The commencement model rolled off the Honda production line for the Acura MDX for the 2001 season. For the most part, we have known Honda for its reliability, with many of its vehicles. Only, as with whatever automaker, they struggled with a few of their machine designs.

The Acura MDX was one that they struggled with during the earliest years. Every bit time went on, they improved and revamped their designs to bring dorsum their reliable reputation. But, before that happened, they had to endure numerous possessor complaints. CarComplaints.com posts some of the many reports they received for the manual.

What are the transmission bug on the older Acura MDX vehicles?

A view of the 2022 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD during Sundance Film Festival 2022
The Acura MDX | Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Acura

The earlier models of the Acura MDX brought owners tons of headaches with the transmission. Some owners experienced slippage in the gears, while others felt a distinct vibration while driving at certain speeds. Going anywhere from 25 to 50 mph, drivers would feel a tremendous shuddering inside the steering column.

If they took their human foot off the gas pedal, the sensation would stop. They could proceed for a bit without upshot, simply the shuddering would come back subsequently a while. Some complaints described the shuddering as if y'all were driving over the rumble strips you often see on the road alerting you to the centerline or the shoulder.

Some owners reported a loud growling racket that accompanied the shuddering. Acceleration during these times would be weak and dull. Shifting into fourth gear, in some cases, helped, and they could continue driving with no issues. Others weren't able to detect any resolution to the bug and took the car in to their local dealers or their own mechanics. Acura often denied there were whatever bug and refused to help unless information technology was covered under warranty.

What repairs were needed for the transmission problem?

For those dealing with the shuddering problem, mechanics were able to pinpoint the event to a failure with the torque converter. Some owners had it replaced or rebuilt, but some mechanics said that the transmission would also take to be replaced, because of debris from the converter getting into the manual. Repairing it would mean the replacement of both the transmission and the converter together, which would toll around $5,000. This turned out to exist a common issue with the Acura MDX from the years 2003-2007.

The model years 2001-2003 saw the slippage of the gears in the manual. Numerous complaints were reported over this. The only way to resolve this problem was to replace or rebuild the transmission. In well-nigh cases, it was at the toll of the owners. The cost for this kind of repair was reported to be $two,000-$4,000, depending on where the owners went to go it done.

Which Acura MDX models are the worst of the bunch?

Car Complaints listed the 2003 model as the worst one made. The reason for this has to practise with beingness the starting time year of the torque converter problem. In that location were sixteen complaints reported on Car Complaints, but there were 46 more than reported to the NHTSA. This model also had many electrical problems too. There were electric malfunctions with the heated seats, door locks, ignition, and the rear-view motorcar-dimming feature.

The second-worst model appears to be the 2001 version. The Acura MDX came off the production line in 2000 for the 2001 year. It was the first model ever built for this car, and so it'southward non surprising to see some issues with it. The transmission was the worst problem, having nine complaints on the site and 36 more than reported to the NHTSA. There were as well bug with misfiring cylinders. Even though the spark plugs, coils, and wires were replaced, the cylinders would nonetheless continue to misfire. The problem didn't announced to exist resolved.

In the end, the manual problems were pretty much resolved by 2008, with some issues creeping back in a few later on year models. The Acura MDX saw fewer complaints overall in the other models, except for 2022, which was their bad year for the engine. Other than that, it bounced back adequately well and continues to go strong today.