2002 ACURA MDX Complaints

I HAD JUST TRAVELED 19 MILES ON THE FREEWAY AND HAD STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT ON THE OFFRAMP. SHORTLY AFTER MAKING THE TURN, THE CAR STALLED WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE JUST STOPPED. I COASTED, ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON. I HAD TO STOP, PUT CAR IN GEAR, AND EVENTUALLY RESTARTED THE CAR. THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT WHEN THE CAR ENGINE STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING (FIRST WAS PULLING INTO AN UNDERGROUND PARKING STRUCTURE). THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT MAKING DRIVING DIFFICULT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG AS IT COULD NOT BE REPLICATED. THEIR IDEA TO RESOLVE WAS TO BLINDLY START REPLACING EXPENSIVE PARTS OF THE ENGINE. I FEEL I AM PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE EACH TIME I DRIVE THE CAR AND THE NEXT TIME MAY RESULT IN A COLLISION. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH ON HIGHWAY DURING A VACATION, CAR TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON, STARTING SMELLING FUNNY, READ MANUAL AND IT SAID IF THIS LIGHT WAS ON TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY - SEVERE DAMAGE CAN OCCUR IF YOU KEEP DRIVING. WE PULLED OVER IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. FLUID HAD SPILLED OUT ALL OVER ENGINE. THEY SAID THAT WAS FROM IT OVERHEATING AND BOILING THE FLUID OUT. WE SAT FOR A WHILE AND LET IT COOL DOWN. THE LIGHT WENT OFF, BUT WE DROVE AROUND 50 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY THE REST OF OUR TRIP. THE CAR RESUMED TO WORK FINE. HOWEVER, WE HAVE CONSTANTLY HAD ISSUES WITH IT SLIPPING. WE TOOK TO OUR MECHANIC AND THEN TO ACURA. BOTH PARTIES AT FIRST DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING WAS WRONG, BUT THEN BOTH SAID THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACING. ACURA WOULD NOT GIVE ANY DISCOUNT, SO WE ENDED UP GOING WITH THE TRANSMISSION REPAIR COMPANY BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY $2200 INSTEAD OF $4500 BY ACURA. WAS WITHOUT A CAR FOR TWO WEEKS. A FEW MONTHS LATER IT BEGAN SLIPPING AGAIN, SO WE TOOK BACK AND THEY REPAIRED AGAIN, BECAUSE THIS COMPANY OFFERED A 12 MONTH WARRANTY. AGAIN, WAS WITHOUT A CAR FOR TWO WEEKS. NOW 7 MONTHS LATER, WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT ON BUSY ROAD. I WAS BRAKING COMING UP TO A RED LIGHT. THE LIGHT CHANGED, SO I SWITCHED TO PUSH THE GAS PEDAL BEFORE I WAS FULLY STOPPED AND THE TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY WENT OUT AND WOULDN'T ENGAGE AT ALL. MY CAR CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED LIGHT AND CARS WERE SWERVING ALL AROUND US TO AVOID HITTING US. IT WAS A MIRACLE WE WEREN'T HURT. I PUT DOWN TO PARK, TURNED OFF CAR, AND THEN IT BEGAN WORKING LIKE NOTHING WAS WRONG. WENT BACK TO TRANSMISSION REPAIR PLACE AND THEY SAID THAT NOTHING SEEMED WRONG. THEY TOOK APART TWICE AND FINALLY REPLACED OUT 5TH GEAR EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKED COMPLETELY FINE. THEY SAID THEY HEARD THE WHINING NOISE, TOO, BUT COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. THEY DID REPLACE THOUGH AND HOPED THIS WOULD FIX IT. WE STILL HEAR THE WHINING NOISE AND NOW DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING OUR FAMILY IN THIS VEHICLE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 ACURA MDX. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH AND CHANGING LANES THE TRANSMISSION DOWN SHIFTED AND ALMOST SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE D5 LIGHT STARTED FLASHING ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND WILL BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. THERE WAS ONLY ROUTINE MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,000.

MY 2002 ACURA MDX HAS BEEN FAILING DUE TO A MALFUNCTION IN THERE TRANSMISSION. THEY WILL NOT ADMIT THERE WRONG. EVERY ONE WITH THIS TYPE OF SUV HAS EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I HAVE A 2002 ACURA MDX. EVERY TIME IT RAINS, THE CARPET ON THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE GET SOAKED WITH WATER. I CANNOT VISUALLY SEE WHERE THE WATER IS COMING FROM. I CALLED THE DEALER AND I WAS TOLD THAT ITS NOT A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. I WENT ONLINE AND I FOUND OUT THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES WITH THEIR CAR. I BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE MANUFACTURER DEFECTS IS SO MANY DRIVERS ARE HAVING ISSUES . NOT ONLY THAT THE WATER CAN REACH THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS WHICH CAN BE DEADLY. PLEASE ADVISE IF THE DEALER SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE IF SO MANY PEOPLE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. BASED ON MY RESEARCH ONLINE, NEWER MODELS EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEMS THAT I'M HAVING. I BELIEVE THE COMPANY SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE IF SO MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING ISSUES. *TR

TRANSMISSION ISSUE DEALER CHARGED ME $4400 AND ACURA GAVE ME 25% DISCOUNT TO DO THE REPAIR. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND STILL ACURA IS NOT TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX THE ISSUE WITHOUT ANY MONEY, MOST OF THE OWNERS GOT 90% DISCOUNT AND NOW ACURA IS JUST GIVING 25% DISCOUNT . *TR

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON 2002 ACURA MDX 112000K BOUGHT USED W NO WARRANTY .5DAYS LATER THE CAR SHIFTS DOWN GEAR WHEN U LIFT OFF THE GAS ALLTHE TIME WHEN CHANGING GEAR ON HILL ITS SEEMS TO BE JAMMING ..TOOK TO SEVERAL AUTO PLACE TO HOOK TO MACHINE . IT ALL SHOWS THE SAME CODE TORQUE CONVERTER . /TRANSMISSION . *TR

2002 ACURA MDX WITH 70,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION FAILURE WHICH HAS BEEN REPORTED HUNDRED IF NOT THOUSANDS OF TIMES TO ACURA/HONDA FOR THE 2001-2003 YEAR TRANSMISSIONS. TRANSMISSION IS SKIPPING AND WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR FROM 2ND GEAR TO 3RD GEAR. THIS IS AT ABOUT 25-30 MPH AND MOSTLY OCCURS ON SLIGHT UPHILL GRADES. AS I LOOK ON EDMUNDS.COM AND GOOGLE THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM. AT 22,000 MILES MY ACURA DEALER IN 2004 PLACED A LUBRICANT INJECTION FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM . NOW AT 70,000 MILES WITH MINIMAL USE, REGULAR MAINTENANCE, AND DEALER ONLY INSPECTIONS THE TRANSMISSION IS FAILING. THE PATCH KIT DID NOT WORK. I EXPECT A $40,000 CAR TO LAST MORE THAN 70,000 MILES BEFORE A MAJOR PROBLEM. ACURA/HONDA SHOULD ISSUE A FULL RECALL TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSIONS. *TR

2002 ACURA MDX REQUIRED A TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT FOLLOWING A RAPID DECELERATION OF VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY. LUCKILY AVOIDED COLLISION BY OTHER VEHICLES. CODES ON DIAGNOSTIC INDICATED TRANS REQUIRED REPLACEMENT AT 136,000 MILES. TO KEEP VEHICLE SAFE, I HAVE PAID 4,000 ++ DOLLARS TO REPLACE. THANKFULLY ACCIDENT DID NOT FOLLOW WITH THE RAPID DECELERATION. *TR

ON OCTOBER 13, 2009, AT ABOUT 12:45, I PROVIDED MY 2002 ACURA MDX TO JERRY DAMSON ACURA, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA FOR THE '82,500 MILE SERVICE'. AT ABOUT 1:15 I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATING THAT TWO ENGINE MOUNTS WERE BROKEN. THE PRICE WOULD BE ABOUT $500. ALTHOUGH I WAS CONCERNED HOW ENGINE MOUNT FAILURES COULD HAPPEN ON A VEHICLE WITH THIS MILEAGE, I AGREED TO HAVE IT REPAIRED FOR OBVIOUS SAFETY REASONS. LATER THAT DAY I DISCOVERED OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET FOR BROKEN ENGINE MOUNTS FOR THIS VEHICLE. WHEN I ARRIVED AT JERRY DAMSON ACURA TO PICK IT UP, I ADVISED THE SERVICE PERSON THAT I FELT ACURA SHOULD PAY FOR THIS. THE ACURA SERVICE MANAGER, GIL WILLIAMS, WAS CALLED-IN TO DISCUSS THIS PROBLEM WITH ME. HE STATED THAT THEY/ACURA WOULD NOT PAY FOR THIS. I ASKED HOW A FAILURE OF THIS NATURE COULD HAPPEN AT THIS MILEAGE. AFTER SOME DISCUSSION HE STATED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS LOCATED NEAR THESE PARTICULAR ENGINE MOUNTS AND CONTRIBUTES TO INCREASED TEMPERATURE IN THE AREA, RESULTING IN FAILURE OF THESE ENGINE MOUNTS. HE FURTHER STATED THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED THIS PROBLEM WITH ACURA AND THEY ADVISED HIM TO 'SELL IT AS A MAINTENANCE ITEM'. I STATED THIS WAS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN DEFECT THAT ACURA OR JERRY DAMSON SHOULD PAY FOR. HE SAID THEY WOULD NOT. I ASKED HIM TO ELEVATE THIS TO THE JERRY DAMSON GENERAL MANAGER. HE REFUSED TO DO THAT. HE PROVIDED ME WITH THE PHONE NUMBER FOR 'ACURA CLIENT SERVICES', HE WOULD DO NOTHING ELSE. I RELUCTANTLY PAID FOR THIS BROKEN ENGINE MOUNTS REPAIR AT $483 IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE. IT IS A LOGICAL DEDUCTION THAT THE BROKEN ENGINE MOUNT PROBLEM IS A DESIGN DEFECT SINCE HE ADMITTED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER'S PROXIMITY TO THE ENGINE MOUNTS CONTRIBUTES TO THIS EARLY FAILURE. IT'S THEREFORE CLEAR THAT THIS REPAIR COST SHOULD BE BORNE BY ACURA/JERRY DAMSON. *TR