2012 Acura MDX problems
The 2012 Acura MDX has 101 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (25%) concerns engine. After that come electrical system (13%) and drivetrain & axles (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 101 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 63 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 63 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 47,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Acura MDX with enough data (47 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was in a serious head on colision and the airbags in the vehicle failed to deploy despite major damage to the front of the car. I sustained injury requiring hospitalization in collision.
I was in a car accident last week and totaled my mdx. I ran into a pillar in a parking structure pretty hard. The front of my car is all damaged but the air bags did not deploy. I had concussion as a result of this accident because my head hit the steering wheel. The car was pronounced as a total loss.
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 acura mdx. The contact stated their spouse attempted to reverse of their driveway. The contact's wife was driving and they heard an abnormal whistling sound. After that the vehicle began to produce smoke. The contact's wife placed the vehicle in drive and exited the vehicle. They heard an abnormal cracking sound and the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department was called. The fire department put the fire out. A police report was not made. There were no injuries.
I was driving on a local side street at about 15 MPH when I heard a snap and suddenly my car swerved into a parked car causing minor damage to the passenger side front fender of my car and the driver side rear fender of the parked car. I had a witness, a bystander, who also said he heard a snap before my car swerved. My car was towed to an acura dealership where I was later informed that the car had a broken tie rod. I did not hit any pot holes. The roads were clear and my car has never been towed before.
We have a 2012 mdx 4 dr AWD acura it has over 49,000 miles on it. Recently, we started noticing clunking noise originating from the left front area whenever we hit a slight bump especially on a slower ride like getting into the driveway. It is suspected to be the strut issue which will cost us pretty significant cost to replace it and wondering if it has any recalls for this type of issue.