2025 Acura MDX
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 107 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 13th highest complaint count among 24 MDX model years with reports.
Of the 2025 reports, 2 involved a crash. 5 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
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
Service brakes, hydraulic, pedals and linkagesJun 12, 2025
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021-2025 Acura TLX, 2023-2025 Acura MDX, and 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles. The brake pedal pivot pin was not secured properly, which can cause the pedal to shift out of position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
A brake pedal that shifts out of position can prevent the driver from applying the brakes as intended, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will inspect and replace the brake pedal assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 29, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are FLX and XLY.
Campaign 25V391000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, softwareJan 23, 2025
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2025 Acura MDX vehicles. The touchscreen in the center console may go blank, resulting in the rearview camera image not displaying as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the center information display unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is RKZ.
Campaign 25V032000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
65 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jun 28, 2026
No restart after auto idle stop - Car fails to restart automatically after stop and releasing the brake pedal. This has happened on a number of occasions in the last few months.This can cause a dangerous condition that can can cause an accident if stopped in an intersection or a rear end collision as the driver behind assumes the vehicle will move but does not. Car has to be shut off to restart.
Electrical system, Engine, Jun 26, 2026
2025 Acura MDX will turn off with the auto on/off feature at red light but has had issue several times with turning back on. The car turns completely off and have to push start button to turn back on. On one occasion the same issue happened but would not immediately start with the push start again.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 21, 2026
Randomly when auto/start stop feature engages and shuts down the engine when I let go off the brake the engine doesn't restart and a system problem message show up on the dash. Have to shut down the car and restart for the engine to start running again.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, May 22, 2026
My Vehicle is having an issue with the idle stop feature. Multiple times when stopped at a red light or when idle the car stops and will not turn back on. I have to turn the car off completely open the door to simulate leaving the car, wait a minute then start the car again to be able to move.
Electrical system, Engine, May 20, 2026
the car shuts off at a red light, fails to auto-restart, forces the car into Park, and requires a full manual reboot or jumpstart while stuck in moving traffic. It also struggles to turn on at times mimicking a drained battery. I am needing to deactivate the auto start/stop feature in order for the vehicle to properly function. Vehicle will not start when parked at times.
Electrical system, Engine, May 18, 2026
Description of Incident: While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near a shopping district, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the Engine Start/Stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes. I had to call the cops for a patrol car because other cars were piling up behind me and I had my 6 month old son in the vehicle. Safety Impact: During this time, I was unable to move the vehicle from a live traffic intersection. This created an immediate safety hazard to myself, my family, and other drivers.
Engine, May 18, 2026
While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near an airport, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the Engine Start/Stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes before the vehicle finally restarted and allowed me to shift into Drive. I was the first car in the lane, so people kept piling up and honking behind me.
Electrical system, Engine, May 13, 2026
The auto idle stop feature will kick in at red lights, shutting the engine down. However, every approximate 1 out of 10 times the engine and electrical system fully shut down when I try to start the car moving again. The car can then not be restarted for close to a minute. This results in not being able to move when the light turns green and is dangerous is heavy traffic areas.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, May 10, 2026
Car engine turns off at a red light, by turn off I mean completely turned off, not just silent. And takes a couple of attempts to restart the car before the engine turns on again. This has happened over 5 or 6 times over the last 3 months, however yesterday (May 9, 2026) it happened twice within the hour. Luckily, I have not been involved in an accident because of this, but I'm concerned that it's easy to imagine a scenario where someone will be rear-ended. Please issue a safety recall for Acura to fix this issue.
Electrical system, Engine, May 4, 2026
Last year, my 2025 Acura MDX was repaired under warranty for a known starter issue that is affecting all 2025+ MDX models. The issue is that the vehicle will stall or fail to start on random occasions leaving drivers stranded or stopped in traffic unable to move their vehicle. Honda and Acura are well aware of the fact that this is an issue, yet they continue to produce these vehicles with the same parts. This repair took several attempts and the dealership refused to even diagnose the issue for several months causing me to have to record each instance on my phone for proof. Once they eventually replaced the starter, the issue went away for approximately 10 months. Today, however, I was temporarily left stranded at a gas pump as my vehicle would not start. Honda and Acura dealerships are replacing these parts with the exact same part number, so the no-start condition comes back in about a year or less. It is incredibly dangerous to have a vehicle that you cannot move as anticipated, or if you’re in an area that you cannot leave or get away from potential danger because your vehicle won’t start. This is a less-than two-year-old vehicle that has now left me stranded on several occasions including in the middle of traffic on a motorway. I know for a fact that several other owners of the Acura MDX are having the exact same issue and ask that you please launch an investigation into this as Honda is well aware of it and still refuses to address the blatant safety risk it poses to its customers.
Electrical system, Engine, Lane departure, May 4, 2026
Engine stalls when at intersection and the engine cuts off at idle and fails to start back up when you remove your foot from the break. Can have keep lane assist enable. KLAS mode narrow, you have to fight the wheel to maintain control of the vehicle, formal mode is a 50/50 chance it works, wide you can sift right off the road for 5-10 secs before to realize your off the road. Steer wheel control button intermittently fail and stop being able to control the midi instrument panel and infotainment system. I believe there is a systematic electrical issue in the car. They attempted to fix this by replacing a starter which hasn’t because the engine stalled at an intersection again and on cold start this morning 5/4 at the same intersection as this is by my girlfriends apartment.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, May 4, 2026
While stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle had auto shut off normally. However when I released the brake and pushed the gas it unexpectedly stalled and shut off without warning. When attempting to restart the vehicle, it would not start again. There were no prior warning indicators or messages suggesting an imminent issue. This created a hazardous situation as the vehicle was disabled in an active traffic lane. After several attempts, the vehicle either restarted after having set the emergency brake. The failure appears to be sudden and without driver input, raising concerns about reliability and safety in traffic conditions.
Electrical system, Engine, May 3, 2026
Vehicle is equipped with start stop system and we have had multiple instances where we come to a stop , and the car will not restart. In the latest instance, we pulled up to stoplight, the start stops system engaged shutting off the engine then wouldn't restart. Car also wouldn't turn completely off, so I had to hit the flashers at the busy intersection, try to get the car into park, then shut completely down, then restart the car. It also struggled to restart as if the battery was dying. In this instance most dash lights come on, but it appears to be an engine, electrical, and software issue. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealer multiple times, and in once instance they said the issue was caused by a bad battery, mind you the car is slightly over a year old. This latest time, they claimed that the battery was good and no issues were found. This issue continues to put me and my family at risk by leaving us disabled in the middle of traffic especially when it has happened near exiting the freeway,
Engine, May 1, 2026
I am reporting a serious safety defect involving repeated engine stalling and failure to restart associated with the auto idle stop/start system on a 2025 Acura MDX. The vehicle was leased in December 2024. Beginning in late summer and early fall of 2025, the vehicle intermittently shut off at stops and failed to restart when releasing the brake. This resulted in the vehicle becoming unresponsive in active traffic conditions, creating a significant safety hazard. The vehicle was presented to an authorized dealer for this issue on multiple occasions: August 15, 2025 September 9, 2025 October 31, 2025 After repeated unsuccessful attempts to diagnose and repair the condition, the dealer ultimately replaced the starter on October 31, 2025. This repair did not permanently resolve the issue. In April 2026, the vehicle again began exhibiting hesitation and delayed engine restart following auto idle stop events. On April 30, 2026, the vehicle stalled again, demonstrating that the defect persists despite prior repair efforts. This condition is intermittent and unpredictable, which increases the risk, as the vehicle may fail to restart when entering or crossing intersections or when moving with traffic. The inability of the vehicle to reliably restart creates a clear safety concern. Given the repeated repair attempts and recurrence of the defect, this appears to be a systemic issue rather than an isolated component failure.
Engine, Apr 29, 2026
The vehicle is designed to shut off at a stoplight and restart when your foot leaves the brake, or the steering wheel is moved. On multiple occasions, the vehicle turns itself off (typically at a red traffic light) only to not restart. Driver must manually put the vehicle into park, and try to restart it using the traditional push button (IN TRAFFIC). This is horribly dangerous even if it takes just a few seconds to do. The Acura dealership maintains that there is nothing they can do. Simple internet searches indicate that it's a wider issue than my own vehicle, so I am reporting my issue to you.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 20, 2026
We have had multiple incidents when the car is at a stop light with the idle stop not active, the vehicle engine will just die. The light turns green and the vehicle is not running, it will take multiple times pushing the start button for it to start back up. This has resulted in multiple almost rear end incidents due to other drivers assuming we would go when light turned green. More recently this weekend on a trip from Columbus OH to St. Louis MO; stopped to get gas east of Indianapolis, after pumping gas the vehicle would not restart. It took multiple tries to get it to restart; this happened again the following day at a stop during the day at a shopping center, we ran in to get subs for lunch, came back out, would not start, I have a video of the sound and flashing lights but I can't upload a video here.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 4, 2026
Incident 1 (Loss of Propulsion in Traffic) - 12/16/25 The vehicle failed to restart immediately after the auto start-stop system attempted to re-engage the engine. Upon attempting to accelerate, the engine did not restart, resulting in a complete loss of propulsion while in active traffic. The vehicle became temporarily inoperable and unresponsive, creating a hazardous condition with elevated risk of rear-end collision and inability to safely clear traffic or intersections. Incident 2 (Failure to Start – Reliability Concern) - 4/1/26 On a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start entirely upon initial startup (first use of the day). The engine did not turn over as expected, rendering the vehicle inoperable. This incident raises significant concerns about system reliability and dependability, particularly given its occurrence independent of the auto start-stop event. Safety Concern: The first incident demonstrates a critical safety defect involving unexpected loss of propulsion in live traffic conditions. The second incident, while occurring at startup, indicates a broader pattern of failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to reliably start and operate. Together, these incidents suggest a potential defect in the starting/ignition or auto start-stop system that may compromise safe vehicle operation and increase the risk of crash or stranding.
Electrical system, Engine, Mar 29, 2026
Hello… this has happened at least four times.. the car goes to stand by/idle mode when the auto shut off is engaged. I was at a light and car went to idle and when it goes to green. Car just goes to idle mode. I had to put hazards on and restart car. People honking while I’m trying to restart car from this state. It’s like the car does not return on after the gas is engaged.
Engine, Mar 28, 2026
When the auto start stop engages my car will shut down and then it takes a minute or two for it to restart. This has happened several times. I reported it to Acura previously and no action was taken. It’s difficult to replicate because it doesn’t happen every time. It’s unsafe and scary because it will happen at stop signs, or in traffic and with my children in the car. It just happened about 5 mins ago while in traffic and I remembered to report this.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Electrical system, Engine, Mar 25, 2026
The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle bucked for approximately 3-seconds before the vehicle stalled. The hazards were activated, the vehicle was turned off, and the contact waited before restarting the vehicle. While restarting the vehicle, several warning lights quickly flashed, and the vehicle failed to exceed 4 MPH while driving to the nearest parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V031000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000. The VIN was not available.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 17, 2026
Car stalls at idle. Auto Idle does not allow engine to restart from stop. Creating dangerous situations when on highway traffic, traveling around town and more. 2025 MDX, 21,000 Miles Nov 2025 at 14,500 miles reported issue after experiencing intermittently for a few months. Filters replaced, software updated Dec 2025 issue still occurring battery replaced March 2026 issue still occurring starter being replaced Technician at dealership did not seem confident that replacing the starter will remedy this issue.
Electrical system, Engine, Mar 7, 2026
There are times when my car comes to a stop shuts off ( auto off) then will not turn back on. This has happened numerous times. The dealers states that this a battery problem
Electrical system, Engine, Mar 6, 2026
On several occasions, when the vehicle has been driving and comes to a stop in traffic. the auto start stop kills the engine when the brake is fully depressed. When we take our foot off the brake the engine will not start and a notification is shown on the dash. to start the engine push brake and ignition button. When we follow those directions the it does not start the engine. It usually requires us to release brake several times and continue to push start button. This issue has almost caused two accidents because we are stuck and the traffic behind does not see brake lights, because we have to release the brake. This occurred on the interstate in heavy traffic, and was almost struck from behind by a vehicle traveling at interstate speed, because all vehicles went around us and the upcoming vehicle did to see brake lights.
Engine, Mar 4, 2026
2025 Acura MDX failed to restart after an auto-idle stop at a light in heavy traffic. Second time this has happened and dealer has not resolved
Engine, Feb 8, 2026
My 2025 Acura MDX (under 10,000 miles) has failed to restart after the automatic idle stop engaged at stoplights and drive-thru lines at least 7 separate times. When I release the brake, the engine often remains off and the vehicle will not move, leaving me stopped in traffic. I have not yet required a jump start, but on several occasions the vehicle came very close to not restarting at all. This most recently occurred at a sandwich shop drive-thru. These incidents occurred in normal drive mode and in normal weather conditions. No abnormal driving conditions were present when the failures happened. Other owners online report the same problem, with some needing to carry jumper cables. I believe this is a serious safety risk because the vehicle can stall unexpectedly in intersections and traffic when the auto stop-start system activates. I am now concerned about relying on this vehicle in traffic because I cannot trust it to restart when stopped.