Torque converter issue (vibration/shudder/grinding between 20-50 MPH while accelerating). Acura recommends replacement of transmission and torque converter.
2002 Acura MDX transmission complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 126, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My vehicle is shuddering on the 2nd to 3rd gear upshift. Loss of power. This is occurring with greater and greater frequency, after just a short time of driving. I brought this to the attention of the dealer who advised that I would need a re-man transmission. When I asked about this being related to the known recall for this exact problem, they stated they would bring this up to the manufacturer. The manufacturer's reply was that they don't know me well enough, so they would not look into this any further, and would fix this defect. The dealer advised that the recall was closed for this vehicle, and that only an inspection was done; there was no jet kit installed, no transmission replacement done. They inspected, and sent it on its way, and now it is failing. I fear that the consequence of this known recalled defect not being corrected by the manufacturer, will be transmission lockup at speed, leading to a crash.
2002 acura mdx transmission failure, transmission failed at 71k miles and cut power from engine to wheels in the middle of the street. There are many reports of this similar thing happening to mdx owners. The transmission is defective!
Purchased a 2002 acura mdx based in large part on prior vehicle reliability found with acuras and hondas. Transmission on this $40,000+ vehicle, though properly flushed (ahead of mfg. Intervals) and maintained, failed at just over 110,000 miles and at 45 MPH with the car effectively "seizing", creating a road hazard. Acura dealer refused to cover the costs of repair, though '01-'02 mdx transmission failures are well-documented, and instead "generously offered" (after my goodwill complaint; their term) to knock off appx. 20% from the $4,300 replacement cost for the replacement transmission. Given this unit's known design problems and acura's incredibly short-sighted handling of the goodwill procedure (during which I volunteered to pay up to $2,500 of the new transmission's cost; ie over 50%), will never purchase another honda or acura product again.
Well I bout this car about a year ago at about 112k miles ..and was a proud owner of a 2002 acura mdx...was great for a while until I started noticing slow acceleration while pressing on the gas...thought nothing of it at first....took it for a service to acura dealership ...told the service dept about my issue and they are the once who recommended the 120k mi service made me forget about the reason I brought it in the first place ...now 3 mo later malfunction light came on at 128k mi and they tell me my transmission is going bad ....they knew this when I took it in the first time..but of course instead of telling me then they let me spend $2k on service and now telling me its going to cost me $5k for a new transmission ...thanks! I am pretty ticked coming to know that this issue has been ongoing for thousands of people and they are not doing a thing about it !
Power train:automatic transmission shudder or vibration between 35 and 40 MPH.[xxx] torque converter requires replacement. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The car will make a vibration sound at random intervals. It does not matter what speed you are driving at or the type of road. Additionally, it feels as though you are being pushed back by the wind when the vibration sound occurs. At this time no work has been completed on the car for the new noise. One repair shop concluded that it was the entire transmission that needed to be replaced. Another place feels it is the torque converter. The torque converter was already replaced once on this car due to a different noise. The car had to go to the shop three times to fix the first noise. The car was finally repaired after a week and after a new timing belt, tensioner and pulley, which had already been replaced. They also replaced the drive shaft, idler pulley and compressor belt .
Bought 02 mdx and have had no issues. Began noticing a stutter when accelerating. Never thought much of it since vehicle performance was never compromised. Recently check engine light came on and had code read. Informed it was a gear ratio mismatch. Call acura dealer and was informed I would need to replace the non-serviceable trany@ ~$2000! Researching, found reams of complaints for the same issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura mdx. The contact stated that the vehicle would shift gears independently. When shifted into reverse, the vehicle would abnormally accelerate forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was defective and would need to be replaced. The mechanic also stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission). The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 89,000.
2002 acura mdx frequently hesitates shifting at about 1200-1500 RPM. Problem began at around 110, 000 miles and expect it's the torque converter or faulty transmission that is so prominent with these vehicles.
I have a 2002 acura mdx. I was driving on the highway when suddenly my car jerked violently and the d5 began to flash. The transmission was locked at low gear and the check engine light went on. My car nearly ran over by a tractor truck. I went to the dealership and was told that the transmission and engine mounts are broken, which are systemic problems for 2001-2002 acura mdx models. However, acura would not be responsible for this manufacturing defect.
2002 mdx transmission shudder, vibrate, noisy between 20 to 40mph. Dealer install a/t oil jet kit to resolve the problem. However, the problem is not solved.
There has been an intermittent grinding noise and shudder in the transmission between 35-45 miles and hour in 5th gear. This is a known issue in acura mdx 2002 and has been issued a recall for other VIN # 's but mine is not included in the recall even though it has the same symptoms. I am worried that it will lock up and cause an accident but the dealer and acura have so far refused to fix the issue.
I have a 2002 acura mdx. I bought the vehicle brand new from the dealership and have had numerous components on it replaced, however the one item which has not been resolved is a shudder which I get in the vehicle when driving between 30 - 40 MPH. It appears to be a transmission issue, but the dealership has not dealt with the issue. The vehicle now has 100k miles on it, but the issue first arose at ~35k miles and was taken to the dealership numerous times while still under warranty with no resolution to the problem.
Auto transmission hesitate to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear and not all the time this happens. It occurs all of a sudden when? You never know.all acura mdx 01,02 should be pulled out of streets. Manufacturer should be accountable for that. It is a design problem not only it is hazardous for owners but also for other people.
2002 acura mdx - transmission noise. Purchased vehicle new from acura dealership in 2002. Maintained religiously as per manufactures specifications. Brought vehicle to dealership after hearing noise in transmission between 20-30mph. Vehicle mileage: 88,512. Dealership reported internal transmission failure - transmission needs to be replaced. Estimated cost: $4738. After receiving news, researched mdx transmission issues and found numerous complaints filed online about 2002 mdx transmissions, citing risk of transmission lock-up, and loss of control of vehicle for 2001 / 2002 mdx - posing a significant safety risk. Spoke with acura corporate. Per corporate - warranty expired at 50,000. Acura will only stand behind product within warranty. Acura does not consider us an "acura customer" and will not offer any good-will assistance on transmission because maintenance was not performed at acura dealership, despite offering service record history, and having a prior ownership history of acuras, and family ownership history of hondas and acuras. Acura representative indicated that we should have purchased an extended warranty when we bought the vehicle.
There has been numerous reports regarding the transmission 2001-2006 acura mdx . Many have stated that they have replaced transmission at least 2times .then acura wants to charge 4-5k to replace .there are several complaints listed on edmunds.com forum over 400 .I have also been affected by having a faulty transmission as well .s ome owners with very low mileage are affected.. Acura isn't owning up to the problem. How many people must result in a death to report this as a safety recall .
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura mdx. The contact stated that when she attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would not move and other times, the rpms would increase but the vehicle would still accelerate abnormally slow. The contact also experienced problems when shifting gears. The vehicle was previously repaired by an authorized dealer in 2004 under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission) and when the vehicle was returned to the contact, the dealer advised that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that because the vehicle was previously repaired under the recall, they could offer no further assistance. The failure mileage was 107,962 and the current mileage was approximately 108,000.
Torque converter shudder or vibration between 35-40 MPH.
The vehicle stalls whenever you stop moving because the transmission torque converter locks up and does not release.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 acura mdx. While driving approximately 45 MPH he could hear a rumbling noise coming from under the hood and the vehicle began to decelerate. Once the vehicle decelerated to approximately 25 MPH it began to drive as normal. The vehicle was not taken to be examined for the cause of failure but he was informed by an independent mechanic that he needs to replace the transmission. It was not repaired. The failure continues to intermittently recur. The failure mileage was 96,000 and the current mileage was 104,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura mdx. The contact stated that the transmission began slipping. The contact was able to locate a recall for the failure (the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v176000- power train: automatic transmission) but was advised by the dealer that his vehicle was outside of the mileage limitation of the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage and current mileage was 151,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura mdx. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle would independently slip into second gear causing the vehicle to hesitate. The contact located a the federal safety agency campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission) but was advised by the manufacturer that the vehicle was repaired under the recall by the previous owner. The manufacturer offered to cover fifty percent of the repairs. The contact did not believe the vehicle was repaired correctly when repaired under the recall. The failure and current mileages were 82,000.
Vehicle shutters on light acceleration. 2002 acura mdx. Dealer indicates I have a torque converter and pressure switch 4 problem.
I own a 2002 acura mdx with 130k miles. The transmission failed while I was in vacation 2 hours from my home. The car was towed to the local dealer and I was charged $4700 to have the transmission replaced. After doing some research on-line, I found that transmission failure on acura mdxs is a common problem. It is unacceptable that a premium car such as an acura should have such a high incidence of transmission failure. Acura should have recalled these vehicles given that the transmission could fail while one is driving leading to increased probability of a serious accident.
2002 acura mdx: for about 2 month's there seemed to be loss of power during driving. I assumed maybe I was wearing shoes with higher heels and passed it off as not pressing the gas pedal as hard as I thought. 2 weeks ago while driving the vehicle made a loud sound and loss forward motion power, the check engine light came on. We stopped and had the vehicle loaded on a car trailer to the nearest honda dealer (closer than an acura dealer). Now we are informed the tranny is needing replaced at 86,600 miles. Listed info on this vehicle by VIN is a 2004 recall of the 2nd gear which was fixed by the prior owner at about 42,000 miles and a search of the internet reveals many people reporting the similar tranny related problems. At this time we are waiting to hear if acura will help with the repairs estimated at over $4000 but others in online postings have stated they have had no luck with acura helping- we will see. This is a tremendous safety concern and disservice to consumers. We were lucky there were no other vehicles around at the point that ours went out.
On 4/2/2009 the front end of my 2002 acura mdx seized while driving 35 MPH locking up the front end causing the vehicle to skid 5-7 feet to a halt. It turns out the transmission that was suppose to be fixed per the recall under campaign number 04v176000 was the issue. It was a gear failure that resulted in transmission lockup. As there were no vehicles behind me when this happened an accident did not occur; however, this was an issue that was suppose to be addressed and it appears it wasn't. Acura states the issue was fixed in 2004 and after further investigation, it appears there are dozens of similar testimonials of this exact occurrence on online forums. Acura denied the existence of an issue and I feel this is a public safety concern that requires further action.
Truck started hesitating on the freeway at 70 MPH. Was almost hit from behind when truck made sudden jerk then hesitated.
I took the vehicle to the dealer b/c the vehicle was slowing down on the freeway and this noise that comes from the rear of the vehicle. After they inspected it they couldn't find the problem, so they had me take a service tech with me for a test ride. He told me that the torque converter needs to be replaced.
While driving at 65 MPH on highway during a vacation, car transmission light came on, starting smelling funny, read manual and it said if this light was on to pull over immediately - severe damage can occur if you keep driving. We pulled over in the middle of nowhere. Fluid had spilled out all over engine. They said that was from it overheating and boiling the fluid out. We sat for a while and let it cool down. The light went off, but we drove around 50 MPH on the highway the rest of our trip. The car resumed to work fine. However, we have constantly had issues with it slipping. We took to our mechanic and then to acura. Both parties at first didn't think anything was wrong, but then both said the transmission needed replacing. Acura would not give any discount, so we ended up going with the transmission repair company because it was only $2200 instead of $4500 by acura. Was without a car for two weeks. A few months later it began slipping again, so we took back and they repaired again, because this company offered a 12 month warranty. Again, was without a car for two weeks. Now 7 months later, was driving at night on busy road. I was braking coming up to a red light. The light changed, so I switched to push the gas pedal before I was fully stopped and the transmission completely went out and wouldn't engage at all. My car came to a complete stop in the middle of the red light and cars were swerving all around us to avoid hitting us. It was a miracle we weren't hurt. I put down to park, turned off car, and then it began working like nothing was wrong. Went back to transmission repair place and they said that nothing seemed wrong. They took apart twice and finally replaced out 5th gear even though it looked completely fine. They said they heard the whining noise, too, but couldn't find anything wrong. They did replace though and hoped this would fix it. We still hear the whining noise and now don't feel safe driving our family in this vehicle.
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