While sitting stopped at a red light, the brake pedal suddenly became soft and the vehicle began moving. As I rushed to depress the pedal further (all the way to the floorboard - which did not stop the car) the car rolled forward and collided with the car in front of us causing damage to both vehicles. If the other car had not been in front of us we would have rolled directly into heavy active cross traffic which would have caused significant harm to all inside. My daughter, niece, and 8 month old grand-niece were with me in the car.
2020 Acura MDX brakes problems
15 complaints (7% of all complaints for this car). 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 15
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Pedals and linkages1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Acura MDX brakes problems in other years
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
- Risk
- Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
Recall number 23V458000 · Recall details
What 2020 Acura MDX owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The following issues occur on a 2020 Acura MDX with low 50k miles, maintenance was done regular whenever a maintenance schedule appear. For the past few years after purchasing the vehicle we started getting a non-start engine with the key fobs and automatic side mirrors did not open or close when parked. Brand new batteries were replace for the key fob and later the Car Battery and the issue occurs intermittently, this was brought to the attention of the dealership and each time (documented) that they were not able to reproduce when they turned off the vehicle, this was mid 2024 06-13-2024 and sporadically continues till this year 2026. The dealership did not test or trace the electrical system as they were told to reproduce the issue first as it will happen at that moment. A new recent event 2025 has also occur and was brought to the dealerships attention, a warning message indicating - Electric Parking Brake Problem follow by a Emissions System Problem will appear. This was also "reset" by the dealership and indicated it was safe to drive but event reoccurs every few months. A 2nd opinion to another mechanic indicated it can be the emergency brake system to be faulty and driving the vehicle when the message appears may cause an immediate stop, advised us to have the dealership reach out to the manufacture. No word from either for the past year. Any open recall for my VIN was done once we were notified and a New Car Battery replaced and new batteries in key fobs - issue continues. Please assist Thank you
Car started to accelerate randomly and 2 seperate occasions while driving, Car started to decelerate / Brake randomly while driving
I was at a red light with the idle stop automatically triggered. When the light turned green, and I pressed the accelerate pedal, the car would not move. I looked and saw the car had shifted itself to N (neutral) when it should have stayed at D (drive). I pressed the "D" button to drive but it stayed in N. There was a green light around the N button indicating the selected button. I had to turn off the car, turn on the car two times before the car recognized I wanted to press the "D" button. The screen by the steering wheel had some sort of message but I don't recall what it said. The word "accessory" might have been part of the message. This is absolutely a safety risk for myself and others. I had cars behind me at the green light honking. I had to turn on the hazard lights and wave to them out the window. If the driver before me did not pay attention, they could have hit me. This is the second time this has happened.
Electric parking break and emissions light keep popping up. They says it’s the catalytic converter many people having the same issue
emission system problem & electric parking brake problem codes came up. Once pulled over vehicle would not disengage the emergency parking brake.
MALFUNCTION: ROAD MITIGATION SYSTEM FAILED (RDM), LANE KEEPING ASSIST SYSTEM (LKAS) FAILED, and CRUSE CONTROL FAILED, after investigating the issue this is happening with multiple vehicles. SAFETY: YES, these all failed at the same time, poses significant safety issues for the diver, passengers, and other drivers due to nature of failure. CONFORMATION: at this time no inspection of the vehicle has transpired. NO OTHER WANING LAMPS OR MESSAGES, prior to suddenly showing up today 6/18/25
My vehicle will phantom brake and kick on the automatic emergency brake system without cause. It has done it as I was accelerating onto the freeway onramp and almost caused a collision with the vehicle behind me. There was nothing in front of me and no reason to brake. It has happened on several occAsions
1.17.25 My check engine light came on with the following lights: Emissions System Problem Electric Parking Brake Problem
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the engine did not restart after releasing the brake pedal. While attempting the restart the vehicle, the brake pedal was very hard while depressed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was previously repaired at the local dealer and a software update was performed but the failure persisted. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 6,000.
Questions about the 2020 Acura MDX brakes
Does the 2020 Acura MDX have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 15 complaints about the brakes of the 2020 Acura MDX, 7% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2020 Acura MDX brakes problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 2020 Acura MDX brakes?
Yes, 1 recall: 23V458000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Acura MDX have bad brakes?
The Acura MDX model years with the most brakes complaints are 2014 (26 complaints), 2017 (23 complaints) and 2022 (18 complaints).
Other 2020 Acura MDX problems
Engine 105Electrical 42Driver assistance 38Fuel system 23Transmission 21Acceleration 14Lights 7Airbags 5Steering 4Visibility 4Seats 3Suspension 3Tires 2Wheels 2Body 1Seat belts 1
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