Page 5 of 5 · complaints 201–206 of 206

2003 Acura MDX complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2003 record →

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Aug 5, 2003OK

WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILED. CONSUMER STATES AT 1600 MILES WAS A NORMAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE. DEALER WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Emission Control › Catalytic Convertor
Filed Jul 16, 2003500 milesFL

NOXIOUS SULFUR ODOR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE WHICH IS LIKELY RELATED TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. I WAS FIRST ADVISED THAT ACURA KNEW OF THIS PROBLEM WHICH WAS RELATED TO A NEW PELLET INSIDE OF THE CONVERTER. ACURA NOW SAYS THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM. I AM BEING ADVISED THAT THIS TERRIBLE ODOR IS NORMAL ON THIS VEHICLE.*AK

Seat Belts
Filed May 8, 2003MD

THE SEAT BELT WAS MOUNTED IN THE CEILING OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH CAUSED THE BELT TO COME ACROSS THE PASSENGER'S NECK. *JB

Engine and Engine Cooling › Exhaust System › Emission Control › Catalytic Convertor
Filed May 6, 2003NY

NOXIOUS ODOR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE VEHICLE DUE TO CATALYTIC CONVERTER OVER WORKING ACURA INSISTS THIS IS NORMAL AND HAS ADVISED US TO CONTINUE DRIVING CAR WHILE CAUSING MY FAMILY TO BECOME NAUSEOUS FROM THE ODOR. MANUFACTURER HAS ADVISED US TO PURSUE LITIGIOUS MEANS. *JB

Unknown or Other
Filed Mar 25, 2003400 milesMA

THE MDX NAVIGATION SYSTEM GIVES VERBAL AND VISUAL DIRECTIONS. I TEND TO RELY ON THE VERBAL DIRECTIONS IN THE CITY. SOMETIMES THE SYSTEM CANNOT DETERMINE ITS POSITION BECAUSE IT CANNOT GET SUFFICIENT SATELLITE SIGNALS. IT GIVES NO VERBAL CLUE THIS IS HAPPENING, IT JUSTS GIVES DIRECTIONS AS IF IT KNEW WHERE IT WAS (PRESUMABLY VIA DEAD RECKONING). THERE IS A VISUAL CUE, BUT IT IS VERY HARD TO SEE DURING THE DAY. THE SMALL LETTERS "GPS" TURN WHITE WHEN THE SIGNAL IS WEAK. THIS HAPPENED TO ME FIRST WHILE IN BOSTON ON 22JAN2003. IT STARTED GIVING ME DIRECTIONS AS IF I WERE SEVERAL BLOCKS AWAY. FORTUNATELY I KNEW THE AREA WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW IT WAS LOST BEFORE MAKING LOTS OF WRONG TURNS, BUT A DRIVER RELYING ON THE GPS MIGHT HAVE FOUND HIMSELF DRIVING THE WRONG WAY DOWN A ONE WAY STREET. I KNOW THAT INCORRECT MAP DATA CAN CAUSE THE SAME PROBLEM AND I HAVE ACCEPTED THAT RISK, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO COMPOUND THAT RISK THROUGH POOR SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PROBLEM COSTS ALMOST NOTHING TO CORRECT.

Suspension › Front › Macpherson Strut
Filed Feb 6, 20033,000 milesVA

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WILL SEVERELY PULL TO THE RIGHT. THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE LEFT FRONT SPRING BREAKING AND THE STRUT CLASPING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. PH

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Full record for the 2003 Acura MDX → · Every MDX year → · How the figures are calculated →