Anyone have a clue what to start looking at to troubleshoot this problem?

The problem only occurs at highway speeds and it only happens on long stretches at 65 MPH or more. There are times where I will go for 200 miles without a problem, and then there are times where I will go 50 miles and it will pop up. It has never happened on trips shorter than that.

When I am holding the gas pedal to maintain my speed the car will suddenly feel like it bumps. It is hard to describe but it feels like if the brake is quickly (and lightly) applied to one wheel in the front for about half a second and then lets off. It will then do it randomly (around every 3-10 seconds) if I continue to hold the gas. When I let go it stops. If I accelerate harder then it goes away. I tried shutting the VSA off and it goes away for a minute or two, then it comes back but a lot less frequent. When I turn the VSA back on the problem comes back in full force.

I don't have any warning lights. All of the maintenance is up to date. I just changed the EGR valve and cleaned out the intake. I changed a wheel speed sensor up front for another reason but the problem was going on before and after it. It's an 03 MDX with 106k on it.

Any ideas? It seems to me like some sort of computer problem the way it is random and only happening as I accelerate lightly. I am suspecting a the VSA control but I don't want to throw that kind of money at it without being sure.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that what you're experiencing is the dreaded transmission shudder that has plagued the 1G MDX. Has something to do with the torque converter.

 

I decided I am going to take it in and confirm what the problem is before I sink so much cash into it. If it is transmission related, I'll be doing the swap myself. What fun it will be .

 

I'll post what the problem ended up being for people that might have the same problem in the future.