Acura MDX Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

Transfer case failure limiting all wheel drive system. Needs new transmission and transfer case at 83000 miles.

Emissions System Failure Warning Power Shifting / Power Shifting See Dealer All Wheel Drive (AWD) Power may be reduced - see dealer

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.

Issues with the sunroof frame. I've notice popping from the car roof Acura is aware of this issue they've put out a bulletin but only covering cars that have less than 50k miles and are under 4 years old. After researching I see a lot of people are having similar issues where the screws come lose and the sunroof frame breaks causing some sunroof to shatter.

We have had multiple incidents when the car is at a stop light with the idle stop not active, the vehicle engine will just die. The light turns green and the vehicle is not running, it will take multiple times pushing the start button for it to start back up. This has resulted in multiple almost rear end incidents due to other drivers assuming we would go when light turned green. More recently this weekend on a trip from Columbus OH to St. Louis MO; stopped to get gas east of Indianapolis, after pumping gas the vehicle would not restart. It took multiple tries to get it to restart; this happened again the following day at a stop during the day at a shopping center, we ran in to get subs for lunch, came back out, would not start, I have a video of the sound and flashing lights but I can't upload a video here.

RIGHT AND LEFT REAR STROKE SENSOR AND AFTER MARKET CONNECTOR WITH PIGTAILS FOUND CORROSION NEE REAR STROKE SENSOR CONNECTOR CAUSING DTC C1646-F0=== $872.13 right + $872.13 left They are using after market parts with this new Suspension system for Acuras MDX TYPE S. Any car wash or rain storm or snow storm this parts gets corrosion!

Complete drivetrain failure while accelerating from a complete stop in the middle of a busy intersection. No warning lights or hazard messages were activated before or after the failure. The car made a massive clunking/banging sound and continued to clunk on acceleration. The car had to be towed to the dealership. My children were in the car with me, and we had just driven on the highway for 45 minutes before this failure. Luckily, my husband was behind me, and I activated hazards until I could pull over safely. It was jerking and clunking so badly that I was barely able to steer. It was terrifying since my two young children were in the car, and they were both screaming from the noise. I believe I would have been rear-ended if my husband had not been behind me due to the sudden jerk from the failure, as I was the first car in the left turn lane. This is not the first issue I have had with the transfer case in this vehicle. The affected transfer case and drive train were replaced only 7 months prior due to a faulty transfer case and a severe clunking sound. This vehicle has had repeated drivetrain failures without warning, resulting in loss of traction and control. The recent failure reflects a completely stripped spline connecting the transfer case and transmission. This will be the 4th transfer case this vehicle has had at only 64K miles. All recommended maintenance and care have been completed at the certified Acura dealership since the vehicle was purchased. Recently, the 60K services were completed just 3 months prior to the current failure. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for repairs under warranty, as it needs a new transmission and another transfer case. I have not yet received the documentation, as the car is not in my possession, but I will provide it once I receive it. See the attached documentation from the previous failure, dated 6/3/2025, to establish a pattern of catastrophic drivetrain failure.

I was at a stop light, when the lights turned green, I accelerated and heard a loud bang underneath the vehicle. The sound was so loud I thought I had been rear ended. I got out to inspect the vehicle and did not see any damages. I got back into the vehicle and put it in drive to get to the closed gas station. When I started driving, I heard clunking sounds underneath vehicle. I put on my hazards and drove slow. After about 50-100 ft the clunking sounds went away. No lights on the dash or anything. I then got vehicle towed to my father’s shop to inspect what was going or what happened due to not feeling safe driving. One of his employees looked up the cause of the noise and had found that the differential splines or transfer case would strip and cause a loud bang. Which happens on a lot of these acuras. He put vehicle on lift, and put it into drive. The front wheels would spin, but not the rear wheels. He said that indicates the transfer case is bad

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Transfer case and yes, it is attached the vehicle. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? At this time there is a leak and the power is being redistributed which could lead to loss of power at any times. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yea both. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Manufacturer. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No. During a routine transmission service this was noticed that there was a leak, they did not fill the fluid in the vehicle up to monitor fluid levels.

The AWD system failed and now its only FWD

Experienced loss of all wheel drive with no notification, warning lights, etc. Vehicle is only in front wheel drive. Issue caused the vehicle to perform very poorly in inclement weather and myself, wife and children became stuck in the snow. The problem has been confirmed with Acura dealership. Currently it is in the shop awaiting further info.

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.