hawkeye62

My wife, who is 5' 0" tall, has a hard time getting in and out of our 2017 MDX. I wonder if the running boards available from Acura really work as an entry/exit aid or are they just cosmetic?

Any insight will be appreciated.

Regards, Jim

djlandkpl

They work. I have them on my MDX. The biggest complaint is that they stick out from the car and will get your clothes dirty.

vicbastige

This. My parents have a '17 like mine w/o the boards, I have the boards. They don't help much getting in as they are almost as high as the floorboards and when you want to get out you have to "reach out over" with your leg. Very uncomfortable compared to my parents! Where I see they would be very helpful is if you have a roof rack and need to work on/load the roof. Really, try it before you commit to them.

victorber

We picked up our 18 Advance and put floorboards on it. My wife is having a problem with not enough foot real estate, I think I have found the problem as it is the chrome strip on the lower part underneath the doors which steals some of the real estate.
Oh and by the way my wife is only 5 ft as well...
We have an after market brand....

hawkeye62

We went to the dealer yesterday. They had a 2018 MDX with running boards on the floor. My wife got in and out several times and said the boards really helped her entry and exit. Dealer offered a good price so, we took a loaner home and they installed the boards. When we got the car home, I notice that when I exit the car, my leg bumps the board. I will have to practice exiting! But, wife is happy, so all is good.

Regards, Jim

hawkeye62

Edit for a photo. The diamond shapes are raised, not depressions. They removed the chrome strips, so the board is full width.
Jim

like2ace

hawkeye62

I don't know, the Aura techs did the work. I imagine removal is easy, otherwise they wouldn't have removed them. The service manager told me prior to my OK for the work that they would remove them to provide more foot room. He was aware that I was having them installed because my wife was having a hard time with entry/exit. The original salesman helped my wife experiment with the MDX in the showroom. And he talked to the service manager to get things scheduled.

If your MDX still has the chrome strips, maybe that is the standard installation which assumes that most people view the running boards as cosmetic.

Regards, Jim

victorber

I was looking at the chrome strip in question and I think, after checking out the top and bottom of the chrome strip.it seems to be a garnishment as it sets on top of the black rocker panel molding trim and protrudes outward. Maybe the Advance has a different rocker panel then the Tech model?

Looks like I will have to go over to visit our friends at Acura!