After a painful registration process with calls and emails to Acura tech support, I was able to login and use the app.
Sadly there is no remote start, lower/rise windows, turn on HVAC, etc. Other than seeing the tire pressure and fuel level there is not much to it.
The weird thing is that after a few months you need to pay for the use of the app. What is the point? Am I missing something?

 

you can track the vehicle with it and that may qualify for an insurance discount. I don't use it much. Once in awhile it will tell you the car is unlocked when you know you locked it but you can lock it remotely again if you wish. In my humble opinion it is more a marketing tool than anything else EXCEPT if you are in an accident it will check on you. Off hours they contract to OnStar or used to. A red light runner totaled me in the 2014 MDX so hard the noise could be heard loud for over 1/4 mile away. All the air bags deployed. I got out of the car and Onstar called about that time saying that they were after hours contract for Acuralink and was I OK. So - maybe it could be life or death in some situations.

 

There are dozens of free apps that track your car.
Volvo’s app is free for the first 4 years and it has more functionality, like remote start and HVAC. Lexus app is also free for the first couple of years. I don’t know what the German car makers do.
In my opinion this is another example that shows that Acura is not a truly luxury brand, but simply a premium over Honda. Under the same category we have the aging infotainment, lesser quality materials inside, no TFT instrument panel, etc.
Dont get me wrong, I love my MDX and enjoy driving in it every day, but it leaves me longing for truly luxury.

 

MDX is upscale, not luxury. It isn't a $100K Land Rover

 

Acura is just a sportier styling, slight bump in performance, and better handling versions of Honda vehicles. Bums me out Honda is 1-2 model years ahead in the refresh/upgrade cycle compared to Acura.

I didn't even look into activating Acuralink subscription. We paid enough for the vehicle already. Something like this should be standard with every Acura purchase or at-least until the 4/50k basic or 6/70k powertrain warranty runs out.

 

So the 2019 RDX has much more functionality in terms of AcuraLink - remote start and a bunch of other stuff. The likely updated 2021 MDX will have the same increased functionality.

For me, I have the "connect" subscription for my wife's RLX and had for my '17 MDX and now my '19 MDX. The valuable pieces for me is the remote lock/unlock, status of whether door is open/closed, lights on, etc - and the thing I like the best is the ability to send an address directly to the vehicle nav system so you don't have to type it in. Probably not worth the $$ I pay but it does provide value to me.....

 

Is it unlimited range on the remote start? Any changes to the Acuralink remote start compared to key FOB version (key FOB give you two remote starts in a row for only 10 mins each). I can see how the Acuralink remote start might come in handy if your MDX is parked for a while like at home in the driveway or airport parking for weeks.

 

Here's where I shared my concern with the RDX crowd when the new AcuraLink capability for remote start came out. Unlike the fob we have in the MDX where you're limited, the AcuraLink remote start allows you to start it from ANYWHERE. Just like the ability to lock/unlock doors or check the status, the remote start thru the app will do it from wherever you are. So if you're in Boston and your car is in Denver, you can remote start it. I'm sure it has advantages (like if you're too far away for the fob to work in a mall or something and want to warm the car up) - but to be a thousand miles away and start it? Not sure I'm all for that. But it's what you can do.

What's also "interesting" is that if you get the RDX Advance package with remote start, you HAVE to use the AcuraLink app to start it. You don't get a remote start fob. You have to pay extra to get the fob to remote start the "old fashioned way"..........

andy

 

I'm pretty much reaching subscription overload between cell phone, cable TV, XM, and internet streaming services with Netflix, Comcast, Hulu, pandora, tidal, Amazon Prime, XM radio/weather/traffic, WhatsApp, Waze, Acuralink, etc... I don't want to pay or keep up with another one; especially, if I have to pay more money for occasionally use.

 

Unbelievable. Shame on Acura!
Talk about nickel and dimming you!
In addition the users that don’t have an android or iOS phone are out of luck.

 

What I thought was crazy was that a salesman for an Acura dealer in the western US (can't remember exactly where) was trying to tell me "this is the wave of the future" and to "get with the new way of doing things" when I shared the same frustration with the lack of a fob. I asked him what I could do if there wasn't cell service where I was at (common here in NH) and he told me to find a wi-fi hot spot....... Sigh.....

 

I have the same issue out west with 4G in town and down to 3G/2G/Edge network once I leave the city limits. It can be 2-5 hours between towns with rolling hills to mountains blocking cell towers every few miles. This is the main reason I kept my XM service because it is the only thing that works consistently deep within the mountains (XM isn't as strong today compared to a few years ago). California was the only place I've been out west with constant 4G coverage. My wife was able to stream Netfilx on our iPad mini once we crossed the state line. Our personal phones are Sprint and my wife's work phone is Verizon. Even those two carriers are hit or miss in the same area. We sometimes have to switch the phones out with Carplay because of spotty coverage.

Some auto manufactures like BMW are charging for Apple/Android Carplay as a subscription service just like XM Radio (free for X amount of time and $$$ afterwards). I hope Acura doesn't try to do this next. We live in a glorious time with everyone always grabbing at our wallets 20X a day.