2006 Acura MDX problems, complaints & recalls

2006 Acura MDX recalls (8)

• Recall 19V499000Jun 27, 20193,947 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

  Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.

• Recall 19V501000Jun 27, 20191,657,752 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

  Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are E5D and X5C.

• Recall 19V182000Mar 6, 20191,101,534 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.

  Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.

• Recall 17V029000Jan 10, 2017308,884 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2009 Acura RL and Honda Element vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles, 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles and 2006-2009 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2008 Acura RL, Honda Element and Honda Pilot vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2006-2008 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

  Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall bagan March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KD9 and KE0.

• Recall 16V344000May 23, 20161,790,894 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2008 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2008 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2008 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling model year 2002-2004 Odyssey and model year 2003-2004 Acura MDX, Honda Element, and Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

  Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KA0, KA1, KA2, and KA3.

• Recall 15V320000May 28, 20156,281,043 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.

  Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after September 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already received an inflator of a different design, and therefore are not included in this recall and do not require additional servicing. Note: This recall fully supersedes recalls 08V-593, 09V-259, 10V-041, 11V-260, 14V-351 and 15V-153. Honda's numbers for this recall are JQ9, JR0, JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, JR5, JR6, JR7, and JR8.

• Recall 13V092000Mar 14, 2013183,576 vehicles
  SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE · 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. An electrical capacitor may have been damaged during the manufacturing of the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) control module causing intermittent, automatic, minor brake application. However, if the driver applies the brakes while the VSA is malfunctioning, the vehicle may come to an abrupt stop. Additionally, due to a loose ground connection, certain model year 2005 Pilots have a VSA system that may apply partial brake force, without the illumination of the brake lights, whether or not the driver is using the brakes.

  Risk: Sudden inadvertent braking, especially without illumination of the brake lights, may increase the risk of a vehicle crash.

  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. The affected model year 2005 Pilots will have their ground connection tightened. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Honda owners may contact Honda Automobile Customer Service at 1-800-999-1009, and select option 4 or go to www.recalls.honda.com; Acura owners may contact 1-800-382-2238, and select option 4, or go to www.recalls.acura.com.

• Recall 12V573000Dec 11, 2012807,161 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

  Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 Pilot and Odyssey and 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX passenger vehicles manufactured from November 26, 2001, through August 30, 2006. The interlock lever of the ignition switch may deform, which can allow the interlock function of a vehicle with an automatic transmission to be defeated.

  Risk: Removal of the ignition key when the gear selector of a vehicle with an automatic transmission has not been shifted to the park position can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated shift interlock lever and, if necessary, replace any necessary part of the ignition switch, free of charge. The recall began on February 22, 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.

NHTSA defect investigations

• EA21002Opened Sep 17, 2021Open

  Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

  From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.C…

• EA15001Opened Feb 24, 2015Openled to recall 14V668

  Air Bag Inflator Rupture

  The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field fai…

• PE14016Opened Jun 11, 2014Closed Mar 2, 2015led to recall 13V172000

  Air Bag Inflator Rupture

  The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field fai…

• EA13002Opened Feb 21, 2013Closed Mar 29, 2013led to recall 13V092000

  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 investigation.Honda's recall addresses two conditions in the VSA system that could result in inappropriate brake activation.The first condition is related to a manufacturing concern wit…

• PE12026Opened Oct 2, 2012Closed Jan 14, 2013led to recall 12V573000

  Ignition Interlock Failure - Rollaway

  On December 10, 2012, Honda Motor Company submitted a defect information report to NHTSA regarding ignition interlocks in approximately 576,117 model year MY) 2003 through 2004 Honda Pilot and Odyssey vehicles that are the subject of this investigation and 231,044 MY 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX vehicles (Recall No. 12V-573).Honda's report states that a design change to the ignition switch used in the recalled vehicles reduced the range of rotation for the ignition switch from 160 degrees in earlier designs to 125 degrees without a corresponding change to the ignition interlock blocking mechani…

Recent 2006 Acura MDX complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Jun 10, 2024CAElectrical System

   There is a paracytic battery drain causing new batteries to fail. Troubleshooting says Hands Free Link system may be reason for drain/ dead battery. Or, the Navigation system. There are endless electrical issues within 5 fuse boxes. I’ve done this manually, it’s slow. I know a diagnostic meter would help! So, I’ve installed a battery switch inside car. Must turn off each night! You’d think I’d have a mobile battery charger by now. But thankfully road side service has been a…

   NHTSA complaint #11593583 · source
2. Filed Feb 16, 2024WAElectrical SystemEngine

   Car battery constantly draining resulting in having to jumpstart the car now every time to turn it on. Had the hands free system disconnected by the dealership over a year ago due to them stating it was drawing on battery however it has not changed and went from occasional need to jumpstart to every time you need to turn on car. Have had two new batteries installed and car looked at by dealership and only issue they found was hands free link drawing on battery so…

   NHTSA complaint #11572362 · source
3. Filed Dec 30, 2022281,800 miFLBrakesDriver Assistance & Safety TechEngine

   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…

   NHTSA complaint #11499490 · source
4. Filed Apr 22, 2022NYOther / Unknown

   On several occasions the vehicle will come to a stop and from that stop will begin to stall-at that point almost completely loosing power and an indicator light on dash indicates that an undefined problem *exclamation mark* Each time, the car almost completely slows to almost a stall out, and the car behind me comes dangerously close to hitting me from behind.

   NHTSA complaint #11461767 · source
5. Filed Nov 24, 2020139,000 miFLOther / Unknown

   The transmission in this car has issues with acceleration and deceleration. I notice that there is transmission judder between 20-45 mph

   NHTSA complaint #11376238 · source
6. Filed Feb 14, 2020148,000 miCABrakes

   Tl* the contact owns a 2006 acura mdx. The contact stated while driving at 40 mph, the accelerator pedal was released and the vehicle stopped independently. The contact stated that the vehicle stability assist (vsa) warning light was illuminated. The contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 13v092000 (service brakes, hydraulic) with the failure. The vehicle was taken to los gatos acura located at 16151 los gatos blvd, los gatos, ca 95032, and the dealer was…

   NHTSA complaint #11309235 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology