By bfoley80 on 04/29/12 19:19 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX 4WD 4dr SUV w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Bought the vehicle brand new off the lot and from day 01 the vehicle had issues, i.e. bubbles in the paint, EGR
valve recalls (numerous), etc.
The latest is the transmission.
This is the second one in 160K miles.
The first one was under warranty & the second was while still under warranty as well, however the Sunnyvale Acura dealership did not identify it and has now changed ownership & they're not taking responsibility.
The repair will be between $5K~$7K.
This is the 1st and last Acura which I will ever buy.
They use the term "Luxury Vehicle" - don't be fooled.
My prior Lexus was a true Luxury Vehicle, over 250K miles on the trannie w/ no issues.
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By davesocal on 04/18/12 12:58 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Bought this MDX new with all options.
At 55,000 had the transmission replaced using my extended warranty (1 month shy of expiration and any work done under the warranty or extension it is only good thru the end of the extension date, meaning I only had one month of warranty on the new transmission).
This transmission died at 88,000 mi.
6k replacement from the dealer, which was whittled down to 2 thousand.
This car has been babied thru the dealer servicing since purchase.
Service managers admit the design is faulty.
And mentioned I was lucky to get this much use before the transmissons died ! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS CAR USED !!!
YOU WILL HAVE A PROBLEM !!!
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By twelborn on 11/10/11 15:30 PM (PST)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
My dad and I found this 2002 Acura MDX with around 101,000 miles on it for around $12,000. Was a little off-put with the miles at first, but after I drove it I absolutely loved it. Luxury cars' engines last better than normal cars, you get a better car for the buck too. It provides smooth acceleration and provides an overall very comfortable ride. Was using unleaded-plus fuel at first, but then the ride got a little shaky. Switched back to straight-up premium and the engine performance and fuel economy became much better. I love the Bose sound system in the car, good and clean audio deliverance. Very happy with this car. As long as you do regular maintenance, you shouldn't have problems.
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3 of 4 people found this review helpful
By hdavis39 on 12/28/10 21:21 PM (PST)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
I love my MDX. I am worried now that I have read the significant issues people have had with their transmission. I pray that I will not. I have over 163,000 miles on my car now and have never had any major issues. I changed the timing belt just to avoid future problems when I did a major maintenance. I will say with regard to safety that this vehicle has been safe. I have six children and I have had several people hit me and I rear ended someone once. The only damage to my car were mere scratches. It is built like a tank. Maybe I will be one of the lucky ones but so far I cannot complain. This is the best car that I have ever driven.
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By no more acuras on 08/28/10 08:44 AM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Let me start off by saying I loved my Acuras. Had an RL that was the best i owned. It failed on me and traded for the MDX. Loved the MDX, best in class, dream car. Then the probs w the tranny started. Thank God I bought it certified. 100 mi before expiration they replaced it free, but right at 12 mos later it's crapping again. I feel like my spouse cheated on me. For something I love to cause me this much pain, I'll never buy another Acura. To fix it will cost more than I owe it. They may have gotten better, but they lost me for good this time. The RL was bad enough when I replaced the window motor on 3 windows and at 105k the engine died. Can you tell I'm bitter? Sorry, i don't want to be.
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3 of 3 people found this review helpful
By Tom on 08/09/10 14:13 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Stay away from this vehicle. Buyer beware. I had my tranny replaced at the dealer after numerous issues, in fact I had to take it to a different dealer who said yes after 109KM it needs a new tranny. Now I need another 139 KM it died. I called Acura? Honda Canada only to be told too bad it is past warranty (which it is). I repeatedly told them that there have been major issues with this model and specific problem to which the reply was. No there hasn't! Please Google 2002 acura mdx transmission issues before you make a major mistake.
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By Barry on 04/21/10 13:06 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
We currently have 133,000 miles. We have replaced far too many things to say this is a used car best buy. The tranny went at 99k, motor mounts at 110k, wheel bearings at 99k, shocks and struts at 115k, rear heater stopped working at 80k, it's starting to rust in the wheel wells and the list goes on. The motor mounts and tranny are a known issue on these cars. RECALL IT! Dealer said to me "Hey, you got your use out of them". I didn't realize parts expired..
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By jj0103 on 04/15/10 06:13 AM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX 4WD 4dr SUV w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Nice vehicle but not withstanding of the reputation of Honda's reliability. Transmissions have known issue under NHTSA recall 04V176000 of gear failure that could result in transmission lockup. This happened to me at 113k miles after Acura said they fixed the issue. While driving 35 mph the front end of the vehicle seized and skidded 5-7 feet. Luckily there wasn't a car behind me. They tried to charge $7k to fix the transmission. It appears there are 100's of similar cases reported online and Acura is using plausible deniability to avoid litigation issues. I logged a complaint w/ NHTSA & sold vehicle due to safety concerns.
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By Elizabeth on 03/22/10 12:21 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Our family was in an accident on the freeway, where we lost control of the car due to slick road surface and were hit 2 times by other cars as we spun toward the fast lane. When we took stock of each one of us in the car, we were all okay. One of the airbags went off and the car was totaled. The next day, we found another Acura MDX and are very glad to drive such a safe and reliable car. We are certain many other cars would not have protected us in that situation.
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By Ken on 02/15/10 15:28 PM (PST)
Vehicle
2002 Acura MDX Touring 4WD 4dr SUV w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
Review
My wife really liked the Acura's size and features. When we first got it, it certainly was smooth and quiet; much more refined than the 1996 Grand Cherokee we had before. It was a good size and she loved the touchscreen navigation. It was a little disappointing that the MDX didn't have some luxury features that the six-year old Jeep did, like automatic headlights and day/night outside mirrors. Overall she and I liked the car. The trouble started at 37000 miles when the first transmission went out. It was replaced. It broke again and was replaced at 87000 miles and we discovered this is a well-known and chronic problem with Acura's transmissions. I cannot recommend early decade MDX's.
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