2017 Acura MDX: check engine light

Filed Aug 6, 2026 · Engine · MD · fire

I was driving home late at night with my family in the car. The car suddenly loss power and the check engine light came on and began flashing. I pulled over and turned the car off and back on. The light went away. I began driving again and after a short while, a bunch of lights popped up on the dashboard and the car began to loose power again and started making weird rattling noises from the engine. Just moments before pulling over again I realized the car was on fire and evasively pulled over and frantically got my sleeping children out of the car and we created distance from the vehicle since it was on fire underneath. We called the fire department and they responded very quickly and put out the fire. We secured a few belongings and the children’s car seats and my brother in law picked us up. The car was towed from the scene. I called the incident into the insurance the next day and filed a claim. After a few days once the adjuster came out, it was determined that the insurance company would not be covering the claim because the cause of the fire was internal engine failure. It had shot a bearing cap through the oil pan and that is what caused the fire. I contacted Honda about the issue and have yet to hear back from them. This was over a month ago. I am now stuck repairing the vehicle on my own since I cannot afford to take the car to the dealer and I am mechanically inclined as it is what I do for a living. The car is currently in my garage and after taking the engine apart, I found that the main bearing for cylinder #6 had failed and in turn fell apart and broken the piston for that cylinder and the broken debris destroyed the engine block and even bent the valves on the from head for that cylinder. I now have to rebuild my entire engine with no warning whatsoever that this was going to happened. The car was maintained on schedule and nothing was ever overlooked or not performed. It was a great car until the engine decided to grandad itself out of nowhere.

Filed Aug 3, 2026 · Engine · IL

I was merging onto the highway and when I attempted to accelerate, the engine warning light began to flash and the car could not accelerate. The engine began to make a rattling noise. I called the dealer and they asked if I could make it there (it was about 25 miles away). I said I would try. As I got about 10 miles away the noise grew louder and the oil light came on. I immediately pulled over. The dealer said the engine blew the connecting rod and destroyed the engine and the engine would need to be replaced. The car just had all the fluids replaced by the dealer 3 weeks prior. All service work over the 10 years was done by the dealer.

Filed Jun 4, 2026 · Engine · 180,000 miles · MA

The contact stated that while driving, the engine made clunking noise, sudden loss of power and the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a connecting rod bearing failure and engine replacement is necessary. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Nov 14, 2025 · Engine · 93,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated that the dealer recommended that the timing belt be replaced. After the timing belt was replaced, there was a ticking sound coming from the vehicle while being started. The sound occurred while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was idling. The check engine warning light was illuminated while driving approximately 60 MPH. The contact pulled over, turned off, and restarted the vehicle, and the warning light was no longer illuminated. The vehicle was returned to the dealer, who diagnosed that the short block, bearings, and the oil pan needed to be replaced. The dealer recommended that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact learned of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

Filed Oct 24, 2025 · Engine · KS

I was driving my vehicle on the highway at 65 MPH when the engine light came on and began blinking- no other issues. I tried to pass a vehicle, and my vehicle would not accelerate, I was less than a mile from work. I called the dealership the same day and was able to take it in. When I called, I explained everything the dealership told me I could either tow it or try to drive it in. I went out to the car later and moved it from one parking lot to another and had no issues and no lights came on alerting something was wrong. Later in the day as I was driving 65 mph again on interstate, just as I was slowing down to get off all of the lights for everything came on and the engine was making a terrible knocking sound. I slowly pulled over and put my hazards on while driving 15/20 mph. I was near the dealership and was able to coast into the repair shop. Was informed the engine needed to be replaced due to a misfire on cylinder 2 and rod knock- most likely rod bearings and crank shaft issue with broken rod. We have an extended warranty so for a used engine found at a salvage yard won't cost much out of pocket with a similar amount of miles. Used engine will have 12K mile warranty/12months. The dealership has the engine- that info can be given upon request.

Filed Sep 11, 2025 · Engine · 64,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH on an interstate, the engine made an abnormal knocking sound, and the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart, but the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH, and the engine continued to make an abnormal knocking sound while driving. The contact drove to the nearest independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be serviced. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving out of State, which required the contact to stay in a hotel overnight. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, 500 miles away. The dealer determined that the cylinder #3 crankcase bearing had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered to pay for the labor, while the contact would pay for the parts. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Action Number: PE25008 (Engine). The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Filed Sep 9, 2025 · Engine · TX

On [XXX], while driving at approximately 50 mph on [XXX], the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of power accompanied by severe shuddering. Multiple warning lights illuminated on the dashboard, including the check engine light. The vehicle would momentarily regain power before failing again. This created a significant safety hazard, as I was unable to maintain speed or accelerate safely in traffic. The vehicle was immediately taken to Team Gillman & then transferred to Sterling McCall Acura located at Houston, TX. The dealership diagnosed a catastrophic internal engine failure, originating from the bottom end, requiring a full engine replacement. The vehicle's mileage at the time of failure was approximately 142,250 miles. This critical failure occurred without any prior warning. I am aware of the federal safety agency Investigation Number ODI PE25008 regarding faulty connecting rods in certain Acura and Honda vehicles, which can lead to sudden engine failure. While my vehicle's VIN was not included in the initial recall population, its symptoms and failure mode are identical to those described in the investigation. I requested that Acura address this known defect through a goodwill repair, given the clear correlation to an ongoing federal safety investigation. This request was formally denied June 2025. Given that the federal safety agency has expanded its investigation to include additional vehicles and model years, including that of my MDX, I am filing this complaint to ensure my vehicle and its specific failure data are included in the official the federal safety agency record. Urge the agency to compel American Honda Motor Co. to expand any subsequent recall to include my vehicle and others with identical failure patterns. The sudden nature of this engine failure presents an unacceptable safety risk to the driver, passengers, and the public. Thank you for your attention to this matter. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 9, 2025 · Engine · 111,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light was displayed, and the vehicle was driving rough and failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was slowly driven to the nearby local dealer who examined the engine and discovered metal shavings inside the oil pan. The contact was informed that the engine rod bearings had failed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V751000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 111,000.

Filed Apr 23, 2025 · Engine · TX

While driving on the interstate, the engine suddenly lost power and a lot of malfunction indicator lights turned on. Driver was able to pull over without incident. Mechanic reported the engine had failed due to loss of oil pressure. The engine had to be replaced.

Filed Jan 28, 2025 · Engine · 91,000 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2017 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the connecting rod bearings, resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 91,000.

Filed Jan 15, 2025 · Engine · VA

Based on a diagnosis by a 3rd party, this vehicle is affected by the issue identified in Part 573 Safety Recall Report, 23V‑751. The check engine lamp is flashing, the fault code associated with this issue is showing, there's a knocking sound coming from the engine, and the vehicle has decreased power when the check engine lamp is flashing. However, the VIN for this vehicle is not identified in the safety recall.

Filed Nov 27, 2023 · Transmission · NC

In October I noticed my engine knocking. It has always made a ticking sound so how long it might have knocked before we noticed I don’t know however in October it was clearly noticeable. The first thing I did was check my oil level and it was full. Over the several days it became more noticeable and one morning while driving my check engine light came on and the vehicle lost most(maybe 80%) of it’s power although it did continue running and I managed to make it home and immediately scheduled an appointment with Pecheles Honda to have it looked at. When I started the car the next morning the engine light was off and I drove it to the Honda dealership where I was told I would need a new engine. We regularly had the oil changed using synthetic oil and it never burned one drop of oil so I didn’t have any idea how or why it could have happened because it is very common for issues like this to occur due to low engine oil. Last week I learned of a recall on multiple Honda and Acura vehicles the same year and model as mine due to faulty rod bearings with symptoms exactly like I experienced only to find out that mine is not included in the recall. Right now it is sitting in my yard because I don’t have $10,000 to get the motor replaced. The Honda service manager and their best mechanic were at a loss at how the motor could have went so pre maturely. Something faulty had to have been put in that motor because I took great care of that car and never drove it hard. Before this car we had a 2003 Honda Pilot we owned for nearly 15 years with 300,000 miles on it that never had one issue the whole time we had it and this issue should not happen to 6 year old Acura’s. I wanted to document this issue and hope anyone else going through the same misfortune with these vehicles does the same.