groman

Love this mdx in black, miss our 07 mix bad, I think I will get a new 2012 this fall before the 2013 model comes out

Talbot

I have wanted an MDX for a while now and seeing yours makes it even harder to resist. -_-

SlimTL

It's indeed a great SUV. I fell more in love with it when I saw how slick it looked in the movie "Thor"


Judging from your avatar, you have a TSX? I loved that car. To make our decision easier to purchase the MDX, we kept telling ourselves it's a bigger, more advanced version of the TSX with lot's more tech goodies. We're not losing anything if we upgrade.

I do miss the high MPGs and fun to drive factor from the TSX though. But that's just a minor trade-off for a more updated car.

MDXist

I like the Advance running board but not so sure abouth the LED...BTW looks good

SlimTL

Thanks. It took some getting used to. I originally changed the door lights to LEDs but they blew the circuit and I haven't had that fixed yet. Apparently that's a common problem.

It looks like you have the Canadian version MDX. Do you have the power folding mirrors? If so, that's one feature I envy.

omnuts

Did you get the circuit fixed yet? If its a common problem, does this mean that running leds on the doors will mostly likely blew the circuit. Is there any way around it?
I want to change mine to leds but after reading about blown circuits I'm hesitant.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

i changed all the interior lights of my MDX to LEDs...no issues. also did the back up lights, license plate lights, and parking lights.

omnuts

^ I already swap out most of them to led except for the doors, since I was researching bulbs and other were mentioning about blown circuits especially the rears.
I will give the doors a shot and see what happens.

SlimTL

Haven't gotten it fixed yet. However, I have LEDs strips on the running boards, so I still have enough light at the base of the doors.
I'll have the dealer check it out when I take the X in this month for the 1st oil change. I should have some long overdue updates to this thread as well.

If you are going to change those bulbs, one suggestion I got from the other forum, is to disconnect the battery 1st. After you install, reconnect the battery with the doors closed. Apparently, this keeps the "surge" of electricity from overloading the circuit board.

omnuts

^ Thanks for the input, this is exactly how I was going to approach the door lights except to pull fuse #6 out before changing. Will see how this goes this week.

fxcarden

How hard is it to do the reverse lights, and did they help the camera at all when dark ?.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

reverse lights are super easy. there are two panels that access the bulb on the tailgate from inside.

now whether they help the back up cam....is another matter. there is a newer back up LED (last time i checked around) that has radial LEDs and forward facing LEDs which will supposedly help distribute light better.

what i have found with the back up cam...at night when reversing (ie parking) is to turn the headlights off and the image actually brightens. you're not going see much in terms of distance necessarily at night.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

Very inspirational, I've been toying with the idea of picking up a MDX for a month now. This might be the key turner. I'll definitely be stealing your LED running board mod

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

I will be like that in hopefully about seven months.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^ go for it!!

CLK_CPA

Beautiful X Slim!. What brand of HID fogs did you install? Did you install just the ballasts and the HID bulbs or you installed the relay with battery connectors as well? I got the Elite kit form TRS that I haven't installed yet. Hopefully over the weekend

SlimTL

Thanks. The fogs are actually LEDs from V-leds.com. In the quote, I can see how it looks like I said Fogs with HIDs. I actually meant fogs(LEDs) with HID headlights on. I was just trying to show the both on together.

I considered HID's but I didn't feel like hassling with the install. Let us know how yours turns out.

ZCL

Enjoy! We love our 2010 that we bought brand new. Looking forward to the 2014 because I want more size and more tech.

kenbo628

Hey Slim,

Question about your LED DRLs...at any point when you first installed them did you receive a bulb-out warning on the dash (and did it go away eventually)? I just installed them (not the V-LED brand) and am getting the DRL warning. I also purchased canbus LED bulbs that were supposed to resolve the BOW issue but no luck for me. I'm scratching my head a bit because some peeps are using resistors for the DRLs and others like yourself are not.

Nice ride btw- I have the same model/color but with sport running boards. I've also converted most of the bulbs to LED (no issues with the doors).

Thanks,

-Ken

SlimTL

Thanks for the compliment. Still a work in progress though.

Don't quote me on this, but I think the V-LEDs have a resistor built-in to the bulb housing. I've never had any issues with the DRL's. I'm not a big fan of resistors for bulbs on a car unless it's absolutely necessary.
And I wish I had gotten lucky with the doors.

omnuts

^ Just a follow up, I installed the doors leds without any issues.. I did remove fuse #6 as a precaution during the process. I hope you get the door issue resolved soon.

SlimTL

Acura_Dude

Soooo nice!

paz840

iTrader: (2)

Looks great!
I did the same on my Grigio X minus the lower garnish.

mcat69

Your X is looking mighty fine! I had just installed the Sport Running Boards on mine this weekend...took about 4 hours...

omnuts

Looks great, nice addition

SlimTL

Thanks for the kind words folks.

The Roof Rack was not that hard to install. It just took some time. About 2.5 hours to be exact. Once I got the first side out the way, the 2nd side took about 45 mins.

And the roof rack will be functional: Getting prepared to bring the bicycles out next spring and to carry the roof box on long trips.

The rear garnish only took about an 1.5 hours due to drilling in the bumper. But it was a piece of cake.

kenbo628

Slim, any plans on switching your turn signal bulbs to LED? Those V-LED V3 Tritons look appealing but steep for $80, and no word on if they're canbus or not.

SlimTL

Nah. I've already got LEDs for the turn signals for both front and rear. I stuck with red LEDs for the back and everything is bright enough to my taste. Maybe in the future, if I have to replace them, I'll "upgrade" to the V3 Tritons.

kenbo628

Oh cool, so you didn't need to use resistors for the turn signals? I take it they're V-led bulbs?

SlimTL

I actually do have resistors installed. I used two 3-ohm resistors that are mounted in the engine bay to help equalize the rate of the LEDs flashing.

All my bulbs are from V-leds, btw. They've been reputable to me for a few years now.

ziggyh22

iTrader: (3)

Looking good SLIM!

F23A4

I've gotta stop looking at this thread. I'm very tempted to emulate this accessorizing in my 12 Tech. Good job though.

SlimTL

With all the MDXs on the road lately, it's pays to be different.
If you do decide to accessorize your X, whether for function or looks, make sure it's something that you feel would be beneficial to you.

SlimTL

Install took me about 3 hours. I saved about $400 in Acura labor. Actually the hardest part was removing the 3rd row seat and the bumper (probably why the dealer charges so much). Lots of screws that required a tub of elbow grease to loosen.

The reverse control module is circled here. Everything was preassembled for ease of install. Kudos to Acura for that.





Can you spot the blind spot sensor in this pic?




The reverse buzzer




Took these while waiting for the Mrs. to do last minute Christmas shopping.

Vividsi

does that first aid kit velcro to the side?

paz840

iTrader: (2)

Nice work Slim, the MDX is coming along nicely.
Anything else planned?

SlimTL

Yeah, it has velcro backing, so it's easily removable if I need access to that rear power socket.

Thanks Paz. There's actually a few mods left. I still need that front bumper garnish to compliment the rear. And I'll purchase an extra Advance full size wheel with tire to use as the new spare instead of the donut.

Here's the remaining list:
* Front Garnish
* Remote Start
* Wood-grain steering wheel
* Cargo cover
* Spare wheel

For the functional part of the roof rack:
* pair of bike racks (for recreational purposes)
* The long roof box (for traveling purposes)

Non OEM mods:
* Shock sensor/tilt sensor addition to the factory alarm
* "Curb Alert" front bumper sensors (to aide the Mrs. with parking)


I'm giving myself 6 months to complete everything. Just in time to test drive the 3rd gen MDX and reassure myself that these mods were worth it to keep me from lusting for the new one.

F23A4

I hear you. My MDX is a lease that I'll likely swap for an X5 or Cayenne in two years so I'll probably not go any further than the LED license bulbs that I've installed.

But if I were to keep my MDX I'd probably go in the same general direction as you.

omnuts

Geat job, that's a nice addition.