2019 ACURA MDX Power Train Problems

The transfer case is blown, with metal debris collected in it. This has caused the all wheel drive to not work because the transfer case is not sending any power to the rear wheels. The car dashboard doesn't register that that transfer case isn't working, so it it thinks the all wheel drive is working, when it isn't. A bad transfer case can cause the car to lose control or traction when it needs to use the all wheel drive system or completely stop while on a highway because it can lead to damage to other parts of the power train. This has been confirmed by an independent service center. There are no warning lights telling me the transfer case is blown or that there are any issues with the power train. The only sympton I noticed was a high pitched sound when driving. These symptoms first appeared about 3 weeks ago.

while driving, mdx loose power especially on freeway speed. engine start jerking.

I was driving at about 65mph on the NJ Turnpike at 7:45pm on 8/28/25 when suddenly the accelerator pedal was non-responsive over a period of about 3-5 seconds. The RPMs dropped (engine did not stall) and the vehicle speed began to diminish. No warning lights showed and the dashboard remained lit as usual. The road was wet from a recent downpour. This was a very scary moment as my vehicle was surrounded by trucks. I further depressed the accelerator pedal and was able to regain control of the vehicle. This is the one and only time this happened with this vehicle as far as I am aware. I have scheduled to bring it to Acura service next week regarding this issue. A Google search has revealed several class action lawsuits regarding this issue.

My 2019 Acura MDX which was owned for less than two years, broke down due to a transmission failure. The vehicle had an open recall (one of many recent) delayed by Acura for months, which research shows can cause engine and transmission damage. Acura of Reno denied the recall link and misattributed the failure to “incorrect fluid,” despite admitting the fluid was correct to myself and other businesses. I believe this breakdown was directly related to the open recall and request an investigation into Acura’s handling of these failures. There have been many legal cases against acura regarding this matter previously.

At only 44,318 miles, my 2019 Acura MDX began showing clear transmission problems in the lower gears — including delayed acceleration, gear slipping, and jerky movement when starting or turning at low speed. These symptoms posed an immediate safety risk, especially when merging into traffic or making turns across oncoming vehicles. I first brought the car to Oakland Acura, which incorrectly diagnosed it as a transfer case issue. Their misdiagnosis delayed the repair process and added unnecessary cost and time. I then had the vehicle evaluated at Acura Concord, where it was correctly diagnosed as transmission failure in the lower gears. An independent, certified mechanic also confirmed the same diagnosis. Despite multiple confirmations of premature transmission failure — and a full maintenance history — American Honda offered only a $900 discount on a $9,600 repair, citing the vehicle being just outside the time warranty (but with low mileage well under 50K). I believe this is a manufacturer defect, not a wear-and-tear issue. Safety Concern: This transmission failure is not just inconvenient — it is dangerous. The vehicle hesitates when accelerating from stops or low speeds, which can lead to accidents at intersections, highway merges, or left turns. The misdiagnosis further delayed identifying and addressing this issue. I am filing this complaint to urge NHTSA to investigate whether this is part of a broader pattern with Acura MDX transmissions, and to help prevent similar risks for other drivers and families.

Rear differential SWD light came on was told it was my tires but in fact it is water corrosion in the rear differential oil pump and subframe wiring harness. Acura is aware of the issue but will not warranty the work. This should be a recall

The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated that the vehicle shifted to park while driving at an undisclosed speed. The engine and EVAP system warning lights were illuminated. There was a leak from the Evaporative Emission Control (EVAP) system. The vehicle was previously taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

Mileage: 88,000

My 2019 Acura MDX with 100K miles stalled on the road with several alerts on the dashboard and went into Parking mode with no further movement. Had several alerts stating Transmission failure, Blind Spot monitoring failure, Auto break system failure and vehicle stalled on the road. Had similar issues previously where the steering jammed and vehicle was stalled on the signal, took it to Acura dealer and they had to fix some circuit / reset the circuit board. Was ok for few months and last week the car stalled with Parking sign on. Towed the car to the Dealer service center, they diagnosed and identified there is a failure with transmission. They quoted around 10000 dollars for replace new and 7000 for used transmission. This is huge money, hence called Acura customer care for any review/support but they claimed this issue is not in their current recalls or claims, so cannot support. had to pay out of the pocket. Per google there seemed to be a lawsuit with Transmission failures with Acura 2019 mdx vehicle. Acura customer relations is asking to get into the law suit group and Acura as such cannot help the customers with these problems. Had Lexus for several years with no issues and very upset/annoyed with these type of repairs within 100K / 5year old.

Engine failure due Dealership refusal to fix recall items. Engine completely stop working in between drive.

In front of the red light on the way to work in a morning, I stopped my MDX, then when the red light changed to green, I pressed gas pedal to cross over the street, but unfortunately, my car was pulled backward, and meanwhile, I heard a loud sound of Bang from my mdx. I suspect that the loud sound must be from the gears conflicting in the transmission when automatic transmission shifts. Moreover, the car jerks at around 45 mph speed sometimes. Acura must recall fixing this issue.

Transmission has hard shifts, delay accelerations.

Driving down 45 at 70mph. Attempted to accelerate and change lanes. Car lost engine power and was almost rear ended before power was restored. Have been waiting almost a year for recall to be complete. Grubbs Acura called is the other day to have service performed. Made the aware of the symptoms. They tried to have us pay for a diagnostic. Informed them that the symptoms were that of the recall. We believe. The engine may have damage and should be further inspected and or replaced. The informed is that they replaced the connecting rod through the oil pain and did not touch the timing belts. However it’s time for timing belts and other maintenance to occur in the next 5k miles. Feel like the job was rushed and it is a safety hazard.

After driving for an extended timeframe (approximately 3 hours, trip was traveling between Des Moines, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri) at Highway/interstate speeds, upon slowing down from those speeds, the vehicle goes into limp mode and check engine light begins blinking. After pulling over and turning car off and on again, normal behavior resumes. This has happened both as I arrived in the Kansas City area, and upon my return home to the Des Moines area. Depending on circumstances for when vehicle enters limp mode, there’s a significant risk of causing an accident. Dealer was unable to pull any codes and therefore is unwilling/unable to address the issue.

2 Issues: Transmission shifts hard between 35-50mph and 50-60mph. Dealership accused me of utilizing improper gas which is not factual; this car has only received the recommended premium octane gas since I purchased it as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. Recall: vehicle is currently under crank shaft recall. In the original notification, Acura stated parts would be available in April. Per the Acura dealer, Acura told them parts will not be available until October. This timeline is unacceptable for such a serious safety recall (risk of fire/crash). I feel unsafe driving this car and am worried I will not get fair market value with the recall still open.

The contact owns a 2019 Acura MDX. The contact stated while attempting to make a left turn from a complete stop, the vehicle shut off inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continue driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown software update was performed under an unknown recall. Additionally, the contact stated that upon pressing the park(P) button to park the vehicle, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle responded after several attempts. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and related the failure to the recall; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Transmission is very laggy when stepping on gas pedal causing late takeoffs. It may damage internals. Also very hard shifting at certain speeds

While making a very normal commute, my 2019 Acura MDX began running very roughly, slowing rather abruptly. The check engine light began flashing, and several warning messages were displayed on the message center of the vehicle display unit. The vehicle would not accelerate, and would not attain a reasonable speed while in traffic. With the hazard lights on, I was able to move to the side of the road, but it was very difficult as I was unable to exceed 15-20 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for repair. The dealer investigated and found the timing belt had "jumped time" causing the engine management system to set multiple misfire codes, and was described as the cause of the failure. I am aware certain 2018-2019 Acura MDX models were recalled for timing belt issues, but this particular vehicle was determined to be outside of the group of vehicles involved in the current recall. My MDX had 52,600 miles at the time of the incident. It has not had any modifications or repairs to the engine prior to this incident. Acura recommends replacing the timing best at 100,000 miles.

Starting having an issue over the last few weeks where the car will shut off as it should with the idle start/stop enhanced but when I release the brake, the car goes into neutral and doesn’t start… have had this happen 4 times already and was finally rear ended today due to this fault.

My car was purchased with 12,000 miles and supposedly worn tires. Because of that, I went to the dealership to get new tires and an alignment since the car was always pulling to the right. My car has been at the dealership four times for the same problem, and they still haven't fixed it. My car continues to constantly pull to the right, and when I use the cruise control, it stays above the other cars to the right, causing it to suddenly pull to the left, deactivating the speed control and losing control. The dealership's recommendation is to stop using the speed control."

I pulled up to a stop light at a busy intersection/highway exit and, after depressing the brake, the vehicle abruptly turned off and shifted to neutral. The brake became very difficult to depress and the parking brake enabled on its own. The entire dashboard lit up and the car would not shift or respond to any input. The vehicle would not turn off, turn back on, or shift for approximately 15 minutes. After this, I tried to turn the car off and it finally did, I started it again and was able to pull off the roadway. We just recently (within the past 2 weeks) had a recall done to update the auto-stop system. This occurred 1x prior to the recall and now this has happened again. My young children were in the car both times and this put us all in danger.

Vehicle was stopped at a traffic light (transmission in Drive) and the automatic idle shutoff engaged, turning off the engine. When the traffic light turned green, the brake was released and we found that the transmission had shifted to neutral and would not shift back into Drive. We had to restart the car. Being stalled at a green light is a serious safety hazard as approaching vehicles would not anticipate my vehicle being stalled.

During Idle stop at red light car stops and goes into neutral and engine stalls. 2019 MDX won't move unless completely restart the car in the middle of busy intersection. High risk for accident and injury. There is few recall mention in Acura site for 2019 MDX, but when input vin number its claims no recall to this vehicle . Need urgent help.

Acceleration has a very slow response after pressing gas pedel, transmission is very jerky only 12000 miles on car. It can lead into accidents at traffic or other

I think this recall needs to be expanded: Honda and Acura have recalled 2019 and 2020 vehicles including the CR-V and Accord for fuel pumps which can malfunction and cause the engine to lose power. My wife recently had her 2019 MDX stall on her in an intersection and she had to turn off the car and turn it back on so it would work. It sounds exactly like the below: “While driving, the vehicle shifts into Neutral, the transmission indicator comes and DTC P0657 (actuator supply voltage circuit/open) is stored. The driver will not be able to select any other gear until the vehicle is turned off and restarted. Update the PGM-FI [programmed fuel injection] software and the TCM software, clear any DTCs [diagnostic trouble codes], and do the PCM [powertrain control module] idle learn procedure.” - TSB 15-034 Additionally, May 23, 2021 we had an experience where the same MDX decelerated as we merged into traffic at I-30 and I-820 in Ft. Worth. I let off the accelerator going 60-70 MPH and then stepped on the accelerator to complete my merge and there was no power. Speed dropped to around 20 almost instantly. I had to completely let off the accelerator and depress it again to get going. Very scary situation considering how fast people drive on Texas freeways. These are two big issues Honda/Acura needs to address ASAP as both put consumers at risk of injury and possibly death.

VEHICLE GOES INTO 'GO LIMP' WHEN I ACCELERATE OR CHANGE LANES. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN PASSING ON A TWO LANE COUNTRY ROAD (HAPPENED TWICE) AND MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY WITH A SHORT ENTRANCE RAMP. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A MAJOR ACCIDENT AND WE DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE IN THESE SITUATIONS.

Mileage: 23,040

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE HER HUSBAND WAS DRIVING AT 75 MPH, THE VEHICLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SEVERAL SECONDS LATER THE JERKED AND ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ON ONE OCCASION, THERE WAS A POPPING SOUND COMING FROM THE DASHBOARD. THE CONTACT CALLED HARPER ACURA (9739 KINGSTON PIKE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37922) AND INFORMED THE DEALER OF THE FAILURE AND SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 30,000.

Mileage: 30,000

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HER HUSBAND WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOSS MOTIVE POWER AND STALLED WITH SEVERAL UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND WAS DRIVEN TO THE RESIDENCE IN LIMP MODE. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO POHANKA ACURA LOCATED AT 13911 LEE JACKSON MEMORIAL HWY, CHANTILLY, VA 20151 HOWEVER, THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT YET DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,353.

Mileage: 13,353

TRANSMISSION IS CONSTANTLY SLAMMING INTO 4TH GEAR AND HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES. CORPORATE HAS EVEN EVALUATED IN AND HAS DEEMED IT TO BE "WITHIN SPECIFICATION". THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING TO BREAK DOWN WHILE DRIVING AND POSE A SAFETY HAZARD. IT FEELS AS IF THE MOUNTS ARE GOING TO BREAK OFF WHEN IT DOES IT.

Mileage: 10,000