Traction Control complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3 | 2% | 24,000 miles |
| 2017 | 1 | 0% | 1,000 miles |
| 2016 | 8 | 2% | 17,000 miles |
| 2014 | 5 | 3% | 65,000 miles |
| 2013 | 1 | 3% | 0 miles |
| 2012 | 1 | 1% | 3,000 miles |
| 2011 | 1 | 1% | 16,000 miles |
| 2010 | 1 | 2% | 89,000 miles |
| 2009 | 1 | 2% | 92,000 miles |
| 2008 | 1 | 2% | 23,000 miles |
| 2007 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2006 | 8 | 9% | 105,000 miles |
| 2005 | 15 | 8% | 127,000 miles |
| 2004 | 7 | 4% | 170,000 miles |
| 2003 | 1 | 0% | 61,000 miles |
| 2002 | 2 | 1% | 206,000 miles |
| 2001 | 5 | 2% | — |
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2018 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled, with several unknown warning lights and the traction control warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the oil pressure switch. The oil pressure switch was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 - 75 MPH, the vehicle unintentionally decelerated to 40 - 45 MPH. The accelerator pedal was pumped until the vehicle accelerated with a crunching sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the remote start failed to operate as designed occasionally. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. …
Merging onto a 6 lane highway, specifically the 3 northbound lanes, the collision mitigation braking system activated suddenly. I was moving from the right lane to the middle lane accelerating as needed to maintain the appropriate speed with the middle lane. As I began to ease off the accelerator, the cmbs slammed on the brakes. Speed went from 60 to 25mph on a congested highway at rush hour. The car behind me swerved to avoid. I frantically stomped on the gas pedal to try to keep going, eventually the car stopped braking and I continued. The car in front of me was a few hundred feet away and not braking at the time this happened. Time of day was just before sunrise.
This is almost brand new 2016 Acura MDX AWD (with tech and entertainment packages). When accelerating on a freeway/road, suddenly lots of the warning lights turn on and then the vehicle does not accelerate any more. The speed suddenly drops. This is definitely a hazard - especially because I am trying to accelerate. This happened 4 times so far - roughly 500 miles between each incidents. The problem condition goes away after we completely stop the vehicle and turn it off and on multiple times (and also put the vehicle in neutral in between). Last time when the problem happened, I cleared the condition and then drove and showed the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer said that there were persistent codes about communication failure and he cleared them. And asked us to call back when the problem happened again. Dealer does not seem to know any systematic problems with such types of vehicle. …
Driving on city street in traffic at about 20 MPH. All warning lights came on. Individual failure alerts flashed on navigation screen. Continued 2 miles to destination and turned off ignition. Returned 2 hours later and everything was back to normal. Took car to dealer and was told they could find nothing wrong. Contacted Acura corporate and they said it was up to the dealer! Research shows others have had the same problem but in some cases with highway speeds the car also suddenly dropped speed. Obviously, this could be very dangerous. The issue is clearly an intermittent bug, probably software. Rather than do their job and try to recreate it at their labs, Acura is just waiting until there is a lucky hit on the problem or an accident before responding. Clearly this is a tough problem but that is exactly why the "standard" methodology isn't sufficient. …
I was driving on a residential street back home when a haze started coming out of the air conditioning vents. That turned into black smoke coming from the front passenger side, underneath/behind the glove compartment. From that smoke, a fire started in the front passenger side, inside the vehicle. I pulled over to the side of the street, turned the car off, grabbed my son who was in a car seat in the back and got out of the car safely. Not a minute after we got out of the car, the entire car was engulfed in flames. The fire department did an investigation and classified it as undetermined, but mechanical in nature. We bought our Acura brand new from the dealer in 2014 and have only had it serviced at the Acura dealer. We have not experienced any issues with the car, other than regular maintenance. I'm extremely concerned that the car would burst into flames while driving.
I bought 2014 Acura MDX brand new and after 2000 mile a noise came out from engine I went dealer they ordered the part and fixed and the same problem happened after 5000 miles. I have lots of headaches since I bought this car. The suspensions are very bad even when I bought it from the dealer as a first day. And now I have all lights on such as battery, brake, hill stability problem, steering wheel problem, engine emission stability problem writing, shown all wheel drive problem. Whenever I go to dealer they reset the signs and say its OK now. They charge me but after a while again happens and this time saying different problem.. Really has too much problem. Suspensions and brake a worst. Now I am afraid to drive this car with my little baby and family. 100% I believe car stops in middle of the way.. Its very dangerous. . …
The contact owns a 2006 Acura MDX. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and became stiff. In addition, the vehicle stalled, and the brake lights failed to illuminate. The contact stated that the instrument panel warning lights illuminate on and off. The gear stick would not shift gear as needed. In addition, the vehicle stability assist (VSA) warning light was the only warning light that remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 281,800.
As I was driving in a parking lot, I went to apply my brakes as I am turning my car. The brakes felt hard all of a sudden even though I barely applied pressure. The break petal had a grinding sound and applied extreme pressure to break my car by itself. It felt as if my car was being thrown from side to side. This happened several times in parking lots. This has also happened about 3 times on the highway. While driving and going down a small hill on the highway I barely applied the break but the car break felt hard and weird as I barely pressed it. It felt and sounded like a grinding loud noise and cause my car to pull very hard to the right as if it was going to throw me off the highway. Thankfully each of those few times I was driving around 30 MPH. Each occasion the vsa light came on and/or started blinking. …
Related recalls (1)
Traction control system
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 Pilot vehicles manufactured July 29, 2004, through August 29, 2005; model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 16, 2004, through September 22, 2005; and model year 2005 Acura RL vehicles manufactured March 1, 2004, through June 29, 2005.
Remedy: Owners will be notified and instructed to take their vehicles to a dealer of their respective brand. The dealer will install a partial wiring harness containing a capacitor for the VSA modulator, free of charge.
NHTSA investigations
Vehicle Stability Assist Malfunction
On March 14, 2013, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Honda) submitted a Defect Information Report to NHTSA identifying a defect in the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system in approximately 183,576 model year (MY) 2005 Honda Pilot, Acura RL and MY 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles (NHTSA Recall No 13V-092).The population and failure counts provided pertain only to the MY 2005 Honda Pilots that were the subject of this…
Frequently asked questions
Which Acura MDX years have traction control problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2005 (15), 2006 (8), 2016 (8), 2004 (7) and 2001 (5) model years. Traction Control complaints make up 8% of all complaints for the 2005.
Is there a recall for Acura MDX traction control problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 13V-092 (traction control system, Mar 14, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Acura MDX traction control problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 86,000 miles; 44% happened before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.