2016 Acura MDX problems
Owners have filed 522 complaints about the 2016 Acura MDX with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 29.7% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 21.3%.
Complaints522
Crashes17
Fires4
Injuries11
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 29.7% · 155
Power train 21.3% · 111
Unknown or other 7.5% · 39
Electrical system 7.1% · 37
Fuel/propulsion system 5.2% · 27
Structure 4.0% · 21
Vehicle speed control 3.6% · 19
Lane departure 3.1% · 16
Severity
Of those complaints, 17 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire and 11 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 16 model years of the Acura MDX in this data, 2016 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings are rising — 237 in the last three years against 60 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 35,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Transmission slips when accelerating. I was trying to pass a large truck on a two lane highway and the car stopped accelerating as I was trying to pass the truck in the other lane. I had to hit brakes to coast back behind truck while I waited for transmission to reengage. Rpms dropped to 0 during this event. Car was in to dealer 2 weeks ago for this same issue and they updated the car's software. Engine · reported at 49,000 miles
This 2016 Acura MDX with the 9 speed automatic transmission and the Auto Engine Shut Off function will sometimes fail to restart the engine after cutting off. This presents a safety issue as the car stalls in traffic. This has happened multiple times over the last 4 years (most recently 06/02/2022). This issue was noted to the Acura service department who stated they could not find an issue. Engine
Vehicle making high-pitch chirp after engine is warm. Noticable at idle. Not noticable during driving/cruising speeds. Took vehicle to dealer regarding high-pressure fuel pump tsb. Dealer stated that high-pressure fuel pump was not involved. Stated it may be due to the starter (defective solenoid or drive piston not disengaging). No current tsb exists for starters. Please investigate. Engine · reported at 11,797 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…