This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Uncontrollable acceleration, surging and bucking during braking or decreasing speed the vehicle hesitates to stop in all gears - uncontrollably dangerous acceleration also stresses additional vehicle functions - tires and brakes - suspension (inertia that causes imbalance) - steering - vehicle steering is now somewhat unbinding and veers right or left when attempts to control anomalous accelerations while braking or slowing the vehicle poor acceleration at lower city speeds and remains in erratic gears for unspecified times this is most dangerous when driving in rougher traffic and especially when there are additional demands to drive at elevating speeds transmission disengages briefly at higher speeds recently, as the vehicle increases velocity and consistency, the drive gear disengages to neutral for a few milliseconds and changes back to the drive gear and regains momentum transmission is noisy 1. thuds and clicks while shift at various times 2. 'cricket sounds' gurgling, creaks, grinds and mild knocking is present when idling and engaging after vehicle startup E. manual transmission functions 1. vehicle continues to move once parking gear is engaged and foot brake is released 2. once vehicle starts, reverse and drive gear is "sticky' and makes noise (thud) when engaged
ZF9 transmission went out at about 10,000 miles with metal particles found in atf fluid. Replaced by Acura with a new transmission apparatus. Apparently this is a rampant and dangerous problem with this model year transmission. Now at 38,000 miles (28,000 miles on the new transmission) this one is failing, slipping on shifts and making a squeaking/chirping noise between gears. Can result in failure to engage/accelerate in an emergency situation. Acura people won't take it seriously so NHTSA should get involved. A quick survey will demonstrate this is a common problem in this car. Acura has a tsb but this should be a recall item. They're trying to get beyond everyone's 6 year powertrain warranty without having to take action.
- vehicle lost power the other day had to pull over luckily was still in residential corridor at 35mph with no other vehicles around. Transmission problems include: Erratic shifting, sensation of acceleration when coasting down hills, surging when braking, transmission feels like it stays in various gears too long. During slight acceleration from a stop, experience both hesitation and surges and transmission feels rough at low speeds. Also experience poor acceleration and bogging at low speeds. Erratic shifting and speed changes occurring daily.
The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving at 75 mph, the vehicle independently shifted into neutral. The failure recurred several times and the contact was unable to shift the vehicle back into drive. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that the power train control module software was previously updated at rosenthal Acura (623 frederick avenue, gaithersburg, md 20879, (877)300-4226) however, failed to prevent the failure. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer to be inspected. The contact referenced manufacturer communication numbers: 15-034 nad 19-003 as possible fixes for the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 39,000.
Vehicle stalls at highway speeds. No software update by Acura has fixed the issue. There are several lawsuits against Acura for the same but they deny any responsibility. Google Acura MDX transmission class action lawsuit.
- Clarksburg, MD, USA
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The contact owns a 2016 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Bergstrom Acura (2910 N victory ln, appleton, wi 54913, (800) 353-3654) was contacted and informed of the failure. An appointment was scheduled to have the vehicle diagnosed which was still pending. The failure recurred three times. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
My 2016 MDX shifts into neutral at highway speeds and won"T let me accelerate. I have escaped getting into an accident multiple times. Every time I take it to the dealer they do a new software update however the issue still remains. There are hundreds of people reporting this L. please look into this. Acura has not recalled the vehicles but issued a tsb15-034. I have received this tsb update but the problem hasn"T been fixed. This is a very dangerous situation as I have barely escaped getting into terrible accident. There are multiple class action lawsuits against Acura for the same but Acura refuses to acknowledge the issue. When the issue arises the mil starts flashing random error messages. I am attaching the pictures of the error messages I got while stranded on I95.
When the engine is cold the car hesitates when it shifts into 2nd & 3rd gears. It almost stalls. I have almost been hit numerous times at intersections. The dealer says nothing is wrong, yet 2 loaners that were similar ages & miles didn't do that. The problem goes away after the car is driven a few miles. Happens every day.
Acura needs to do something about this issue! my previous complaint was #11269881 and covered four separate incidences in 2019. This is a safety issue! previously two of my for instances of this happening involved significant instant slowing down of the car (below 30 mph) and RPM raising while while driving 70+ mph on interstate is dangerous! this time the afternoon prior the car experienced a louder than normal engine sound and RPM like it was in a lower gear. On the morning of 4/24/20 when the car was started the warning lights came on and cycled through and remained on most of the day. It was not until the fourth time driving the car that they all stopped lighting up. However the car still seems to be driving in a lower gear but no lights remain on. This time it did not lose power before the lights came on. They just appeared on when we went to start the car in the morning. Trailer stabilization assist problem, road departure mitigation system problem, emissions system problem, brake system problem, power steering system problem, vehicle stability assist problem, hill start assist problem, . mileage at 122,044. Last time my dealer told me it was misfiring so change the spark plugs. I did but it has happened now three more times since then.
My 2016 MDX has had its transmission replaced twice. The symptoms are usually "chirping" noises and/or rough/violent shifting behavior. On the very day that I picked the vehicle up from the Acura service shop after its 2nd transmission replacement, the vehicle still wildly exhibited "chirping" noises, all of which are documented in a youtube video that we took while driving the vehicle home that day. Even after 2 transmission replacements, the transmission is beginning to exhibit the same symptoms yet again. This is a lemon transmission. This week, I had an independent mechanic who specializes only in Acura/Honda vehicles inspect the transmission. He documented the "chirp" noise as well as "harsh" and "erratic" shifting. This is all documented in writing on his work order receipt, which I can provide upon request. This mechanic also suggested that if the transmission fails, it could cause a catastrophic crash and potential injury or death to occupants depending on the situation. Prior to the independent mechanic examining the vehicle, my local Acura service shop gave me the "run-around" song-and-dance by saying they can't fix anything because they were "unable to recreate the symptoms". they stated this despite the fact that I have extensive video/audio evidence of the symptoms on youtube of my specific vehicle.
Attempted to accelerate with pedal while at freeway speeds and after canceling cruise control, vehicle does not accelerate, downshifts instantly to 2nd gear, multiple warning lights on dash, main display reads 'emissions system problem'. accelerator function returns but transmission is stuck in 2nd gear at freeway speeds and very high engine RPM. Must make emergency stop on side of road and restart vehicle to remedy. Check engine light and 'emissions system problem' warning remain for a day or two following an incident but vehicle drives ok. This issue has occurred on 4 separate occasions. Took to Acura dealer after 3rd incident and dealer reported no trouble found.
When driving at highway speeds for at least a half hour and attempting to accelerate, the engine speed will drop to idle and will not respond to accelerator pedal movement for several seconds. When this happens, there are no: Warnings, lights, or messages and no fault codes are stored in any of the control modules. This has never happened when using cruise control. This has happened on at least 9 different trips. This is an extremely dangerous condition that has nearly resulted in another vehicle impacting ours from behind, due to the rapid deceleration.
Since we purchased this car we have issues with the vehicle where it is hesitating to accelerate when going from 0 mph to 30 mph. We took it to the dealership and they updated the software for the powertrain but still the vehicle has acceleration issues when going from 0 to 40 miles per hour. We have researched this issue on internet and it seems like lots of people owning Acura are having this issue. This issue is attributed to new 7 speed transmission that Acura built. It looks like a saftey issue since the vehicle would not accelerate after stopping at traffic light or stopping to take right and re accelerating.
Vehicle acceleration is sluggish at stop and go. During highway speed, if transmission is in low cruising gear and you need to accelerate, transmission is sluggish. Issues was corrected at dealer. Dealer found 1 faulty transmission computer code. New symptoms after computer fix, over acceleration and harsh shift points. Dealer advised to drive 500 mile after computer reflash. Interior light do not dim after a few seconds. Interior lights will not turn off regardless of locking vehicle. Rear suspension has a 0.55 camber difference, vehicle has 26,765 miles. I asked dealership service to look at this issue. Dealer never advised on issues.
November 10, 2019 traveling on highway at ~65 mph, pressed accelerator to pass car and vehicle would not speed up...felt like the car was in neutral. After about 7 to 10 seconds the transmission finally kicked in and the car accelerated. If this happened on a 2 lane road the lack of transmission delivering power to wheels could have resulted in a head on collision. Service apt scheduled with Acura dealership where purchased and was told they could find no 'codes' or alerts in cars computer and that they found nothing wrong. The did say they reprogrammed the transmission software...but they have done that 2 other times. Car has only 35K miles on it and we have brought car into Acura dealership 4 times to address the harsh shifting of transmission and told them each time we felt it was a serious safety concern. The above incident of no power when attempting to pass on highway is the first time that has happened..but is a very serious concern. We were told for the 3rd time that the harsh shifting and gear-wandering was a 'characteristic' of this make / model car and that Acura has been trying to address the issue with transmission software updates. I have seen many online complaints of the "gear-wandering' transmission issue online and have also read similar safety complaints of car losing transmission power at highway speeds. Please thoughtfully review this complaint and contact me if you need additional information. We firmly believe that the known reported issues of the 2016 Acura MDX shawd transmission problems are a huge safety issue. This 7 seater SUV is driven by many families!
Experience three different scenarios where the transmission either appears to shift into neutral or gears grinding. 1) shifting from park to drive, the vehicle all of a sudden stalls and engine revs up without any motion. Resolved by shifting vehicle back to park, and then to drive. 2) when vehicle is in-motion at highway speeds between 40-70 mph, all of a sudden vehicle loses acceleration power and speed decreases for 3-4 seconds forcing other vehicles from behind to either brake or slow down. Often occurs while merging onto the highway or lane changes where acceleration is required. 3) while driving on normal streets at 30-40 mph, gears grind for approximately 1-2 seconds without losing acceleration.
Before sharing the details, you should know that this could be a deadly safety matter. If a transmission fails at highway speeds (or any speed), the vehicle loses power and could very easily get crushed by an 18-wheeler. A driver and/or a whole family could die. You should go after Acura before someone has to die as a result of Acura's negligence. My 2016 Acura MDX had its first transmission replacement in October 2016 at around 14,000 miles and about 18 months into ownership. I had purchased the vehicle as a brand new car from an Acura dealer. I am the only owner, and it has been "babied" and received proper maintenance from Acura dealer service shops only. Leading up to the 1st transmission replacement, the vehicle was making awful "chirping" noises upon slight acceleration at slow speeds. After the 1st transmission replacement, all seemed fine until recently. At around 38,000 miles (spring 2019, still barely within the 4 year warranty), the vehicle began to exhibit identical symptoms. At 39,000 miles, the MDX received its 2nd transmission replacement. On the very day that I picked it up from the 2nd transmission replacement repair work, the MDX started making far worse noises than before the repair work. It is back in the shop again and Acura seems to be at a complete loss for how to fix it properly for a 3rd time! there are many Acura/Honda technical service bulletins about transmission issues on these and Acura/Honda-related vehicles which use the same transmission. It is clearly a well-known problem putting countless drivers/passengers at physical risk or financial risk.
At 80,000 miles car started making a noise sounding like metal spinning on metal. Transmission system problem light came on. Rpms went really high when I took my foot off the gas the rpms went really low. This all happened while I was on the highway. Pulled over, shut car off, restarted car, warning light went away rpms were fine but the noise was still there. Took car in for service they couldn't find any problem had transmission fluid replaced and the noise went away however occasionally the transmission system problem would occur. So I shut off the car restart and the problem goes away. Seems the transmission problem happens when I'm on the highway and going up hill between 60 and 70 miles an hour when the rpms go slightly above two. It does not seem to happen on level ground. I do mostly city driving and put another 50,000 miles on since the first time the problem happened. Took car in for service while the light was on, diagnostic shows torque converter problem. They tell me I need a new transmission. Apparently 2016 models you cannot rebuild because there are no parts available. Still driving car today with no problem doing city driving but I always panic when I have to get on the highway. Apparently I've gone 60,000 miles more with a transmission that cannot go on a highway uphill. Just recently my car is been going into neutral by itself and it stalls occasionally. This happens while I'm driving. I feel very unsafe but I don't have the money to replace my transmission. I wish the torque converter could be replaced but there are no parts available. I believe Acura is not admitting to a problem
Purchased the car 7/6/2019 used with 26,943 miles. At 27,961 miles I was driving on the freeway in stop and go traffic. Pressed on the accelerator after a stop and the car jerked and I heard a loud "clunk". warning lights appeared for "transmission system problem" and "blind spot warning malfunction". the car seemed to stay in first or second gear as I slowly exited the freeway at high RPM. Had it towed to the Acura dealer. Transmission replaced as a result.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Springfield, OH, USA