— An Acura class action lawsuit alleges MDX and RDX SUVs hesitate when accelerating, shift into NEUTRAL while driving and suffer from dangerous deceleration problems.
According to the Acura class action lawsuit, the 2016-2020 MDX and 2019-2020 RDX SUVs allegedly experience miscommunications between the computers and the software that controls the engines, throttles and transmissions.
The owners who sued claim the vehicles "pose a significant and immediate safety threat to all users" due to the defects that cause the engines to stall while driving highway speeds.
Accelerating when passing vehicles or changing lanes can allegedly suddenly become deadly when the MDX and RDX SUVs decelerate when acceleration is needed.
The Acura class action alleges the throttle malfunctions when it receives conflicting instructions from the accelerator pedal, engine control module and transmission control module. The throttle allegedly gets stuck or somehow fails to follow the commands of the driver.
The Acura class action lawsuit alleges the automaker has "failed to acknowledge, let alone adequately address, the Defect." In addition, the plaintiffs claim Acura refuses to recall the SUVs to properly repair the hesitation and acceleration problems.
Acura issued a technical service bulletin (TSB PU-15-34) about 2016 Acura MDX SUVs in July 2015 concerning, “Product Update: Vehicle Shifts into Neutral and MIL Comes On with DTC P0657.”
According to the TSB, “[w]hile driving, the vehicle shifts into Neutral and the transmission indicator comes on and [diagnostic trouble code] DTC P0657 (actuator supply voltage circuit/open) is stored."
"The driver will not be able to select any other gear until the vehicle is turned off and restarted,” and dealers will “update the PGM-FI software and TCM software, clear any DTCs, and do the PCM idle learn procedure.” - TSB PU-15-34
Owners and lessees of 2016 MDX SUVs were contacted in September 2015 and advised to have their vehicles repaired for free, but the class action says the software updates failed to fix the SUVs.
According to the class action, Acura continues to manufacture and sell the MDX and RDX SUVs with the alleged defects while also ignoring the problems at the "expense of the safety of its customers and the public."
The Acura class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Abel, et al., v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Robins Kaplan LLP, and Turke & Strauss LLP.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about Acura MDX and Acura RDX SUVs.
