319 of the
4,633 complaints filed about the Acura MDX
are about the other systems —
7% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2016.
2025 Acura MDX – Auto Idle Stop Failure to Restart When my 2025 Acura MDX is stopped at a traffic light and the Auto Idle Stop system activates, the engine shuts off but on multiple occasions has failed to restart when traffic begins moving. The vehicle becomes immobilized in an active traffic lane. Vehicles behind me begin moving and honking while I am unable to move the vehicle. To regain operation, I have had to completely shut the vehicle off and restart it while stopped in traffic. I can prevent the occurrence by manually disabling Auto Idle Stop after starting the vehicle, but this requires me to remember to disable the system every time I drive. If I forget, I risk the vehicle shutting down and failing to restart at an intersection. This creates a serious safety concern for me and my passengers, including my child. I am concerned about being stranded in an intersection or other active traffic lane and potentially being struck by another vehicle. I believe the Auto Idle Stop system's failure to restart the engine presents an unreasonable safety risk and should be investigated.
NHTSA complaint #11758463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The auto start stop shut down the car when stopping at a red light and had to fully restart the car. This has happend several times since I owned the car. Its a safety issue is you need to move the car in an emergency or potential to reended by traffice behind you that assumes you are moving at a light. In addition on restart of the car at times the car struggles to restart like the battery is weak or starter is bad. Again more of a safety issue and potential accident.
NHTSA complaint #11757152 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am reporting a potential safety defect involving the rear windshield glass on my Acura MDX. The rear windshield unexpectedly shattered while the vehicle was stationary, with no known impact or contact with an outside object. I was present when the glass shattered and immediately took multiple photographs and videos before the vehicle was moved. Based on what I observed, the glass appeared to break outward rather than from an outside object striking the vehicle. I later drove the vehicle from my home to the Acura dealership after being advised to do so. By the time the vehicle was inspected, portions of the shattered glass were understandably missing. The dealership later identified an area of missing glass as a possible “point of impact,” although I witnessed the event and there was no impact. I am submitting this complaint because I am concerned that the rear glass may have failed spontaneously and could represent a safety issue. Unexpected glass shattering could potentially occur while a vehicle is being driven and could startle a driver, expose occupants to broken glass, or impair visibility. I am also aware that Acura has previously issued technical service information regarding rear windshield glass on certain RDX vehicles shattering without external impact. I understand that my vehicle is an MDX and may not be covered by the same issue, but I believe the circumstances warrant documentation and review for a possible pattern.
NHTSA complaint #11756025 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My vehicle was stopped at a busy intersection, idling in the automatic stop mode. When my husband moved his foot from the brake to the accelerator, the car stalled, orange alarm alerts went off, and the car was completely dead and stalled without power. The car needed to be restarted, and it took a few attempts to accomplish that task. I have had the same problem before with this car and have had it into the dealer at least two times without resolution.
NHTSA complaint #11756035 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Auto Idle Restart failed three times in traffic at red light. Have to shift to Park and push Start button. Nothing happens for several seconds, then engine starts.
NHTSA complaint #11755686 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While at a stop light, the vehicle had automatic start/stop on and failed to restart when the gas pedal was applied. The car went into park but still seemed like it was on, even though it was not. I had to remain calm, put on my hazards, and attempt a couple of times to reboot the vehicle. This has happened at least three times since I purchased my 2025 Acura MDX in November 2025.
NHTSA complaint #11754284 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system unexpectedly deactivates during cold weather conditions, creating a sudden loss of traction and compromising vehicle stability control on winter roads."
NHTSA complaint #11752296 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car shifted on its own from drive to park right after warning lights stating Electrical Parking System then Emissions the Transmission came on while in stop and go traffic. Car had just come back from Acura mechanic 4 hours earlier as these warning lights had come when starting car. Immediately had car towed to dealership.
NHTSA complaint #11752240 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The splines to the transmission and front transfer case are worn and stripped and that is causing a bad transmission fluid leak. The fix for this unfortunately is to replace the Transmission and the Transfer case assy. I am not getting any support from Acura, as this is a known problem according to the dealer. Acura is not cooperating and the cost to repair is $14,000. I noticed a transmission fluid leak, so I took the vehicle into the Acura dealership. No check engine light came on, no notification that there was a catastrophic failure occurring to my car. I've been reading that this is happening to several other Acura vehicles as well.
NHTSA complaint #11752070 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle will turn off when it comes to a stop without being put in park. This has happened on busy city roads, highways in traffic and residential areas at stop signs. The vehicle will also periodically not turn on, with multiple indicators lighting up on the dashboard. This has been reported to the dealership, who states if there are no active error codes or indicators at the time of service there is nothing they can do. I have opened a case with Acura client relations more than 3 weeks ago and have escalated multiple times with no response. This has created numerous safety problems, also with children in the vehicle. This vehicle is not safe to operate and the manufacturer refuses to respond to my intervention requests although it is under warranty.
NHTSA complaint #11750848 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I bought a 2012 silver Acura MDX on March 3rd in 2022 from our local Acura dealership. Exterior paint was great, hardly any dings, scratches anywhere. I spent over $20,000 for this USED CAR and as of the past two years, the clear coat has worn out in various places on front hood, near the moon roof, near the rear side door windows, near the rack on top, near the back hatch window. It's absolutely embarrassing and I find it interesting/maddening that I have seen two others MDX's around town that have the same issues with paint. WHY IS THERE NOT A RECALL? MY 2011 HONDA ODYSSEY paint doesn't have this issue, why is Acura inferior to Honda? I always thought Acura was higher end. But clearly, they went cheap on paint and want their Acura MDX's to look like trash. WHAT IS A FIX FOR THIS? I CAN NOT AFFORD TO REPAINT CAR ON MY OWN.
NHTSA complaint #11749224 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Safety Recall# AOT 2014-20 MDX REAR SUBFRAME REPAIR SAFETY RECALL June 2026 we were made aware that our 2017 Acura MDX SH – AWD had a recall for the rear subframe Safety repair. We immediately contacted Acura Joe Rizza Orland Park, Illinois at the time they said they did not have the Safety recall parts available for the rear subframe but they were on order so they scheduled us to bring the vehicle in on July 1, 2026 to complete the safety recall. invoice included. Just prior to this in May 2026 we were experiencing safety issues with our vehicle, vibrating very severely and pulling when we brought it in they told us it was the drive propeller shaft which, as you will see in the enclosed documents that when the rear subframe prematurely rusts it causes key suspension problems, especially with the drivetrain and propeller shaft . As this was a safety issue, and we felt very concerned about this because the car was NOT safe to drive. We had it repaired prior to receiving this safety recall soon after rear subframe which all makes vehicle unsafe. There’s direct correlation that safety recall the premature rust on the rear subframe which caused structural integrity to degrade and caused severe vibration and pulling on our propeller shaft. Due to the severity and safety as we felt very concerned for our safety with this severe vibration we Paid to have the propeller shaft replaced, then found out a couple of weeks later that the actual rear subframe that has a direct correlation to the propeller shaft get recalled for safety issues. Our vehicle vehicle is a certified vehicle always serviced at Acura dealerships as shown on a car fax .Due to these Safety reasons and the paperwork provided along with the invoices we are asking for a refund in the amount that we paid in total $1313.37 for repair of the propeller shaft which the safety recall the rear subframe caused it to misalign cause abnormal noises severe vibrations SEVERE safety issues for Our family vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11747996 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The malfunction was both rear drains from the sunroof were clogged and possibly kinked. The dealership might still have the components but did not give us access to them. The clog caused the water to enter the vehicle and accumulate. In addition to wet carpeting, an electrical component shorted and failed damaging the Infotainment system. If this had happened during vehicle operation with water moving around, electrical systems could suddenly fail while driving. The vehicle was inspected by the insurance adjustor but was deemed a maintenance issue even though there exist no maintenance instructions or dealership directives for maintenance or inspections. Owner maintenance would not be possible as special tools would be needed without which damage to the drain lines might occur. There was no warning, messaging, or instructions that maintenance was necessary for this item or that it could fail. The first sign was the sound of sloshing water in the vehicle during driving and the failure of the infotainment system. As a remedy, the dealership insisted on replacing the drain lines rather than cleaning them out, which implies that either the dealership was creating extra work for themselves or the drain line could not easily be cleaned.
NHTSA complaint #11747106 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Idle stop not functioning properly. Will get to a stop, and numerous times it will not start back up until you put it in park and restart it several times. Sometimes, it will not start on the 1st try from a cold start, or the starter will grind really slow. We have taken this to Acura several times, and they tell us it is a known problem, but just to turn the idle stop off each time.
NHTSA complaint #11747206 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
No restart after auto idle stop - Car fails to restart automatically after stop and releasing the brake pedal. This has happened on a number of occasions in the last few months.This can cause a dangerous condition that can can cause an accident if stopped in an intersection or a rear end collision as the driver behind assumes the vehicle will move but does not. Car has to be shut off to restart.
NHTSA complaint #11747083 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driveshaft spinning freely no power transfer , vehicle is currently all-wheel-drive condition indicate severe connections between transmission and transfer case . both components are damaged vehicle need replacement of transmission and transfer case . Serviced at McGrath Acura Morton mGrove, Illinois. 06/19/26
NHTSA complaint #11745398 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Design flow at the CORROSION BUILT UPAT SENSOR CONNECTOR. Water gets in and corrodes connector. Causing over $8000 in repairs for the following: COMPLETE FLOOR WIRE HARNESS EXTENDING TO STROKE SENSORS- CORROSION BUILT UPAT SENSOR CONNECTOR CAUSING FAULT IN FLOOR HARNESS.
NHTSA complaint #11743255 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When I was at 41,528 miles, May 18, the LKAS, ACC & RDMS errors all turned on at the same time. So those systems just stopped working randomly. When I restarted the car, all errors turned off but it turned on again after 10 days, May 28 with 91,966 miles. I brought it to the Acura dealership and they couldn't replicate it. I think this is an issue because one of the highlights of this car is safety but at random times, those safety systems suddenly stops working and the dealership couldn't do anything about it.
NHTSA complaint #11741836 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Auto Start/Stop system shuts down the engine and periodically the engine fails to restart. The car needs to be put into Park and then the electronics seem to re-boot before the car will restart the engine. This has now happened many times in city traffic, interstate highways and in areas of questionable safety (high crime zones). The dealer and Acura has refused to repair since they have not been able to duplicate the issue. They wanted me to lend my new $60,000 car to their service technician to drive back and forth from home/work to see if they can duplicate the issue. The dealer has tested the battery, however it passes. They refuse to do anything with the starter or other components of the system whether it be replace or inspect them. As the car ages (now approx. 1.5 years) it seems to occur increasingly often. I am concerned that the Auto Star/Stop system is doing irreparable damage to the engine & transmission. Additionally, sometimes the engine gets cut off and then tries to re-start and after several churns the engine restarts and the car lurches forward as the car is in gear "drive' when the car re-starts. The catalyst for making the car re-start is to release the brake... and that causes an immediate lurch forward when the engine does re-start. Does not seem to be a good thing for the transmission. The Auto/Start/Stop engine feature can not be permanently disabled.
NHTSA complaint #11741596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Good morning, Out of nowhere my dashboard lit up after 5+ years of having no issues with the vehicle. I believe there are a total of 5 safety features that are linked to the ADAS camera in this MDX but i am not 100%, it may be 4 safety features. I am not here to whine about a repair on a 6 year old vehicle but this particular issue has become extremely common with this vehicle. I believe (along with all the other owners) that the ADAS issue with certain year Acura & Honda is happening way to often way too soon. my MDX does not even have 70k on it! after doing some research between Facebook, Reddit & many other Acura/Honda forums this appears to be all too common. when that camera shits the bed you lose many of the main safety features that may have brought you to purchase that vehicle. My local Acura dealer in Wilmington, NC told me he is replacing this part once a month and none of them are under warranty I'm not sure why he shared that with me but he did. that is an alarming number considering where i live and how few MDX's there probably are in my area. Where i live everyone drives either a full size pickup or suv and theyre all American brands. the dealer wants $1800 for the repair. I'm getting it done because i have the money to do it but I am not happy at all. normal wear and tear repairs i get, this one however i have a major issue with it. many people are not having the repair done because the car is driveable. any help with this would be greatly appreciated & thank you for your time. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11741211 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.