so i own a 2010 MDX Advanced, and I had a 2016 MDX base loaner for a week.
the 2016 felt much lighter like a crossover, and my 2010 feels more like a truck.

i just compared the specs and the curb weight is 590 pounds from my 2010 to the 2016.

i know they dropped the tranny cooler and made it an option for 5,000 pound towing, and probably dropped the spare tire in favor of the inflate kits. but what else made the 3rd gen MDX so much lighter?

 

you can also find direct information from Honda News
this direct information will give you EVERY difference between the two generations

 

so essentially they used a different or more HSS essentially

 

basically, yes.

 

so the HSS shaved about 275 of the 590 pound difference.
such a huge weight difference from the 2g to the 3g MDX

 

^im in the middle of working and looking at Hondanews to figure out more of the 590lb difference, bear with me

 

Also depends if you have just a fwd 16 loaner or sh-awd? I think that could shave another 200-225lbs from the curb weight. The 3.7L would also add more weight. Add in the 07-10 is taller, wider and shaped like a brick compared to narrow and more aerodynamic +14 MDX. I had a few +14 MDX loaners and I would put them closer to the Honda Odyssey than previous gen MDX in caparison. I wish I could shave 1/2 ton off my MDX or add 50-75 extra HP/TQ because of the extra mass.

 

was just curious.
like i said, that's a lot of weight to shave.

 

i was on the Edmunds site comparing the 2010 MDX --> 2016 MDX.
i know that packages/options will make a difference as well.
and the loaner i was using was the AWD-SH model. it's nearly impossible to find a FWD in New England.

 

ahh, didnt think of that!
an AWD system could account for 200 or so pounds...

so, if base 3.5 fwd MDX...there's the ~590lbs
HHS- ~275lbs
transmission - ~220lbs

 

good point.
went back on Edmunds and did 2010 MDX Advance vs 2016 MDX AWD-SH (non-tech)
it's still 408 pounds lighter.

so 275 for the HSS. some weight for the optional tranny cooler. do the new ones come with a spare tire or do that use that stupid Fix-A-Flat kit?

 

I think all +14 MDXs fwd come with fix a flat kit. You have to add all the hardware and donut spare if you want a spare for the +14 fwd version. I thinking the +16 MDXs with sh-awd get a donut spare.

Since we both have Adv models, we are hauling the most weight around compared to the 2nd gen tech/base versions. I've added a hitch, full size spare, roof rack, side steps, Entertainment system, and my fat ass for another 450lbs to haul around.

 

whoa whoa, talk to me. you can fit a full tire? i heard it's possible with the Acura hitch, but not with aftermarket hitches...any truth to that?
i installed a Hidden Hitch and mine already came with the roof rails, which are useless to me

 

I upgraded my tires and rims to 20" Conti DWS. I used one of my old OEM advance rims as a full size spare with the OEM hitch. The OEM hitch might stick out more than some of the aftermarket hidden ones; but, OEM will fit a full size tire.

I just put a wheel cover to help keep the tire a little cleaner under the MDX:

 

i like the cover idea. when i took my donut off to install the hitch, i Simple Green'ed the shit out of it and made it look pretty again. there was barely any air in it too.

i'm curious if the 19" advance wheel will fit under there with the Hidden Hitch installed

 

I've heard some folks had to let out the air from a full size spare to fit depending on the type of hitch and the amount of room. I have a 12v air compressor I use mostly for my bikes; but, works perfectly for my vehicles also. You might have to keep something like that in the MDX if the full size spare doesn't fit inflated.

Just depends on the cost of keeping the hidden hitch compared to just switching to an OEM hitch?

 

interesting. i have to tow a lot, so it's a better option than a donut

 

How did you like the shifting pattern of the 2016? the loaners I had actually FELT slower than the 2G.

 

comfort mode was only good on the highway at cruising speeds. off ramps and city use gets Sport mode. i dont like how quickly it shifts gears. i think 35 MPH put me in 6th gear. 25 MPH was 4th gear. another thing i didnt like was paddle shifting down gears for the off-ramps. it seemed like i was downshifting forever to get down to 3rd or 4th.

 

Yeah that was my problem too.. Downshifting took ages that is why the pickup felt slower than my 2G even with the 5 speedo the shifting pattern is way better in the Honda trans vs the ZF. Tossing it around the curves really showed that almost half ton difference though..

I cant wait to see the "Allegedly" Honda 10 Speedo in perhaps the 4th gen MDX.

 

My rdx 5 speed sometimes felt annoying to shift down with the paddles. I had the same experience with the mdx as well, good god it took forever to shift down. I can't imagine living with it daily. The only thing I found useful was to put the mdx into sport mode and use the paddles to keep it in second gear.

One thing though, why did you feel the 2G was truckish and the 3G car-like? Do you think it has anything to do with possibly having a smaller turning radius? I have experience with both the 2G and 3G. In my opinion the 2G felt and drove smaller while the 3G felt like a bus. Even in corners, I could still feel all that mass.

 

i felt higher than the 3g MDX, but then i checked the specs and they're very similar. it's got to be the weight. my 2g feels like a tank, where the 3g felt like a crossover when driving.
turning radius had nothing to do with it

 

I think I understand what you are saying. So the 3G feels more carlike because the engine is smoother in operation. Like the car feels lighter and easier to maneuver. Not necessarily the driving dynamics.

 

basically. it's tough to explain. i was looking at height, width, internal room, curb weight, etc to justify why the 2g felt like a truck and the 3g felt like a car

 

I think I understand what you are trying to say. I call our santa fe carlike and my old touareg truck like, where the touareg would crush the santa fe on a curve. It's just this difficult way to explain feeling lol.

 

The latest generation SH-AWD systems are significantly lighter than the older ones. I would imagine the newer 3.5L Earth Dreams motor is also lighter than the older 3.7L V6. Personally, I think the new MDX looks like a Hyundai Santa Fe. It's slab-sided and plain looking.

 

I agree completely with this.

 

As heavy the 2G MDX is (4500-4630lbs) compared to the 3G MDX (3960-4300lbs), it always amazes me on how heavy the Euro-SUVs are:
X5: 4700lbs to 5100lbs
MB GLE: 4600lbs to 4900lbs
Porsche Cayenne: 4400lbs to 4900lbs
Porsche Macan: 3900lbs to 4250lbs
Audi Q5: 4200lb to 4400lbs
Audi Q7: +4900lbs
VW Touareg: 4700lbs to 5000lbs
Range Rover: 5000lbs to 5300lbs

The new F-Pace by Jag comes in at 3900-4100lbs with 340-380hp; which, might make it a pretty good performer depending on awd system and suspension.

The Lexus RX 350 is pretty heavy for a 5 seater (4200-4387lbs). Infiniti comes in at 3800-4000lbs for the QX50, QX60 at 4300-4460lbs, and QX70 at 4200-4300lbs.

Considering the 3G MDX increased performance, reduced weight, 30%-40% increase in hwy mpgs, and similar 2G towing/cargo space and Acura didn't need to add magnetic shocks or larger hp engine or larger F/R stabilizer bars to achieve this. I think Acura has made a bigger leap forward with the future of SUVs compared to other competitors with the 3G MDX.

 

Damn, I'm also amazed by that list of SUV weights. I'd thought you'd have to load an X5 with lead bars to get it weigh 4700lbs.+
I don't feel so bad now about our 2G X being 4600lbs.

 

The weight of these euro suv's amazes me, especially in relation to their acceleration and handling abilities. You would think that something that tall and large would require a v10 engine to move around as swiftly but they don't. The 2007 x5 3.0 V6 does 0-60 in like 8.0 seconds and it still weighe 5000 pounds! It almost seems impossible. The current x5 is something like 4500-4700 pounds I beleive and can do 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and other sports cars with similar power numbers are just as fast or slower even.

My Touareg had air suspension, it could really dance in the curves in sport mode.

I like that they managed to cut so much weight from the 3G, but the europeans are doing the same thing as well. The touareg (and all other platform mates) lost 500-700 pounds by going to a lot of aluminum in 2011, now with the mqb (mlb?) platform it is set to lose another few hundred pounds. The mdx is going to face stiff competition from the new 3 row volkswagen crossblue suv.

 

I'm really really tempted to get the 17/18 MDX sh-sh-awd with 7DCT in a few years as an used car around 2019-2020. It is the only 1 or 2 hybrids I can think of that can deliver on mpg+power+3 row space+handling at an reasonable price.

 

I am really curious to see what the 0-60 times will be. The 9 speed is stupidly laggy and shifts for no reason sometimes. The 8 speed dct in the ilx was really quick, the 7 speed should be just as good.

I wonder if acceleration times will drop a half second or so. The 2G mdx switch from 5 speed to 6 speed knocked off a good 0.4-0.6 seconds off acceleration.

 

Just got our 2013 mdx transmission flushed due to tsb. We got a 2016 mdx tech non-sh-awd. The shifting of the gears made me nauseous after a 5 mile drive.

 

It would seem having paddles for sport mode manual shifting would be almost useless with 9AT? I've read Honda is working on a 10AT down the road. I can see a need for paddles with the 7DCT. I don't understand why Acura went with the 9AT and dropped 1 mpg compared to sticking with the 6AT for atleast the base/tech trims? Acura finally figured out how to build a solid 6AT just to give it up after a few years.

 

What tsb?

 

It stand for Technical Service Bulletin, basically any software or hardware/parts update issued by Manufacturer

 

Lol no, he isn't asking what is a tsb. He is asking for the tsb code and what the tsb is for.

 

May I ask what TSB issue for the transmission for your 2013 MDX?

 

Maybe due to cost? I think the ZF transmissions and CVT trannys that all these car manufacturers use now is because it is cheaper and increase margins for their bottom line? I am no expert, just a thought.

 

I think it has to do yet again with buyers perception... 6 speed was kinda outdated when everyone else is using more gears... Gears are like HP Numbers.
Even to 07 standards I think the MDX should had 6 gears back then, 6 gears on 2016? No effin way.