2013 Acura MDX: problems, recalls and reliability

“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.”Owner report · Forward Collision Avoidance · Jul 2022

“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.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Nov 2021

“I have a 2013 Acura MDX with an estimated 87k miles. Over the past 3 months, the engine will cut off while I'm driving and the steering wheel and brakes lock up. This has happened about 5 times in a three-month period. There are no warning lamps on my dashboard and no codes appeared during the diagnostic tests. My mechanic is unable to reproduce the issue. I have two young sons and am terrified of driving them in the MDX. The engine failure happens very randomly as it's cut off while driving at varying speeds.”Owner report · Power Train · Jul 2021

“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.”Owner report · Electrical System · Mar 2021

“Problem with judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch/update the pgm-fi ora/t software and flush the atf. Acura sent service bulletin 16-062 on 09/28/2018 just for 8 years/80,000 miles I have a 2103 acura mdx with 103,102 miles with the same bulletin issue, they want me to pay close to $500.00 for an issue that they ready know with out doing a diagnostic on my vehicle.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Oct 2020

“The 2013 Acura MDX has a problem with the pistons in the engine which causes excessive oil consumption. This was the subject matter of a class action suit described in the website entitled Acura Oil Consumption Settlement. This defect should be subject to a recall and American Honda should be required to repair or replace the pistons.”Owner report · Engine · Mar 2019

“Backup camera has extremely poor performance in low light or night time settings if there is no other ambient light like street lights. Reverse lights are not sufficient to be able to see obstacles or dangers in the backup monitor. Body panels produce a blind spot requiring the backup camera to see behind you. The backup camera has shifted angle slightly causing the markings intended to allow backup into parking spaces to be off center and guide the vehicle to an inappropriate parking angle. This low light performance issue has been known to owners for some time, in light of acura's new recall related to backup cameras this warrants investigation as well.”Owner report · Exterior Lighting · Oct 2018