2002 Acura MDX Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2002 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH up an incline, the vehicle stalled. The service engine and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart, but made an abnormal grinding sound while shifting into gear. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to the water pump; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 213,722.

I TOOK MY CAR AND ON FEBRUARY 25TH TO CHECK TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE I WAS TOLD AND NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE THE VEHICLE SHAKES AND VIBRATES REALLY BAD AROUND 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. I HAVE READ ON DIFFERENT FORUM THAT IT'S A TRANSMISSION, AND ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TO REPLACE THE TORQUE CONVERTER. BUT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE AND ACURA DOESN'T WANT TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM THAT'S OCCURRING WITH ALOT OF THESE MODELS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 ACURA MDX. FOR OVER TWO YEARS, THE VEHICLE RANDOMLY STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 02V226000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

THE CAR WILL MAKE A VIBRATION SOUND AT RANDOM INTERVALS. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT SPEED YOU ARE DRIVING AT OR THE TYPE OF ROAD. ADDITIONALLY, IT FEELS AS THOUGH YOU ARE BEING PUSHED BACK BY THE WIND WHEN THE VIBRATION SOUND OCCURS. AT THIS TIME NO WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED ON THE CAR FOR THE NEW NOISE. ONE REPAIR SHOP CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ANOTHER PLACE FEELS IT IS THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THE TORQUE CONVERTER WAS ALREADY REPLACED ONCE ON THIS CAR DUE TO A DIFFERENT NOISE. THE CAR HAD TO GO TO THE SHOP THREE TIMES TO FIX THE FIRST NOISE. THE CAR WAS FINALLY REPAIRED AFTER A WEEK AND AFTER A NEW TIMING BELT, TENSIONER AND PULLEY, WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED. THEY ALSO REPLACED THE DRIVE SHAFT, IDLER PULLEY AND COMPRESSOR BELT . *TR

I BOUGHT A 2002 ACURA MDX IN 8/2005. THE RECALL WAS NEVER PERFORMED, THE VEHICLE STARTED HAVING ISSUES IN 2010. WHEN I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO GET IT CHECKED I WAS INFORMED THAT A RECALL HAD BEEN DONE ON 2001-2002 ACURA MDX FOR 2ND GEAR ISSUES. AFTER TAKING THE VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP, ACURA CUSTOMER SERVICE STATED THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS HAVING HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RECALL. STATED THAT THERE WAS NO DISCOLORATION OF THE 2ND GEAR AND THAT THE VEHICLE IS WAY PAST WARRANTY SO THEY WILL NOT ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR. I BELIEVE THE ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION IS A RESULT OF THE ISSUES WITH THE RECALL. WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE STALLS WHEN GOING INTO 3RD GEAR, ALMOST COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. *TR

I HAD JUST TRAVELED 19 MILES ON THE FREEWAY AND HAD STOPPED AT THE RED LIGHT ON THE OFFRAMP. SHORTLY AFTER MAKING THE TURN, THE CAR STALLED WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE JUST STOPPED. I COASTED, ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON. I HAD TO STOP, PUT CAR IN GEAR, AND EVENTUALLY RESTARTED THE CAR. THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT WHEN THE CAR ENGINE STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING (FIRST WAS PULLING INTO AN UNDERGROUND PARKING STRUCTURE). THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT MAKING DRIVING DIFFICULT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG AS IT COULD NOT BE REPLICATED. THEIR IDEA TO RESOLVE WAS TO BLINDLY START REPLACING EXPENSIVE PARTS OF THE ENGINE. I FEEL I AM PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE EACH TIME I DRIVE THE CAR AND THE NEXT TIME MAY RESULT IN A COLLISION. *TR

ON OCTOBER 13, 2009, AT ABOUT 12:45, I PROVIDED MY 2002 ACURA MDX TO JERRY DAMSON ACURA, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA FOR THE '82,500 MILE SERVICE'. AT ABOUT 1:15 I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATING THAT TWO ENGINE MOUNTS WERE BROKEN. THE PRICE WOULD BE ABOUT $500. ALTHOUGH I WAS CONCERNED HOW ENGINE MOUNT FAILURES COULD HAPPEN ON A VEHICLE WITH THIS MILEAGE, I AGREED TO HAVE IT REPAIRED FOR OBVIOUS SAFETY REASONS. LATER THAT DAY I DISCOVERED OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET FOR BROKEN ENGINE MOUNTS FOR THIS VEHICLE. WHEN I ARRIVED AT JERRY DAMSON ACURA TO PICK IT UP, I ADVISED THE SERVICE PERSON THAT I FELT ACURA SHOULD PAY FOR THIS. THE ACURA SERVICE MANAGER, GIL WILLIAMS, WAS CALLED-IN TO DISCUSS THIS PROBLEM WITH ME. HE STATED THAT THEY/ACURA WOULD NOT PAY FOR THIS. I ASKED HOW A FAILURE OF THIS NATURE COULD HAPPEN AT THIS MILEAGE. AFTER SOME DISCUSSION HE STATED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER IS LOCATED NEAR THESE PARTICULAR ENGINE MOUNTS AND CONTRIBUTES TO INCREASED TEMPERATURE IN THE AREA, RESULTING IN FAILURE OF THESE ENGINE MOUNTS. HE FURTHER STATED THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED THIS PROBLEM WITH ACURA AND THEY ADVISED HIM TO 'SELL IT AS A MAINTENANCE ITEM'. I STATED THIS WAS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN DEFECT THAT ACURA OR JERRY DAMSON SHOULD PAY FOR. HE SAID THEY WOULD NOT. I ASKED HIM TO ELEVATE THIS TO THE JERRY DAMSON GENERAL MANAGER. HE REFUSED TO DO THAT. HE PROVIDED ME WITH THE PHONE NUMBER FOR 'ACURA CLIENT SERVICES', HE WOULD DO NOTHING ELSE. I RELUCTANTLY PAID FOR THIS BROKEN ENGINE MOUNTS REPAIR AT $483 IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE THE VEHICLE. IT IS A LOGICAL DEDUCTION THAT THE BROKEN ENGINE MOUNT PROBLEM IS A DESIGN DEFECT SINCE HE ADMITTED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER'S PROXIMITY TO THE ENGINE MOUNTS CONTRIBUTES TO THIS EARLY FAILURE. IT'S THEREFORE CLEAR THAT THIS REPAIR COST SHOULD BE BORNE BY ACURA/JERRY DAMSON. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WERE RECALLS ON HIS VEHICLE TO REPLACE THE TIMING BELT AND THE WATER PUMP. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 02V226000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE) WAS REFERENCED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY REPLACED THE WATER PUMP AND THE TIMING BELT, BUT COULD NOT PROVIDE THE REPAIR DATE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED, BUT COULD NOT PROVIDE A DATE AS WELL. THE CONTACT IS EXPERIENCING ISSUES WITH HIS VEHICLE AND WANTS TO KNOW WHEN IT WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

MOTOR MOUNT FAILURE. *TR

MOTOR MOUNTS ON 2002 ACURA MDX WITH 77,000 MILES FAILING. *TR

DURING ROUTINE SERVICE VISIT, DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE FRONT AND SIDE ENGINE MOUNTS ARE WORN AND NEED REPLACEMENT. VEHICLE HAS ONLY 60K MILES, NO ACCIDENTS AND DEALER SERVICED. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON (NHTSA COMPLAINT # 10186944) PROBLEM WITH THE MDX AND NUMEROUS ISSUES NOTED BY OWNERS ON TOPIX.COM. ACURA SAYS THEY HAVE NO TSB ON THIS ISSUE. *TR

EARLY REPLACEMENT FAILURE/NEED FOR MOTOR MOUNTS IN 2002 ACURA MDX WITH UNDER 70,000 MILES. *TR

MY 2002 MDX HAS 75,000 MILES AND NEEDS THE ENGINE MOUNTS REPLACED. IT WAS REPORTED BY LOTS OF PEOPLE THAT ACURA'S DESIGN FLAWS ON THE MOTOR MOUNTS FOR 2001, 2002 MDX. LOTS OF DISCUSSIONS MAY BE FOUND ATHTTP://WWW.TOPIX.NET/FORUM/AUTOS/ACURA-MDX/T54QBSPDKRMCCNV0A IT IS A DISASTER FOR CONSUMERS TO PAY FOR THE DESIGN DEFECTS! *TR

MULTIPLE ENGINE MOUNT FAILURES ON 2002 ACURA MDX. FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED AT 40,000 MILES. SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED AT 79,000 MILES. BOTH FAILURES WERE IDENTIFIED BY AN ACURA DEALER AS IMPORTANT MECHANICAL AND SAFETY CONCERNS. BOTH FAILURES WERE REMEDIED BY AN ACURA DEALER. THE FIRST FAILURE WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE SECOND FAILURE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *AK

TWO MOTOR MOUNTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS BROKEN (1) OR CRACKED (1). THESE ARE THE RIGHT AND FRONT MOTOR MOUNTS ON AN ACURA MDX 2002. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY 61,000 MILES ON IT. BASED ON AN INTERNET SEARCH AND CHECK OF THE CONSUMER REPORTS WEB SITE, THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE ACURA MDX. *JB

ON 5/9/2003 THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE. ABOUT 45 MINUTES LATER THE VEHICLE STOPPED WHILE IN A BUSY INTERSECTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHICH STATED THE PROBLEM WAS THE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT WHICH WAS ON RECALL. THE CONSUMER WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL #02V226000. *NLM

ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS THE ENGINE RACES WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER BUT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM . MR *NLM

10/21/00 EXPERIENCED FIRST ENGINE FAILURE (NO COMPRESSION #1 & 3 CYLINDERS) AT 3,487 MILE MARK. CAR TOWED TO DEALER. DEALERSHIP CONTENDS OPERATOR ERROR, ONE TIME REPAIR AS GOODWILL GESTURE OF ACURA. SERVICE DEPT STATES "ENGINE REPLACED" HOWEVER, NOT INDICATED ON WORK ORDER. WORK COMPLETED 11/08/01 (17 DAYS). 11/12/01 (3717 MI.) EXPERIENCED ENGINE KNOCK, GRINDING SOUND, DIFFICULTY STARTING, & STALLING. CAR DRIVEN IN. DEALER DOESN'T AGREE WITH SYMPTOMS, RECHECKS VALVE ADJUSTMENTS. WORK COMPLETE 11/13/01 (1 DAY). 11/25/01 (4,039 MI.) CHECK ENGINE LIGHT/LOUD KNOCKING. SERVICE DEPT. DIAGNOSIS: #1 & 4 CYLINDER MISFIRE/VERY LOW COMPRESSION. REPLACED ENGINE FOR 2ND TIME < 5 WEEKS (THIS TIME DOCUMENTED ON WORK ORDER). TOLD RESIDUAL DEBRIS FROM FIRST ENGINE SWAP WAS THE CAUSITIVE FACTOR. WORK COMPLETED 12/07/01 (11 DAYS). 01/30/02 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. EXPLAINED AS FUEL/EMISSIONS PROBLEM AND TO BRING IN FOR SERVICE; 01/02/01 LIGHT GOES OFF. 02/01/02 ENGINE WILL NOT START/GRINDING NOISE. ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CALLED. TOW DRIVER ARRIVES AND CAR STARTS, TOLD TO DRIVE VEHICLE HOME INSTEAD OF DEALERSHIP. 02/02/02 (5543 MI.) ENGINE WILL NOT START, TURNS WITH GRINDING SOUND. 02/04/02 CAR TOWED BACK TO DEALER.*AK

ROTTEN EGG SMELL COMING FROM EXHAUST OF VEHICLE