Topic: Used Vehicle Review: Acura MDX, 2007'2013

[Black Hatch]

15L/100Km is pretty thirsty, especially considering it's premium fuel.

Hey thats still better than my RX-8. 

[rrocket]

15L/100Km is pretty thirsty, especially considering it's premium fuel.

Hey thats still better than my RX-8. 

RX-8 are like 2 strokes...because the need oil AND gas at every fill up...

[johngenx]

Any 4000lb plus vehicle with a good sized engine is going to use fuel to the tune of 15L/100km.  My HL is a bit smaller/lighter than the MDX (3900 vs 4500lbs) and if I put my foot into it with all city driving, I can see 15L/100km.  I can do quite a bit better, but judicious driving is required.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

My 3.6R Outback could hit the 15L/100km range without much effort. Now it's gone. 

[rrocket]

My 3.6R Outback could hit the 15L/100km range without much effort. Now it's gone. 

That's with Lady Leadfoot driving though.....

[Sir Osis of Liver]

My 3.6R Outback could hit the 15L/100km range without much effort. Now it's gone. 

That's with Lady Leadfoot driving though.....

Yup. Hard on equipment that woman. 

[Ex-airbalancer]

My 3.6R Outback could hit the 15L/100km range without much effort. Now it's gone. 

That's with Lady Leadfoot driving though.....

Yup. Hard on equipment that woman. 

But you are still around, I guess she not hard enough 

[mixmanmash]

Yup, my wife's 2010 has been great. We really dig the changes that were made to the MDX in 2010...including the 6 speed auto which undoubtedly helps fuel economy (we don't care but this forum is full of misers).

Apparently I'm going to be the resident forum Acura slappy 

better that than a forum fuel miser! Enthusiasts forum indeed!!!
Railton

Don't forget about the "It does not come in a diesel"  gang 

Or the Mother of all desires "Why can't I find a diesel powered, manual transmission wagon that will haul all my camping gear, 120lb dog, with cloth seats and HIDS?".
Railton

Yeah, why?  minus the dog.  LOL!

[Vanstar]

Yup, my wife's 2010 has been great. We really dig the changes that were made to the MDX in 2010...including the 6 speed auto which undoubtedly helps fuel economy (we don't care but this forum is full of misers).

Apparently I'm going to be the resident forum Acura slappy 

better that than a forum fuel miser! Enthusiasts forum indeed!!!
Railton

Don't forget about the "It does not come in a diesel"  gang 

Come on, it has to be a diesel with a manual transmission!

[Julie]

Yup, my wife's 2010 has been great. We really dig the changes that were made to the MDX in 2010...including the 6 speed auto which undoubtedly helps fuel economy (we don't care but this forum is full of misers).

In fact, I liked her MDX so much it was one of the reasons I traded in my WRX and stayed in the Acura family and bought my TL.

Apparently I'm going to be the resident forum Acura slappy 

The MDX is one of my FAV vehicles out there. Just a great all-around performer and I (personally) love the way it looks.

[bombastic]

MDX is best vehicle Acura is able to produce at the moment. They sell more of it than any other model. Not a bad car for sure. The engine is a little bit old though.

[Vanstar]

MDX is best vehicle Acura is able to produce at the moment. They sell more of it than any other model. Not a bad car for sure. The engine is a little bit old though.

These cars make excellent daily drivers since they are very reliable and really drive well, too. Honda makes great and very reliable power trains, especially in the later ones. The cars just work very nicely and are fun and cheap to drive. It's basically the same power module as the TL I have and, although it doesn't really shine in anything, the over all package is really good. A solid car that doesn't cost a fortune to run. They also handle quite nicely and don't spend the far on fuel when driven sanely. That's for the TL, of course and a hotly driven MDX will gulp premium down at a good rate. Still, what premium SUV doesn't suck gas.

[sailor723]

MDX is best vehicle Acura is able to produce at the moment. They sell more of it than any other model. Not a bad car for sure. The engine is a little bit old though.

These cars make excellent daily drivers since they are very reliable and really drive well, too. Honda makes great and very reliable power trains, especially in the later ones. The cars just work very nicely and are fun and cheap to drive. It's basically the same power module as the TL I have and, although it doesn't really shine in anything, the over all package is really good. A solid car that doesn't cost a fortune to run. They also handle quite nicely and don't spend the far on fuel when driven sanely. That's for the TL, of course and a hotly driven MDX will gulp premium down at a good rate. Still, what premium SUV doesn't suck gas.

One with a 3 liter turbo diesel 

[Black Hatch]

15L/100Km is pretty thirsty, especially considering it's premium fuel.

Hey thats still better than my RX-8. 

Not sure where to post, but this thread will do as any.

Just got 15.5L /100km on my last fill-up.

Still aiming for that elusive 15L /100km....

[sailor723]

15L/100Km is pretty thirsty, especially considering it's premium fuel.

Hey thats still better than my RX-8. 

Not sure where to post, but this thread will do as any.

Just got 15.5L /100km on my last fill-up.

Still aiming for that elusive 15L /100km....

Is that 15.5L number includung oil? 

[mixmanmash]

I have another coworker with one of these that constantly has his battery draining from a parasitic draw.  Again, the dealer can't figure it out despite him trying several times.  I am working with him to solve it, or rlse he is going to cut his losses and sell the thing. Apparently, 2 common issues on this era MDX that cause this problem:

1. Hands Free Link (Bluetooth module) tends to drain the battery.  Either replace it or disconnect it.
2. AC compressor relay gets stuck, so the clutch is always engaged.  Replace the relay.

Overall, great vehicle, but there are some concerns regarding quality, durability and reliability.  This is something I judge over 150000kms and seeing 2 examples of these with my coworkers exhibiting all kinds of issues under that mileage is a little disconcerting.

[mmret]

There's no way I'd let $1000 every 100K km affect my purchase decision on a vehicle I want.  Minor IMO.  I don't have any vehicles with timing belts right now, but I've had a few.  Last timing belt I paid for was at a dealer. Total cost was $450.  YMMV.

Agreed. $1k per 100k km is so negligible as to be meaningless. At 20k/yr that's what....60 cents a day?

Now if it was a belt driven interference engine I might have pause...because there is always the chance of horrific failure, but I don't think that's the case here.

[mixmanmash]

There's no way I'd let $1000 every 100K km affect my purchase decision on a vehicle I want.  Minor IMO.  I don't have any vehicles with timing belts right now, but I've had a few.  Last timing belt I paid for was at a dealer. Total cost was $450.  YMMV.

Agreed. $1k per 100k km is so negligible as to be meaningless. At 20k/yr that's what....60 cents a day?

Now if it was a belt driven interference engine I might have pause...because there is always the chance of horrific failure, but I don't think that's the case here.

Wrong.  The J37A1 engine in the MDX is an interference engine.

[mixmanmash]

More bad news for my coworker.  Vehicle now has 166k kms on it (6k kms outside of the extended warranty).

We were driving to Red Deer a couple of weeks ago.  The vehicle randomly cut power and momentarily would give a A/T temp high warning and it would disappear, along with the check engine light.  I was thankful that at least we made it there and back.  It didn't do it on our way back.

Took it into the dealership who has had it for almost 2 weeks.  Here's the latest:

TECH INSPECTED FOR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON DASH AS REQUESTED. NO LIGHT WAS ON DASH. WAS ADVISED TO DRIVE VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. UPON TEST DRIVE, TECH NOTICED THAT WHEN VEHICLE WAS APPROACHING ABOVE 5,000 RPMS, THAT VEHICLE WOULD BEGIN TO CUT FUEL AND ENTER A "LIMP MODE" CAUSING "A/T TEMP HIGH" LIGHT TO FLICKER. WHEN TECH RELEASED THROTTLE, FOUND THAT VEHICLE HAD RETURNED TO NORMAL DRIVING PERFORMANCE. TECH BROUGHT VEHICLE INTO SHOP AND INSPECTED TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL AND FOUND TO BE GOOD AT THIS TIME. TECH THEN TRIED TO TAKE VEHICLE ON A SECOND TEST DRIVE WITH DIAGNOSTIC SCANNER CONNECTED TO VEHICLE TO SEE WHAT DTC IS PRESENT WHEN LIGHT IS BEING SHOWN. NO CODES WERE STORED DURING INSPECTION. TECH DROVER VEHICLE EXTENSIVELY FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME AND WAS ABLE TO PRODUCE EMISSION LIGHT ON DASH. DTC P0685 "POWER CONTROL CIRCUIT/INTERNAL CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION". FOLLOWED THROUGH DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURE DOING BATTERY TEST AND FOUND TO BE GOOD AT THIS TIME. PROCEDURE LED TO REPLACEMENT OF PCM. TECH REPLACED PCM WITH KNOWN GOOD COMPONENT AND STILL FOUND THAT VEHICLE IS PERFORMING THE EXACT SAME. TECH STARTED A TECH LINE FILE AND WAS ADVISED TO INSPECTED MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CONNECTORS AND GROUNDS OF ENGINE BAY AND CABIN OF VEHICLE. (C212, B2, C206, C104, C101, C4, B1, C41, B41, C103, B40, C1, 201, A46 UNDER HOOD FUSE BOX, A/T TEMP SENSOR) INSPECTED ALL CONNECTORS AS PER ADVISED AND FOUND VISUALLY TO LOOK GOOD AT THIS TIME. TECH WAS THEN ADVISED TO MOVE WIRES WHILE VEHICLE WAS ON AND IN DRIVE (STATIONARY) AND SEE IF POSSIBLE OPEN WIRE IN PCM WIRES CAUSING LIGHT TO TURN ON. WAS UNABEL TO PRODUCE A/T TEMP HIGH LIGHT ON WHILE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY. AT THIS TIME, THE NEXT STEP IN DIAGNOSIS IS TO HAVE ENGINE HARNESS REPLACED. PRICE FOR COMPONENT IS $1096.22 PLUS $1820.00 INSTALLATION BEFORE TAXES. PARTS ARE CURRENTLY IN MONTREAL AND CAN BE ORDERED UPON CUSTOMER APPROVAL.

He is taking this up with Acura Canada given the shear number of problems he has had.  Definitely got a lemon. He just has the worst luck with cars despite taking good care of them.  I think he is just going to lease from now on.  He certainly won't dump this kind of money into it and would likely trade it in.


Lol FJC anybody?

[johngenx]

Everyone can make a lemon - super bummer for your friend.

The problem with any car today is the sheer complexity - problems can very difficult to find without huge labour charges and tossing parts at it.  Systems have also become intertwined and a problem with one system can cause a symptom in a different system making it harder to solve.