There are 8 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2013 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 8 of 8 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The contact owns a 2013 Acura MDX. The contact stated that he was about to drive the vehicle when he noticed the front passenger-side headlight was flickering. The contact stated he decided not to drive the vehicle. The contact stated when he looked at the vehicle again he noticed the vehicle was on fire from the passenger side headlight. The contact stated a fire report was filed and the contact was informed that the fire origin was due to an electrical malfunction. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.
During driving, Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) will activate and "BRAKE" light will blink, indicating that you should apply brakes. This happened multiple times. Finally the CMBS warning light came on permanently. I took my car to Acura Dealership for repairs. They informed me that it was a software issue and update of the software should resolve this problem.
Internal vehicle fire started around front passenger seat and burned for an unknown amount time before it extinguished on its own while vehicle was off and parked. Fire department was contacted upon fire discovery and they confirmed it was out, could be electrically related, and disconnected my battery Vehicle is available for inspection for the time being (pending insurance). If I or any passenger was in the vehicle they could've been seriously injured or died. There were no warning lamps or issues of any prior problem.
BATTERY HAS HAD TO BE REPLACE THREE TIMES DURING OWNERSHIP OF CAR. ALSO CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING FOR THE THIRD TIME SINCE PURCHASE IN FALL OF 2013, TOTAL ELECTRICAL FAILURE. LIGHTS TURN ON AND OFF W/O PROMPTING, CAR DOESN'T TURN OVER WITH PROPER KEY USAGE. DASHBOARD LIGHTS WARNING FLASH, CHECK ENGINE, TPMS. MAJORITY OF ERROR CODES ARE LOSS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ALL MODULES. ELECTRIC WINDOWS AND ELECTRIC SEAT ADJUSTMENT NON-RESPONSIVE.THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE CAR IS PARKED AND IN THE "P" POSITION AND REMAINS STATIONARY.
PER THE MECHANIC MANY ACURA'S HAVING ISSUES WITH HANDSFREELINK BLUETOOTH WHICH DOESN'T TURN OFF RESULTING DRAINING BATTERY. WE JUST REPLACED OUR BATTERY AND ISSUE STILL PERSISTS. I CALLED ACURA AND THEY SAID THEY ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT CAN NOT DO ANYTHING SINCE OUR VIN IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. THIS CAN BE A BIG SAFETY ISSUE SINCE PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED CARS STOPPED MID ROAD DUE TO NO POWER. PLEASE HELP SINCE ACURA IS IGNORING SAFETY OF THEIR CONSUMERS! REFERENCE LINK FOR THE ISSUE WHICH HAS BEEN REPORTED BY MANY PEOPLE. HTTP://WWW.ACURAPROBLEMS.COM/HANDSFREELINK-BATTERY-DRAW/ HTTPS://TOPCLASSACTIONS.COM/LAWSUIT-SETTLEMENTS/LAWSUIT-NEWS/840256-ACURA-HANDSFREELINK-DEFECT-CLASS-ACTION-LAWSUIT-GETS-TRIMMED/ HTTPS://TERRELLMARSHALL.COM/CLASS-ACTIONS/HONDA-ACURA-CLASS-ACTION/
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA MDX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE AND INTO THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES. A FIRE REPORT WAS FILED AND STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
A 2013 ACURA MDX VEHICLE (ADVANCE MODEL) WAS BOUGHT IN THE ACURA DEALER ON JULY 27, 2013. STARTING ON OCTOBER 2013, STRONG SMELL OF FUMES HAS SPORADICALLY BEEN SENSED INSIDE THE VEHICLE, MAKING IT UNCOMFORTABLE TO BREATHE. SINCE NOVEMBER 5, 2013, THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE SHOP (THREE TIMES) TO TARGET THE CAUSE OF THE FUMES. THE SMELL OF FUMES INSIDE THE CABIN ARE SENSED NOT ONLY WHILE DRIVING AT 10MPH, 40MPH, OR 60MPH BUT ALSO ON SHORT DISTANCE RIDES, DURING RAINY DAYS AND WHILE WAITING FOR A LIGHT TO CHANGE (THE SMELL WAS ALSO SENSED OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE WHEN THE WINDOWS WERE DOWN). ON THE SECOND SERVICE APPOINTMENT, THE SHOP VERIFIED THE A/C SYSTEM AND THE RECIRCULATION CASE OF THE AIR CONDITIONING (A/C) SYSTEM WAS SEALED; BUT IT DID NOT CORRECT WHAT WAS CAUSING THE SPORADIC SMELL OF FUMES. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP SINCE DECEMBER 23 AND NOT RETURNED SINCE THEY DO NOT FIND WHY THE VEHICLE EMITS SUCH STRONG FUMES THAT SURPASSED THE A/C SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE HAS HARDLY BEEN USED DUE TO THE SAFETY AND HEALTH CONCERN. AS OF TODAY, THE PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DETECTED NOR CORRECTED. *TR
BACK-UP CAMERA VIDEO / NAVIGATION MODULE, AND STEREO / CLOCK SCREENS REMAINED BLANK AFTER STARTING ENGINE, PLACING CAR IN REVERSE GEAR AND MOVING SLOWLY DOWN DRIVEWAY IN AN APPROXIMATE TIME FRAME OF 3-4 MINUTES. ALL SCREENS CONTINUED TO BE BLANK AFTER EXITING DRIVEWAY, STOPPING, THEN PLACING CAR IN DRIVE AND TRAVELING 5-7 MPH ON STREET. STOPPED VEHICLE AT STOP SIGN AFTER TRAVELING 200 YARDS. RE-ENGAGED REVERSE, THEN DRIVE GEARS WITH FOOT ON BRAKE. BOTH SCREENS FINALLY ACTIVATED, SHOWING CORRECT TIME AND BLUETOOTH CONNECTION STATUS ON STEREO SCREEN, AS WELL AS REAR CAMERA VIDEO PICTURE ON NAV MODULE SCREEN WHILE REVERSE GEAR ENGAGED. SIMILAR INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED ON TWO PRIOR OCCASIONS SINCE PURCHASING THIS USED VEHICLE IN MAY 2012. *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.