CSR

Acura · NHTSA safety record

2025 Acura MDX

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

85

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

5

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2025 Acura MDX have filed 85 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2024 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 55 of them (65%). The typical failure was reported at 12,000 miles, the median across the 7 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (3)

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

26V332000 · May 21, 2026

The defect
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.
The risk
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
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.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 98,892 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES

25V391000 · June 12, 2025

The defect
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."
The risk
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.
The remedy
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.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 259,033 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

25V032000 · January 23, 2025

The defect
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."
The risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
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.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 9,221 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages

EA25004

Still open engineering analysis · opened March 26, 2025

the engine and its cooling

On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.NHTSA has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 85.

ENGINE 55 65%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 35 41%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21 25%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 10 12%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 5%
STEERING 3 4%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 2%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 2 2%
POWER TRAIN 2 2%
SUSPENSION 2 2%
AIR BAGS 1 1%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 58.

2024 2026
2024 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.

SERVICE BRAKES

4 injured · crash · towed

Hello! I am writing to report an urgent and serious safety failure involving my 2025 Acura MDX A-Spec and to request immediate investigation and action. The vehicle’s driver-assist systems - specifically the lane departure warning and forward collision warning - failed to operate. In addition, both the steering wheel and the accelerator became stuck, causing my vehicle to collide head‑on with oncoming traffic. These failures placed my life and the lives of others in immediate danger. I previously opened a case with Acura Contact and Client Relations (Case #16550271). To investigate my vehicle failures that caused this major accident, the response I received was inadequate and deeply

NHTSA complaint 11757146, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

Sunroof exploded while driving on the interstate. A loud noise and glass was everywhere inside the truck on my passenger and I. The distraction caused me to slam on brakes injuring my foot in which I’m out of work for 4 weeks

NHTSA complaint 11710838. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

crash · towed

(1) My airbag's did not deploy when an another car drove into the front of my car causing extensive damage. It has been deemed a total loss by Liberty Mutual (claim #[XXX]) and will be towed in a day or two to their salvage yard from the auto body shop. (2) Based on what I was told by the claim adjuster, body shop and police they didn't understand why they didn't deploy, especially since one of the air bag sensors was directly in front of the impact. (3) No - Acura has not been easy to communicate with and assigned me a case #[XXX] but after I answered their questions by email a few days ago they have stopped communicating with me. (4) The car has been inspected by the body shop and Liberty

NHTSA complaint 11662340, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

towed · 24,000 miles

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

NHTSA complaint 11726899, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The vehicle intermittently fails to restart after the Auto Idle Stop system shuts the engine off at a traffic stop. When this occurs, the vehicle remains disabled until it is manually restarted. This has now happened repeatedly, including twice within one recent week. The vehicle was purchased new on November 27, 2024, and currently has approximately 27,500 miles. The repair history for this same issue is: •September 19, 2025 — 13,841 miles: Battery replaced. •January 27, 2026 — 18,481 miles: Battery replaced again. •February 4, 2026 — 18,814 miles: Starter replaced. •August 14, 2026 — approximately 27,500 miles: Vehicle returned again for the same continuing problem. Diagnostics were

NHTSA complaint 11757405, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
After an auto idle stop at a major intersection, car failed to restart automatically and was left stranded unable to restart the car. Car would not shut off or turn back on when using the power button and with foot on brake but had power but it was in limp mode - transmission warnings flashed and the D "for drive" on the screen at the drivers location. I called tripleA however before they showed up I was able to put the parking brake on and turn the car off and on ad it reset. This is similar to the issue was happening with my 2017 Honda Pilot where it would stall and not restart after the auto idle stop engaged. Very dangerous and difficult to troubleshoot when in that situation, surprised

NHTSA complaint 11757151, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The auto start stop shut down the car when stopping at a red light and had to fully restart the car. This has happend several times since I owned the car. Its a safety issue is you need to move the car in an emergency or potential to reended by traffice behind you that assumes you are moving at a light. In addition on restart of the car at times the car struggles to restart like the battery is weak or starter is bad. Again more of a safety issue and potential accident.

NHTSA complaint 11757152. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The automatic engine shutoff turned off the engine three times at stop lights and failed to restart. We were left stranded in the middle of the road, cars zipping by us fast. We felt very much at risk of being hit.

NHTSA complaint 11757065. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My vehicle is equipped with the auto stop, idle/start feature. I have had my vehicle completely shut off at least 6 times when I am at a complete stop. I have researched this problem among 2025 Acura MDX owners and it seems to be a recurring problem. The feature is suppose to save gas when I am at a stop and shut down the engine and then restart when I press the gas pedal but that is not happening.

NHTSA complaint 11756817. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Acura MDX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
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
2013 29 1
2012 76 1
2011 70 0
2010 45 1

Other 2025 Acura models

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