2025 Acura MDX Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: February 3, 2026 · Filed: October 30, 2026

My vehicle is having on going start up issues a month after purchased. Failed to restart after the automatic idle-stop system They replaced the starter & starter rely and still never fix the issue. The battery on the vehicle passed the battery test and I feel like my safety and children safety is in danger! The vehicle is not even 2 years old. The vehicle has left me at a red light , stop sign , gas station stuck due to the vehicle not turning on/ struggling to turn on . The dash board would light up with check engine, and lock the wheel.

Incident: September 10, 2026 · Filed: October 26, 2026

The auto-stop feature engaged after I stopped at a traffic light. When attempting to begin moving again the vehicle, it would not move upon pressing the gas peddle like it typically does. Vehicle gave alerts stating “system issue shift to park” but I could not shift out of Drive. Police had to be called as cars were flying by and I had two kids in the back. Very scary situation. Eventually while waiting for a tow I googled the issue and saw recommendation to turn off the car, open and close the door. At this point the alert said “transmission issue engage emergency brake” which I did and was then able to start the car and move it. I took the car to the dealer the next day and dealer said it was a starter issue and replaced the starter under warranty. They acknowledged this is a known issue caused by the starter not reengaging after the car stops with auto start stop feature engaged. There is no way to turn off this feature without manually pressing a button each time you start the car. It never happened before and I have had this vehicle since May 2025, and has never happened again since, although I now immediately turn off the feature everytime I remember to. It is an extremely dangerous situation to be in and leaves the driver not knowing how to move the car. Shutting the car off alone did not fix the issue, but opening and closing the door and waiting 30 seconds managed to get the car to start again. Luckily the police responded quickly and blocked traffic before someone hit me. I believe something like this should be worthy of a recall as it can leave people in a very dangerous situation.

Incident: October 24, 2026 · Filed: October 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop at an intersection downhill, the engine turned off while the instrument panel and infotainment center remained operable. The contact was unsure if the engine Auto START/STOP system was engaged during the failure. The message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact attempted to shift to park(P), to turn off and restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to respond. The message "Transmission Error-Take to Acura Dealer" was displayed. The contact's husband arrived on the scene to assist, but the Police advised the contact that an emergency tow was required due to the potential crash. The Police requested emergency towing services, and the vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Action Number: EA25004 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The selling dealer, Acura of Memphis (2611 Ridgeway Rd, Memphis, TN 38119) and the manufacturer were contacted by email. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

Incident: October 24, 2026 · Filed: October 26, 2026

While driving and coming to a stop, the engine shuts down and will not restart. Error "To continue to drive, depress brake pedal and push Switch". After 10 minutes of trying to start the car it finally started.

Incident: February 27, 2026 · Filed: October 21, 2026

On three separate occasions, 2/27/26, 9/9/26, and 9/23/26 the Idle stop/start feature was inoperable and caused the vehicle to shut down. Upon attempting to turn the vehicle back on, vehicle would not immediately start back up. Inoperable and a major safety concern since this happened at a red light that was turning green. This poses a great concern due to traffic approaching the light while green not noticing the vehicle is stopped, as the entire vehicle shuts off when this happens. There is no way to get the vehicle moving again, so if there is traffic approaching, there is no way to avoid it or get out of the way. This was inspected by the dealership on 2/27/26 and dealer replaced the starter. Then this happened again on 9/9/26 and 9/23/26 - dealer replaced starter again.

Incident: September 1, 2026 · Filed: October 15, 2026

I have had a problem with the "Auto Idle Stop" in my 2025 Acura MDX. While at a stop light 2 different times and at a stop sign 1 time the car engine shut off as it should. Upon letting off the brake and pressing the gas the car would not go. It stayed in Park and I could not get it to go. The engine would not turn back on. I received a warning light that said "depress brake and push start". Upon doing this the car still would not start. I had to open the door, shut door, push brake and then start the car. Dealer confirmed that this has been an issue.

Incident: October 10, 2026 · Filed: October 14, 2026

My 2025 Acura MDX A-Spec Advance (VIN [XXX]) twice failed to restart after the Auto Idle Stop system shut the engine off — on XXX (~2:00 PM CDT) and again on October 10, 2026 (2:20 PM CDT). The vehicle was immobilized and would not restart. Sterling Acura of Austin ([XXX]) diagnosed a failed starter on XXX: bench testing showed 9.7 amp draw with voltage drop below 7.3V. The dealer replaced the starter motor (part 31200-5MR-A03) under warranty, test drove 10+ miles, cleared codes, and verified the repair. A no-restart after auto idle stop leaves the vehicle without motive power in traffic, which is a safety hazard. This matches the subject of NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25004 (No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages, 2016–2025 MDX). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: October 13, 2026 · Filed: October 13, 2026

Faulty and auto-stop/start system glitch where the engine fails to turn back on. This issue frequently occurs while driving in traffic or at a stop light. This issue happens daily become extremely dangerous as car unexpected turns off and fails to turn back on a busy road. There is no option to turn off the auto-stop/start system to avoid the glitch.

Incident: August 1, 2026 · Filed: October 8, 2026

On two occasions my vehicle stalled out when the idle stop feature failed to restart the engine in traffic. I could not restart my vehicle initially and it took several attempts to restart. Because I was at a stop in an intersection waiting to turn this could have resulted in a serious accident. There was no warning light or other indication of an issue prior to, during, or after the first incident. This was subsequently reproduced and documented with the dealer. They indicated they are seeing issues with many other vehicle of the same model and year but indicated they couldn't say much more. The dealer said they would replace the starter but did not definitively say it would solve the issue. Because they did not have the part in stock thet advised me to continue driving in the meantime with the idle stop feature disabled; however, operators must remember to do this manually at each drive.

Incident: September 25, 2026 · Filed: September 28, 2026

The Auto Idle Stop has activated normally at traffic lights, but on two occasions the engine shut off and then failed to automatically restart when I released the brake. A yellow warning light with an exclamation mark also appeared on the dashboard. The most recent incident happened yesterday, 09/25/2026. There have also been several other times when the engine did restart, but it took noticeably more effort or longer than normal to restart from Auto Idle Stop.