2022 Acura MDX
This year drew an ordinary 141 complaints for a Acura MDX — the model's median is 80. What they were about is the unusual part: 16.3% of them mention wheel drive, against 0.8% across the model's other years.
First year of a new generation. The Acura MDX was redesigned for 2022. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 141 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 80 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 21.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- wheel drive — 16.3% of this year's complaints, against 0.8% across the model's other years (21.3×). Owners wrote it as: wheel drive, only front, info, drive system.
- transmission — 31.9% of this year's complaints, against 8.9% across the model's other years (3.6×).
- awd — 14.2% of this year's complaints, against 3.8% across the model's other years (3.8×). Owners wrote it as: awd, reduced, operate, complaints filed.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
Transfer case failure limiting all wheel drive system. Needs new transmission and transfer case at 83000 miles.
Noticed fluid was leaking from bottom of car. Took to dealership and they found the transmission output shaft was twisted leading to destruction of transmission seals leading to fluid leak. They recommend full replacement of the transmission and transfer case.…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 24V064000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 26V332000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Acura MDX was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2022 Acura MDX? What happened to yours?
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