2008 Acura Mdx
The Verdict
The 2008 Acura Mdx has 49 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (26 complaints) and electrical (10 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 88/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Acura Mdx, consider the 2013 model year which has 40% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2013 has 40% fewer complaints
View the 2013 Acura Mdx dashboard →
Klunk Score: Smooth Ride
This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
| Year | Body | Brakes | Electrical | Engine | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 50 | 2 | 20 | 28 | 124 |
| 2002 | 31 | 5 | 28 | 27 | 129 |
| 2003 | 21 | 9 | 54 | 30 | 97 |
| 2004 | 22 | 10 | 31 | 45 | 63 |
| 2005 | 27 | 14 | 43 | 17 | 79 |
| 2006 | 16 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 35 |
| 2007 | 30 | 0 | 46 | 16 | 7 |
| 2008 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| 2009 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 11 | 6 |
| 2010 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 5 |
| 2011 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 32 | 5 |
| 2012 | 19 | 2 | 18 | 24 | 12 |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| 2014 | 62 | 18 | 32 | 32 | 23 |
| 2015 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 7 | 12 |
| 2016 | 64 | 11 | 25 | 176 | 81 |
| 2017 | 50 | 16 | 24 | 104 | 50 |
| 2018 | 46 | 7 | 17 | 73 | 13 |
| 2019 | 48 | 8 | 19 | 91 | 15 |
| 2020 | 59 | 11 | 26 | 100 | 13 |
| 2022 | 47 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 44 |
| 2023 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| 2024 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 0 |
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Compare Against
See how the 2008 Acura Mdx stacks up against rivals.
Complaints
My car exterior paint has poor quality. It has been for years. It clear coat peeling and bubbling due to poor factory adhesion between paint layers, Fading & Chalking. This happens for so many years ago but I don’t know this happened because the manufacturers problem until recently a friend told me this
About maybe 2 months ago my tailgate open light comes on. When the exterior light is left on when I get in the car. .. it will go out but the tailgate light open will come on while driving and you will a ding then the light comes on while drive ng. As a result the car alarm.goes.off several times. I have checked the tailgate and it is closed I have taken it in but they can't find the reason why this happening. I have been on other forums and this appears to have been a problem.with.other Acura 2008 MDX,s.
The clock in the 2008 Acura MDX stopped working over 18 months ago. This occurred after an Acura Day-light-Savings time update. In order to check the time now you have to take your eyes off the road. There are thousands of Acura vehicles with this problem. ACURA REFUSES TO HELP. They state there is no solution to the problem. They caused the problem!
I was at stoplight waiting to make a right turn and the Check Air Bag System turned on. No accident, just the error came on for no reason. This is safety issue and it should have lifetime warranty! I called the dealer and they told me that its will cost me $295 just to diagnose the error. I feel like this should be recall. I understand that it’s an electronic device and could failed. But it should have lifetime warranty.
Had front collision with another vehicle and hit their passenger side of the vehicle and their Airbags Deployed on that side but my Airbags didn’t Deploy in the Front. I suffered injuries because it didn’t work.
MY VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT AND THE ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING, IT SEAMS TO SPONTANEOUSLY CAUGHT FIRE.
AN AIRBAG SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE WHEN I TURNED MY PARKED 2008 ACURA MDX ON IN MY DRIVEWAY. MY CAR HAD/HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OR HIT. IT SEEMS LIKE IT SHOULD BE POLICY FOR AN ACURA DEALER TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM FOR FREE BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD I'LL BE CHARGED FOR A DIAGNOSIS. PLEASE ADVISE.
"CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM" LIGHT CAME ON. NO ACCIDENTS, NOTHING THAT SHOULD HAVE CAUSED THE LIGHT TO COME ON. IT WAS STATIONARY WHEN IT CAME ON, PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. *TR
THIS VEHICLE IS HAVING ELECTRICAL ISSUE IN WHICH IS AFFECT VARIOUS PARTS, INCLUDING THE DECELERATION OF THE VEHICLE. THERE ARE TIMES IN WHICH THE BRAKE IS PRESSED AND INSTEAD OF THE VEHICLE DOES NOT RESPOND TO START TO SLOW DOWN. THE BRAKES ON THE TRUCK HAVE REPLACED ALONG WITH TIRES AND YET THE PROBLEM DOES CONTINUES. THIS A DAILY THING THAT HAPPENS IT IS MORE NOTICIBLE WHEN THE VEHICLE REACHED ABOVE 65 AND ABOVE MILES. I HAVE ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS.
MY 2008 MDX'S BATTERY WOULD DRAIN OUT OFTEN AND HAD TO REPLACE 2-3 NEW BATTERIES DURING THAT TIME FRAME AND NUMEROUS JUMP START. RECENTLY, I JUST CHANGED BATTERY AND HAD TO JUMP START AGAIN WITHIN A MONTH. I REALLY GOT FRUSTRATED AND TOOK THE CAR TO CAR DEALER AND HE SAID IT'S AN HFL ISSUE WHICH DRAINS YOUR BATTERY OUT, SO I HAVE TO PAY $200 TO DISCONNECT THE SYSTEM OR PAY $4000 TO PUT A NEW HFL SYSTEM. THEIR IS ALSO A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT REGARDING THIS ISSUE AND ANOTHER CUSTOMER AT THE DEALERSHIP HAD THE SAME ISSUE ON HIS 2008 TL. WHY DOESN'T ACURA RECALL AND FIX THE ISSUE??? THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW. I EVEN EMAILED ACURA WITH A COMPLAINT AND NO RESPONSE FROM THEM YET. ..! THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND WOULD NEVER BUY ACURA OR HONDA CARS AGAIN..!
ON SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018, I WAS DRIVING NORTH ON INTERSTATE 95 AND MY CONSOLE LIGHTS STARTED BLINKING AND THE CAR JUST TURNED OFF. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO COAST OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND WATCHED AS THE CONSOLE LIGHTS BLINKED--VSA, BRAKE, INFORMATION LIGHT NAVIGATION SYSTEM SCREEN TURNED ON AND OFF REPEATEDLY, AND SPEEDOMETER AND RMP GAUGES WENT CRAZY. I SAT ON THE SHOULDER AND THE CONSOLE LIGHTS AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM LIGHTS CONTINUED TO BLINK ON AND OFF, AND THEN I SAW THAT THE SYSTEM RESET AS IF THE BATTERY HAD BEEN DISCONNECTED. THE SCREEN TO ENTER THE CODE TO RESET YOUR RADIO SYSTEM APPEARED. THEN IT ALL STOPPED AND WENT BLANK. I PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE TO EXIT THE INTERSTATE AND IT CONTINUED ON UNTIL I REACHED MY EXIT. HOWEVER, DURING THE DRIVE MY CONSOLE LIGHTS CONTINUED TO BLINK ON AND OFF AND THE CAR DROVE SLOWLY AND THERE WAS A DRAGGING SOUND AS IF THE ENGINE WAS OVERWORKING. I HAD TO MANUALLY UNLOCK THE DOOR, AND MY WINDOWS WOULD NOT GO UP TO CLOSE.
THE SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY
BATTERY WAS REPLACED IN FEBRUARY 2017 (ABOUT 7 MONTHS AGO). TODAY, EVERYTHING ELECTRICAL JUST DIED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THANK GOD MY CHILDREN WERE NOT IN THE CAR & THAT I WAS 1 MINUTE FROM HOME. THE INTERNAL LIGHTS FLICKERED AND THEN ALL LIGHTS, THE RADIO, AND ANY OTHER ELECTRICAL PORTION WENT DEAD. THE CAR WAS STILL RUNNING, BUT SENSING SOMETHING WAS WRONG, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED MY HUSBAND AND TOLD HIM TO MEET ME. AFTER I STOPPED THE CAR, IT WENT DEAD AND NEVER TURNED ON. WE HAVE TRIED NUMEROUS APPROACHES TO FIX AND HAVING FOUND THE SOLUTION YET. PER RESEARCH, MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR DANGEROUS ISSUES. SEE HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/ACURA/MDX/2007/ELECTRICAL/ELECTRICAL_SYSTEM.SHTML. MY ABSOLUTE FEAR IS THAT MY CAR WILL STOP COMPLETELY WHILE ON ON A FAST ROAD, WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR, AND AT NIGHT. WHILE WE DON'T YET KNOW IF IT'S AN HFL ISSUE (IT'S NOT A BATTERY ISSUE AS WE JUST HAD IT CHECKED LESS THAN AN HOUR AGO), I'M VERY FEARFUL. IF IT IS A HFL ISSUE, ACURA SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED THIS A LONG TIME AGO.
THE HANDS FREE LINK CONSTANTLY DRAINS THE BATTERY, EVEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN USE. I HAVE REPLACED 3 BATTERIES. THIS ISSUE LEAVES YOU STRANDED AND THE REPAIR COST BY DEALERS ARE RIDICULOUS WHEN THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD ISSUE. MY LOCAL DEALER EXPLAINED THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THE ISSUE WAS TO REMOVE THE HFL MODULE. WHY INSTALL SOMETHING ON A VEHICLE IF IT'S NOT CAPABLE OF PERFORMING THE FUNCTION IT IS MEANT TO. ALSO THE CD CHANGER CONSTANTLY GET STUCK AND WILL NOT WORK. DUE TO THIS ISSUE I GET AN ERROR MESSAGE OR A BUSY MESSAGE WHEN TRYING TO REMOVE A CD. THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED IN MY ACURA MULTIPLE TIMES AND I HAVE GOTTEN IT OUT HOWEVER THIS TIME WHEN THE BATTERY WAS DRAINED DUE TO THE HFL MODULE THE CD GOT STUCK DUE TO THE BATTERY ISSUE AND WILL NOT COME OUT AT ALL NOW. SO MY CD PLAYER IS NON-FUNCTIONING AT THIS POINT. SO ONE ISSUE HAS LEAD TO THE OTHER.
I HAVE A MDX WITH SPORT SUSPENSION. I RECENTLY VISITED MY MECHANIC TO DISCOVER THAT BOTH OF MY REAR SHOCKS ARE BLOWN. AFTER LOOKING INTO FIXING IT, I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE PREMATURELY. NOT ONLY IS IT A COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE TRIM, THE PARTS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE DUE TO THE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS. WITH SO MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE, IT SEEMS THE CORE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM MAY BE A FAULTY DESIGN OF THE SHOCKS. MY CONCERN IS REPLACING A FAULTY PRODUCTS WITH ANOTHER FAULTY PRODUCTS, AND EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE ALL OVER AGAIN SHORTY.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 ACURA MDX. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.
THE ADS SENSOR HAS GONE BAD ON MY 2008 MDX. SOME HAVE BEEN RECALLED IN COLORADO BECAUSE SALT PUT ON THE ROADS FOR SNOW CONDITIONS HAS CARRIED THEM. I LIVE IN UTAH WHERE WE ALSO HAVE SALT PUT ON SLICK ROADS. BUT NONE IN UTAH WERE RECALLED. IT IS AN EXPENSIVE FIX AND PARTS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH ACURA. MY LOCAL MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THE PRICE THEY ARE CHARGING WAS REDICULIUS AND HE HAS NEVER SEEN SUCH AN EXPENSIVE STRUT FIX.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 ACURA MDX. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE SUN ROOF EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
IF THE CAR PARKED FOR 2 OR MORE DAYS IT WILL NOT START. THERE IS DRAIN IN THE SYSTEM. APPARENTLY THIS IS VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH ACURA. DEALER SAID THAT HE COULD TRY TO DISCONNECT BLUETOOTH (HANDSFREE LINK) FOR $150-200. MY FAMILY WAS STUCK IN COLD WINTER NIGHTS IN THE PARKING LOT WITH NO PEOPLE, WHICH WAS NOT PLEASANT. I THINK ACURA SHOULD HAVE A RECALL AND DISCONNECT OR REPLACE DEFECTIVE UNITS FOR FREE. WE REPLACED BATTERY A COUPLE OF TIMES WITHOUT ANY AFFECT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 ACURA MDX. WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE HOOD WAS VIBRATING. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, BUT THE VEHICLE HESITATED BEFORE ACCELERATING. THE VEHICLE STABILITY ASSIST, TCS, ABS AND VTM MAY NOT OPERATE WAS DISPLAYED ACROSS THE MESSAGE BOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MULTIPLE INDEPENDENT MECHANICS, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE HOOD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 133,000.
49 total