10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,460 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2016 Acura MDX electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Acura MDX Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #8

Dec 012016

MDX

  • 11,111 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Un intended non acceleration. Due to severe lag, delay, and sluggish transmission response. Acura has replaced my transmission under warranty at 11,000 miles and did not admit fault and say there was a problem. Here's more on my experience..in my 1 year of ownership.. to whom it may concern: 2016 Acura MDX 13,000 miles, purchase new from Sierra Acura, alhambra, ca I am writing to request buy back of my vehicle this car is a lemon. Since taking ownership a year ago, my 2016 MDX purchased new has experienced nothing but one problem after problem. Acura replaced transmission a month ago but the problem is still there. Is it engineered and designed to perform in a not safe manner " many times I experience shifting and accelerating hesitation and jerky/jolting. My family and I do not feel safe operating and riding in this vehicle. Several times gas pedal depressed and vehicle lagged at 20 mph for more than 10 seconds before accelerating. A few of the latest new and ongoing problems are below. Driver door now appears off set and at different angle protruding out now. Appears that the door is not closing properly and therefore not sealed at closing. Furthermore every single window has experienced faulty mechanisms with motors, actuators, and seals. When closing the doors it feels like the windows are loose. There are also squeaks and rattles eminating throughout the cabin area. I secured and collected all loose items and the sound is still there. At engine start up each time, there is a high pitch whining noise for a few seconds before engine starts (perhaps something else faulty") I have video / sound documentation of this with 2 seperate recording dates. With regard to the navigation, multimedia unit, it has been lagging, slow (er) to function, and severe delay in backup camera actuating, and audio functions delay in response sometimes.

- Arcadia, CA, USA

problem #7

Jan 072017

MDX

  • 16,000 miles
Inexplainable battery drain on several occasions resulting in not enough power to start car. No solution from Acura except that it happens to a lot of owners. Most recently car died in an intersection (with two kids in car) and could not restart or shift to neutral (without power) to move out of intersection. Car was stopped at intersection, driver moved forward to make turn, driver stopped in intersection and auto-idle engaged (turning car off momentarily), when driver released brake, which would normally restart engine, car would not restart due to loss of power. Stuck for an hour in middle of intersection until jumped. Three days prior to that, car sat for 5 days without use in 40-50 degree weather, and battery was dead when attempted to start. Seems to be a parasitic drain or faulty charging electrical problem with car.

- Burlingame, CA, USA

problem #6

Sep 262016

MDX

  • 120 miles
Nothing but trouble since I bought it. Purchased Jan 2016. Has replaced --- navigation, amplifier & fuel pump!!! owned 2016 MDX for less than a week- vehicle jolts forward-gives itself extra gas even when your foot is on the brake! transmission not smooth. Been in for service over 40 days now (total). Hesitates sometimes- was stuck at 15 mph for a few minutes. Radio goes unresponsive- no buttons work gets stuck at station/vol can't turn off either. Navigation died- turned off, then flickered(was replaced). Speakers went flat- amplifier died (was replaced). The engine idle feature doesn't work right. It doesn't keep my samsung phone charged. I've tried multiple cords including the original one that came with phone. Acuralink doesn't always work either. I sent a destination but it doesn't show up for a few hours or days! it tweets now. The window now squeaks (no, it is not tinted or anything). It makes a strange dripping noise when you turn it off. It eats gas! I fill it up and it's gone in a blink..not the appropriate miles. It beeps loudly and blinks that there is an object approaching for no reason- no one/thing there- nothing moving. It has a mind of it's own. I've been a loyal Honda/Acura owner for over 18 years and they have not helped. When they replaced the navi they said they'd give me $500 for my trouble- but didn't anyway. They say there is nothing wrong with it-- but just Monday said it needs a new fuel pump but is "so new" they don't have one so it had to be ordered. Disgraceful. I asked for it to be replaced- was denied. Acura client rep says- "at this time there is nothing we can do" I have a spinal condition and the jolting hurts me greatly. Somedays I can't drive my brand new vehicle bc I cant take the pain. They don't care. They don't stand behind their product either. Highly disappointed in vehicle and company

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #5

May 152016

MDX

  • 1,300 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At 1300 miles. Vehicle exhibited a condition where the entire electrical system failed, triggering alerts for every system. Emissions, stability, every safety function, brakes, steering. Vehicle went into some kind of failsafe mode where the transmission did not shift well at all, and the car was barely drivable. Vehicle did this twice over a weekend. Took it to Acura, and after an analysis they blamed "bad gas." This is an excuse as the vehicle only had 1300 miles on it and had only had 2 fill ups, and both were with top tier premium gasoline. In addition, I do not believe some "bad" gas should cause the entire vehicle to go completely haywire shutting every system off. This seems to be a major flaw if so. However, as I don't believe the analysis that it was "bad gas", I think Acura handled the situation wrong and is simply using an excuse rather then determining why some sort of electrical condition caused this massive failure of the vehicle.

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #4

Jan 252016

MDX

  • 8,264 miles
Two days after getting our first oil change. The car wouldn't start in our garage. The system flashed on and off rapidly. A tech came out and jump started the engine manually because the computer wouldn't start it. I drove it to a second Acura dealership and they stated that the onboard computer randomly sought out a system update so it impacted the engine. I asked what caused this on a new 2016 MDX and they couldn't explain it nor could they promise it wouldn't happen again. If they couldn't predict when the computer does this, then what's to stop it from doing this while the car is in motion? this is a safety issue that needs to be investigated. Thank you.

- Camas, WA, USA

problem #3

Jan 142016

MDX

  • 1,900 miles
This is almost brand new 2016 Acura MDX AWD (with tech and entertainment packages). When accelerating on a freeway/road, suddenly lots of the warning lights turn on and then the vehicle does not accelerate any more. The speed suddenly drops. This is definitely a hazard - especially because I am trying to accelerate. This happened 4 times so far - roughly 500 miles between each incidents. The problem condition goes away after we completely stop the vehicle and turn it off and on multiple times (and also put the vehicle in neutral in between). Last time when the problem happened, I cleared the condition and then drove and showed the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer said that there were persistent codes about communication failure and he cleared them. And asked us to call back when the problem happened again. Dealer does not seem to know any systematic problems with such types of vehicle. I have a video of the previous problem condition at https://youtu.be/ljslicwj7-8

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #2

Oct 022015

MDX

  • 180 miles
Very similar to NHTSA id number: 10762375. After 3-4 days of driving the check engine light came on along with transmission system U0401, vsa problem, hill start assist problem etc etc etc. The SUV would not speed above 35-40 miles and shake. Dealership replaced cracked spark plug, ignition coil - cause - possible moisture in spark plug. They were nice enough to take the car back and currently waiting for it to be replaced.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #1

Sep 022015

MDX

  • 368 miles
On 9/3/15, I was pulling into my garage when all the warning lights on the dashboard went off - transmission, check engine, lane detection light etc. Since I was going out of town the next morning, I put it in reverse and drove directly to the dealer. The car was in "limp mode" and I could only drive 35-40 mph. I showed the tech in the service dept. All the warning lights going off, and he said he had never seen anything like this before. He wrote up a work order with the following info: Inspect for check engine light on, check engine light flashing and every warning light in the vehicle is on, would not accelerate over 35 mph. The following day I was contacted by the service dept. And was told they could not find a problem; there were no lights on, they even drove it for 40 miles. The service dept. Said they are only allowed to hold the car for five days. Today, 9/8/25 I picked up the car. The dealer's invoice reads: Cause: Light on 123505 diagnostic trouble codes/programmed fuel injection (pgm-fi) retrieve codes with the hds, read data, 74 WA3. Inspected for check engine light on, found dtc P0303 (cylinder # 3 misfire) recorded freeze data and cleared codes, at time of inspection vehicle was running perfectly, test drove vehicle twice on extended test drives and engine ran perfectly, no dtcs are reset no problem is present at this time. Since the service dept. Could not find the problem and fix it, this means the car has not been repaired and I am driving a defective car. The next time the warning lights go on, I could be travelling on a crowded freeway at a high rate of speed (with my family inside), the car goes in to "limp mode - 35 mph and an accident occurs. This is a safety issue. How can Acura manufacture a $50,000 car and their dealership not be able to find the problem and repair it?

- Inverness, IL, USA

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