navdeepnippy

Hi Guys,

My 2009 MDX was overheating last year and I took it to a friend mechanic who said the issue was with the head gasket and he replaced it (cost me about 2000 dollars).

After this work a new issue arose. Now the driver side heat wouldn't work, passenger side heat is fine but driver side vents only blow cold air, both in front and rear.

The friend mechanic tried to solve the issue and couldn't. He even took the car to several of his buddy's who have their own garages and have worked at Acura dealerships before and they couldn't diagnose it either.

I took the car to the Acura dealership and they were not able to figure out the issue either. They were suggesting that the only thing remaining to be done was to take the whole dash apart and then see if anything under there was blocked.

The overheating has started happening again where after every drive, the fan is turning on to cool off the engine.

I have noticed that the temperature gauge goes over the half point at times.

I think the overheating and driver side heat not working are related.

Please advise what course of action should I take.

I know I am probably looking at some expensive repairs and would like to take care of this issue sooner than later as I have read that the overheating can smoke the head gasket.

Thanks,
Navdeep

Acura_Dude

I know this may sound stupid, but have you checked the coolant level, thermostat, and the water pump (IDK if you've done the 105K mile service yet)? Also have the heater core checked?? It could be clogged.

H442

Did u have the radiator checked? It could also be clogged as well. Partially.

Acura_Dude

^This is as well.

navdeepnippy

Issue at the time was low radiator fluid, which I topped up both in the reservoir and directly in the radiator and it REDUCED overheating.

I am still experiencing it a little bit now where instead of the temperature gauge going up to 75%, now it only goes around 50-60%.

The engine cooling fan still comes on after being in stop and go driving.

I checked the coolant level again today and it has gone down in the external reservoir and I topped it up again.

I don't notice any leaks or anything, so I am really hoping that it's not the same issue as last year where the head gasket was bad and the coolant was ending up in the engine and getting burnt, which cost me big bucks to replace the head gasket.

I will check the coolant level in the reservoir again in a couple of days.

Is there anything I can check manually for possible issues before taking the car to a shop?

Acura_Dude

Sounds like you've checked all that you could "visually". Have you looked at the radiator itself closely? Make sure it's not leaking? BTW have you smelled any antifreeze after driving the vehicle? I do hope it isn't your head gasket.

mrgold35

I've had radiator leak because the cap was going bad. I also had a hair line crack on the upper plastic part of a Honda radiator that was leaking (same vehicle with +100,000 miles). I would check the motor oil to see if it is starting to look milky in color instead of just normal dark brown/black (bad head gasket).

Maybe when the MDX temp gauge is at its max reading, give the radiator a visible/smell check for around the hoses, cap, and radiator.

navdeepnippy

The radiator was leaking. I saw a green leak buildup on the inner side of radiator mesh.

My mechanic took a look at it. He opened the radiator cap after the car had been sitting for about 2 hours after a drive. He said the problem isn't with the head gasket since there was no pressure buildup in the radiator.

He is going to replace the radiator now and hopefully that fixes the problem.

Acura_Dude

navdeepnippy

Engine heating issue has been resolved after replacing the radiator... Thanks guys for your help and suggestions.

Acura_Dude

Here's to many more trouble-free miles.