2016 Acura MDX: harsh or hard shifting

Filed May 14, 2024 · Suspension · WA

Clunking in the front suspension drivers side consistent with a broken strut housing... just like on our last 3 Acura MDX's that had breaks in the Super Handling All Wheel Drive magnetic shocks.

Filed Aug 11, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · CO

On a multi-day road trip, the car had a temporary complete loss of power on two separate days. Both times this happened after several hours of driving at highway speeds on I-15 in California, outside temperatures were in the 90s. After a slight deceleration and then applying the accelerator again, there was a 'clunk' like sound possibly from the transmission, and then a complete loss of power. The first time I tried to pull over to the breakdown lane, and then regained power after about 2-3 seconds. The second time, we were in the middle of traffic and were not able to pull over, but again after 2-3 seconds, the power came back. The engine did not rev up when applying the accelerator and there were no dashboard lights. This appeared to be either a transmission, fuel delivery, or engine management/drive by wire issue. While we luckily did not get into an accident, we did slow down significantly on the highway, requiring other drivers around us to break, or change lanes. I have made an appointment with my independent mechanic, but the car has not been inspected yet and I am not able to forcibly reproduce the issue.

Filed Jul 12, 2022 · Transmission · FL

I have had the vehicle since beginning of March and I noticed the transmission slipping. I had the transmission flushed which made the problem not as bad but it was still there. A couple weeks later the transmission started slipping hard again and I had the transmission replaced by the dealer. I take it home and its shifting all over the place and not accelerating. Acura did a reprogram and I picked it up and the minute I left the dealer, it started to do a hard shift/slip between 4th and 5th gear that is not going away after a new transmission was put in. I'm not getting any warnings or lights, just the hard shifting that has caused me to return to the dealer on 3 separate occasions and now will be a 4th time. This can be dangerous because I do not know what the car will do at any given moment while I am driving.

Filed Oct 11, 2021 · Transmission · NC

Every since I've owned my 2016 Acura MDX I've had infrequent, and intermittent transmission issues. Several have been safety concerns: - Transmission is slow to engage when first pushing accelerator, leading to unexpected lag pulling into traffic - Transmission did not shift into park as expected, causing car to keep moving as I was opening door and starting to step out - Transmission slips and does not respond when accelerating to merge into fast lane on highway to pass slower traffic. Car speed stalls and you have to let off the gas and wait for a few seconds before the transmission reengages. - Overall horrible/hard shifting all the time... to which we're told... the car learns your driving style. We've reset it multiple times to try to get it to start learning again. No luck. - After coasting on highway, very hard shift with loud noise when you go to hit the accelerator All of these situations have happened numerous times over the past 2 years of owning this car. All of them infrequent, but also unexpected... leaving you to really worry if this is the time the transmission is going to let you down and cause you to wreck. Dealer now says a new transmission is needed, but I waited until 78,000 miles to first report it, so it's out of warranty now. Hoping Acura will step up and address this serious safety issue with the 9 speed transmission.

Filed Dec 19, 2019 · Lights, Suspension · 200 miles · CA

Vehicle acceleration is sluggish at stop and go. During highway speed, if transmission is in low cruising gear and you need to accelerate, transmission is sluggish. Issues was corrected at dealer. Dealer found 1 faulty transmission computer code. New symptoms after computer fix, over acceleration and harsh shift points. Dealer advised to drive 500 mile after computer reflash. Interior light do not dim after a few seconds. Interior lights will not turn off regardless of locking vehicle. Rear suspension has a 0.55 camber difference, vehicle has 26,765 miles. I asked dealership service to look at this issue. Dealer never advised on issues.

Filed Dec 2, 2019 · Acceleration, Transmission · 34,700 miles · NC

November 10, 2019 traveling on highway at ~65 MPH, pressed accelerator to pass car and vehicle would not speed up...felt like the car was in neutral. After about 7 to 10 seconds the transmission finally kicked in and the car accelerated. If this happened on a 2 lane road the lack of transmission delivering power to wheels could have resulted in a head on collision. Service apt scheduled with acura dealership where purchased and was told they could find no 'codes' or alerts in cars computer and that they found nothing wrong. The did say they reprogrammed the transmission software...but they have done that 2 other times. Car has only 35k miles on it and we have brought car into acura dealership 4 times to address the harsh shifting of transmission and told them each time we felt it was a serious safety concern. The above incident of no power when attempting to pass on highway is the first time that has happened..but is a very serious concern. We were told for the 3rd time that the harsh shifting and gear-wandering was a 'characteristic' of this make / model car and that acura has been trying to address the issue with transmission software updates. I have seen many online complaints of the "gear-wandering' transmission issue online and have also read similar safety complaints of car losing transmission power at highway speeds. Please thoughtfully review this complaint and contact me if you need additional information. We firmly believe that the known reported issues of the 2016 acura mdx shawd transmission problems are a huge safety issue. This 7 seater SUV is driven by many families!

Filed Oct 27, 2019 · Suspension · 37,768 miles · CA

The front driver side suspension is making a clunking sound when driving over a speedbump or potholes or when turning. The vehicle sways- pitching and rolling.

Filed Aug 10, 2019 · Transmission · 27,961 miles · MN

Purchased the car 7/6/2019 used with 26,943 miles. At 27,961 miles I was driving on the freeway in stop and go traffic. Pressed on the accelerator after a stop and the car jerked and I heard a loud "clunk". Warning lights appeared for "transmission system problem" and "blind spot warning malfunction". The car seemed to stay in first or second gear as I slowly exited the freeway at high RPM. Had it towed to the acura dealer. Transmission replaced as a result.

Filed Dec 5, 2018 · Transmission · IL

The 9 speed transmission on this car is terrible. Hard shifting, lunging forward, the car accelerates on it's own like it doesn't know which gear it should be in. When accelerating, the car hesitates and feels like it loses power. This is a very dangerous vehicle. Took it to the dealer several times and they say this is the way the car was designed. It was done to meet fuel efficiency standards. Acura is sacrificing safety and comfort in order to meet the fuel standards.

Filed Aug 2, 2016 · Transmission · 10,000 miles · MN

We purchased a 2016 acura mdx with sh-awd. Within the first few weeks we noticed the transmission shifts were jerky and erratic. Most of the problems occurred when driving blow 40 MPH. The vehicle also lunges forward unexpectedly when decelerating while your foot is off the gas pedal. It feels as if the car downshifts and you get some unexpected accelerating. We had issues with the transmission since the first few weeks, the dealership kept saying that it is an 'adaptive transmission' and will get better after time. After a few months, things only got worse. The transmission would make a loud metal on metal noise when starting the car up. The vehicle was in the dealership for almost 3 weeks before they could identify and fix the problem. They ended up replacing the entire transmission december 2015 and we had to go back to have the transmission adjusted as it was shifting so hard that you would hear a clunk. The vehicle has never been the same and it does not feel safe to drive, especially in the winter. We are very careful when coming to a stop because you never know if it will suddenly lunge forward. Now 8 months after having the transmission replaced, the same noise is coming back. The car is back in the dealership and they were able to replicate the sound again. However, now they are telling us that it's a characteristic of the transmission and that 40-50% of all mdx's with the 9 speed auto will develop this noise! They say it is due to the fluid building up at the bottom of the transmission and when it starts up the fluid gets pushed through all the gears. It sounds more like metal on metal to me and why was the noise not there prior and always develops after 6-8 months? I have not seen anything online regarding this noise that supposedly occurs to 40-50% of mdxs.

Filed Jul 13, 2015 · Transmission · 2,000 miles · MD

The 9 speed zf transmission has unpredictable behavior including: delayed shifting leading to pauses in power, delayed down shift during attempts at highway speed acceleration, jerky shifts, car remains in neutral when shifting from drive to reverse. Very unsafe condition due to unpredictable effects on speed and car control. This is now a widespread problem affecting the same transmission in jeep, chrysler, and acura models. The acura tlx has previously been described with this problem. Now the same transmission has been included in the 2016 mdx with the same out come......updated 10/20/15 *bf the consumer stated the transmission was replaced. Updated 12/17/15.