Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Acura MDX - part 2

I was merging onto the highway and when I attempted to accelerate, the engine warning light began to flash and the car could not accelerate. The engine began to make a rattling noise. I called the dealer and they asked if I could make it there (it was about 25 miles away). I said I would try. As I got about 10 miles away the noise grew louder and the oil light came on. I immediately pulled over. The dealer said the engine blew the connecting rod and destroyed the engine and the engine would need to be replaced. The car just had all the fluids replaced by the dealer 3 weeks prior. All service work over the 10 years was done by the dealer.

See all problems of the 2017 Acura MDX 🔎.

The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into limp mode and failed to exceed 35-60 mph. The check engine warning light was flashing. The driver pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted, reset, and operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated, and the failure persisted. The contact's brother, a certified technician, advised the contact not to turn off the vehicle after the failure occurred to prevent the system from resetting. The contact followed the instructions, and the contact's brother retrieved dtc: p0304, indicating a cylinder 4 misfire. The vehicle was not repaired and would be taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

See all problems of the 2018 Acura MDX 🔎.

Four times in 18 months, with the most recent happening last month and today, I was at a stoplight and turned my manual idle off. The light changed and the car would not move despite me stepping on the gas. It told me to restart the car which I did but the first attempt didn’t work to restart. After a few minutes I tried restarting again and it struggled but did. I was very worried as there was a car behind me who thought we were moving with the green light and fortunately he moved to the other lane to avoid a collision as it took me a minute to figure out the car had stopped before putting in my hazards.

See all problems of the 2025 Acura MDX 🔎.

On my 2017 Acura Mdx sh-awd with approximately 112,000 miles, the engine experienced a sudden catastrophic failure while I was traveling at highway speed. The vehicle abruptly lost power, the accelerator became unresponsive, smoke came from the vehicle hood and exhaust area, and multiple warning lights illuminated. The failure occurred with no advance warning and created a serious safety risk because I suddenly lost propulsion while traveling approximately 75 mph in highway traffic. An independent repair facility inspected the vehicle and reported that connecting rod/bearing failure resulted in catastrophic engine damage. I was advised that two connecting rods/bearings failed and caused holes in the engine block, with a rod/component also damaging the a/c compressor. Oil subsequently leaked from the damaged engine. Prior to the sudden failure, I did not have warning lights or other indications suggesting an imminent engine failure. The warning lights appeared during or immediately after the loss of power. The vehicle has been inspected by a repair facility and the engine requires replacement. The vehicle/failed components can be made available for inspection upon request. I am particularly concerned because Acura has previously recalled certain vehicles for connecting rod bearing failures that can result in engine damage, stalling, or loss of motive power. My vehicle is the same model year and has experienced an apparently similar catastrophic connecting rod/bearing failure, but my VIN is not currently included in the recall 23v-751. I am submitting this complaint so NHTSA can evaluate whether the affected population may extend beyond the vins currently covered in that recall. This is also linked to NHTSA’s new investigation pe25008.

I had driven 1. 5 hours of highway driving. Exited highway and at the first stop light the car stalled on a busy four lane road. I have had the recall software update. Took a minute or 2 to get the car restarted.

Catastrophic engine failure. Engine shook, then loss power. Multiple lights went off. Repair shop found metal shavings in the oil pan. Later diagnosed by specialist with cam/rocker engine issue. Recommended action was engine replacement.

See all problems of the 2016 Acura MDX 🔎.

My 2015 Acuramdx engine seized while driving creating an unsafe condition as it occurred on a busy roadway. I suspect a rod bearing failure. It has been reported to Honda. The same parts listed in the 2015 rdx recall are used in my Mdx but the 2015 is not part of the recall. My engine had a knock and had taken it for inspection at an independent Honda specialist. I had learned that the recall covers the 2015 model year for the Acura tlx, the official recall documentation only includes the 2016–2020 model years for the Acura Mdx. There were no check engine lights prior to the stall and seizure of the engine.

See all problems of the 2015 Acura MDX 🔎.

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.

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.

The contact called on behalf of the owner of a 2016 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that the owner reported an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine while starting the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic, where the timing belt tensioner was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic disassembled the oil filter and discovered metal shavings inside the filter. The mechanic related the failure to NHTSA action number: pe25008 (engine). The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, no assistance was provided because the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 23v751000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Engine began knocking, brass colored shaving in drained oil due to bearing damage. This VIN is not covered by the recall scope.

No restart after auto idle stop - car fails to restart automatically after stop and releasing the brake pedal. This has happened on a number of occasions in the last few months. This can cause a dangerous condition that can can cause an accident if stopped in an intersection or a rear end collision as the driver behind assumes the vehicle will move but does not. Car has to be shut off to restart.

Started (first noticed)check engine light flashing turned radio down right of way and noticed engine knocking with no warning still 40% engine oil life left. Had test done p0303 misfire on cylinder 3 and rod bearing knock was told need an engine . Had all oil changes and maintenance done on time. Ran my VIN and unfortunately was told it is not covered under recall.

I am filing a safety and compliance complaint regarding execution of federal recall campaign #26v365 by valley stream Acura and sales fraud by paragon Acura. I purchased this 2016 Acura Mdx from paragon Acura on may 29, 2026. I have driven it only 550 miles, placing it strictly within the statutory new york state 60-day used car lemon law warranty window. A certified 6-page independent ase forensic report documents that valley stream Acura bolted the federal recall brackets directly onto severely cracked rear control arms and rusted struts without disclosure. Furthermore, paragon Acura forced a brand-new front control arm link onto a deeply pitted, scaling, and structurally compromised front steering knuckle to mask pre-sale defects, signing a false nys highway safety certification. The vehicle was released to me with a bone-dry, empty engine cooling loop, creating an immediate fire hazard. Acura corporate (case #16437213) refuses to issue a corrective directive, willfully leaving a non-compliant vehicle on public roads.

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.

See all problems of the 2022 Acura MDX 🔎.

My 2016 Acura max sha awd has 124 k on it and the other day I was driving down the road and my engine light went on than I lost power down to 20 mph and heard a knocking noise from the engine like the rod bearing broke or something I’ve noticed the recall on the engine for some Acura 2016-2025 3. 5v6 engines but Acura is saying my model car was not in the recall list which I can’t understand why if it has the same engine 3. 5 v6 with the same rod barring issue as the ones on the list being recalled . The issue is with all 2016-2025 Acura Mdx models that have the 3. 5 v6 in it .

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.

I was driving home late at night with my family in the car. The car suddenly loss power and the check engine light came on and began flashing. I pulled over and turned the car off and back on. The light went away. I began driving again and after a short while, a bunch of lights popped up on the dashboard and the car began to loose power again and started making weird rattling noises from the engine. Just moments before pulling over again I realized the car was on fire and evasively pulled over and frantically got my sleeping children out of the car and we created distance from the vehicle since it was on fire underneath. We called the fire department and they responded very quickly and put out the fire. We secured a few belongings and the children’s car seats and my brother in law picked us up. The car was towed from the scene. I called the incident into the insurance the next day and filed a claim. After a few days once the adjuster came out, it was determined that the insurance company would not be covering the claim because the cause of the fire was internal engine failure. It had shot a bearing cap through the oil pan and that is what caused the fire. I contacted Honda about the issue and have yet to hear back from them. This was over a month ago. I am now stuck repairing the vehicle on my own since I cannot afford to take the car to the dealer and I am mechanically inclined as it is what I do for a living. The car is currently in my garage and after taking the engine apart, I found that the main bearing for cylinder #6 had failed and in turn fell apart and broken the piston for that cylinder and the broken debris destroyed the engine block and even bent the valves on the from head for that cylinder. I now have to rebuild my entire engine with no warning whatsoever that this was going to happened. The car was maintained on schedule and nothing was ever overlooked or not performed. It was a great car until the engine decided to grandad itself out of nowhere.

The contact owns a 2017 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle lost power and stalled in the middle of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. Additionally, the transmission failed to shift out of park(p). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.

This make and model has the same problems with the engine rod bearings it’s the v6 3. 5l.

On June 9, 2026, my 2025 Acura Mdx, with only 9,139 miles, stalled at a red traffic light after the auto idle stop feature activated. The engine would not restart, leaving the vehicle disabled in an active traffic lane. I was unable to shift the vehicle out of park and was stranded for approximately 5 to 10 minutes with my two young children in the back seat. The dashboard instructed me to fully depress the brake pedal and press the engine start/stop button to restart the vehicle, but repeatedly following those instructions did not restart the engine. There were no warning lights or other symptoms before the incident. I feared another vehicle would rear-end us because I could not move the vehicle out of the travel lane. After multiple attempts to turn the vehicle off and back on, it eventually restarted, allowing me to drive home. The vehicle was towed to the Acura dealership on June 10, 2026. The dealership inspected the vehicle, diagnosed a failed starter, and told me the failure was caused by the auto idle stop feature. The starter was replaced, and I was instructed to disable the auto idle stop feature every time I start the vehicle to help prevent the problem from happening again. The dealership has records of the repair, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The contact stated that while driving, the engine made clunking noise, sudden loss of power and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a connecting rod bearing failure and engine replacement is necessary. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

Randomly when auto/start stop feature engages and shuts down the engine when I let go off the brake the engine doesn't restart and a system problem message show up on the dash. Have to shut down the car and restart for the engine to start running again.

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.

I was driving on the highway. All of a sudden, my engine started making knocking noises. Shortly after that, the car started to lose power, and immediately the low engine oil light came on. I pulled over immediately to check the engine oil level. Oil level was normal. I restarted the car, but the mechanical knocking noise was evident and did not sound right. Towed the car to the closest Acura dealership. Diagnostics states that engine has ceased and would not crank. Replacements engine is required and would costs approx. $4200. Acura has a recall on some 2016-2020 Mdx for similar engine issues, but my VIN did not qualified. The symptoms I exprienced is very similar to what was described in the recall. Acura representative denied any goodwill support/help.

Our car eats a ton of oil and the piston rings failed, we owe a lot on it and I'm told there is no help for this issue even though there used to be because we are outside the guidelines in terms of mileage and purchase date. Our car has 156k its a 2012 Mdx. VIN [xxx] . Just checking with everyone everywhere to make sure I've exhausted all resources as it will take 13,000 to fix and we owe 12,000. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2012 Acura MDX 🔎.

See attached document for complaint.

See all problems of the 2020 Acura MDX 🔎.

The contact owns a 2016 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission independently shifted into neutral. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the event was scary. The contact stated that the vehicle was so hot inside. The contact crawled to the passenger's seat and exited the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, however the vehicle was not inspected. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under any unknown recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was covered under an unknown recall which had a similar failure description. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

When driving at highway speeds there randomly is a full loss of engine power for 3 to 5 seconds. Each time this has occurred I was on the highway and depressing the gas pedal further to either pass another car or because I'm driving up and incline. For several seconds the car looses all power and begins slowing. Traffic approaching rom behind may have to apply brakes. I am unsure whether it's the transmission disconnecting from the engine, or the engine dropping to idle speed, I have tried pressing the gas pedal further and also tried the paddle shifters to force a downshift, and neither has any effect. I have been to the dealer multiple times and they can't re-create the issue so they dismiss it.

While driving my 2020 Acura Mdx, the vehicle developed an intermittent check engine light and a noticeable engine knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an Acura dealership for diagnosis. According to the certified Acura technician, no diagnostic trouble codes were found stored in the vehicle’s system. However, the technician confirmed there was an audible knocking noise present from the engine during inspection. The technician stated "no engine oil leaks found at this time. Engine. I did verify the noise that you are talking about far as knocking noise goes. Right now, it sounds like it's a lower end noise, possibly crank shaft related. Engine teardown would need to be in place to verify which cylinders are bad and to confirm if the bearing is gone or not. ". The vehicle has all service records, including routine oil changes at recommended intervals. The technician also confirmed that the vehicle had oil in it. The vehicle is not part of the existing recall, but the symptoms and description match the known crank shaft rod bearing issue.

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.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 - 25 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle stalled and was towed to dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer determined that the engine had seized. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 23v751000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.

My vehicle is having an issue with the idle stop feature. Multiple times when stopped at a red light or when idle the car stops and will not turn back on. I have to turn the car off completely open the door to simulate leaving the car, wait a minute then start the car again to be able to move.

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.