classify it as a safety recall until people start losing their lives or cost the company stockholders money. This problem has the ability to cause major harm or death to people with this vehicle if it were to shift itself into neutral or lock up the electronic parking brake while in a heavy populated area. I hope they issue a safety recall and hold the company accountable before people lose their life.
NHTSA complaint #11736956 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was pulling up to our house to park in the open garage as I typically do and was in the driveway with my foot lifted off the gas pedal to allow the car to coast forward slowly. The car hesitated for a moment before it lunged/accelerated on its own with such force I had to slam on my brakes to avoid the car hitting the wall of our house. I did not have cruise control on. Took the car to Acura dealership for a multi-point inspection and they found nothing out of order that would’ve caused that to occur.
NHTSA complaint #11736703 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On April 17 2026 while driving my 2022 Acura MDX at very low speed in a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward without warning and surged into bushes before I could stop it. I did not mistake the gas for the brake pedal. This felt like a sudden unintended acceleration event. I was preparing to park in a stall and the vehicle lunged forward unexpectedly. I applied the brake, but the braking did not immediately stop the forward surge. Earlier, I experienced another unusual event in which the vehicle abruptly auto-braked, jerked, and made a warning sound while I was slowing for a red light. I noticed the car felt as if it was surging a bit on residential streets and was about to mention it during the next service. This incident has caused me to lose confidence in the safety of the vehicle. I contacted Niello Acura who has been very cooperative. I was told the issue would need to be duplicated or that they could only inspect it if a code had been stored once the car is repaired. The car is currently being repaired with close to 7,000 in front end damage. I am reporting this because a sudden unintended acceleration presents a serious safety risk and could easily have caused a more severe crash or injury. I did research on this issue and have found various reports of unintended accelerations in the Acura MDX forums from various years but was unable to find any recalls or outcomes with these reports My concern is this will be dismissed as "operator error" or a phantom incident that cannot be reproduced.
NHTSA complaint #11733361 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.
NHTSA complaint #11730005 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2017 Acura MDX unexpectedly shifts into neutral while I am driving, specifically when slowing down approaching stop signs. When this happens, the vehicle loses power and will not accelerate, creating a dangerous situation in traffic. I have to manually press the Drive button to put the vehicle back into gear while still on the road. This has happened multiple times without warning and no recall exists for this issue. This is a serious safety hazard because the vehicle can lose power in traffic or intersections.
NHTSA complaint #11729196 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I start getting every kind of warning on my dashboard - Collision mitigation system problem -Auto Crues Control Problem -Brake system Light on - The Car apply brake on the miidle of street/Highway
NHTSA complaint #11720934 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving on a normal sunny day when every light on my dashboard came on. I initially panicked thinking my car was going to shutoff while I was driving it. This is in conjunction with the car stalling out when the auto shutoff feature malfunctions. After researching the issue, I realized the safety camera was no longer working and a major concern. A malfunctioning front camera can prevent the vehicle from automatically braking or maintaining lanes, hence increasing the risk of collision. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate the front multi-purpose camera system on the 2020 Acura MDX for potential defect and safety hazard.
NHTSA complaint #11716875 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There were several instances where my vehicle either accelerated or decelerated while I was driving. I first noticed the issue about a week after I purchased the car in May 2022. I took it back to Acura of Brookfield, and they said they couldn’t replicate the issue. I also took my car to Acura of Brookfield in September 2023 for the same jerking issue. They charged me for an update, but the issue did not change. I continued noticing the problem over the years, but it happened more frequently in 2025. In May 2025, I was driving down a hill in Brookfield, Wisconsin, when my car jerked aggressively and then accelerated on its own. Throughout the rest of the year, it would either accelerate or decelerate while I was on the highway. On January 20, while I was on my way to the gym, my car jerked and decelerated while I was on the highway. I was able to pick up speed again and continue driving to the gym. When I came back out, my car started, but it would not shift out of park. I had the car towed to Acura of Brookfield, and they said something about the hydraulics inside the transmission being bad, and that they had to replace the entire transmission.
NHTSA complaint #11716599 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The transmission of this model car is very poorly programmed a low speeds. it is constantly jerking in and out of gears making it difficult to moderate speed. There is also a substantial delay between hitting the pedal and accelerating the vehicle. The issues with the transmission paired with the very delayed accelleration leads to very ineffective control of the vehicles speed, leading to what I believe is dangerous driving scenarios. Turning through inersections, braking at a light, accellerating out of the way of traffic, are all made much more difficult/unpredictible due to how unpredictible and inconsitent the transmission behaves. It feels impossible to 'learn' how it behaves. Here is a forumn of other users confirming similar issues: https://www.mdxers.org/threads/jerky-transmission.181658/ I believe this should be addressed via software update or recall as it i'm sure will lead to accidents/injuries.
NHTSA complaint #11712429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When trying to accelerate from a stop the car has a noticeable lag in throttle response. 2+ seconds. This does not always happen but is intermittent. Much more often when the engine is colder. This makes a left turn in front of traffic or any move where you need to merge with traffic go from safe to dangerous, this also confuses other drivers as they wonder why you are not moving. Someone who was unfamiliar with my car ended up in the middle of an intersection blocking because they didn’t accelerate. Looking into the problem it seems to be reported quite often and is “normal”. Honda does not see this as a problem and anyone who has “fixed” the problem has used aftermarket parts. The car does not have auto engine stop/start so the car is always running.
NHTSA complaint #11703507 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
As I was turning right (slowly accelerating from a complete stop) into a shopping center parking lot, I was entering into the lane behind a vehicle that had just passed in front of me (and was headed in the same direction I was going to turn). My 2022 Acura MDX Low Speed Braking Control system engaged for no reason. The breaks slammed hard bringing the car to a hard, sudden stop, and I thought I had been rear-ended by the car behind me. I pressed the gas slowly again and was able to pull into a parking spot and checked my back bumper…PERFECTLY FINE! I googled the issues I experienced and found this is a common problem! This is a dangerous problem! Please hold Acura accountable to fix this issue! For now, I have to remember to turn this Low Speed Braking Control System OFF EVERY TIME I power on my MDX! I am now scared to drive my car!
NHTSA complaint #11702150 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2026 Acura MDX with Acura Factory A Spec issued plastic floor mats. Accelerator pedal gets stuck behind the floor mat resulting in uncontrolled wide open throttle. Had to physically put my foot behind the pedal and pull pedal away from floor. Afterwards tried a few times to repeat the issue, 3/5 times was able to reproduce stuck pedal. Top of the drivers plastic floor mats, right side, has a U cut out for the accelerator pedal. This needs to be trimmed another 1/2” or more to stop the issue. Could result in severe or fatal consequences.
NHTSA complaint #11700349 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When at a complete stop at a stop light or stop sign and ready to press the gas to accelerate, there’s a delay for the car to even start moving. It doesn’t want to go when pressed on. Which can cause the person behind me to hit the back of the car. It nearly came to that. There’s sudden fast movement when accelerating to get the car to move forward. It’s been happening numerous times where the gas pedal isn’t recognizing the acceleration part. I’ve read plenty forums about this issue with this vehicle and still not enough complaints for a recall? Can we look into this as this is a safety issue. The car won’t accelerate when you want it to.
NHTSA complaint #11698973 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When you press the accelerator pedal there is a significant delay in the pedal response particularly at low speed. As you press accelerator pedal nothing happens for a second or two. Then the vehicles accelerates not a gradual rate but at the rate of where the accelerator pedal is at when the vehicle begins to speed up. This causes sudden and hard acceleration. This delay and or sudden acceleration is dangerous when trying to pull into traffic. The Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Was brought to dealer and after a very short inspection, was told nothing was wrong. They did do a transmission software update. This did not change anything. This is an issue reported in on-long blogs frequently. No warning lamps to error codes related to this issue according to the dealer. This has been an ongoing issue for as long I have owned the vehicle but gets worse as the vehicle gets older.
NHTSA complaint #11698756 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle frequently experiences problems while idling at red lights or stop signs. Specifically, the engine suddenly shuts off after displaying a message that "Idle Mode is unavailable." This has occurred multiple times, and on five separate occasions, the vehicle became completely immobile, requiring towing to the nearest mechanic. Initially, I had the flywheel and starter motor replaced, which cost me approximately $5,000. However, just three months later, the same issue reappeared. Most recently, while driving home from work, the idle mode failed again at a stop sign, and the engine stopped running. I contacted Acura/Honda regarding this issue, but they informed me that it is not their responsibility. At this point, I am unsure how to proceed or where to seek a reliable fix, and I am concerned about the safety implications of this recurring failure.
NHTSA complaint #11695976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When cruising or coming off a stop, my car is incapable of accelerating promptly if I am trying to get out of the way or even merge into oncoming traffic on a highway. There is a severe acceleration delay perhaps with the throttle body. I have seen online complaints but the dealership said there has to be an actual recall number to correct this. My car has been in several times to fix this. A computer reset did not work. My car is one year old.
NHTSA complaint #11689501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1. The car accelerates by intself. The accelaration is like "hiccups". When reversing and changing to D gear, it takes longer than usual for the accelarion to take effect. Yes, car is available for inspections 2. It is dangerus because it gets the hiccups even at high speeds. If it is a serious egine problem, which seems like it is, could cause an accident. 3. The car was taken to the dealership for 3 recalls but it got worse after the recalls were fixed. Supposedly the recalls were supposed to fix the issues. We have not taken it back yet. 4. There is no lights or warnings when it does it.
NHTSA complaint #11683334 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2018 Acura MDX experiences a persistent and unsafe delay in acceleration from a complete stop. When pressing the gas pedal, there is often a hesitation of approximately one second before the vehicle responds. This throttle lag creates a serious safety concern, especially when attempting to merge into traffic, turn across intersections, or respond quickly in emergency situations. The dealership has been unable to resolve the issue despite applying all available software updates. Based on online reports, this appears to be a widespread issue affecting multiple model years and drivetrains.
NHTSA complaint #11677890 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2023 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, the pedal unintendedly travelled down to the floorboard, causing the vehicle to unintendedly accelerate. The contact stated that the vehicle exceeded 95 MPH while driving in a 25 MPH zone. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop while depressing the brake pedal and drove through a red traffic light. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where an Acura engineer flew in to examine the vehicle. The engineer determined that the driver's side floor mat was faulty, and the floor mat was replaced; however, the failure recurred on three separate occasions and lasted approximately 40 seconds. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000.
NHTSA complaint #11677467 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.