KnownCarProblems2018 Acura Mdx Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 169 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Acura Mdx, most often about the engine (32% of complaints, typically around 65,000 miles). It is 11th of 25 Mdx model years by number of complaints and has 10 recalls.
Most common 2018 Acura Mdx problems
Engine
54 complaints · 32%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact received notifications of NHTSA campaign numbers: 23v858000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 23v751000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle jerked and hesitated and failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the…
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven; however…
Fuel system
51 complaints · 30%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, which caused the vehicle to lunge forward. Additionally, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a…
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven; however…
Electrical
28 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 28,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument panel.
Takata recall: review camera remains on when I shift from reverse to drive. Consequently, I am driving looking at the road behind me on the screen.
Takata recall: correction for complaint #11164408. Rear view camera remains in the reverse position when I shift from reverse to drive. Consequently, I am driving with a view of the road behind me. This has happen three times. I reported this to Acura of peora, az. They kept my car for a day but didn't resolve the…
Driver assistance
24 complaints · 14%Parts named most often: warnings, adaptive cruise control, assist, warning.
Transmission
23 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled, with several unknown warning lights and the traction control warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a…
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Mdx. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the contact was unable to shift into park (p) or into neutral (n) as the gear shifter became stuck into drive (d) position. The contact stated as he turned off and restarted the vehicle…
Other or unspecified
20 complaints · 12%Starter failed with auto start/stop while stopped in traffic. Since engine wouldn't start, car shifted to park automatically and can not shift to neutral with the engine off and unable to start. The battery was fine and could go into aux mode, but still won't shift to neutral. Aside from quality issues related to…
The backup camera stayed on even when the vehicle was in forward motion - the continuous rear view on display screen was a driving distraction while disabling other features.
Speed control
14 complaints · 8%While driving downhill a car approx 1000 feet ahead of me was slowing down to turn right while the car was still turning but completely out of the intersection the automatic brakes came on and came to a complete stop. The car that turned right was down the street it had turned on completely out of sensor range and the…
The cruise control engages and the car takes off from a dead stand still when resume button is bumped. It is my understanding cruise control should not engage from a standstill or slow speed. I discovered this after the dealer serviced the car and the tech had turned on the cruise the resume button pertrudes out from…
Brakes
9 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 18,000 miles.
I was traveling about 35-40 MPH approaching a side street to the right. The car in front of me slowed to turn right. The 'brake' light flashed as it typically does. I slowed but did not stop since the car in front of me was continuing it's turn and moving away from me. There was a car at the stop sign on the side…
Merging onto a 6 lane highway, specifically the 3 northbound lanes, the collision mitigation braking system activated suddenly. I was moving from the right lane to the middle lane accelerating as needed to maintain the appropriate speed with the middle lane. As I began to ease off the accelerator, the cmbs slammed on…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2018 Acura Mdx recalls
Suspension: rear
Risk: Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed july 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are aou and aot. Vehicle identification numbers (vins) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning june 10, 2026.
Full defect summary
American honda motor company (honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 honda pilot, 2017-2023 ridgeline, 2019-2023 passport, and 2014-2020 acura mdx vehicles that were sold in connecticut, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia, or wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Air bags: front passenger
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed july 7, 2026. Owners may contact honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are bol, wo9, ooa, wom, xoh, noc, pod, boe, uof, pob, eog, aoi, qo8, toj, do7, and sok. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24v064. Vehicle identification numbers (vins) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning may 29, 2026.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 acura tlx, 2019-2024 rdx, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 mdx, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 honda ridgeline, 2017-2022 pilot, 2019-2021 passport, 2018-2026 odyssey, 2019-2022 insight, 2019-2021 hr-v, 2018-2020 fit, 2020-2022 cr-v hybrid, 2017-2022 cr-v, 2017-2018, 2021 civic type r, 2017-2021 civic hatchback, 2016-2020 civic coupe, 2016-2022 civic, 2017-2022 accord hybrid, and 2016-2022 accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Lights: interior lighting
Risk: Vehicle lights that fail to illuminate can decrease visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the wiring and install a fuse harness, replace the lid light, and repair the body dust sealer, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed may 30, 2025. Owners may contact acura's customer service at 1-800-382-2238. Acura's number for this recall is fli. Vehicles included in this recall that were previously repaired under NHTSA recall number 19v-256 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2014-2020 acura mdx vehicles. Moisture may enter the tailgate lid light assembly and wiring harness, which can cause the interior and exterior lights to fail, including the lid lights, position lights, license plate lights and taillights.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed september 6, 2024. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are kgc and kgd. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21v-215 and 20v-314.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 honda accord, civic coupe, civic sedan, civic hatchback, civic type r, cr-v, hr-v, ridgeline, odyssey, acura ilx, mdx, mdx hybrid, rdx, rlx, tlx, 2019-2022 honda insight, passport, 2020 honda cr-v hybrid, 2018-2019 honda clarity phev, fit, and 2015-2020 honda accord hybrid, pilot, acura nsx vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed march 28, 2024. 2016-2017 acura mdx owner letters were mailed november 1, 2024. 2016-2020 acura mdx owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-december 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of march 18, 2024. 2015-2016 acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-december 2024, 2018 acura tlx owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of march/early april 2024, 2019 acura tlx owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-may 2024, 2020 acura tlx owner let
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016-2020 acura mdx, 2016 and 2018-2019 pilot, 2017 and 2019 ridgeline, and 2018-2019 odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
Engine: belts and associated pulleys
Risk: Teeth separation from the timing belt may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and replace any affected timing belt free of charge. Vehicles receiving a replacement timing belt will also have the engine inspected and any damaged components will be replaced for free. The recall began june 7, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is l4m. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is z4l.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2018-2019 acura mdx and honda pilot vehicles and 2019 acura rlx, rlx sport hybrid, tlx and honda odyssey and ridgeline vehicles. The timing belt teeth may separate from the belt.
Lights: exterior lighting
Risk: Loss of the taillights reduces the vehicle's visibility, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Acura will notify owners, and dealers will modify the tailgate lid lights and install updated gaskets and a wiring sub-harness or will replace both tailgate lid lights. The repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began may 7, 2019. Owners may contact acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is m49.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2014-2019 acura mdx and 2017-2019 acura mdx sport hybrid vehicles. Moisture may enter the tailgate lid lights, possibly causing a loss of the tailgate lid lights and the taillights.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Reduced fuel pump performance can result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the fuel injection engine control unit (fi-ecu) software and, if necessary, replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began march 25, 2019. Owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's recall number for this recall is p3w. Honda's recall number for this recall is n3x.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2016-2018 acura mdx, 2015-2019 acura tlx and 2015-2017 honda accord vehicles, equipped with a 3.5l v6 engine. Particulates in fuel may adhere to the internal components of the fuel pump, reducing its performance.
Brakes: caliper
Risk: A reduction of braking performance increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Owners will be notified, and honda or acura dealers will bleed the brakes, free of charge. The recall began december 11, 2018. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are c31 and l30.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 acura mdx, 2017-2018 acura mdx sport hybrid, 2018-2019 honda hr-v and honda odyssey, and 2016 honda hr-v vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating, causing gas pockets to form, reducing brake performance. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 135, "light vehicle brake systems."
Seats
Risk: In the event of a crash, if the seat does not remain secured to the floor, the seat occupant has an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat frame assembly in acura mdx vehicles, and replace the driver and front passenger seat slide rail frames in honda pilot and ridgeline vehicles, free of charge. The recall began may 30, 2018. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall is d0s, and t0t.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2018 honda pilot and ridgeline vehicles and 2018 acura mdx vehicles. The front driver and passenger powered seats in the honda vehicles and the driver powered seats in the acura vehicles may have been assembled with improperly manufactured rivets. In the event of a crash, the rivets can break causing the seats not to be secured to the floor. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 207, "seating systems," and 210, "seat belt assembly anchorages."
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
Engine failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5l v6 engine used in the following vehicles: model years (my) 2018-2020 acura tlx, my2016-2020 acura mdx, my2016-2020 honda pilot, my2018-2020 honda odyssey, and my2017-2019 honda ridgeline.â the subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a recall query (rq24013).â it was determined that these engine failures are outside the scope of honda recall 23v-751. Further, evidence gathered in conjunction with rq24013 does not suggest this failure is caused by the same crankshaft manufacturing defect that is addressed by honda in recall 23v-751.â based on analysis of data from rq24013,
No restart after auto start/stop engages
Summary
On june 3, 2022, the oï¬ce of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe22005 after the agency received voqs and several ï¬eld reports concerning the auto idle stop (ais) feature on 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traï¬c light or road intersection with the ais function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5l engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On january 6, 2023, honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016
Engine failure
Summary
On november 8, 2024, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened recall query rq24013 to assess the scope of honda recall 23v-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23v-751. In november 2023, honda recalled 248,999 various model year (my)2016â2020 honda and acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5l v6 engine. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a crankshaft manufacturing defect that caused premature connecting rod bearing wear and engine seizure. While the out-of-scope failures involved in these complaints appear to have a very similar failure mechanism as the recalled engines, a thorough analysis o
Questions about the 2018 Acura Mdx
- What are the most common problems with the 2018 Acura Mdx?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (54 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles); fuel system (51 complaints, typically around 57,500 miles); electrical (28 complaints, typically around 28,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2018 Acura Mdx have?
- 10 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 4, 2026 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2018 a bad year for the Acura Mdx?
- It is 11th of 25 Mdx model years by number of complaints, with 169 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.