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Acura · NHTSA safety record

2013 Acura MDX

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 30 safety complaints about the 2013 Acura MDX with the US government. Of those, 3 mention a fire and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the gasoline fuel system.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 9 complaints, 30% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 50,000 miles, the median across the 19 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers June 2013 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

30 complaints on file

30

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

3

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 9 · 30%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 · 27%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 · 17%
POWER TRAIN 4 · 13%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 10%
STEERING 3 · 10%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 10%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 7%
AIR BAGS 1 · 3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 3%
EQUIPMENT 1 · 3%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 30.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2014 at 4.

8 6 4 2
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2013 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2013 Acura MDX, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV 4WD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 14.0%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

23V858000 · December 18, 2023

The defect
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.
The risk
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
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.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 2,490,460 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE

fire · 36,000 miles

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE AND INTO THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES. A FIRE REPORT WAS FILED AND STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 10680786. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

Internal vehicle fire started around front passenger seat and burned for an unknown amount time before it extinguished on its own while vehicle was off and parked. Fire department was contacted upon fire discovery and they confirmed it was out, could be electrically related, and disconnected my battery Vehicle is available for inspection for the time being (pending insurance). If I or any passenger was in the vehicle they could've been seriously injured or died. There were no warning lamps or issues of any prior problem.

NHTSA complaint 11439625. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 158,000 miles

The contact owns a 2013 Acura MDX. The contact stated that he was about to drive the vehicle when he noticed the front passenger-side headlight was flickering. The contact stated he decided not to drive the vehicle. The contact stated when he looked at the vehicle again he noticed the vehicle was on fire from the passenger side headlight. The contact stated a fire report was filed and the contact was informed that the fire origin was due to an electrical malfunction. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

NHTSA complaint 11554069. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP:CONTROL/DRIVE MODULE

towed · 161,500 miles

The contact owns a 2013 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact was able to steer the vehicle to the side of the road. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The contact disconnected the negative battery terminal and replaced the battery, and the vehicle restarted an hour later; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to three independent mechanics to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the fuel pump module had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving at various speeds. The

NHTSA complaint 11767422, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The car is giving external right head light issue. The light turns off suddenly at night which we need to turn on again after 2 minutes. This happens frequently and we have to turn on the lights very often. The dealer examined the issue and he expressed regret in repairing the vehicle and estimated price of $2.500.The Service Manager though stated that the issue is same as it pertains to the rear lighting issue for Acura 2014 to 2020 Models. We paid $100 just to examine the lighting issue to the dealer. We are senior citizens at advanced stage and it is becoming increasingly difficult to take out the cars at evenings for fear of proper and reliable lighting in the car.

NHTSA complaint 11744051. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Unknown

NHTSA complaint 11668249. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Warning message appeared 1/17/25. Inspected by Price Acura service department 1/20/25. Checked online recall for airbags. Multiple airbag recalls are mentioned for Acura, including my make and model. This vehicle has approximately 92,000 miles and I am the original owner. Would like to know if this $1800 charge would be covered under recalls already listed as this is apparently a problem existing in many other similar vehicles.

NHTSA complaint 11637389. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The 2013 Acura MDX has a problem with the pistons in the engine which causes excessive oil consumption. This was the subject matter of a class action suit described in the website entitled Acura Oil Consumption Settlement. This defect should be subject to a recall and American Honda should be required to repair or replace the pistons.

NHTSA complaint 11523749. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Acura MDX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 7 1 —
2025 107 3 —
2024 40 2 —
2023 39 2 —
2022 153 2 —
2020 221 8 —
2019 188 9 —
2018 168 10 —
2017 256 8 —
2016 374 7 —
2015 71 8 —
2014 170 8 —
2012 76 1 —
2011 70 0 —
2010 45 1 —

Other 2013 Acura models

RDX 162 ILX 66 TL 62 TSX 33

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Acura on this site — 73 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst