Table 1 shows one common engine and engine cooling related problems of the 2025 Acura MDX.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling problems |
Description of incident: while stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near a shopping district, the vehicle's auto idle stop (ais) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "idle stop function: press brake to restart. " my foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the engine start/stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes. I had to call the cops for a patrol car because other cars were piling up behind me and I had my 6 month old son in the vehicle. Safety impact: during this time, I was unable to move the vehicle from a live traffic intersection. This created an immediate safety hazard to myself, my family, and other drivers.
Car engine turns off at a red light, by turn off I mean completely turned off, not just silent. And takes a couple of attempts to restart the car before the engine turns on again. This has happened over 5 or 6 times over the last 3 months, however yesterday (may 9, 2026) it happened twice within the hour. Luckily, I have not been involved in an accident because of this, but I'm concerned that it's easy to imagine a scenario where someone will be rear-ended. Please issue a safety recall for Acura to fix this issue.
While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near an airport, the vehicle's auto idle stop (ais) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "idle stop function: press brake to restart. " my foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the engine start/stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes before the vehicle finally restarted and allowed me to shift into drive. I was the first car in the lane, so people kept piling up and honking behind me.
Last year, my 2025 Acura Mdx was repaired under warranty for a known starter issue that is affecting all 2025+ Mdx models. The issue is that the vehicle will stall or fail to start on random occasions leaving drivers stranded or stopped in traffic unable to move their vehicle. Honda and Acura are well aware of the fact that this is an issue, yet they continue to produce these vehicles with the same parts. This repair took several attempts and the dealership refused to even diagnose the issue for several months causing me to have to record each instance on my phone for proof. Once they eventually replaced the starter, the issue went away for approximately 10 months. Today, however, I was temporarily left stranded at a gas pump as my vehicle would not start. Honda and Acura dealerships are replacing these parts with the exact same part number, so the no-start condition comes back in about a year or less. It is incredibly dangerous to have a vehicle that you cannot move as anticipated, or if you’re in an area that you cannot leave or get away from potential danger because your vehicle won’t start. This is a less-than two-year-old vehicle that has now left me stranded on several occasions including in the middle of traffic on a motorway. I know for a fact that several other owners of the Acura Mdx are having the exact same issue and ask that you please launch an investigation into this as Honda is well aware of it and still refuses to address the blatant safety risk it poses to its customers.
While stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle had auto shut off normally. However when I released the brake and pushed the gas it unexpectedly stalled and shut off without warning. When attempting to restart the vehicle, it would not start again. There were no prior warning indicators or messages suggesting an imminent issue. This created a hazardous situation as the vehicle was disabled in an active traffic lane. After several attempts, the vehicle either restarted after having set the emergency brake. The failure appears to be sudden and without driver input, raising concerns about reliability and safety in traffic conditions.
Vehicle is equipped with start stop system and we have had multiple instances where we come to a stop , and the car will not restart. In the latest instance, we pulled up to stoplight, the start stops system engaged shutting off the engine then wouldn't restart. Car also wouldn't turn completely off, so I had to hit the flashers at the busy intersection, try to get the car into park, then shut completely down, then restart the car. It also struggled to restart as if the battery was dying. In this instance most dash lights come on, but it appears to be an engine, electrical, and software issue. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealer multiple times, and in once instance they said the issue was caused by a bad battery, mind you the car is slightly over a year old. This latest time, they claimed that the battery was good and no issues were found. This issue continues to put me and my family at risk by leaving us disabled in the middle of traffic especially when it has happened near exiting the freeway,.
I am reporting a serious safety defect involving repeated engine stalling and failure to restart associated with the auto idle stop/start system on a 2025 Acura Mdx. The vehicle was leased in December 2024. Beginning in late summer and early fall of 2025, the vehicle intermittently shut off at stops and failed to restart when releasing the brake. This resulted in the vehicle becoming unresponsive in active traffic conditions, creating a significant safety hazard. The vehicle was presented to an authorized dealer for this issue on multiple occasions: August 15, 2025 September 9, 2025 October 31, 2025 after repeated unsuccessful attempts to diagnose and repair the condition, the dealer ultimately replaced the starter on October 31, 2025. This repair did not permanently resolve the issue. In April 2026, the vehicle again began exhibiting hesitation and delayed engine restart following auto idle stop events. On April 30, 2026, the vehicle stalled again, demonstrating that the defect persists despite prior repair efforts. This condition is intermittent and unpredictable, which increases the risk, as the vehicle may fail to restart when entering or crossing intersections or when moving with traffic. The inability of the vehicle to reliably restart creates a clear safety concern. Given the repeated repair attempts and recurrence of the defect, this appears to be a systemic issue rather than an isolated component failure.
Engine stalls when at intersection and the engine cuts off at idle and fails to start back up when you remove your foot from the break. Can have keep lane assist enable. Klas mode narrow, you have to fight the wheel to maintain control of the vehicle, formal mode is a 50/50 chance it works, wide you can sift right off the road for 5-10 secs before to realize your off the road. Steer wheel control button intermittently fail and stop being able to control the midi instrument panel and infotainment system. I believe there is a systematic electrical issue in the car. They attempted to fix this by replacing a starter which hasn’t because the engine stalled at an intersection again and on cold start this morning 5/4 at the same intersection as this is by my girlfriends apartment.
The vehicle is designed to shut off at a stoplight and restart when your foot leaves the brake, or the steering wheel is moved. On multiple occasions, the vehicle turns itself off (typically at a red traffic light) only to not restart. Driver must manually put the vehicle into park, and try to restart it using the traditional push button (in traffic). This is horribly dangerous even if it takes just a few seconds to do. The Acura dealership maintains that there is nothing they can do. Simple internet searches indicate that it's a wider issue than my own vehicle, so I am reporting my issue to you.
We have had multiple incidents when the car is at a stop light with the idle stop not active, the vehicle engine will just die. The light turns green and the vehicle is not running, it will take multiple times pushing the start button for it to start back up. This has resulted in multiple almost rear end incidents due to other drivers assuming we would go when light turned green. More recently this weekend on a trip from columbus OH to st. Louis mo; stopped to get gas east of indianapolis, after pumping gas the vehicle would not restart. It took multiple tries to get it to restart; this happened again the following day at a stop during the day at a shopping center, we ran in to get subs for lunch, came back out, would not start, I have a video of the sound and flashing lights but I can't upload a video here.
When the auto start stop engages my car will shut down and then it takes a minute or two for it to restart. This has happened several times. I reported it to Acura previously and no action was taken. It’s difficult to replicate because it doesn’t happen every time. It’s unsafe and scary because it will happen at stop signs, or in traffic and with my children in the car. It just happened about 5 mins ago while in traffic and I remembered to report this.
The contact owns a 2025 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle bucked for approximately 3-seconds before the vehicle stalled. The hazards were activated, the vehicle was turned off, and the contact waited before restarting the vehicle. While restarting the vehicle, several warning lights quickly flashed, and the vehicle failed to exceed 4 mph while driving to the nearest parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA campaign number: 25v031000 (fuel system, gasoline, electrical system); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000. The VIN was not available.
Car stalls at idle. Auto idle does not allow engine to restart from stop. Creating dangerous situations when on highway traffic, traveling around town and more. 2025 Mdx, 21,000 miles Nov 2025 at 14,500 miles reported issue after experiencing intermittently for a few months. Filters replaced, software updated Dec 2025 issue still occurring battery replaced March 2026 issue still occurring starter being replaced technician at dealership did not seem confident that replacing the starter will remedy this issue.
The auto idle stop feature will kick in at red lights, shutting the engine down. However, every approximate 1 out of 10 times the engine and electrical system fully shut down when I try to start the car moving again. The car can then not be restarted for close to a minute. This results in not being able to move when the light turns green and is dangerous is heavy traffic areas.
There are times when my car comes to a stop shuts off ( auto off) then will not turn back on. This has happened numerous times. The dealers states that this a battery problem.
2025 Acura Mdx failed to restart after an auto-idle stop at a light in heavy traffic. Second time this has happened and dealer has not resolved.
On several occasions, when the vehicle has been driving and comes to a stop in traffic. The auto start stop kills the engine when the brake is fully depressed. When we take our foot off the brake the engine will not start and a notification is shown on the dash. To start the engine push brake and ignition button. When we follow those directions the it does not start the engine. It usually requires us to release brake several times and continue to push start button. This issue has almost caused two accidents because we are stuck and the traffic behind does not see brake lights, because we have to release the brake. This occurred on the interstate in heavy traffic, and was almost struck from behind by a vehicle traveling at interstate speed, because all vehicles went around us and the upcoming vehicle did to see brake lights.
My 2025 Acura Mdx (under 10,000 miles) has failed to restart after the automatic idle stop engaged at stoplights and drive-thru lines at least 7 separate times. When I release the brake, the engine often remains off and the vehicle will not move, leaving me stopped in traffic. I have not yet required a jump start, but on several occasions the vehicle came very close to not restarting at all. This most recently occurred at a sandwich shop drive-thru. These incidents occurred in normal drive mode and in normal weather conditions. No abnormal driving conditions were present when the failures happened. Other owners online report the same problem, with some needing to carry jumper cables. I believe this is a serious safety risk because the vehicle can stall unexpectedly in intersections and traffic when the auto stop-start system activates. I am now concerned about relying on this vehicle in traffic because I cannot trust it to restart when stopped.
Auto idle stop/auto start-stop issue- on multiple occasions, occurring randomly, the vehicle will not start at stoplights after auto-idle stop is engaged. Sometimes this happens after the vehicle has been running for over an hour. Currently, the vehicle must be completely powered down and then restarted to revive engine.
The car shuts off at a red light, fails to auto-restart, forces the car into park, and requires a full manual reboot or jumpstart while stuck in moving traffic. It also struggles to turn on at times mimicking a drained battery. I am needing to deactivate the auto start/stop feature in order for the vehicle to properly function. Vehicle will not start when parked at times.
When stopped at a red light on a busy off ramp to a busy highway, the car's engine idle function turned the engine off (as anticipated), but then upon releasing the brake, the car did not turn on. I was stalled in the middle of traffic, which is a significant safety issue. I had to turn the car completely off, wait a few seconds, and turn back on. This car is marketing for families with its third row and stalls when stopped. There are numerous reports of this on online forums.
Hello… this has happened at least four times. . The car goes to stand by/idle mode when the auto shut off is engaged. I was at a light and car went to idle and when it goes to green. Car just goes to idle mode. I had to put hazards on and restart car. People honking while I’m trying to restart car from this state. It’s like the car does not return on after the gas is engaged.
I was at a red light. My auto idle kicked in. I went to turn it off and either simultaneously or right before I hit the idle off button my car stalled. It took several attempts to turn back on and a bunch of codes threw. I almost got rear ended. This is a known problem. Ive contacted Acura / Honda via email as well.
Incident 1 (loss of propulsion in traffic) - 12/16/25 the vehicle failed to restart immediately after the auto start-stop system attempted to re-engage the engine. Upon attempting to accelerate, the engine did not restart, resulting in a complete loss of propulsion while in active traffic. The vehicle became temporarily inoperable and unresponsive, creating a hazardous condition with elevated risk of rear-end collision and inability to safely clear traffic or intersections. Incident 2 (failure to start – reliability concern) - 4/1/26 on a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start entirely upon initial startup (first use of the day). The engine did not turn over as expected, rendering the vehicle inoperable. This incident raises significant concerns about system reliability and dependability, particularly given its occurrence independent of the auto start-stop event. Safety concern: the first incident demonstrates a critical safety defect involving unexpected loss of propulsion in live traffic conditions. The second incident, while occurring at startup, indicates a broader pattern of failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to reliably start and operate. Together, these incidents suggest a potential defect in the starting/ignition or auto start-stop system that may compromise safe vehicle operation and increase the risk of crash or stranding.
This has happend twice in the past 2 months, I came to a red light and the auto stop/start engaged automatically. When the light turned green and the vehicle was supposed to engage it turned off completely, all lights on the dash came on and it and wouldn't restart. Had to open the drivers side door and try to restart the vehicle, it restarted after a few tries. Very dangerous intersection I was stuck in. I have informed Acura of both occasions, they tested the battery cells and confirmed the battery was okay, was told this is a "known" issue with no resolve.
The idle-stop function would frequently malfunction. I would be at a stop, which would trigger the idle-stop function and the car would turn off, but when I released my foot off the break in preparation for needing to start moving, the car would stall and shut completely off. There was about a five second delay before I could get the car to turn back on and start moving, which was very scary with traffic all around me. After the malfunction occurred several times, I would try to remember to turn off the idle-stop function using dynamic mode. I called my local Acura dealership about this problem and the service manager said that he wasn’t sure what was wrong nor did he know how to fix it. He advised me to just wait and hope that Acura issues a recall for the issue. Then, I started noticing that there was a delay in my vehicle starting when pressing the start button. It wasn’t too long of a delay but enough for me to notice. Since the car would ultimately start, I didn’t think too much about it, until my car failed to turn on. It has happened when I turn off my car but then need to turn it back on soon after turning it off. I’ll press the start button and the lights on the dash come on and I can hear the engine trying to turn on but it doesn’t. The engine won’t crank up. I have to let it sit for a few seconds (30 sec?) and then try to turn it on again, at which time I have been lucky that it will turn on, but the initial start-up sounds like a struggle. It doesn’t sound like a healthy start up for 2025 vehicle.
2025 Acura Mdx aspec advanced - experienced 3 instances of failure to restart after engine idle shutoff or normal shutoff. Periodically starting the vehicle makes a buzzing or resistance type of sound, but usually will start. 1) 8/8/2025 returning from shopping turned off vehicle in driveway to open hatch to unload items. Upon re-entering the vehicle (~5 mins) the push start failed to start - engine sounded sluggish first attempt and failed to start. Subsequent button presses just made a clicking sound. Had to fully turn off vehicle and back on and it started. 2) 10/10/2025 returning from a wedding and getting off the expressway to a traffic light the auto stop/idle stop turned off the engine. Once the light turned green the vehicle failed to restart multiple times. Had to fully turn off vehicle and back on to get it to start 3) 10/30/2025 after parking for shopping, upon returning to the vehicle it failed to start from off. Any subsequent repress of the start button would make a click and starter failed to engage. After turning off vehicle and back on it started vehicle was taken to dealership and notified of issues - they checked the battery and it was fine, no trouble found.
When the auto idle stop system is enabled my Acura will shut down completely when the vehicle comes to a complete stop and the idle stop system will not reengage as it should when your foot comes off the brake and the car shuts completely off and goes into park. This has happened 3 times, the last one occurring on a very busy highway, and I'm thankful I wasn't rear ended by the car behind me. Traffic had to go around me which caused quite a hazard pulling out into a fast moving lane. It finally responded, restarted and I was able to move forward. It was taken into the dealership and they weren't able to recreate the occurrence for the short time that they had it (one week). There was no warning prior to failure. I have called Acura client relations and they turned it over to their management team, gave me a case number and I haven't heard from them as of this complaint. Reading your website I see many others having and reporting this same dangerous experience with their 2025 Acura Mdx.
When the automatic engine start/stop is enabled, my car will shut down. To the point where it has to be completely off, then restarted. This has happened twice, the first time was on 9/28/2025 and the second time was on 10/29/2025. We were in traffic, and the car behind me, almost ran into me, as I stalled. The lighted symbols on the dashboard were illuminated during this experience, but I am not sure which ones, as I was in a panicked state given that my child was in the car with me and this almost caused me to get hit by car behind me. I have not had this checked by the dealer yet, but I am scheduling the appointment for as soon as possible.
Car engine sometimes does not restart when the auto start-stop feature is engaged. Car engine is also sluggish to restart when it does work. My local Acura dealer evaluated the car on 10/15/25, found battery was low. Battery was replaced that day, and things seemed okay for about a week. Today (10/21) when I was stopped at a traffic light, the issue returned and my car would not restart after going into auto start-stop. The car had been on for about 30 minutes. When I tried to restart the engine, it took three tries before finally turning over. Fortunately, this has only happened thus far for me at stoplights, but safety could definitely be impacted if the engine does not turn back on and the car needs to be maneuvered quickly. No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the issue. This started for me about 3 weeks ago. No accidents or known issues with the car prior to the issue. There does not seem to be a predictable pattern to the auto start-stop feature failing.
When driving and the stopping the auto start/stop feature does not rengage and the car places itself in park and becomes disabled and difficult to restart. When driving on a major highway when I was in traffic the car shut down, put itself into park and would not restart upon removing my foot from the brake. It then gave numerous error messages and would not respond to any commands. Traffic started moving and cars were then needing to go around my disabled vehicle. It finally responded to me trying to restart it. We had the car checked the week before it happened due to it being slow to re-engage when the auto start stop would be used. The dealership reported that there was nothing wrong. Brought it back after is was disabled on the highway for 5 minutes and they are still saying there is nothing wrong if they do not see it happen themselves. It is a danger to drive.
During three separate incidents, my vehicle’s engine unexpectedly shut off without warning, twice in the middle of moving traffic and once while idling in a drive-thru when the engine idle stop/start feature was engaged. In each case the vehicle did not immediately restart, leaving me and my family exposed to oncoming traffic and high-speed vehicles, especially once while exiting a highway. The malfunction appears related to the engine’s idle stop/start or fuel/ignition system, but no specific component has been identified; the vehicle remains available for inspection upon request. Although I reported the incidents to the dealership, they stated they could not reproduce the problem and therefore could not repair it. . No warning lamps, error messages, or other visible symptoms appeared before or during any of the shutdowns, the engine simply stopped running, so there was no advance notice before the failures occurred.
While driving in traffic, my vehicle suddenly shut down without warning. The engine stalled, and I lost power to steering and braking, creating a serious safety risk for myself and other drivers around me. The problem has occurred more than three time. At the time of the failure, there were no warning lamps a message display showing to continue to drive depress brake pedal and push switch there was no check engine light showing. I had to shut the whole car off open the door and re start the car. The issue has been inspected on 08-13-25 by a Acura dealer / mechanic. I was told it was the battery and it was covered under warranty. They found no other issues. The car shut down on me again on 08-19-25 and on 08-30-25 with my family in the car. This unexpected shutdown placed me in danger of a potential collision, and I am concerned that this may indicate a larger defect affecting this vehicle. I can get a receipt from the Acura service department if needed.
Idle stop causing engine to shut down. This has happened three times! it’s very dangerous.
The auto start/stop system failed to restart at a stop light. This was an issue on the older Mdx and tlx vehicles with the 3. 5l v6 which resulted in a large recall. The recall has not been extended to cover the 2025 Mdx and the dealership is refusing to fix the issue or acknowledge it despite having a video to prove it occurred. Acura is knowingly selling these vehicles with a dangerous safety defect that will occur at random. Please consider investigating this matter further as I am concerned for my safety and the safety of my passengers.
I purchased the vehicle March of 2025. Since I have been to the dealership on multiple occasions. I was there less than a week after purchase because there was a noise coming from the front tire the dealership balanced the tire. The noise was still there so I returned and the next time they replaced the front wheel bearings. I still have issues with the steering wheel shaking so they replaced all 4 tires. The problem still persists but they don’t know why. The car feels unsafe to drive especially on the highway and in rain. I have had the recall for the brake pin assembly addressed and fixed. I also have issues with the audio shutting off or not responding the dealer did a hard reset and an update to the software that has not resolved the issue. The car would turn off at random times and struggle to turn back on when the idle shut off was activated. The dealer replaced the starter. I have had issues with the car randomly braking when there is nothing in front of me and other safety features either not working at all or working when not needed. Dealer advised it was a faulty battery and replaced it. I currently am still having shaking with loud noises especially at higher speed. The engine is very hesitant when accelerating and I struggle to merge onto the highway. It is also extremely jerky at lower gears and its most noticeable in stop go traffic. The brakes are squealing already and the mileage is low. I also sometimes need to press the brakes hard to even stop. The screen often goes black or will not connect to anything and I am unable to see directions or hear music. I feel extremely unsafe in this car and have anxiety every time I need to have anyone in the car with me.