Tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura mdx. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact noticed fluid leaking continuously onto the road. Once the contact reached their destination, it was determined that a large quantity of transmission fluid had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who advised the contact that the failure was contributed to a faulty part within the radiator causing coolant to leak into the transmission. As a result, the transmission was damaged. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 163,000.
2003 Acura MDX transmission complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 104, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The ignition park-shift interlock has failed, allowing the ignition key to be removed from the ignition switch without the automatic transmission being shifted to park.
Automatic transmission shudder or vibration between 35 and 40 MPH.
While crossing an intersection, the transmission suddenly shifted to neutral and the car won't move anymore. Me and my family were trapped in the middle of a busy intersection and were almost hit by a truck because of our unexpected stop. We are lucky that the truck missed us. I can't imagine if this happens on a railroad crossing. This problem keeps happening from time to time, all in low speed like coasting to a stop sign or traffic light, also on highways when slowing down for traffic, then the vehicle won't move anymore. I heard that the acura/honda transmissions have serious defects, from lubrication to material used to make gears. Especially the material used for 1st gear, which fails prematurely and causes the transmission to malfunction. This is a very dangerous defect that could endanger not only the passengers' lives, but also a public safety issue.
Car just died while I was driving. Ended up stopping in a dangerous spot. Transmission fluid leaked out of front of car. No warning light came on.
Torque converter and transmission failed at 99600 miles, not to mention two motor mounts. These repairs are between $6-7k. This is unacceptable for a higher end car. Car would vibrate and shudder around 40 MPH a few years ago with only 35k miles on the car, and of course acura could not replicate. Now that it's out of warranty, they hear it. This car is a total lemon- please help protect consumers- honda/acura greed has stopped them from stepping forward and owning a problem they have known about all along. Consumers should not be paying for acura's flawed design, that should be coming straight out of their profits.
Driving on highway at 65mph and car goes into neutral. Had towed and it was a tranny. Car had 97k miles. Acura said it would not cover the repair and that it would cost me 6k to repair. I had it taken to a local shop and repair cost me 4k.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura mdx. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH and attempting to accelerate further, the vehicle would not shift into gear. There was an increase in engine rpms, but the vehicle stalled instead of accelerating. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and was awaiting a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 155,000.
My 2003 acura mdx had the transmission replaced at 44,000 miles. Around 80,000 miles I noticed the transmission failing again. Specifically the torque converter making the shudder and vibration again. I let me dealer know, but they did not detect an issue. Now at 102,000 miles and after my extended warranty has expired acura is expecting me to pay for 60% of the repair of a clear defect in the transmission of this year of the car. So far it has not caused an accident, but I am afraid to keep driving without performing the replacement.
My car along with many other acuras between 2001-2005 have a problem with a very significant shudder vibration that lasts a few secs, usually at speeds between 35-40. If you read the blogs you will see hundreds of other consumers say the same thing: acura says they can't replicate the noise. When the car is out of warranty, then suddenly they can replicate it and they say they have to replace either the torque converter or the entire transmission, charging $2000 +. This is a major problem and should have been a recall, please help us hold acura accountable for this known problem! These cars are too expensive for such a big problem so early on.
Transmission failure.
1. While attempting to accelerate at a busy 4-way intersection, my acura mdx refused to go into gear or accelerate. This caused me to obstruct traffic in the intersection, and could have easily caused a multi-car accident. 2. The car has intermittently refused to go into first gear for several months. Manually shifting it into gear would temporarily solve the problem. 23. We had the car towed to ron tonkin acura of portland. The service adviser informed us that the transmission needed to be replaced, and he had contacted acura to request a "goodwill" repair. 24 hours later, he called to inform us that acura refused his request due to the vehicle mileage. (120,000). Apparently acura's position is that the transmission should only last for 120k miles before needing replacement.
Purchased a used 03 acura mdx from a dealer on 4/22/11. I was driving the vehicle on a toll road (tx 121) and was traveling at around 65mph. Car started decelerating and would not go into gear. Almost had couple of accidents as there was no power to the drivetrain. Cars traveling behind me at 65mph+ were braking hard to avoid me. Vehicle towed to a transmission shop and they advised that it was transmission failure. Called acura customer care and contacted them also via twitter. They pretended that they did not know of issues with transmission despite my research which points to numerous defects in their transmission. Acura indicated initial intent to consider compensate for the cost of transmission repair. After submitting all repair and towing details/invoices, acura representative - sergio ramos - indicates that he will not consider any reimbursement. Acura manufactured and sold a vehicle that is known for faulty transmissions that have endangered my safety. I have tried working with acura to amicably solve this issue to no avail. Acura mdx is a potential hazard to public safety and potential deadly vehicle which acura fails to acknowledge and fix.
Some gear slippage for a few days prior when first get going in the morning. The day it finally went, it did it suddenly while going about 35 MPH. Felt like it kicked a gear or two making the car jerk violently almost causing an accident. I was only a block or so away from home, all the way home it would almost rev to redline while going about 10 MPH. The vehicle only has reverse now and I'm going to have to have it towed to a shop locally for a very expensive fix. If I would've had some one closer following me that day and with my kids in the far back I'm afraid to think of what might have happened except a lawsuit!
2003 mazda mdx transmission failed, and I was nearly killed when another car barely missed hitting (t boning, my car) my stopped car. My car went to shift into 2nd when the transmission failed, went into neutral, and came to a dead stop. The transmission fluid has been replaced twice in last year, dealer said it was dirty. This didn't make sense since its a closed system. Something must be braking down.
2003 acura mdx transmission failure. Vehicle started slipping out of gear, rpms shooting up. Vehicle jolting forward and then losing power. Was travelling with my family when suddenly the vehicle started revving and jumping forward and then bucking losing power. Very dangerous situation on main road with busy traffic. Was travelling at about 35mph at time of incident. Fortunately was able to coast over to side of road avoiding an accident. Am now told transmission needs to be replaced. 123,000 miles, have owned for 7 years and 2 months. No longer under warranty. Upset that acura seems aware of problems with 2003 transmissions since they had issues with 2001/02 models but will not admit to 03 models. Someone could get seriously injured by the way these vehicles malfunction when the transmission goes. Please follow up on this, it's a serious problem.
Bought used acura mdx 2003 in 2004 from carmax still under manufacturer warranty of 50,0000 miles. Have recurrent torque converter/ transmission problems. Car periodically grinds, shudders, and hesitates while driving around 25-40 MPH.... Causing near accidents several times. Replaced transmission with refurbished transmissions at approximately 53,000 miles in 2006, and again at approximately 61,900 miles in 2007. Now in jan. 2011@ approximately 119,000miles, acura dealer diagnosed the same torque converter problem requiring a third transmission replacement.... Basically, this 2003 acura mdx will have four transmissions in it's life time. This vehicle has been serviced per acura service schedule at primarily acura dealers.this is a major safety nightmare waiting to happen and as a concerned consumer and parent, request the government to investigate this safety issue and if warranted, warn the public of potential dangers.
As I was bring my husband home from major back surgery our 2003 acura mdx started to slip into neutral as we were leaving the hospital. This was one hour away from our home! In shifting through the gears, I finally got the transmission to catch at d3. This happened several times to us as we were traveling through a city and had to stop at several stop lights. Every time we stopped, it was the same scenario. D3 seemed to be the 'ticket' gear to get it to catch. I came home and made an appointment at a local garage. Thankfully I went to drop it off two days early, as the car completely stopped moving on our way to the garage and I had to call and have the vehicle towed. For a luxury vehicle, I am sadly disappointed as I love everything else about the car. I can't wait to see the price tag on this repair and for the number of complaints with the transmissions going bad, I would think that there would have been a recall by now.
I have a 2003 acura mdx with 108k miles as of dec 29, 2010. Two years ago around 80k miles, while my wife was driving with our kid, suddenly the engine lost power on highway 95. She had to rev up to 6000 RPM to keep the speed at 30 MPH. Acura dealer checked the transmission and said they found metallic particles in the transmission fluid, and the fluid was charred. They also said gear was slightly damaged, but told me to replace transmission fluid very frequently (more than recommendation). No one told me 2003 mdx has faulty transmission system. After 1 year at around 90k miles I changed the transmission fluid again. Now, three days ago, same transmission problem. Even at 25 MPH, the RPM goes suddenly to 5000 RPM at same acceleration pressure level. I checked the transmission fluid immediately. The transmission fluid level is perfectly fine. But fluid is black and charred particles, possibly metallic. Not supposed to happen for $40k luxury SUV at 80k miles and 108k miles. Dropped my car at local acura dealer hoping acura can replace transmission at their own cost. I already spent $1000 first time two years ago. Then I spend over $600 for 90k miles regular maintenance that included transmission fluid service. I am not spending again on the same stupid faulty transmission that acura should have notified all its customers in the first place. If they don't fix it at their own cost, I will never buy or recommend acura to anyone. Very very disappointed with acura.
While driving on a routine errand, the automatic transmission failed in the middle of the road. The car was not moving on shifting to drive. Found transmission fluid on the road under the vehicle.
Twice in the last 3 days, the transmission in my 2003 acura mdx spontaneously slipped into neutral, I.e., disengaged from drive and left me w/o power to the wheels. The shift lever remained in drive and had not been touched. The latter occurrence stranded me in the middle of an intersection with oncoming traffic. Several attempts at shifting into park and back into drive were required before drive actually engaged. An internet search easily turned up many similar instances in which 2003 mdx owners indicated that their transmissions intermittently disengaged from drive.
My 2003 acura mdx was vibrating/shuddering between 30-45mph. Dealer advised faulty torque converter @ $2,200. The 2001 & 2002 models were recalled for same issue. When torque converter fails, metal shavings can make their way into transmission, causing transmission failure. Acura is having ongoing repeated issues. Will they deny transmission issue at the expense of my families safety. Many with same vehicle have had some dangerous situations.
I was driving on I-75 when my transmission failed, car went from going 70mph to dropping all RPM's and driving as if it were in neutral. Torque converter had to be replaced, this was at 91,000 miles. Luckily, I had extended warranty or this would have been a $3,000 repair and could have been very dangerous if other cars were following closely when the transmission failed! A vehicle in this price range should not be failing so early. I am not at 93,000 miles and have an electrical issue when I turn the A/C on, all of my gauges are lost and the battery is drained, but the alternator and the battery have both been tested and are ok.
2003 acura mdx with 146,000 miles on it. Automatic transmission failed on saturday, august 18, 2010 three hours from home and 27 miles from a dealership.
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.
8/18/10 - while driving car begins acting like we are trying to accelerate while in neutral. We are able to get to a gas station, where we notice transmission fluid on the ground. We have it towed to a local honda dealership in dublin. They replace the transmission hose. 8/28/10 - driving on the interstate, car begins acting up again - same problem. We pull over immediately and have it towed to a different dealership in columbus. We are told we need to get a new transmission. Both times there were no warning signs of any problems. Once it started acting up, there was nothing that could be done except pull it away from traffic and have it towed.
This is related to the recent honda recall for ignition key issue. The same problem has been noticed on my acura 2003 mdx. There has not been any incident arising out of it because of my checks after switching off my car but some other people might not be lucky. The key sometimes comes out after switching the car off without moving the gear to park. This happens if done quickly. The date below is a approximate date since I know it happened 2-3 weeks back.
I just bought a 2003 acura mdx with 110,000 miles. I drove the car less than 15 miles and noticed a scraping noise coming from the rear. A little further down the road the vehicle bucked and then the d5 light started flashing. There was hesitation in between the gears. The vehicle is now in the shop getting a new transmission - I had it less than 20 minutes before it started having problems.
The transmission on my 2003 mdx has been slipping for about a year. I took it to the dealership 2x, but they weren't able to find the problem--couldn't get it to slip out of gear. Finally, last week, in 5:00 traffic, it stopped totally and I had to have it towed--the car was at 106,000 miles. Apparently, all the previous complaints helped me out b/c the honda national agreed to cover 2/3 of the cost of a new transmission (4355.00). I must say they have been great to work with so far, and I'm grateful they chipped in on the cost, although it's clear the 2003 mdx's have real transmission troubles.
2003 acura mdx. 105,000 miles. It was fully services at santa monica acura upto 90,000 miles. I was driving my in seattle, highway I-5 north bound. At 60 MPH speed, transmission just stopped totally. Vehicle ran freely. My 2 kids, wife were with me. It was scary as hell. I slowly changed lane in busy friday traffic, was able to go to shoulder. Called police, then aaa to tow the car to acura of bellevue. They said today, transmission gone bad. Wants $4000 to fix it. I called acura corp office. They have denied to cover any cost because this is out of warranty. 2001 & 2002 mdx had recall. With same transmission, this vehicle should have same problem. I can imagine a huge number of people fixing transmission on mdx vehicles; and acura not taking any responsibility. Please, someone, please take notice. And follow up on this case. This is a defective vehicle, acura should extend transmission warranty and cover all transmission failure costs of their vehicles.
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