2023 Acura MDX problems & reliability
39 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Acura MDX, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
1 complaint report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2023 Acura MDX vehicles were involved in 6 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 10 | 26% |
| Electrical System | 8 | 21% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 7 | 18% |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 15% |
| Steering | 4 | 10% |
| Unknown / Other | 4 | 10% |
| Suspension | 3 | 8% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 8% |
| Equipment | 2 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 17 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Was exiting I275 onto Westbound Route 32 when the brakes were unexpectedly applied by the vehicle’s safety system. No vehicles were in front or beside me. Very alarming when it happened. This also happed two other times at slower speeds.”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Sep 4, 2026
“2023 ACURA MDX TYPE S. 28k miles. While merging onto highway, I sped up and at 25 mph, I heard a loud metal clunk from underneath the car. Car still drove and functioned as a two wheel drive instead of AWD. Went in for service and was told that the transmission and Power train Unit would need to be replaced and will…”
Power Train · filed Aug 23, 2026
“Was driving arround corner and felt a shudder like I had run over something, the felt front tires loosing traction and car jerked into next lane. Took to dealer and they diagnosed a failure of output shaft from transmission to awd transfer case, currently at dealer getting transmission awd assembly replaced.”
Power Train · filed Aug 14, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- All wheel drive allegation
Defect Petition DP26001 · opened Mar 6, 2026 · closed Aug 4, 2026
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engineering Analysis EA25004 · opened Mar 26, 2025 · open
Technical service bulletins
127 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2023 Acura MDX. The 10 most recent:
Tech Line Summary Article - Customers are complaining of a clicking noise from front of vehicle while turning at low speeds. This is a temporary solution to address the issue.
BBTS28851 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 18, 2026
"Service Bulletin - A pop noise can occur from the rear roof area when turning into driveways, bumps, or on an incline due to, in some cases, the panoramic roof frame mounting bolts are unable to maintain the necessary…
B23-004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 17, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 MDXs with a client complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may or…
BTI&07312025903 · Other · issued Aug 1, 2025
Tech Line Summary - Customers are complaining of a clicking noise from front of vehicle while turning at low speeds. This is a temporary solution to address the issue.
BBTS28851 · Other · issued Jul 17, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 MDXs with a client complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may or…
BTI&07152025901 · Other · issued Jul 15, 2025
Service Bulletin - Customers are experiencing screeching, squeaking, rubbing, or scraping from the rear wheel area due to rocks are getting caught between the rear brake disk and splash guard.
B24-025 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 MDXs with a client complaint of a front suspension noise while turning left and/or right. The noise can be described as a…
BTI&05272025901 · Other · issued May 27, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 MDX with a client complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may or…
BTI&05212025902 · Other · issued May 21, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2025 RDXs and 2022-2025 MDXs with a client complaint of a pop noise in the rear sunroof area. Clients may describe a single pop noise…
BTI&05092025901 · Other · issued May 10, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2025 RDXs and 2022-2025 MDXs with a client complaint of a pop noise in the rear sunroof area. Clients may describe a single pop noise…
BTI&04252025901 · Other · issued Apr 25, 2025
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2023 Acura MDX has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2023 Acura MDX?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.