There are 13 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2003 Acura MDX in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 13 of 13 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)ON APRIL 7 2021 ARRIVED ABOUT 10:45 A.M. I DROVE TO MCGRATH ACURA DEALER AT 9105 WAUKEGAN ROAD, IN WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS FOR A POWER STEERING FLUSH, THAT EMPLOYEE INSTRUCTED ME WALK WITH HIM TO OBSERVE A UNDERNEATH INSPECTION REAR AND FRONT I NOTICE THAT REAR FRAME IS COMPLETELY RUSTED INCLUDED SHOCKS SURROUNDING THE FRAME, THROUGH OUT THE VEHICLE IT WAS ONA HYDRALIC JACK. SEE IMAGES ME AND EMPLOYEE LOOKING UNDERNEATH.
THE MDX SRS MALFUNCTION-ELECTRICAL NOISE SURGES. THE CAR IS MAKING ELECTRICAL NOISE SURGES, I CANNOT START THE CAR. THE SHIFT INTERLOCK, WHEN I PUT THE CAR IN PARK IT CONTINUES TO ROLL.
THE VEHICLE JUST CAUGHT ON FIRE ONE NIGHT RIGHT OF THE BM THE PASSENGERS THAT ARE IN THERE
THE HEATED SEAT FUNCTION IN OUR ACURA MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUSED THE SEAT TO MELT AND BURN THROUGH THE ENTIRE UPHOLSTERY DOWN TO THE SEAT SUPPORTS. THE ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION ALSO TRAVELED TO THE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM AND TOTALLY MELTED THE DVD SCREEN. THE FABRIC ON THE CEILING OF THE VEHICLE WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED AND HAS BECOME UNDONE AND FRAYED AND BURNED. THE CAR IS ALSO COVERED IN A DARK FILM/SOOT THAT HAS A BURNED SMELL. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS IN THE VEHICLE WHEN THIS OCCURRED, AS IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT. IT WAS PARKED IN OUR UNCOVERED DRIVEWAY WITH NO OTHER VEHICLES NEARBY.
AUTO DIMMING REAR VIEW MIRROR DEVELOPED STRANGE CIRCLES. IT BECAME TRIPLE VISION. THEN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS IT BEGAN LEAKING A BLACK OILY SUBSTANCE ON THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR AND THE VIEW FROM THE MIRROR IS SOO DISTORTED YOU CANNOT SEE ANYTHING. I CONTACTED ACURA AND THEY SAID OUT OF WARRANTY. TOUGH LUCK. I EXPLAINED THAT THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY DEFECT AND I RECEIVED THE SAME RESPONSE. *TR
I WAS DRIVING ON THE CARPOOL LANE OF 170N WITH MY TWO KIDS (HEADING TO 5N) WHEN THERE WAS SUDDENLY A DOG,YELLOW LABRADOR CROSSING THE FREEWAY AND GETTING RIGHT ON MY LANE. I TRIED TO SLOW DOWN AND BRAKE BUT IT WAS TOO LATE,I HIT THE DOG RIGHT ON THE FRONT OF MY CAR. I FELT MY SEAT BELT TIGHTENED UNCOMFORTABLY THEREAFTER AND I RELEASED IT SO I CAN RESET AND PUT IT AGAIN,BUT IT WON'T PULL TO REACH THE PORT ON MY RIGHT SIDE,IT SEEMED STUCK. IT WAS RIGHT AROUND THAT TIME WE STARTED SMELLING SMOKE THEREAFTER WE HIT THE DOG. MY KIDS AND I WERE LOOKING AROUND WHERE THE SMOKE WAS COMING UNTIL MY DAUGHTER WHO WAS SITTING RIGHT ON MY BACK (DRIVER'S) SAID "MOM THERE'S SMOKE ON THE BACK"..(I WAS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE 170N FREEWAY JOINING 5N) SO I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ON THE SHOULDER AND PULL OVER AND TOLD THE KIDS TO "GET OUT OF THE CAR, NOW!" I DIDN'T SEE WHERE THE SMOKE REALLY WAS BECAUSE MY CONCERN WAS TO GET OURSELVES TO STOP THE CAR SAFELY AND GET OUT. WE RAN AWAY FROM THE CAR ABOUT 30-50 FEET AWAY. THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO PULLED ON THE SHOULDER AND ASKED WHAT'S GOING ON AND LEND ME HIS PHONE (I LEFT EVERYTHING IN THE CAR). HE CHECKED ON THE CAR AND THOUGHT "IT WAS OKAY".. I TOLD MYSELF I CAN GET MY PHONE AND PURSE STILL SO I RAN BACK AND GET IT (THERE WAS SOME SMOKE INSIDE I CAN'T TELL WHERE IT WAS FROM) . BY THE TIME I RAN BACK TO MY KIDS AND THE GENTLEMAN IT WAS ALREADY SMELLING SMOKE FROM WHERE WE ARE AND IN MAYBE A SECOND THERE WAS SOME FIRE VISIBLE FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE,ON THE DOOR SIDE INSIDE..AND THEN MY DAUGHTER TOLD ME "MOM THE SMOKE WAS COMING FROM THE HOLE OF THE SEAT BELT ON THE WALL,IT WAS GOING TO ME SO I MOVED ON THE OTHER SIDE". SEEING THE FIRE I CALLED 911 AT 2:57PM TO ALARM AND AWARE THEM. I ASKED THE GENTLEMAN TO TAKE US ON A SAFE PLACE AWAY FROM THE CAR COZ I WAS AFRAID THE CAR WOULD CONSEQUENTLY EXPLODE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 ACURA MDX. WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO TURN OFF AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE LOCATION OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE INTERMITTENTLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
IGNITION CAN BE TURNED OFF IN ANY GEAR AND KEY REMOVED. THIS SHOULD ONLY BE POSSIBLE WHILE IN PARK FOR SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS. VEHICLE WILL COAST IF ON A GRADE. *TR
I HAVE A 2003 ACURA MDX WHICH HAS A DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCH INTERLOCK MECHANISM . WHEN IN DRIVE I CAN TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND REMOVE THE KEY. I HAVE HAD THE CAR ROLL AWAY MOMENTARILY. THE PROBLEM IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS DESCRIBED IN THE HONDA RECALL ISSUED 8/9/10 FOR 2003 ACCORD, CIVIC AND ELEMENT VEHICLES. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE PARKED THE VEHICLE AND LEFT IT IN DRIVE; YET, WHEN SHE REMOVED THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION, THE VEHICLE ROLLED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. HONDA WAS CONTACTED AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THIS FAILURE HAS BEEN PRESENT FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 85,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 95,200. UPDATED 12/22/10*LJ
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH I CAN REMOVE THE KEY FROM MY ACURA MDX WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND STILL IN GEAR. THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM FOR EARLIER MODELS HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/CARS/PROBLEMS/RECALLS/RESULTS.CFM?SEARCHTYPE=QUICKSEARCH&RCL_ID=05V025000&SUMMARY=TRUE BUT IT DOES NOT COVER MY VEHICLE. *TR
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CONTINUOUSLY GOES OFF INDICATING LOOSE GAS VALVE. MANUFACTURER'S ERROR CODE: P0457 DEALER TELLS OWNER GAS CAP IS LOOSE AND REPLACES. AFTER 100 MILES AND CAREFUL ATTENTION TO MAKING SURE CAP IS TIGHT AFTER EACH REFILL, SAME ERROR CODE OCCURS. AFTER SMOKE CHECKS VERIFY NO OTHER LEAKS, GAS CAP IS REPLACED. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS OFF (OSTENSIBLY BECAUSE THE DEALER SOMEHOW CLEARS THE CODE OR DISCONNECTS BATTERY). AFTER 100 MILES THE LIGHT GOES BACK ON. THIS HAS HAPPENED CONTINUOUSLY OVER THE COURSE OF 3 YEARS. CANNOT KNOW IF SOMETHING ELSE IS WRONG WITH CAR WITHOUT PAYING FOR A DIAGNOSTIC BECAUSE LIGHT IS CONTINUOUSLY ON. CANNOT PASS CA SMOG CHECK WITH A MALFUNCTIONING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT (AS THIS SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR TO ME THAT IS WHAT IT IS). ACURA REFUSES TO ADMIT THERE IS A PROBLEM. (ALTHOUGH THE DEALER I GO TO HAS BEEN GREAT.) HAVE WASTED MUCH MONEY TO EACH TIME BE TOLD "LOOSE GAS CAP" WHEN I KNOW THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
THE KEY CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STILL IN GEAR EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED ALLOWING THE VEHICLE TO STILL ROLL IF ON AN INCLINE OR BUMPED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.