There are 8 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2017 Acura MDXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was stopped, my vehicle brake stopped working after being stopped on a road at a traffic light behind a semi truck. My vehicle crawled slowly forward, it would not stop (like the car wash pace). My brake would not work, I tried putting car in park to stop it moving. It proceeded to ram into the semi in front of me and keep trying to go forward until the light turned green and the semi drove away at that point I was able to drive my car and pull off the road and my brake began to work when I pulled off. It completely stopped working when I was on a busy road and caused the accident. It could have been much worse if I was not stopped already.
When applying brakes, irrespective of speed at which I am traveling, I experience a distinct vibration/judder in the front brakes when applying the brakes on my 2017 Acura MDX.
This morning I read that you were investigating the automatic braking for certain Honda models. I have had this same thing happen with my 2017 Acura MDX several times over the past few years. I would be driving (not following another car), and my car would suddenly brake and flash "Brake" on the screen, without my doing anything. Both times, I attributed the issue to driving into a bright sun, but I am not sure. It did not cause an accident and it was not a big deal, but the last time (about 3 months ago) I remember braking and being nervous about someone else read ending me...when I tried to accelerate I was unable to do so.
The vehicle put emission system and electronic parking brake warning lights on panel, allowed vehicle to be placed in drive "D", then suddenly switched to a flashing "P," stalled in parking lot, and would not allow the vehicle to be changed to any other gear.
Cruise control set to 37 mph, vehicle accelerates to almost 50 mph on downhill without braking.
WE WERE TRAVELING ON A THREE-LANE ROAD (CENTER TURN LANE) IN OUR 2017 ACURA MDX GOING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND FOLLOWING THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF US AT THE NORMAL 4-CAR LENGTH DISTANCE. THE CAR IN FRONT OF US SIGNALED FOR A RIGHT TURN OFF THE MAIN ROAD AND BEGAN TO SLOW. I APPLIED OUR BRAKES TO SLOW AS WELL. WE WERE STILL AT LEAST 3 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF US TURNED OFF THE MAIN ROAD. I MOVED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE TO ACCELERATE BACK TO THE NORMAL SPEED. THE COLLISION MITIGATION BRAKING SYSTEM ACTIVATED, BRINGING OUR VEHICLE TO A SUDDEN STOP IN TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE THAT HAD MADE THE RIGHT TURN WAS COMPLETELY OFF THE MAIN ROAD WHEN OUR BRAKE SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WE WERE REAR-ENDED BY A JEEP WRANGLER TRAVELING AT OR NEAR THE SPEED LIMIT. OUR VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. I WANT TO NOTE THAT THIS WAS NOT A CASE OF US FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY OR APPROACHING TOO FAST! OUR MDX HAD 9,256 MILES ON IT, AND THERE HAD BEEN NO PRIOR PROBLEMS OR WARNINGS. WE HAD NO IDEA THAT THE ELECTRONIC BRAKE SYSTEM COULD ACTIVATE WITHOUT CAUSE AND BRING THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP!
GOING ABOUT 20 MILES AN HOUR IN TRAFFIC A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME AT A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 2 CAR LENGTHS STARTED TO TURN RIGHT INTO A GAS STATION LOT UNEXPECTEDLY. THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM DETECTED A POTENTIAL FOR COLLISION AND WARNED ME. I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND SLOWLY ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKES AS THE SITUATION WAS NOT CRITICAL. THE CRITICAL BRAKE INDICATOR DID NOT GO AWAY, AND THE CAR IMMEDIATELY FELT AS THOUGH IT DEPRESSED THE BREAK FULLY AS IF A COLLISION WAS IMMINENT. THE DRIVER BEHIND ME WAS FOLLOWING VERY CLOSE AND COLLIDED WITH ME. THOUGH THE ACCIDENT WAS PROBABLY UNAVOIDABLE, I FEEL THE ACURA OVERESTIMATED THE URGENCY TO STOP GIVEN THE DISTANCE OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME AND THE SPEED AT WHICH WE WERE MOVING.
I HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING FOR TWO YEARS THAT MY CAR INTERMITTENTLY HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING. I HAVE PULLED OUT INTO TRAFFIC AND MY CAR HAS HESITATED LONG ENOUGH THAT I'VE ALMOST GOT SLAMMED IN THE BACK BY ANOTHER CAR. THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT IS ABOUT TO STALL. I WILL PRESS THE GAS PEDAL DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND FINALLY THE CAR STARTS MOVING AGAIN. BROUGHT THE CAR IN ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS TO ACURA AND SINCE THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE HESITATION, THEY DECIDED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. ANOTHER ISSUE I'VE HAD IS WITH MY BRAKES. AT 13,000 MILES BOTH OF MY FRONT BRAKES WERE WORN DOWN TO THE METAL. WHEN I BROUGHT THE CAR IN, IT WAS NOTED THAT BOTH CALIPERS SEIZED. THE BRAKES AND CALIPERS WERE REPLACED. ABOUT 14,000 MILES LATER, MY RIGHT FRONT BRAKE WAS DOWN TO THE METAL. MY LEFT FRONT BRAKE WAS FINE. AFTER KEEPING MY CAR FOR A WEEK AND CONSULTING WITH THE ENGINEERS IN CALIFORNIA, ACURA DECIDED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES AND THAT IT WAS MY DRIVING. I ASKED HOW I ONLY PUT THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE ON AND NOT THE LEFT. THEY DID NOT HAVE AN ANSWER. BUT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, I HAD TO REPLACE BOTH BRAKES AGAIN.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026