2004 Acura MDX Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2004 Acura MDX most often describe transmission and torque converter symptoms, typically a shudder, vibration or grinding felt while accelerating or holding a steady speed between roughly 30 and 45 mph. Most reports arrive between about 60,000 and 150,000 miles, and many owners say the dealer could not reproduce the condition or that repairs came at their own expense. A second cluster of complaints concerns the airbag inflators covered by several recalls and the vehicle stability assist system applying the brakes on its own.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission shudder or grinding (torque converter)

   • 47 complaints (27%)
   • median 91,000 mi at 7.2 yrs old (45 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2004–2018

   Owners describe a shudder, vibration or grinding noise that appears mostly under light acceleration or steady cruising, often in the 30-45 mph range, and sometimes a feeling that the transmission is slow or hesitant to change gear. In some reports the vehicle loses forward drive entirely and has to be pulled off the road. Complaints say dealers either could not reproduce the noise or recommended replacing the transmission or torque converter, with owners often paying several thousand dollars themselves; some mention a service bulletin being referenced but not applied to their vehicle. Mostly reported between roughly 50,000 and 150,000 miles, with some early reports under 5,000 miles.

   What to check: Test drive at light throttle through the 30-50 mph range and feel for shudder or grinding; ask whether the transmission fluid was serviced and whether any torque converter or transmission work has been done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Driving 30 to 45 miles I am getting a grown in my gas pedal and when I go pass 65 to 70 miles I get vibration. In my steering wheel. I had my wheels road force balance I had wheel alignment done I had suspension struts and shocks change. I am still having the same promblem with the transmission”

   NHTSA complaint #10811897, filed 2015-12, 96,000 miles

   “Vibration and chatter noise while accelerating between 15to 50 miles per hr..the vehicle is a 2004 Acura MDX with about 100,00 miles on it now noise is very bad and seems to be getting more often and louder we just bought this vehicle in feb 2010 if would have known this had this problem we wouldn't have bought it something needs to be done by the manufacture to take care of this,there seems to be alot of MDX units with this problem.”

   NHTSA complaint #10346668, filed 2010-08, 99,933 miles
2. 2
   Air bags

   Airbag inflator recalls and deployment concerns

   Mentioned in 6 of 60 sampled complaints

   Complaints describe frontal airbags failing to deploy in a collision, or one side deploying while the other does not, and one report describes a driver's airbag deploying without a crash. Several owners mention recall notices and difficulty getting the work done because parts were unavailable at the dealer. Honda's recalls and service bulletins for this model year cover driver and passenger front inflator modules and offer warranty extensions tied to the inflator settlement. Reported across a wide mileage range, mostly above 100,000 miles.

   Recall 19V501000Recall 19V499000Recall 19V182000Recall 16V344000Recall 15V320000Recall 14V700000Recall 14V3530005 related service bulletins

   What to check: Have a dealer run the VIN for open airbag recalls and confirm which inflators have actually been replaced, asking for paperwork rather than relying on a verbal answer.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On june 7th, as I was driving my vehicle the driver front airbag inadvertently deployed causing me to crash the vehicle. The fire depart and police department came to the scene. I was not injured. The vehicle was to towed from the scene. Deemed total loss by insurance company.”

   NHTSA complaint #10724147, filed 2015-06, 184,000 miles

   “I was traveling on a city street when another driver traveling full speed failed to yield as he was entering the city street at a high speed and harshly impacted my car in the front driver's side and then a second impact to my rear driver side. My seatbelt failed to restrain me to the seat and as a result I was brutally banged around the interior of my vehicle. Even though the physical damage to my car didn't look to be too bad, I sustained 7 herniated / bulging disc in my back and neck in which many are pressing my spine. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10959164, filed 2017-03, 200,000 miles
3. 3
   Brakes

   Vehicle stability assist braking on its own

   • 10 complaints (6%)
   • median 92,500 mi at 12.0 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2011–2025

   Owners report the vehicle applying a front brake by itself, sometimes pulling to one side, with the VSA warning light coming on afterward. Several say the condition appears during steady highway driving on dry pavement, and some describe a clunk before it happens. Complaints mention dealers trying sensor or fluid repairs without resolving it, and one notes that a similar VSA control unit recall covered later model years. Mostly reported between about 75,000 and 170,000 miles, often on highway drives.

   What to check: Ask whether the VSA light has come on and whether any stability assist or yaw sensor work was done; watch for unexplained brake application or a pulling feel during a highway test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Inadvertent braking, especially without illumination of the brake lights. After the braking due alone, the vsa light will be on. This is the exactly same problem as the recall Acura has made to Acura MDX 2005/2006 (the name of this recall is: vsa ecu malfunction. This problems happen like 2 time in the city streets, whit my hole family in the SUV for me.know I have to put the hole pedal down and just have any break.”

   NHTSA complaint #11092164, filed 2018-05, 2 miles

   “Since about february 2010 the vehicle stability assist system will randomly activate during periods of prolonged highway driving. This condition usually happens on dry pavement and without warning. It feels like only the drivers side front brake is applied and the vehicle swerves to the right uncontrollably. The condition has nearly caused me to crash multiple times and is very frightening. I have had the Acura dealer troubleshoot the problem many times with no results. The most recent time this happened was early december 2013. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10556874, filed 2013-12, 75,000 miles
4. 4
   Fuel system

   Gas pump shuts off or fuel spills when refueling

   • 14 complaints (8%)
   • median 90,142 mi at 8.0 yrs old (14 state mileage)
   • filed 2010–2016

   Owners describe the fuel nozzle clicking off repeatedly so only a small amount of gas goes in, and in some cases fuel backing up and spilling out during a fill. Complaints say repair shops identified the filler neck, the ORVR vapor valve or the tank as the cause, and that dealers replaced the filler neck or the whole tank, sometimes with the problem returning afterward. A service bulletin covers troubleshooting for EVAP leak codes on this system. Mostly reported between about 65,000 and 190,000 miles.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Fill the tank during the test drive and see whether the nozzle keeps shutting off or fuel backs up; ask whether the filler neck or fuel tank has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While trying to fill the gasoline tank recently, I could only add .2 to .3 gallon at time. The gasoline cuts off intermittently. I took the SUV to my local repair shop, where I was told it was a common problem with this model. They recommended I take it to the dealer. The local repair shop recommendation was as follows: 1) replace the filler neck, 2) replace the orvr vaper valve and 3) possibly replace the gasoline tank. This SUV has been maintained, looks and drives great. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10615510, filed 2014-07, 187,000 miles

   “Intermittently for about 3 months, gas would be pumped as usual. After a few seconds, the gas would gush back out. Or, only a couple dollars of gas could be pumped before the auto-shut off stopped the gas flow. You try again, and it would auto-shut off again. Major fire and safety hazard. Dealer replaced entire gas tank to fix problem, but charged customer for labor.”

   NHTSA complaint #10363031, filed 2010-10, 65,000 miles

Buying note. Have a mechanic check the transmission behavior at light throttle through the 30-50 mph range and verify that all open airbag recalls have been completed, since those two areas account for most of what owners describe. Records of radiator, transmission fluid and VSA-related repairs are worth asking for.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.