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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.

29

Complaints

0

Crashes

3

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2013 Acura MDX have filed 29 safety complaints with NHTSA between June 2013 and June 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 9 of them (31%). The typical failure was reported at 49,760 miles, the median across the 18 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

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

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 29.

ENGINE 9 31%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 28%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 17%
POWER TRAIN 4 14%
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%

When the complaints arrived

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

2013 2014 2026
2013 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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.

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.

ENGINE
I changed the oil in my car with synthetic 4k miles ago. About 1k miles ago I started getting an error that said low oil level. I went back into the lube shop to see what was going on, they said there was no leakage or issues there but there was hardly any oil in my car and that it was probably burning oil. I searched for issues with my 2013 MDX burning oil and an issue in 2019 with clogged oil control rings came up but said that the warranty extension would only be good to 2021. I found out this will be $5k to fix. I was never alerted of this issue and would like to submit a complaint about not being notified that this was even an issue in my car. I would like Acura to fix my vehicle since

NHTSA complaint 11492600, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Acura MDX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 85 3 —
2024 37 2 —
2023 37 2 —
2022 141 2 —
2020 213 8 —
2019 183 9 —
2018 162 10 —
2017 249 8 —
2016 364 7 —
2015 70 8 —
2014 169 8 —
2012 76 1 —
2011 70 0 —
2010 45 1 —

Other 2013 Acura models

RDX 162 ILX 66 TL 62 TSX 33

Every Acura on this site — 71 vehicles, 113 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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