2025 Acura Mdx: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

Description of Incident: While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near a shopping district, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the Engine Start/Stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes. I had to call the cops for a patrol car because other cars were piling up behind me and I had my 6 month old son in the vehicle. Safety Impact: During this time, I was unable to move the vehicle from a live traffic intersection. This created an immediate safety hazard to myself, my family, and other drivers.

NHTSA #11738536

Last year, my 2025 Acura MDX was repaired under warranty for a known starter issue that is affecting all 2025+ MDX models. The issue is that the vehicle will stall or fail to start on random occasions leaving drivers stranded or stopped in traffic unable to move their vehicle. Honda and Acura are well aware of the fact that this is an issue, yet they continue to produce these vehicles with the same parts. This repair took several attempts and the dealership refused to even diagnose the issue for several months causing me to have to record each instance on my phone for proof. Once they eventually replaced the starter, the issue went away for approximately 10 months. Today, however, I was temporarily left stranded at a gas pump as my vehicle would not start. Honda and Acura dealerships are replacing these parts with the exact same part number, so the no-start condition comes back in about a year or less. It is incredibly dangerous to have a vehicle that you cannot move as anticipated, or if you’re in an area that you cannot leave or get away from potential danger because your vehicle won’t start. This is a less-than two-year-old vehicle that has now left me stranded on several occasions including in the middle of traffic on a motorway. I know for a fact that several other owners of the Acura MDX are having the exact same issue and ask that you please launch an investigation into this as Honda is well aware of it and still refuses to address the blatant safety risk it poses to its customers.

NHTSA #11735656

Vehicle is equipped with start stop system and we have had multiple instances where we come to a stop , and the car will not restart. In the latest instance, we pulled up to stoplight, the start stops system engaged shutting off the engine then wouldn't restart. Car also wouldn't turn completely off, so I had to hit the flashers at the busy intersection, try to get the car into park, then shut completely down, then restart the car. It also struggled to restart as if the battery was dying. In this instance most dash lights come on, but it appears to be an engine, electrical, and software issue. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealer multiple times, and in once instance they said the issue was caused by a bad battery, mind you the car is slightly over a year old. This latest time, they claimed that the battery was good and no issues were found. This issue continues to put me and my family at risk by leaving us disabled in the middle of traffic especially when it has happened near exiting the freeway,

NHTSA #11735372

While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near an airport, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the Engine Start/Stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes before the vehicle finally restarted and allowed me to shift into Drive. I was the first car in the lane, so people kept piling up and honking behind me.

NHTSA #11738526

I am reporting a serious safety defect involving repeated engine stalling and failure to restart associated with the auto idle stop/start system on a 2025 Acura MDX. The vehicle was leased in December 2024. Beginning in late summer and early fall of 2025, the vehicle intermittently shut off at stops and failed to restart when releasing the brake. This resulted in the vehicle becoming unresponsive in active traffic conditions, creating a significant safety hazard. The vehicle was presented to an authorized dealer for this issue on multiple occasions: August 15, 2025 September 9, 2025 October 31, 2025 After repeated unsuccessful attempts to diagnose and repair the condition, the dealer ultimately replaced the starter on October 31, 2025. This repair did not permanently resolve the issue. In April 2026, the vehicle again began exhibiting hesitation and delayed engine restart following auto idle stop events. On April 30, 2026, the vehicle stalled again, demonstrating that the defect persists despite prior repair efforts. This condition is intermittent and unpredictable, which increases the risk, as the vehicle may fail to restart when entering or crossing intersections or when moving with traffic. The inability of the vehicle to reliably restart creates a clear safety concern. Given the repeated repair attempts and recurrence of the defect, this appears to be a systemic issue rather than an isolated component failure.

NHTSA #11735131

The vehicle is designed to shut off at a stoplight and restart when your foot leaves the brake, or the steering wheel is moved. On multiple occasions, the vehicle turns itself off (typically at a red traffic light) only to not restart. Driver must manually put the vehicle into park, and try to restart it using the traditional push button (IN TRAFFIC). This is horribly dangerous even if it takes just a few seconds to do. The Acura dealership maintains that there is nothing they can do. Simple internet searches indicate that it's a wider issue than my own vehicle, so I am reporting my issue to you.

NHTSA #11734545

Auto start/stop system - yes, it is available for inspection. The vehicle turned off at a buy intersection and it was a couple of minutes before it would restart. The vehicle will be inspected my a dealer on Monday. No manufacturer, police, insurance representative has inspected the vehicle. There was a message when the vehicle turned off but I can't recall what it said as other drivers were blowing horns and I was focused on my safety at the time.

NHTSA #11727649

When I was at a stop light, the car shut off and went into park. I believe the Idle Stop was off at the time. When I tried to shift to drive it told me I needed to start the car by holding the brake and the button. It took a couple of attempts for it to cycle through and start. This happened several weeks prior to the incident yesterday. It is currently at the dealership. When I googled the issues it said it was a "known issue". It could be dangerous if it shuts off on railroad tracks or in traffic.

NHTSA #11722020

Sunroof exploded while driving on the interstate. A loud noise and glass was everywhere inside the truck on my passenger and I. The distraction caused me to slam on brakes injuring my foot in which I’m out of work for 4 weeks

Allegedly reported: 1 injury (as reported to NHTSA). NHTSA #11710838

Car engine turns off at a red light, by turn off I mean completely turned off, not just silent. And takes a couple of attempts to restart the car before the engine turns on again. This has happened over 5 or 6 times over the last 3 months, however yesterday (May 9, 2026) it happened twice within the hour. Luckily, I have not been involved in an accident because of this, but I'm concerned that it's easy to imagine a scenario where someone will be rear-ended. Please issue a safety recall for Acura to fix this issue.

NHTSA #11736850

While stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle had auto shut off normally. However when I released the brake and pushed the gas it unexpectedly stalled and shut off without warning. When attempting to restart the vehicle, it would not start again. There were no prior warning indicators or messages suggesting an imminent issue. This created a hazardous situation as the vehicle was disabled in an active traffic lane. After several attempts, the vehicle either restarted after having set the emergency brake. The failure appears to be sudden and without driver input, raising concerns about reliability and safety in traffic conditions.

NHTSA #11735584

We have had multiple incidents when the car is at a stop light with the idle stop not active, the vehicle engine will just die. The light turns green and the vehicle is not running, it will take multiple times pushing the start button for it to start back up. This has resulted in multiple almost rear end incidents due to other drivers assuming we would go when light turned green. More recently this weekend on a trip from Columbus OH to St. Louis MO; stopped to get gas east of Indianapolis, after pumping gas the vehicle would not restart. It took multiple tries to get it to restart; this happened again the following day at a stop during the day at a shopping center, we ran in to get subs for lunch, came back out, would not start, I have a video of the sound and flashing lights but I can't upload a video here.

NHTSA #11732431

Randomly when auto/start stop feature engages and shuts down the engine when I let go off the brake the engine doesn't restart and a system problem message show up on the dash. Have to shut down the car and restart for the engine to start running again.

NHTSA #11745473

My Vehicle is having an issue with the idle stop feature. Multiple times when stopped at a red light or when idle the car stops and will not turn back on. I have to turn the car off completely open the door to simulate leaving the car, wait a minute then start the car again to be able to move.

NHTSA #11739504

Idle stop causing engine to shut down. This has happened three times! It’s very dangerous.

NHTSA #11683513

Stopped for a red light at a busy intersection with the auto start/stop feature turned on. After releasing the brake pedal to begin driving after the light turned green, the vehicle attempted to start the engine, but struggled and in doing so, the vehicle stalled out. After two or three attempts of placing the foot onto the brake and pressing the start ignition button, the vehicle finally started and we were able to drive away.

NHTSA #11729911

The power and motor on the moonroof and sunshade has failed multiple Times in the first year of owning the car.

NHTSA #11697535

Autostart (stop/start) stopped engine but failed to restart car. Had to shut down computer and restart computer and then car started. Cars were coming around blind corner serving to avoid us. Has since happened multiple times just starting up vehicle (not involving autostart). Taken to Acura dealership 3 times to fix, but they have been unable to resolve issue.

NHTSA #11708571

I was at a red light. My auto idle kicked in. I went to turn it off and Either simultaneously or right before I hit the idle off button my car stalled. It took several attempts to turn back on and a bunch of codes threw. I almost got rear ended. This is a known problem. Ive contacted acura / honda via email as well.

NHTSA #11705846

Incident 1 (Loss of Propulsion in Traffic) - 12/16/25 The vehicle failed to restart immediately after the auto start-stop system attempted to re-engage the engine. Upon attempting to accelerate, the engine did not restart, resulting in a complete loss of propulsion while in active traffic. The vehicle became temporarily inoperable and unresponsive, creating a hazardous condition with elevated risk of rear-end collision and inability to safely clear traffic or intersections. Incident 2 (Failure to Start – Reliability Concern) - 4/1/26 On a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start entirely upon initial startup (first use of the day). The engine did not turn over as expected, rendering the vehicle inoperable. This incident raises significant concerns about system reliability and dependability, particularly given its occurrence independent of the auto start-stop event. Safety Concern: The first incident demonstrates a critical safety defect involving unexpected loss of propulsion in live traffic conditions. The second incident, while occurring at startup, indicates a broader pattern of failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to reliably start and operate. Together, these incidents suggest a potential defect in the starting/ignition or auto start-stop system that may compromise safe vehicle operation and increase the risk of crash or stranding.

NHTSA #11729170

When driving and the stopping the auto start/stop feature does not rengage and the car places itself in park and becomes disabled and difficult to restart. When driving on a major highway when I was in traffic the car shut down, put itself into park and would not restart upon removing my foot from the brake. It then gave numerous error messages and would not respond to any commands. Traffic started moving and cars were then needing to go around my disabled vehicle. It finally responded to me trying to restart it. We had the car checked the week before it happened due to it being slow to re-engage when the auto start stop would be used. The dealership reported that there was nothing wrong. Brought it back after is was disabled on the highway for 5 minutes and they are still saying there is nothing wrong if they do not see it happen themselves. It is a danger to drive.

NHTSA #11689185

Car engine sometimes does not restart when the auto start-stop feature is engaged. Car engine is also sluggish to restart when it does work. My local Acura dealer evaluated the car on 10/15/25, found battery was low. Battery was replaced that day, and things seemed okay for about a week. Today (10/21) when I was stopped at a traffic light, the issue returned and my car would not restart after going into auto start-stop. The car had been on for about 30 minutes. When I tried to restart the engine, it took three tries before finally turning over. Fortunately, this has only happened thus far for me at stoplights, but safety could definitely be impacted if the engine does not turn back on and the car needs to be maneuvered quickly. No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the issue. This started for me about 3 weeks ago. No accidents or known issues with the car prior to the issue. There does not seem to be a predictable pattern to the auto start-stop feature failing.

NHTSA #11694662

During three separate incidents, my vehicle’s engine unexpectedly shut off without warning, twice in the middle of moving traffic and once while idling in a drive-thru when the engine idle stop/start feature was engaged. In each case the vehicle did not immediately restart, leaving me and my family exposed to oncoming traffic and high-speed vehicles, especially once while exiting a highway. The malfunction appears related to the engine’s idle stop/start or fuel/ignition system, but no specific component has been identified; the vehicle remains available for inspection upon request. Although I reported the incidents to the dealership, they stated they could not reproduce the problem and therefore could not repair it. . No warning lamps, error messages, or other visible symptoms appeared before or during any of the shutdowns, the engine simply stopped running, so there was no advance notice before the failures occurred.

NHTSA #11690434

Engine stalls when at intersection and the engine cuts off at idle and fails to start back up when you remove your foot from the break. Can have keep lane assist enable. KLAS mode narrow, you have to fight the wheel to maintain control of the vehicle, formal mode is a 50/50 chance it works, wide you can sift right off the road for 5-10 secs before to realize your off the road. Steer wheel control button intermittently fail and stop being able to control the midi instrument panel and infotainment system. I believe there is a systematic electrical issue in the car. They attempted to fix this by replacing a starter which hasn’t because the engine stalled at an intersection again and on cold start this morning 5/4 at the same intersection as this is by my girlfriends apartment.

NHTSA #11735602

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while having routine maintenance, the power steering was making an unknown abnormal noise. The steering was turning on and off. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 15,027.

NHTSA #11735169

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle bucked for approximately 3-seconds before the vehicle stalled. The hazards were activated, the vehicle was turned off, and the contact waited before restarting the vehicle. While restarting the vehicle, several warning lights quickly flashed, and the vehicle failed to exceed 4 MPH while driving to the nearest parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V031000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA #11726899

I am a three-time Acura owner currently leasing a 2025 Acura MDX through Honda/Acura. On or about 12/02/2025, at approximately 16,297 miles, a front parking sensor fell out of the front bumper while I was driving. I am concerned that this reduces the reliability of the front parking/safety system and could put safety at risk if a driver relies on the sensors to detect obstacles at low speeds (parking, maneuvering, etc.) while the hardware is no longer properly secured. There was no crash or injury in this incident, but the failure affected a safety-related system on a low-mileage vehicle. Before I noticed the sensor was missing, the front alert on the dashboard began going off repeatedly while I was driving, even though there was nothing in front of the vehicle. That was the first indication that something was wrong with the system. Only after I parked and inspected the front of the vehicle did I see that the front parking sensor had come out of the bumper, which confirmed the source of the problem. The problem was inspected and confirmed by an authorized Acura dealer, who diagnosed broken internal mounting clips on the front sensor. The dealer and manufacturer attributed the failure to “outside influence” (implying that I must have hit something), but no impact damage or other physical evidence was found on the front of the vehicle. The front remains normal and pristine with no dents, cracks, gouges, chips, or distortion of the bumper, paint, grille, or sensor area. I am concerned that a likely part or installation failure on a low-mileage vehicle is being dismissed as “outside influence” based purely on assumption rather than documented physical evidence. In effect, an unproven assumption is being treated as fact, which could allow similar front sensor or mounting failures on other vehicles to be written off as external damage instead of being investigated as a potential durability or design issue with the front sensor mounting.

NHTSA #11705339

When the car comes to a stop, the engine will shut down after idling. This is by design. The problem is that the engine shuts off and does not start up again. This is very dangers when turning across traffic. I took the car in for maintenance and they said this is a known issue but there is no fix. The internet has many complaints and some people are having their starters replaced. This problem has occurred in other model years of this car. Please issue a recall and make Acura accountable for this known issue.

NHTSA #11701103

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended, causing the vehicle to decelerate unintendedly. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and determined that the throttle body was damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified on the failure and suggested that the vehicle be taken to the dealer for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 6,000.

NHTSA #11690511

The auto start/stop system failed to restart at a stop light. This was an issue on the older MDX and TLX vehicles with the 3.5L V6 which resulted in a large recall. The recall has not been extended to cover the 2025 MDX and the dealership is refusing to fix the issue or acknowledge it despite having a video to prove it occurred. Acura is knowingly selling these vehicles with a dangerous safety defect that will occur at random. Please consider investigating this matter further as I am concerned for my safety and the safety of my passengers.

NHTSA #11678817

Tires have 3k miles . For the past 2 weeks, we have had a slow leak. Must refill air every 3 days. Spent one day at Tire Kingdom, but they could not detect anything. Then the Acura Dealer says there is a leak, but can't find it. We have no choice but to purchase a new tire. This is wrong - th I am retired on a fixed income and must buy a tire for a 3-month-old vehicle!

NHTSA #11674335

The car sometimes brakes on its own, and sometimes it brakes more or less than normal. Also, sometimes when I try to turn it on, it struggles to do so.

NHTSA #11675459

i purchased the vehicle March of 2025. Since I have been to the dealership on multiple occasions. I was there less than a week after purchase because there was a noise coming from the front tire the dealership balanced the tire. The noise was still there so i returned and the next time they replaced the front wheel bearings. I still have issues with the steering wheel shaking so they replaced all 4 tires. The problem still persists but they don’t know why. the car feels unsafe to drive especially on the highway and in rain. i have had the recall for the brake pin assembly addressed and fixed. I also have issues with the audio shutting off or not responding the dealer did a hard reset and an update to the software that has not resolved the issue. The car would turn off at random times and struggle to turn back on when the idle shut off was activated. the dealer replaced the starter. i have had issues with the car randomly braking when there is nothing in front of me and other safety features either not working at all or working when not needed. dealer advised it was a faulty battery and replaced it. I currently am still having shaking with loud noises especially at higher speed. The engine is very hesitant when accelerating and i struggle to merge onto the highway. It is also extremely jerky at lower gears and its most noticeable in stop go traffic. The brakes are squealing already and the mileage is low. I also sometimes need to press the brakes hard to even stop. The screen often goes black or will not connect to anything and i am unable to see directions or hear music. i feel extremely unsafe in this car and have anxiety every time i need to have anyone in the car with me

NHTSA #11703162

(1) My airbag's did not deploy when an another car drove into the front of my car causing extensive damage. It has been deemed a total loss by Liberty Mutual (claim #[XXX]) and will be towed in a day or two to their salvage yard from the auto body shop. (2) Based on what I was told by the claim adjuster, body shop and police they didn't understand why they didn't deploy, especially since one of the air bag sensors was directly in front of the impact. (3) No - Acura has not been easy to communicate with and assigned me a case #[XXX] but after I answered their questions by email a few days ago they have stopped communicating with me. (4) The car has been inspected by the body shop and Liberty Mutual. (5) No INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA #11662340

My new Acura MDX has very soft braking under normal braking and with harder braking the pedal normally is at the same level as the accelerator pedal which I feel could be a safety issue if your foot is then pressing both pedals at the same time. Also, when driving with adaptive cruise activated, when the car starts to brake on its own following another slower car, with my foot resting on the accelerator, the brake petal will activate and sometimes trap my foot between brake and accelerator petals. This is new to Acura as this is my third MDX since 2014. It has been noted on u-tube videos of the new MDX's. The dealer says it is not an adjustable brake system. The car can be hard to stop with a heavy load. Nothing I have ever experience before with any car. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA #11636296

on 8/24, I purchased an acura mdx 2025 technology package.We drove home from the dealer, my mother heard a rattling noise but thought it was the car seat making the noise.The next day,I heard the noise again,it was coming from the right, rear back,I checked,and saw the wheel liner loose and thought the noise was being cause by a loose liner.My mother said we had to go back to the dealer on 8/31 to pick up the wheel lock and weather mats and we would have them check the liner.As the week went by,the noise was more often.On the way to the dealer, we could hear the noise after every bump or turning right.We gave this information to the dealer,we said we thought it was a loose liner but were not sure anymore as the rattling was more often.We did not feel safe driving home.They provided us a loaner and said they would look into it.On 9/4 they sent a text that the rear sway bar link was faulty, the part was ordered and the car should be ready by Friday.My mom emailed them to ask if by faulty,they meant it was loose or broken,they checked and said it was broken.It was expressed to them that this was concerning because it was a brand new vehicle,that we felt blessed that we decided to leave the car,had we driven back home, God knows what could have happened since a broken link can cause you to lose control and get into an accident.We asked if they would report it to the manufacturer or NHTSA? They did not reply. But text a day after stating that we must have gone through a pothole at high speed or hit something,and we were liable for the cost.After my mother sent an email and spoke with them saying that if it was not caused by us,that if the issue was there,was it caused during transporting the car from The manufacturer to the dealer?they said that the car was fixed and there would be no charge but kept insisting that we were at fault,that it happens alot,where people walk out of the dealer and come back with something broken the next day. (more to say but no space)

NHTSA #11612954

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while shifted into reverse(R), the rear-view camera display failed to function as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond while shifted into reverse (R). The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V032000 (Back Over Prevention, Equipment); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

NHTSA #11675033