Table 1 shows one common unknown or other related problems of the 2003 Acura MDX.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
The locking mechanism that secures the key in the ignition until park is engaged did not work. Therefore I unknowingly removed the key from the ignition without having park engaged. The car rolled back from the parking spot into a tree. Fortunately, no one was injured and there was no damage to the car. I have reported this problem to Acura. It seems similar to the problem currently being investigated for Honda odyssys and pilots from 2003 and 2004 by NHTSA. Note that I do not remember the dates/mileage when this first occurred but it is an ongoing problem. I have tried several keys in the ignition and the problem persists.
Car just died while I was driving. Ended up stopping in a dangerous spot. Transmission fluid leaked out of front of car. No warning light came on.
Torque converter and transmission failed at 99600 miles, not to mention two motor mounts. These repairs are between $6-7k. This is unacceptable for a higher end car. Car would vibrate and shudder around 40 mph a few years ago with only 35k miles on the car, and of course Acura could not replicate. Now that it's out of warranty, they hear it. This car is a total lemon- please help protect consumers- Honda/Acura greed has stopped them from stepping forward and owning a problem they have known about all along. Consumers should not be paying for Acura's flawed design, that should be coming straight out of their profits.
Motor mounts cracked on 2003 Acura Mdx, obviously a design flaw, since this happens to every vehicle.
My car along with many other Acuras between 2001-2005 have a problem with a very significant shudder vibration that lasts a few secs, usually at speeds between 35-40. If you read the blogs you will see hundreds of other consumers say the same thing: Acura says they can't replicate the noise. When the car is out of warranty, then suddenly they can replicate it and they say they have to replace either the torque converter or the entire transmission, charging $2000 +. This is a major problem and should have been a recall, please help us hold Acura accountable for this known problem! these cars are too expensive for such a big problem so early on.
The Mdx navigation system gives verbal and visual directions. I tend to rely on the verbal directions in the city. Sometimes the system cannot determine its position because it cannot get sufficient satellite signals. It gives no verbal clue this is happening, it justs gives directions as if it knew where it was (presumably via dead reckoning). There is a visual cue, but it is very hard to see during the day. The small letters "gps" turn white when the signal is weak. This happened to me first while in boston on 22jan2003. It started giving me directions as if I were several blocks away. Fortunately I knew the area well enough to know it was lost before making lots of wrong turns, but a driver relying on the gps might have found himself driving the wrong way down a one way street. I know that incorrect map data can cause the same problem and I have accepted that risk, but it is not necessary to compound that risk through poor software implementation, especially when the problem costs almost nothing to correct.