2020 Acura MDX Complaint Log

The auto idle engine stop malfuctions routinely shutting the engine off completely and requiring the driver to engage PARK, hit STOP, and RESTART engine before engaging DRIVE to proceed. We have experienced several near miss accidents or potentially caused accidents because drivers behind you have no idea what is going on. This issue is not just at stop lights but also interstate driving where traffic comes to a complete stop. I requested my Acura dealer permanantly disable this feature- they declined - I believe because it is an "Emission" feature that has gone wrong. I have seen "hack" options on line to disable this feature but fear for my safety - either way.

My MDX will randomly shut itself off while at a red light. It takes MULTIPLE attempts to get it restarted. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others was put at risk and continues to be at risk! This has happened at a highway red light multiple times. I am impeding the flow of traffic at an intersection with EIGHT lanes and FOUR lanes cross traffic. People move through this intersection extremely fast. This puts me at risk of causing an accident, injury the occupants of my vehicle and the occupants of the other involved vehicles. There is no warning as to when this will occur and there are no warnings at the time of the actual event either. I called the dealership and the service department acknowledged there have been others with the same issue. Acura is aware of the issue yet there is NO RECALL?? There is a Service Bulletin issued January 2023 by Acura admitting to the issue and it shows how Acura will resolve the issue for affected vehicles. If Acura is aware of the issue and the dangers of it, why have they not issued a recall to rectify the situation? The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. I have a service appointment with the local dealership. There are no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the failure. The first occurrence was about four months ago. The second occurred three months ago. It occurred again today. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT AND LAWSUIT WAITING TO HAPPEN. SOMEONE COULD BE SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED DUE TO ACURA’S NEGLIGENCE!!!

I was in traffic and we slowed down to a stop. Suddenly my car went to neutral and it didn’t want to go to Drive. I put emergency lights, as many cars were behind in the highway. I turned the car off and turned it back on. Then I was able to drive again! This has happened twice in the last 3 months.

No warning lights or other indications occurred. This is the 2nd time while sitting at a stop light that the car has gone into neutral gear and it was unknown until the traffic signal turned green and I could not go. I could not shift into drive. The remedy required that I shut the car off and restarted (very little time between) before putting it in gear. Both occurrences were with idle stop function on. There is an entire discussion forum on this exact issue on [XXX] . Being first in line at a stop with 4 other passengers and a line of drivers expecting me to go on green is a sure way to result in an accident. The car goes in for regular service next week and I will bring it to the dealer’s attention. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Sunroof Explosion. On [XXX], I was driving southbound on [XXX] north of the [XXX] exit (about 15 miles north of Chicago, Illinois). It was mid to late morning, sunny, 75 degrees. I drove over some pavement that was under repair but was not marked as being under repair. Within 60 seconds I heard a loud bang or explosion. My sunroof cover was closed and heard glass falling onto the cover. I exited the highway and saw that the glass was broken in the center of the sunroof. There were no rocks or objects in the sunroof and no evidence that anything had impacted the sunroof. The vehicle is available for inspection however, I am in the process of clearing the glass so that I can operate the vehicle during the month that it will take for a replacement glass to arrive. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer, the component has not been inspected by anyone other than myself. There were no warnings prior to the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Engine shuts off at red light as auto idle stop got activated. Then at green light when I press the accelerator my car was in”neutral”mode and it didn’t allow me to move. I had to put my car into parking then switch it off and restart it. People behind me were agitated and honking.

the vehicle shut down while at a red light and went the transmission went into neutral and should not start until i place the vehicle into park and then i had to press the start button two or three times to get the vehicle to start again. this is the second time this same problem has occurred in a two week span

upon turning right, the car lost power, degraded acceleration as if someone is holding and pulling the car to move forward. The traffic behind me expected me to cathup with the speed on the road but due to loss of power and engine hesitation i got honked and was luck to avoid a crash from behind on a busy road. Acura dealership in Dallas dont have parts since a very long time. They have pleant of new cars to sell but not repair.

The following issues occur on a 2020 Acura MDX with low 50k miles, maintenance was done regular whenever a maintenance schedule appear. For the past few years after purchasing the vehicle we started getting a non-start engine with the key fobs and automatic side mirrors did not open or close when parked. Brand new batteries were replace for the key fob and later the Car Battery and the issue occurs intermittently, this was brought to the attention of the dealership and each time (documented) that they were not able to reproduce when they turned off the vehicle, this was mid 2024 06-13-2024 and sporadically continues till this year 2026. The dealership did not test or trace the electrical system as they were told to reproduce the issue first as it will happen at that moment. A new recent event 2025 has also occur and was brought to the dealerships attention, a warning message indicating - Electric Parking Brake Problem follow by a Emissions System Problem will appear. This was also "reset" by the dealership and indicated it was safe to drive but event reoccurs every few months. A 2nd opinion to another mechanic indicated it can be the emergency brake system to be faulty and driving the vehicle when the message appears may cause an immediate stop, advised us to have the dealership reach out to the manufacture. No word from either for the past year. Any open recall for my VIN was done once we were notified and a New Car Battery replaced and new batteries in key fobs - issue continues. Please assist Thank you

I stopped at a stop sign and the car went into N without me changing anything. The car wouldnt go back to D or P mode even when I pressed the buttons. I had to turn off the car and turn it on again to make it function properlty. This happened twice within 5 mins.

On May 30, 2024, the vehicle associated with the VIN associated with the report was involved in an accident. The vehicle is inoperable due to the seatbelt no longer working since the accident. The vehicle is at the collision center of my choice, and all repairs except for the seatbelt have been made. The collision center and I have reached out to American Honda Motor Company, Inc. and Acura several times. As of date, there has been no resolution and no estimated date of when a seatbelt will be issued by American Honda Motor Company, Inc. and/or Acura. I was told by an employee at American Honda Motor Company, Inc. that the seatbelt will become inoperable whenever the vehicle is in an accident or collision. I feel American Honda Motor Company, Inc. has and continues to produce unsafe vehicles and vehicles where repairs cannot be made promptly. Seatbelts are important, and I honestly believe seatbelts save lives. But, for a company to have a shortage of seatbelts with no estimated time of when one will be issued is unacceptable. And for the company to produce vehicles with seatbelts destined to not function after an accident is a problem. As a consumer, I would like this company to be held accountable for producing vehicles with problems and additional problems if the vehicles are in an accident. I've tried resolving this matter by contacting American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Better Business Bureau, and now NHTSA. I feel this is way beyond what a consumer should have to do.

I purchased this car in September of 2023 with 23,000 miles on it then I received a recall in December 2023. I purchased tires for my car at the dealership and they scheduled my car to have this recall to be fixed on Monday May 13, 2024. I brought the car in on Monday and received a call on Saturday May 18, 2024 to pick my car up from the dealership that it was fixed. I took my car to get gas and two lights on my dash board came up one about my emergency brakes and the other code stated that there is a engine problem and immediately bring the car to the dealership less than one hour of picking it up from a so called recall repair that I was told was going to take two weeks to fix ended up less than 5 days and the car is back at the dealership less than a hour of picking the car up today. I am pissed off and the car is a $40,000 car I paid for with these types of problems when Iam paying a $680 a month on the car note and can’t drive it . BTWay the car smelled of burnt oil while driving it back to the dealership when the lights came on. I want my money back on this recall I need to let you know that is why I bought a new car so I wouldn’t have to deal with this big ass migraine. The dealership needs to replace my car period in my eyes this can’t be fixed it already has to many problems and issues with this vehicle.

The contact's wife owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that when his wife started the vehicle, he observed a clanking noise emanating from the engine compartment. A mobile mechanic was dispatched to the residence where a handheld diagnostic machine failed to retrieve any error codes. The mechanic advised the contact to contact a dealer immediately for assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

This vehicle is being sold by Corwin Honda in Fargo, North Dakota. As I understand it, this car should not have been taken in on a trade and should not be sold until repairs are made. I do understand that parts have been hard to get and it is a huge inconvenience for the car owner. We looked at this car and were quite prepared to purchase it, but I fear for our safety and anyone else on the road.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

WHEN I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT IN TRAFFIC (MY VEHICLE WAS IN IDLE STOP MODE), MY CAR SIMPLY DIED AND WOULD NOT RESTART WHEN THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND I STEPPED ON THE GAS PEDAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TRAFFIC. IT TOOK NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO RE START THE VEHICLE WHILE STUCK IN VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC BEFORE IT GAINED POWER AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE FORWARD. MY SAFETY WAS COMPROMISED I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF MULTIPLE LANES OF MOVING TRAFFIC, IT WAS SCARY. NO WARNING LAMPS OR MESSAGES OCCURED PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT.

the manufacturer has not solved in a timely matter the open recall since November 2023

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Periodically After Auto Start Stop System activates (vehichle shuts down after stop). When the brake pedal is released and vehicle attempts to restart the engine stalls and is shifted into neutral. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - UNK Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - No, this is an intermittent issue, this has occurred a few times (6). Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - No, email sent to service department. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - Parking light, Brake system light, Oil pressure light, battery light.

I was in RED light and Car went to Idle Stop. I got Green Light but the Car automatically went to Neutral mode and did not back to Drive mode when I changed. I put emergency light on but People do not have any patience and Horn me in the light.. I tried many times to put Drive mode and it did not work. After turn off/on the engine few times finally it worked. It was very scary if I would have struck in middle of the Highway with family it would be very bad. I called the Acura Service center they act like they did not aware of this issue. I have setup appointment this week for diagnosis.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving, at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. Additionally, while driving on several occasions, the vehicle hesitated. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local dealer, Acura of Valley Stream Service, at 700 W Merrick Rd., Valley Stream, NY 11580, who informed the contact about diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. . The failure mileage was approximately 56,500. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Numbers: [XXX] (Engine and Engine Cooling), and [XXX] (Fuel System, Gasoline). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Left rear inner tail light is inoperative. There is evidence of water intrusion in the lower left corner of the tail light assembly. Called dealer, was told by service manager that the concern was not covered under warranty as the vehicle has just over 51,000 miles. Called Acura Care and was told same. 2014-2019 models of this vehicle were recalled for this issue, but not the 2020 models, although they are the same body style and share same tail light part number. The lights are LED and have no replaceable bulbs; entire assembly must be replaced.

I had purchased this vehicle and was not aware there was a stop sale on this vehicle model. I took the 2020 MDX to the dealer to get the recall service done, the connecting rod bearing and fuel pump issues. They were done back in March of 2024, j had taken the vehicle back to the dealer over 5 times for issues with stalling and trouble turning back on as well as engine noise, ticking and stalling. The dealer “cannot replicate” the noise all of sudden, but was initially able to hear the noise and stated “ it’s probably fine, but bring it in if it gets worse” this issue happened after the recall service was performed and the vehicle has never been correct since, I believe there is engine damage caused by the needed recall service.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (AIR BAGS) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The engine started knocking while driving on [XXX], it can be inspected upon request. This knocking is due to the connecting rod bearing failure recall and it creates a safety issue for passengers and other drivers on the road as the engine can fail at any given moment causing a road hazard. I have made an appointment to get this matter diagnosed with King Acura in Hoover, but I am being denied a supplemental vehicle. This is a manufacturing defect that should be completely covered by the manufacturer including supplemental transportation for the duration of diagnosis and repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Car stalls when auto idle at stop lights. There is a recall for my make and model however, I called Acura and they said my vin was later removed from the recall. The service bulletin states all trim levels and my MDX falls within the parameters. They could not tell me why my car had the recall once listed and then removed. This is very dangerous because it takes a few minutes for the car to start again.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving and came to a complete stop on two occasions. The vehicle was able to restart, and the contact resumed driving. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was confirmed that the battery was in good condition. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

While driving on the highway, at highway speeds, all dash lights came on and the vehicle immediately lost power coming to an abrupt stop. We were able to limp the car to the side of the road. It was ultimately determined that the car’s fuel pump had gone out. The fuel pump was replaced by Acura, and covered under the initial manufactures warranty. However, it’s rather suspicious that our car is not included in the recall given that the fuel pump failure is identical to the open recall for our same make and model.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

I've experienced stop and stall issues with my vehicle three times and the Acura dealership said they couldn't locate but kept my vehicle for a few days and said it was the battery. I have a new battery but same issue occurred two more times. There is definitely an electrical problem with this vehicle's system. The radio randomly stops working, no sound or buttons stop at any given time and also heat/air buttons switch by themselves. Shift paddles sometimes does not slow down vehicle, in most cases it accelerates.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the engine did not restart after releasing the brake pedal. While attempting the restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was very hard while depressed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was previously repaired at the local dealer and a software update was performed but the failure persisted. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 6,000.

Was at stoplight with idle stop on and when light turned green car wouldn’t engage. Saw it had shifted to neutral and needed to turn the car off, restart before I could drive away. Could have been hit from behind especially since it was dark out

I was on a bridge heading into a tunnel stopped due to traffic and the car shut off completely. The screen said to put the car in park and restart it. I tried several times and after a few attempts it started back up. This is the third time this happened. I had a recall when I purchased it and had the recall addressed for the same issue. Now I am back at Acura again. And being told I may have to pay for diagnostics. The car is still under warranty.

While coming to a stop the engine start stop engaged causing the engine to turn off completely and would not restart when the throttle was pressed . The transmission shifted into neutral and the push button start would not fire the engine. Car would not go back to park. After locking and unlocking the door 30 seconds later it reset and the engine refired. This occurred with traffic flowing behind me and caused the car to be placed in neutral and the driver having no control over the vehicle. If this had occurred in an intersection while turning, the driver and occupants of the vehicle could be in significant danger of an accident. I took the car to the Acura dealer the next day and was told they had several complaints of this kind but would need to duplicate the issue on my car to assist me. If they could not duplicate the issue then the could not help me. At this time, it has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There were several warning lamps that came on when the car turned off.

Auto braking system engaged abruptly, without necessity. This occurred twice (December 2022 and November 2023) almost causing collisions on both occasions. The dealer could not reproduce the problem when it was brought in in December 2022 and said this could occur if the sensors are dirty and to ensure they are always clean. I have since done so, and the same thing happened again. There were no warning signs for this error prior to it occuring.

My car is producing a loud noise from the engine bay, which closely resembles the sound of a failing crankshaft. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership several times, but they were unable to determine the source of the noise. I consulted with an experienced mechanic who advised me that the engine is likely to fail soon if the issue is not addressed. He recommended inspecting the internal components of the engine, specifically the crankshaft, for potential faults. I am not sure if the official dealership can check my engine for a faulty crankshaft.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issues. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Idle stop feature causes vehicle to auto shift to neutral at stop. There are many forums noting this issue. It happened a year ago several times, they replaced the battery and it is happening again. You are sitting at a light or stop sign, go to hit the gas, and the car is in neutral. You need to turn the car off and start again. This is a serious risk of getting rear ended with this issue. One time when it happened last year a cop pulled me over to see if everything was all right. The car should not be shifting to neutral at a stop.

My vehicles rear back up camara, and others i checked at dealership is quite blurry not clear at all and much more so at night, causing me not to see my neighbors son and almost running him over as i backed out of driveway , dealership stated thats how resoltion is, changing camara wont help, and no known fixes and said they all are like that

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated while stopped at a stop light, the vehicle failed to restart, and the contact became aware the Auto START/STOP function was not operating properly. After manually restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 23-008. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,500.

The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while at a stoplight, the vehicle shut off and failed to immediately restart after releasing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed of the NHTSA Action Number: EA25004 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the investigation. The failure mileage was 20,000.

Our 2020 MDX we lease has lost electrical 3x since Sep 1. Once while sitting at a stoplight. Twice while turning at intersection. Each time, there was a complete power loss. When the car was moving, it quickly slowed to a stop in the road. In each case, it took a few minutes to get the car restarted due to being startled at what happened. I checked the battery cables, and they are tight. The radio settings were not lost, so I do not think it was a battery connection failure. We are not sure what to do with this as, while there are a lot of similar reports for acuras, there is no consistent diagnosis.

2020 Acura MDX, bought this in February of 2021. Issue with the auto-idle completely turning off the engine, when you pull up to a red light or stop sign and the engine goes into Auto-idle, then go into neutral, sometimes showing the battery sign. The car is completely disabled, have to shut off the engine and restart. This happened about 3 times, the last time was with my 2 young children in the car and people honking at me!!!!! Brought it into Acura, when said it was battery issure and replaced the battery in Sept. 2022. August 2023, brought it in for 2 recalls, once was for the idle engine, they service person said the issue was fixed. October 2023, by car did not restart from auto-idle (AGAIN TWICE in less than a week), brought it in again, they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it! Just got my car back, called Acura headquarter, made a complaint!

The contact leased a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that the front driver’s and passenger’s side headlight covers became hazy, causing it to be difficult to see the roadway while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the headlight covers needed to be restored. The contact was informed by the dealer that the failure was a known issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000. The VIN was unavailable.

On multiple occasions car has gone into neural while I’m stopped at a light or at a stop sign. I Have called dealer multiple times and still not resolved. I’m afraid this will cause an accident bc I’ll could get hit from behind.