KnownCarProblems2003 Acura Mdx Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 206 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Acura Mdx, most often about the transmission (51% of complaints, typically around 109,000 miles). It is 5th of 25 Mdx model years by number of complaints and has 11 recalls.
Most common 2003 Acura Mdx problems
Transmission
104 complaints · 51%Half of these problems showed up before 109,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, driveline.
Car would not move upon pushing gas pedal but engine would revive then without warning the car would launch forward at accelerated speed. This lurching continued unpredictably upon further driving the car. Dealer said that the transmission needed to be replaced.
Regarding a 2003 Acura Mdx with 108,000 miles, the transmission and two motor mounts failed. Information on the edmunds website confirm these repetitive failures and potential transmission lockup at high speeds. I have all maintenance records to show the car was taken care of. New motor mounts were $500. The dealer…
Air bags
42 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 108,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2003 Acura Mdx. While driving 70 MPH, a metal piece of a street sign that was lying on the ground struck the contact's vehicle. The metal bar split the control arm in two. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was not injured and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot.…
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2003 Acura Mdx. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v344000 (air bags); however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact heard a grinding…
Engine
26 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 105,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, engine, cooling system.
During regular service dealer inspection reports front motor mount is leaking and the side motor mount is cracked. Never heard of a 5-year old car needing motor mounts replaced. Especially when car is driven 100% on paved roads by a conservative 40+ year-old driver.
Four transmissions on 2003 Mdx,1) original, 2) 28k miles remanufacured from dealer; 3) 85kmiles rebuild due to slipping on highway and burnt odor from transmission; 4) 96k miles in reverse would go only a few feet then locked up. At 85k contacted Acura who gave no assistance due to being my first Acura/honda and not…
Electrical
18 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 120,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition.
The Mdx SRS malfunction-electrical noise surges. The car is making electrical noise surges, I cannot start the car. The shift interlock, when I put the car in park it continues to roll.
Electrical system:ignition:switch I can remove the key from my Acura Mdx when the car is turned off and still in gear. There was a recall on this problem for earlier models http://www-odi.NHTSA.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/results.cfm?searchtype=quicksearch&rcl_id=05v025000&summary=true but it does not cover my…
Seat belts
12 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 160,000 miles. Parts named most often: front.
My daughters Mdx was driven by her son and he had to make a sudden stop under rainy conditions. There was no crash, and the slightest contact with the stopped car in front. There is no damage to either car, the touch was so slight there was not even a scratch nor a bent license plate. To our shock the steering wheel…
My son was driving in town normal speed it was raining, he had to make a quick stop to avoid a car in front of him that made a quick stop also. The bumpers barely touched, left no marks at all, not even to the front license plate. The airbag deployed and black and blued his arm. We received a recall notice for this…
Other or unspecified
10 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 141,500 miles.
I think it is about time that we all push NHTSA to make Acura/honda recall all these Mdx from 2001 to 2012 to have these torque converters and transmissions replaced and fixed once and for all!!! This is very dangerous as there is no sign when these cars are going to lock up and go from 75 MPH down to 40 MPH and then…
Torqe converter going out shattering noise third gear 30 to 40 MPH about 1500 rpms there has been over 100 complaints online about the same issue
Brakes
10 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 13,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components, antilock, pedals and linkages.
Excessive brake clunk / thud noises under normal braking conditions. Severe brake noise and control issues under emergency braking conditions. Told by Acura all is "normal". With such travel in calipers (cause of noise) potential for brake failure must exist. Worried...
On two different occasion the ABS made a clunking noise. The dealer inspected the vehicle but could not duplicate or correct the problem. The brake problems had come back again. The dealer found a brake switch failure code. The dealer attempted to repair the problem but it remained the same.
Speed control
7 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 95,500 miles.
While traveling at around the speed limit on a busy freeway the vehicle suddenly started coasting without any warning. Stepping on the gas caused the engine to rev but no acceleration, which made it extremely dangerous to try to pull the vehicle to the shoulder with the right lane heavily occupied by 18 wheeler trucks…
Transmission automatically shifts from drive to neutral while going down the highway. It's dangerous to be in traffic and lose the ability to accelerate. I have replaced the shifter and had it adjusted numerous times. Acura refuses to accept responsibility for this problem, even though there are innumerous complaints…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Acura Mdx recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are q5a and y58.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2003-2006 mdx, 2001-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot and 2006 ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are e5d and x5c.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 acura mdx, 2005-2012 rl, 2003-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007-2008 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began april 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is o41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is u40.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling specific 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2013-2016 ilx, 2013-2014 ilx hybrid, 2003-2006 mdx, 2007-2016 rdx, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 tl, 2010-2013 zdx and 2001-2007 and 2009 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began june 27, 2016. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are ka0, ka1, ka2, and ka3.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 acura mdx, 2005-2011 acura rl, 2005-2006 honda cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007-2008 fit, 2003-2008 pilot, 2002-2004 odyssey, and 2006-2011 ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless included in "zone a" above, honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 acura mdx, 2005-2008 acura rl, 2005-2006 honda cr-v, 2003-2008 element, 2007-2008 fit, 2003-2008 pilot, 2002-2004 odyssey, and 2006-2008 ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are ju4, ju5, ju6, and ju7. Note: vehicles that have already received a replacement passenger air bag inflator as part of the recall remedy for an earlier campaign such as 14v353 or 14v700 (honda recall numbers s95, jh6, jh7, jh8, jh9, jj0, jj1, jj2, jj6, jm5 and jm6) are not included in this recall. However, this recall does supersede 13v132 and 14v349. Note: on december
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic vehicles manufactured march 21, 2000, to january 20, 2005, 2001-2004 honda civic gx vehicles manufactured june 14, 2000, to august 19, 2004, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid vehicles manufactured february 24, 2002, to january 18, 2005, 2003-2007 honda accord vehicles manufactured february 21, 2002, to august 28, 2007, 2002-2004 honda cr-v vehicles, 2002-2003 honda odyssey vehicles manufactured june 19, 2001, to july 12, 2003, 2003 acura mdx vehicles manufactured september 19, 2002, to june 19, 2003, 2003 honda element vehicles manufactured june 25, 2002, to july 31, 2003, and 2003 honda pilot vehicles manufactured november 26, 2001, to august 21, 2003. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupt
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to september 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after september 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already rec
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2001-2004 honda civic gx, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, 2006 ridgeline, 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2003-2006 acura mdx, and 2002-2003 acura 3.2tl vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Honda dealers will replace the supplemental restraint system electronic control unit (SRS ecu). The recall began on february 22, 2016. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009. Honda's number for this recall is jn6 (odyssey), and jn7 (mdx). Note: this recall supersedes recall 13v-412. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy for that campaign need to have the SRS ecu replaced under this campaign.
Full defect summary
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 honda odyssey vehicles manufactured february 13, 2002, to august 13, 2004, and 2003 acura mdx vehicles manufactured february 21, 2002, to september 23, 2003. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengerâs frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began january 26, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
American honda motor co. (honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic, 2003-2004 civic cng and element, 2002-2005 cr-v, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2005 accord, pilot, civic hybrid, and acura mdx, 2005 acura rl and 2006 honda ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in alabama, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, u.s. Virgin islands, saipan, guam, and american samoa are addressed by this recall. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengerâs frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflators in all affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during august 2014. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
American honda motor company, inc.'s (honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 accord, civic, cr-v, pilot and acura mdx, model year 2003-2004 odyssey and element, and model year 2005 acura rl, and 2006 honda ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in california, and equipped with takata-brand air bag inflators. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will install a noise suppressor unit, free of charge. The recall began on november 1, 2013. A renotification letter went out on july 11, 2014 for the 2003 acura and the 2003-2004 odyssey. Owners may contact honda at 1-800-999-1009. Honda's recall numbers are jc2 (honda odyssey) and jc3 (acura mdx).
Full defect summary
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 odyssey and model year 2003 acura mdx vehicles. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail causing the front air bags, side curtain air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Electrical: switch
Risk: Removal of the ignition key when the gear selector of a vehicle with an automatic transmission has not been shifted to the park position can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a honda or acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated shift interlock lever and, if necessary, replace any necessary part of the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on february 22, 2013. Owners may contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 pilot and odyssey and 2003 through 2006 acura mdx passenger vehicles manufactured from november 26, 2001, through august 30, 2006. The interlock lever of the ignition switch may deform, which can allow the interlock function of a vehicle with an automatic transmission to be defeated.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Inadvertent air bag deployment
Summary
The investigation was opened based on reports of frontal air bag inadvertent deployments (abids) on model year (my) 2003-2004 honda odyssey vehicles.in its response dated september 20, 2013, honda indicated that the my 2003 acura mdx vehicles use a SRS electronic control unit (ecu) which contains the same electrical component (an asic chip) as the odyssey, and has a similar vehicle electrical system architecture.through inspection and analysis of field returned vehicles and components, honda determined that the SRS ecus used in the odyssey and mdx can degrade over time and result in the deployment of either the driver and/or the passenger frontal air bags.the deployment occurs without a cras
Ignition interlock failure - rollaway
Summary
On december 10, 2012, honda motor company submitted a defect information report to NHTSA regarding ignition interlocks in approximately 576,117 model year my) 2003 through 2004 honda pilot and odyssey vehicles that are the subject of this investigation and 231,044 my 2003 through 2006 acura mdx vehicles (recall no. 12v-573).honda's report states that a design change to the ignition switch used in the recalled vehicles reduced the range of rotation for the ignition switch from 160 degrees in earlier designs to 125 degrees without a corresponding change to the ignition interlock blocking mechanism.the result was that excessive rotational force could damage a lever that would allow the driver t
Questions about the 2003 Acura Mdx
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Acura Mdx?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (104 complaints, typically around 109,000 miles); air bags (42 complaints, typically around 108,500 miles); engine (26 complaints, typically around 105,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Acura Mdx have?
- 11 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 27, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Acura Mdx?
- It is 5th of 25 Mdx model years by number of complaints, with 206 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.