Electrical System Problems of Acura MDX - part 1

Faulty and auto-stop/start system glitch where the engine fails to turn back on. This issue frequently occurs while driving in traffic or at a stop light. This issue happens daily become extremely dangerous as car unexpected turns off and fails to turn back on a busy road. There is no option to turn off the auto-stop/start system to avoid the glitch.

See all problems of the 2025 Acura MDX 🔎.

Car is not staying on during traffic. Afraid to go in highway now.

See all problems of the 2020 Acura MDX 🔎.

On October 1, 2026 at approximately 5:45am, while driving my 2026 Acura Mdx, I stopped at a red traffic light on a busy street. The vehicle's auto idle stop system shut the engine off as designed. When the light turned green and I attempted to proceed, the engine failed to restart. The vehicle became disabled in an active traffic lane in the dark and I was unable to move it for several minutes. I attempted to restart the vehicle multiple times. It took several attempts to fully the shut the vehicle down and restart it before I was able to actually restart the car and resume driving. Because the vehicle was unexpectedly immobilized in traffic when surrounding vehicles began moving, I was placed at significant risk of being struck from behind or involved in a serious collision -- particularly because it was dark and all my lights were off while attempting to restart the car. My best assessment is that the failure involved the auto idle stop / restart system, starter system, electrical system or related control components. The exact cause is unknown at this time. The vehicle and all related components remain available for inspection upon request -- at least until the dealership starts working on my car to diagnose and hopefully fix the problem. (there are other reports of this happening with earlier models. ) there were no warning lights, warning messages or obvious symptoms immediately before the failure. The auto idle stop system appeared to operate normally when the engine shut off at the red light; the failure occurred when the system was supposed to restart the engine. The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by my Acura dealer. I advised my dealership that the car failed to restart and left me stranded in active traffic. I was initially told that it could be several weeks to months before they could inspect the vehicle and I escalated the matter to the head of the service department due to the serious safety issue.

The auto idle stop has activated normally at traffic lights, but on two occasions the engine shut off and then failed to automatically restart when I released the brake. A yellow warning light with an exclamation mark also appeared on the dashboard. The most recent incident happened yesterday, 09/25/2026. There have also been several other times when the engine did restart, but it took noticeably more effort or longer than normal to restart from auto idle stop.

I own a 2025 Acura Mdx a-spec purchased in xxx from john eagle Acura in [xxx]. The vehicle has less than 10,000 miles. Component/system: the auto idle stop/start system has malfunctioned. During the past week, the engine unexpectedly shut off while stopped at red lights and stop signs approximately 4–5 times. When it was supposed to restart, the vehicle sometimes failed to restart normally and required multiple attempts. The vehicle and components are available for inspection upon request. Safety risk: these incidents occurred at intersections while I was stopped in traffic. When the engine failed to restart, I was unable to immediately proceed while vehicles were behind me, creating a potential collision and traffic hazard. I regularly have my two young children in the vehicle, making this especially concerning. Dealer inspection: I brought the vehicle to john eagle Acura after experiencing the problem. The service advisor indicated that this is a known issue, and the vehicle was serviced for the concern. The failure occurred repeatedly in real-world driving, but I do not know whether the dealer was able to reproduce it during inspection. Manufacturer/other inspection: the vehicle was inspected by an authorized Acura dealership. It has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. Warnings/symptoms: I received no prior notification or warning from Acura regarding this issue. The first incidents occurred during the week before my dealership visit. The engine shut off while stopped and then did not restart normally. I did not observe a warning lamp or message specifically indicating that the vehicle would fail to restart. After experiencing the problem, I learned that NHTSA has an ongoing investigation, ea25-004, involving auto idle stop failures on Honda and Acura vehicles, including 2023–2025 Acura Mdx models. I am submitting this complaint so these repeated incidents can be documented as part of NHTSA's review. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 5.

Auto start/stop at stop light car wouldn’t start after engaging auto start/stop, had to turn on hazards, turn car off and restart with cars bearing down on me Monday 9/14, before entering traffic I stopped and auto start/stop engaged but car wouldn’t start got a jump and brought to dealership and they replaced starter motor.

Battery keeps dying. Faulty starter leaving car stranded.

Auto start-stop system stalled my car at a red light few times. Also I can clearly tell starting/cranking it is lagging as well.

Alarm randomly goes off dash lights up on its own and kills the battery was told it’s the keyless module.

See all problems of the 2019 Acura MDX 🔎.

Car at a stop light, went into idle stop, and then shut off with an error message that to continue to drive, depress brake pedal and push switch. Car then needs to be restarted. This has happened 3 times in less than a week, so it is becoming concerning as a safety issue. The issue seems to be related to the starter and idle stop feature.

20 minutes after parking my car, it would not start. Several different codes came up on the gauges - brake issue; hill issue;stabilization issue - multiple icons and warnings. I ended up having to be jumped off.

Auto stop/start fails to restart intermittently causing dangerous situations stuck at lights unable to move. Sometimes it restarts again after pressing the brake and ignition right away. Sometimes it takes a minute to restart. Either way it happens unexpectantly leading to being frozen until you figure out what is going on.

The contact owns a 2024 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph and driving over construction steel plates on the roadway, the brakes independently engaged while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the failure could have caused a rear-end crash while driving at faster speeds with other vehicles nearby and posed a risk to her 1-year-old child seated the car seat in the second-row rear seats. The brake warning light was illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by telephone. The failure mileage was approximately 21,642.

See all problems of the 2024 Acura MDX 🔎.

Moisture accumulating within the driver side headlight is limiting illumination and safe night driving. Photos compare driver side to passenger side.

See all problems of the 2017 Acura MDX 🔎.

My 2025 Acura Mdx suffers from a severe safety defect regarding the auto idle stop (auto start-stop) system. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop at intersections or traffic lights, the engine shuts off as intended. However, upon releasing the brake pedal to accelerate, the engine completely fails to auto-restart. Instead of restarting, the vehicle drops out of the auto-restart sequence entirely, shifts itself out of drive, and displays a critical safety message on the dashboard: "to start engine: brake + push". This completely strands the vehicle in live traffic, forcing me to manually shift into park, press the foot brake, and push the engine start button while traffic accumulates behind me. This creates an immediate rear-end collision hazard. The dealership has already attempted to diagnose and repair this issue under warranty by replacing both the vehicle's battery. This hardware replacement did not fix the problem; the failure continues to occur unpredictably less than a week (and 25 miles) after replacement. The root cause appears to be a software, powertrain control module (pcm), or sensor tracking defect where the vehicle fails to recognize it is in an automated restart sequence. I am filing this complaint to be officially included in the ongoing NHTSA engineering analysis ea25004 regarding Honda/Acura auto idle stop failures, as the current hardware recall remedies are entirely ineffective for the 2025 model year.

The auto shutoff and restart system has failed multiple times causing the car to shutoff in the middle of traffic. This has happened in traffic on the interstate, on surface streets and in the drive thru line. Safety was put at risk as had to restart car in middle of traffic multiple times; once car would not restart at stop light. This could have caused an accident as vehicle was at a full stop with cars coming up from behind in the road. Dealer has replaced starter and relay twice. In less than 2 years, I'm on my third starter. Dealer has inspected vehicle multiple times. No warning messages or other symptoms before occurring. When the engine would not restart at intersection, warning message of "transmission system problem, apply parking brake when parked. See your dealer" could not restart engine.

2025 Acura Mdx – auto idle stop failure to restart when my 2025 Acura Mdx is stopped at a traffic light and the auto idle stop system activates, the engine shuts off but on multiple occasions has failed to restart when traffic begins moving. The vehicle becomes immobilized in an active traffic lane. Vehicles behind me begin moving and honking while I am unable to move the vehicle. To regain operation, I have had to completely shut the vehicle off and restart it while stopped in traffic. I can prevent the occurrence by manually disabling auto idle stop after starting the vehicle, but this requires me to remember to disable the system every time I drive. If I forget, I risk the vehicle shutting down and failing to restart at an intersection. This creates a serious safety concern for me and my passengers, including my child. I am concerned about being stranded in an intersection or other active traffic lane and potentially being struck by another vehicle. I believe the auto idle stop system's failure to restart the engine presents an unreasonable safety risk and should be investigated.

After an auto idle stop at a major intersection, car failed to restart automatically and was left stranded unable to restart the car. Car would not shut off or turn back on when using the power button and with foot on brake but had power but it was in limp mode - transmission warnings flashed and the d "for drive" on the screen at the drivers location. I called triplea however before they showed up I was able to put the parking brake on and turn the car off and on ad it reset. This is similar to the issue was happening with my 2017 Honda pilot where it would stall and not restart after the auto idle stop engaged. Very dangerous and difficult to troubleshoot when in that situation, surprised that this is still happening in Honda manufactured cars - this is very dangerous and needs to be addressed and investigated.

While driving at approximately 35 mph on a surface street with my wife and five-year-old son in the vehicle, the electric power steering system failed and steering assist was reduced. The instrument panel simultaneously displayed and cycled through multiple warnings including "electric power steering system problem — steering assist reduced," "brake system — brake hold system problem," vehicle stability assist, and hill start assist. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms of any kind prior to this failure; the first indication was the failure itself while the vehicle was in motion. On the two engine starts following the incident, the same dashboard warnings reappeared, although power steering and vehicle operation seemed normal. On the two starts after that, the vehicle started with no warnings and no indication of any problem. So the steering effort increased during the initial failure and I was unable to rely on power assist while moving in traffic, which created a risk of loss of directional control and a crash for my occupants and other road users. On Aug 11,2026, the vehicle was taken to an authorized Acura dealer, which confirmed a stored diagnostic trouble code and diagnosed a failure of the vsa (vehicle stability assist) modulator-control unit, recommending replacement. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or an insurance representative. No repairs have been performed to date and the vehicle and component remain available for inspection upon request. Mileage at the time of failure was 40,090. I have video of the instrument panel recorded during the event and it is available upon request. I have reviewed complaints filed with NHTSA describing what appears to be the same simultaneous multi-system failure on 2022 and 2023 Acura Mdx vehicles.

See all problems of the 2022 Acura MDX 🔎.

Auto idle restart failed three times in traffic at red light. Have to shift to park and push start button. Nothing happens for several seconds, then engine starts.

The contact owns a 2025 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while at a complete stop at a traffic light, the vehicle unexpectedly shut off and failed to restart. After approximately 15 minutes, the vehicle restarted, and the contact drove into a parking lot before driving to the residence. No warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure the following day, and a service appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

The contact owns a 2025 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while at a stop, the vehicle lost automotive power, and all electrical features turned off. The vehicle was restarted and the battery warning light illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle was idling roughly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,400.

On two occasions my vehicle stalled out when the idle stop feature failed to restart the engine in traffic. I could not restart my vehicle initially and it took several attempts to restart. Because I was at a stop in an intersection waiting to turn this could have resulted in a serious accident. There was no warning light or other indication of an issue prior to, during, or after the first incident. This was subsequently reproduced and documented with the dealer. They indicated they are seeing issues with many other vehicle of the same model and year but indicated they couldn't say much more. The dealer said they would replace the starter but did not definitively say it would solve the issue. Because they did not have the part in stock thet advised me to continue driving in the meantime with the idle stop feature disabled; however, operators must remember to do this manually at each drive.

I am writing to formally report a serious and recurring safety defect with my 2025 Acura Mdx a-spec (VIN 5j8ye1h06sl022053) involving the auto idle stop system. The engine repeatedly fails to restart after the auto idle stop feature shuts it off. When my wife releases the brake pedal (for example, at a traffic light), the vehicle either stalls completely or experiences a major delay before restarting sometimes lasting more than 20 seconds, leaving the my wife unable to accelerate. This creates an immediate and unacceptable safety hazard, particularly in intersections or heavy traffic. I previously brought the vehicle to Acura of langley regarding this exact issue. Despite that visit, the problem has continued. Most recently, on today, while my wife was driving with my kids, the vehicle again entered auto idle stop at a traffic light. When the light turned green, the engine completely shut off and would not restart for more than 20 seconds. This left her stranded in traffic and unable to move the vehicle, creating a clear risk of collision. This is not an isolated complaint. The national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) has opened engineering analysis ea25004 into precisely this condition “no restart after auto start/stop engages” affecting, among other models, 2016–2025 Acura Mdx vehicles. American Honda has also issued dealer communications specifically seeking 2023–2025 Mdx vehicles with client complaints of no auto re-start after auto idle stop for inspection prior to any repair attempts. Class-action investigations and prior litigation involving related idle stop failures further underscore the known nature and seriousness of this defect.

Multiple errors lane departure and advanced driver support, acc lkas, auto high beam, and braking system. Looking into this more I see lots of people with the same issue failing front facing camera and not a cheap fix. Is there any current investigations into this problem or a software upgrade? I clear the errors and they come back once car is turned off and back on. If no fix to the current system there should be a way to disable lkas and acc without spending $2000 to replace the system.

Transmission failed and light appeared. Speed reduced from 30 to 15. Acura stated they had to reset computer system and claimed when they started the car no lights shown and was able to reverse car. I was unable to reverse car, struggled and tugged feeling in the car. This is the 2nd time and they always repeat same solution no lights appeared and to reset system.

See all problems of the 2018 Acura MDX 🔎.

Auto start-stop system stalled car at a light, could not turn car off after multiple tries following instructions on dash, but ultimately finally turned off, and then struggled to turn back on, all while on a busy road during rush hour.

I was stopped at a red stop light waiting to turn left when my 2025 Acura Mdx engine auto-stopped per the auto-stop feature. When the light turned green, I removed my foot from the brake and pressed the gas. The engine did not auto-start and displayed a message on the dash telling me to depress the brake and press the ignition button to continue driving. I did this several times, each time the dash would go black for a few seconds then come back up with the same message. Eventually, after getting the car to completely turn off, waiting 30 seconds, and restarting it, I was able to get the engine to start. While all of this was happening, I was passed unsafely by several angry drivers who were behind me, including one who tried to cut around me after I was able to get the car restarted, nearly clipping the front-right corner of my vehicle. I have an appointment with the dealer to have the issue investigated, but the appointment is not for another week. There was no indication of trouble prior to the first time this occurred. We have had this issue at least three times in the past week.

I just got back home from walmart, went in my house to get a few things and head to my camper. I had to get one last thing ,so I started to drive over town I noticed a plastic burning smell ,I thought someone was burning trash, so I keep going ,the smell got worse,so I stopped and was going to check what it was and smoke started coming out of the vents,so I turned around drove car home,as I was pulling into my drive ,I noticed the wiring harness fell from behind glove box ,on fire on the floor. We got car in driveway and got out,tried to extinguish the fire but couldn't, so grab everything out of the car,and the car became totally engulfed in flames,the car was totally gone from this electrical short.

See all problems of the 2016 Acura MDX 🔎.

Various warning lights appear randomly for collision system, lane departure system and brake system and the radio power glitches on/off while driving on highway. I tested the battery and it's good. At one point I was just about to enter a car wash and the radio power glitched off and then a transmission warning appeared and the car shifted to n and I couldn't shift to drive. I pushed the p button and the dash just showed a blinking p with the transmission warning. With a whole line of cars behind me for the car wash I was in a panic of course. I turned the car off for about a minute and restarted and was able to get it back to normal but had this issue happened while driving then it would've been dangerous.

My vehicle 2022 Acura type s has a transmission system problem, blind spot info problem, and a all wheel drive problem that only my front whee;s may be powered. It looks like the transfer case maybe failing. My vehicle only has 25,000 miles on it and is about to be out of warranty.

2025 Acura Mdx will turn off with the auto on/off feature at red light but has had issue several times with turning back on. The car turns completely off and have to push start button to turn back on. On one occasion the same issue happened but would not immediately start with the push start again.

Car shifted on its own from drive to park right after warning lights stating electrical parking system then emissions the transmission came on while in stop and go traffic. Car had just come back from Acura mechanic 4 hours earlier as these warning lights had come when starting car. Immediately had car towed to dealership.

Under normal driving conditions warning lights for "electric parking brake" and "emissions system problem" came on the dashboard and the 'brake' light began flashing. No change in performance. Auto parts store diagnostic indicated evap valve as the possible problem code, along with two other unrelated codes - none connected to brakes or emissions. The 12-volt battery tested strong. Drove another 100 miles with lights still on, but the 'brake' light would turn off after about 5 mins of highway driving/no braking. The next day the warning lights continued. After normal city driving I shut the car off, waited 30 seconds, pushed the start button twice (accessory mode) and held the brake pedal down while pulling up on the brake release button for 10 seconds. Started the car without any error messages.

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden internal mechanical and electronic transmission failure. Without warning, the vehicle shifted itself directly into park while navigating the busy intersection of [xxx] and [xxx]. This caused a complete loss of propulsion and left the vehicle entirely immobilized in the middle of a high-speed junction. The vehicle could not be moved, creating an immediate, severe highway safety hazard that required an emergency 911 police response to manage traffic and protect the vehicle from being rear-ended. The dealership scan tool later pulled diagnostic code p0730 (incorrect gear ratio) along with multiple clutch performance failures (p07a4, p07a2, p07a8). Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).