2020 Acura MDX
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 221 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 4th highest complaint count among 24 MDX model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 4 involved a crash. 2 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, frame and membersJun 4, 2026
American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.
Campaign 26V365000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Exterior lightingApr 17, 2025
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles. Moisture may enter the tailgate lid light assembly and wiring harness, which can cause the interior and exterior lights to fail, including the lid lights, position lights, license plate lights and taillights.
Vehicle lights that fail to illuminate can decrease visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect the wiring and install a fuse harness, replace the lid light, and repair the body dust sealer, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 30, 2025. Owners may contact Acura's customer service at 1-800-382-2238. Acura's number for this recall is FLI. Vehicles included in this recall that were previously repaired under NHTSA recall number 19V-256 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Campaign 25V259000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerFeb 1, 2024
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
Campaign 24V064000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, hard parts internal/mechanicalNov 13, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early April 2024, 2019 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-May 2024, 2020 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-June 2024, and 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed January 27, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XG1 and GG0.
Campaign 23V751000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, master cylinderJun 29, 2023
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.
Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 23V458000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpMar 25, 2021
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.
Campaign 21V215000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: electrical system
39 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Engine, Dec 20, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle stalled and shifted into neutral. After shifting to the park, the vehicle was restarted and operated normally. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on numerous occasions while accelerating from a stop or while decelerating to a stop. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on multiple occasions and software updates had been performed, the battery and starter were replaced, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.
Electrical system, Dec 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle suddenly stalled. After which, the contact became aware that the vehicle briefly failed to detect that the key was present, preventing the vehicle from restarting. After a while, the vehicle was able to detect that the key was present, and the vehicle started. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.
Electrical system, Dec 4, 2023
I was on a bridge heading into a tunnel stopped due to traffic and the car shut off completely. The screen said to put the car in park and restart it. I tried several times and after a few attempts it started back up. This is the third time this happened. I had a recall when I purchased it and had the recall addressed for the same issue. Now I am back at Acura again. And being told I may have to pay for diagnostics. The car is still under warranty.
Electrical system, Nov 30, 2023
While coming to a stop the engine start stop engaged causing the engine to turn off completely and would not restart when the throttle was pressed . The transmission shifted into neutral and the push button start would not fire the engine. Car would not go back to park. After locking and unlocking the door 30 seconds later it reset and the engine refired. This occurred with traffic flowing behind me and caused the car to be placed in neutral and the driver having no control over the vehicle. If this had occurred in an intersection while turning, the driver and occupants of the vehicle could be in significant danger of an accident. I took the car to the Acura dealer the next day and was told they had several complaints of this kind but would need to duplicate the issue on my car to assist me. If they could not duplicate the issue then the could not help me. At this time, it has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There were several warning lamps that came on when the car turned off.
Electrical system, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 28, 2023
Auto braking system engaged abruptly, without necessity. This occurred twice (December 2022 and November 2023) almost causing collisions on both occasions. The dealer could not reproduce the problem when it was brought in in December 2022 and said this could occur if the sensors are dirty and to ensure they are always clean. I have since done so, and the same thing happened again. There were no warning signs for this error prior to it occuring.
Electrical system, Nov 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Acura MDX. The contact stated while stopped at a stop light, the vehicle failed to restart, and the contact became aware the Auto START/STOP function was not operating properly. After manually restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 23-008. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,500.
Electrical system, Oct 20, 2023
Our 2020 MDX we lease has lost electrical 3x since Sep 1. Once while sitting at a stoplight. Twice while turning at intersection. Each time, there was a complete power loss. When the car was moving, it quickly slowed to a stop in the road. In each case, it took a few minutes to get the car restarted due to being startled at what happened. I checked the battery cables, and they are tight. The radio settings were not lost, so I do not think it was a battery connection failure. We are not sure what to do with this as, while there are a lot of similar reports for acuras, there is no consistent diagnosis.
Electrical system, Sep 11, 2023
Purchased used vehicle from dealership last week who completed the outstanding recalls prior to picking it up. Vehicle only has ~7800 miles. Stopped in traffic for red light, engine idle turned on after applying brake fully and car completely died...would not turn back on and nothing worked, not even hazards which made it a very dangerous safety issue sitting in the middle of a busy street. Police would not wait for call to AAA for free tow due to current safety issue and had it towed to local towing company.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Aug 16, 2023
Multiple times when I have come to a stop (traffic light, stop sign, etc.) my MDX has shifted itself into "Neutral" and it appears the engine has cut off by the battery power is still on, my MDX will not shift back into "Drive" or "Park"; I then have to press then "Engine On" button multiple times to get the battery power to shut off and then I can restart my MDX and then my MDX will shift into "Drive." I took it to my Acura Dealer and they said they checked it and there was nothing wrong and they also told me there had not been any recalls on my MDX.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 21, 2023
We purchased a certified pre-owned Acura MDX 2020 in Feb of this year. In four separate instances, after the auto engine idle feature is on, the car stalls out and shuts off. Two of the four times this has happened on a highway causing extreme stress. When I lift my foot of the brake to start moving, the car shifts into park and I get a message that I need to start the car before I can move the car back into Drive. I have to keep pumping the breaks and pushing the on button multiple times before the car will restart. This is extremely dangerous, especially with our two little girls in the car. When trying to restart the car, a red battery light will show up on the screen very briefly but goes away. After the car is successfully started, there are no battery warnings. In normal situations, the car starts with no issues. We have a service appointment tomorrow to have this checked by Acura.
Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Service brakes, May 4, 2023, crash
While braking into a parking spot, vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration. Brake did not engage, car rapidly surged forward over parking block, sidewalk and hitting building. Previously in day, car would not recognized key fob, would not unlock and would not start even though stepping on brake that would not depress. I had no control over vehicle,and this could have hit pedestrians on sidewalk or storefront. Thankfully no one hurt, and did not occur in traffic or on the road. The dealership was contacted immediately, and they declined to inspect vehicle, codes or EDR statign that's not what they do. I have asked dealership 3 times. Insurance contacted immediately, and they to will not investigate, saying up to Honda and dealership. Honda stating they don't do investigations, and Insurance should do that. Round and round we go. No one assisting. Auto Body referred by dealership unable to investigate and do not have equipment to do so and stating dealership and Honda tech needs to do this investigation. Several messages displayed the day of incident prior to incident and electrical issues seem to have started immediately after recall or warranty work to reprogram auto stop function. First instance of electrical issue was on 4/1, when car would not open, or unlock even with new battery in key fob. This continued over next 3 weeks sporadically. 4/24 car would not start, displaying "must press down brake" to start, but brake would not depress. Finally worked. Same thing 4/25 in morning. In evening car would not unlock for some time, finally opened, then would not start displaying "Key fob not detected". Finally started. Message remained displayed. 15 min ,after, when parking, car accelerated forward without warning. This is a short summary, and a detailed summary is available. Vehicle remains untouched at autonomy hoping to get investigation completed. Too scared to drive this vehicle now..
Electrical system, Engine, Feb 11, 2023
My 2020 Acura MDX shuts down and shifts to Neutral while stopped with the auto shut off feature engaged. This happens intermittently and the only remedy is to shut the car off and restart. It only seems to occur when the auto shutoff feature is engaged.
Electrical system, Sep 1, 2022
Car will not restart from the Auto Idle Stop when at a stop light. The dash goes blank then flashes everything and it takes a minute or so to restart. It has happened 3-4 times in the last 6 months. Once on a 55 mph highway. Very dangerous safety issue. I have take it to the Acura dealership service department and they say diagnostics does not show why. However, They said it has happened to their TXL model and a software update was the solution and they are hopeful they will get on update soon. Service associate did say others have been calling in about the same issue. But do not know if Acura is working on a fix. I did report the incidents to the national Acura customer service department and have a case number.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 13, 2022
My car was stopped at a light with idle auto on. The car shut off and switched into neutral with check engines lights on the dash. I was not able to switch the car to drive. I had to restart the car. This has happened twice in 2 weeks at busy intersections. I have brought the car to the dealership but they are unable to replicate. There was no prior warning lamps or signs prior to this happening.