2015 MDX with tech package


This is a follow up with my 2015 AWD with tech 1600 miles. I complained about noise in the rear when hitting small or larger potholes at low speeds almost identical to what others described. After my second trip to the dealer he replaced the rear shocks/struts yesturday. My loaner was the same vehicle as mine and I noticed the noise in the rear minus the thump on the left side. So far that is what I noticed after the part replacement, there is some noise but no thump. Didn't drive much but will update in a few days. The dealer was interested also in what I feel in a few days since I wasn't the only one complaining.

 

Will be interested in your upstate in a few days.

 

my rlx has been in for repair numerous times for the same "loose lumber" suspension defect in the front and rear, most recently this week. (there is a tsb for the rlx for the front but nothing for the rear.) i have been driving a 2015 mdx for a week. it clearly has the same defect, at least in the rear, clunking and rattling over bumps, particularly noticeable at slower speeds. the features listed for the mdx include the same amplitude reactive dampers that the rlx has. acura has known about this for close to a year with no definitive permanent corrective action. it is unclear whether they have determined the root cause of the problem. my car now has its third set of struts in the front and second in the rear, unless they have replaced them again this week. it is still at the dealer.
i searched through a number of pages of threads but didn't see where this has been widely reported as an issue with the mdx. has it been?

 

No it hasn't.

The 3G MDX doesn't seem to have an issue with suspension noise.

The RLX has a more complicated suspension design, with provisions for PAWS, hybrid motors, etc.

 

Any update on this I have the same issue and it's driving me crazy

 

Here's a reach... Years ago in one of my previous SUV's (not an MDX) a noise developed in the rear that drove me nuts.. I would have sworn it was coming from the rear suspension because you only heard it over bumps and washboard type roads. Even a tech who drove it thought it was the suspension but couldn't find anything.

It ended up being the tailgate, it needed to be realigned and the stops adjusted. Once that was done the noise went away. Again, I have no idea if this relates but figured I would throw it out there.

 

See this new post under suspension
Thumbs down ACURA MDX 2015 Suspension Noise
I am truly dissappointed with the lousy rear suspension on my 2015 MDX. This SUV is supposed to stand next to the Q7, X5 & RX350 but its far from it. I returned an RX350 lease to get into this third row seater but only to be discontent with the rattling sounds going on in the rear. I only have 2000k and it sounds like a city cab whose suspension is shot. I've taken it to Acura but they say nothing is wrong. I took a test drive on a new one and it also sounds horrible. I was too excited to notice when I test drove it. Now I'm stuck with a 3yr lease. I hope they figure out what is causing all that racket back there.

 

Could this rattling be this new TSB?

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B15-009.PDF

 

^^^^^

My MDX had the above "Rattle from the Second Row Passenger Seat" from day 1, and I already had the dealership fixed it up during the 1st oil change visit.

It is very easy to tell if the noise is the "2nd row seat rattle" or something else.

Since the loose cable is underneath the 2-seater portion of the 2nd row seats, the cable will only rattle if the 2-seater seat is not occupied. If someone is sitting down on the 2-seater seat, the seat cushion/spring will force down against the cable, and thus the cable won't rattle.

This is how to duplicate the seat rattle noise.

Leave the 2-seater seat unoccupied, and keep banging your palm hard against the top of that seat. Every hit of the seat will result in an unmistakable rattle noise.

If you look down underneath the seat, you will see a curved black cable (used in activating the slide forward function) hitting the flat metal seat spring, and making the rattle noise.

 

Now that is a great troubleshooting explanation.

 

Interesting but definitely not the clunk and rattle that i heard, which was the "loose lumber" noise, as it has been described elsewhere.

 

We have had our MDX for about 2 months. We get thumping and a hollow echo sound from the rear end going over bumps. Seems to be worse on the right side than the left side and seems to be worse with short potholes than recessed manhole covers. I have had it into the dealer twice and they admit that it doesn't sound right but can't find anything wrong. An Acura district support manager is supposed to be at the dealer on Friday so they are going to have him evaluate it. Thanks for other comments on AcuraZine, I will print them out and give them to them. The car is amazingly quiet on the highway, no road or wind noise, but driving in the neighborhoods over bumps is making me crazy. I'm embarrassed to have someone ride with me it sounds so bad. This is our first "luxury" car and so far I'm not impressed.

 

Just to add another data point here, my '15 Base has the same annoying thunk at low speeds over small irregularities in the pavement. I just got it out of the shop (where they had it for 31 days fixing a "pop" sound, which turned out to be the hatch hinge) and the loaner also thunked, just not as loudly.

There is clearly something wackadoo with the suspension or shock design, but Acura seems to be ignoring it. In fact, the explanation I got from the dealer was "It's normal because the suspension was designed to carry a lot of weight, so it makes noise when lightly loaded.". Umm... Yeah. OK.

At any rate, I've decided to buy a package of Dynamat and try to curb some of the noise myself, since it seems unlikely Acura will ever give us a fix.

This is my first Acura product, and I'm not impressed.

Chris

 

The issue could be due to an improperly adjusted parking brake cable.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-.../#post15322477

 

Thanks for that link! I will check into that on mine. It seems like that would produce a sharper, more metallic rattle sound. What I hear is a low frequency "thump" type of sound, most noticeable over small irregularities in the pavement at low speeds.

Chris

 

Is this the same problem with the reactive dampers affecting the RDX and the ILX?

conelectric...Your MDX is gorgeous BTW.

 

^^^^^

How widespread is the RDX/ILX reactive damper problems ?

With the latest generation MDX selling at 5-6K units a month, the "suspension noise" doesn't seem to be a common issue.

 

Just picked up a 2015 MDX AWD Tech yesterday and drove 100 miles with no thumping over many bumps and road imperfections (car built January 2015) so hopefully Acura has resolved the issue.

 

It's bad....really really bad! (with the ILX/RDX)

 

Its been a month since my rear struts were replaced, and now have 2000 miles in the car. Its rough driving in New York now as there are just so many potholes. So what do I think of the "thumping" noise now? I think that the thumping is diminished. It is still noisy in the rear but I can best describe it as an even noise on both sides. Best I can do is say its better but certainly not quiet on bumpy roads.