chris03tl

Wife and I test drove a 2016 MDX today...I came away a lot more impressed than I thought I would. As such, its getting added to a short list to replace her 2003 TL.

The only thing I worry about is the 9 speed. They are having "issues" with it in every Chrysler vehicle, and even some in the TLX.

Has anyone had a '16 long enough and put enough miles on it to give a good opinion? The TLX complaints are intermittent rough shifts, lurching when downshifting, etc. It seems that the issues wont really show up until the transmission has "adapted" for a few thousand miles.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

Stu's2004TL

On other forums I have read both sides. Owners love it or hate it. A coworker of mine has a 15 Jeep GC and had to have the tranny replaced. I would take a very long test drive. Maybe keep it overnight before purchase.

chris03tl

Planned on it, the problem being that the issues seem to crop up well into ownership. Not just after a day or two. On our test drive with the dealer it behaved about as well as I expected....a little slow to downshift, but Im not auto-xing it so who cares.

I also had a good (READ: without the dealer in the car) test drive with the TLX and noticed no issues with the shift quality of the 9 speed. But again, its not like I drove it for 3000 miles.

Im still amazed how brands cant seem to get transmissions right yet. Nissan/Infiniti having CVT problems, so that rules out the QX on our short list.

How many other Japanese "MDX" type vehicles are out there?

Stu's2004TL

I rented a QX60 from Avis on a family vacation. Did not like the tranny either. The Toyota Highlander is very nice but does not handle like the MDX. I think ithe MDX the best in class. The wife and I each own one. But we have the 6 speeds. No issues there. Can you find a leftover 15?
Acura is known to come out with TSB software updates for the tranny. But there is not one out yet for the new 9 speed.

Ken1997TL

I've driven several TLX's with the 9 speed, including loaners. I never had any issues with it.

Drwzer

I don't think you can compare different vehicles with this transmission since they all use different software. For the most part it is software updates that are resolving most of these issues. I've had my 2016 for 1.5 months with about 2000 km on it and the transmission has been very smooth. I recall only one rough shift a few weeks ago. I started the car in the morning and the first 2/3 shift was rough but was fine for the rest of the day. This transmission is going in to two important cars for Honda, mdx and pilot, so I would imagine that any serious problems will be addressed.

E92Vancouver

I absolutely love my 2016 MDX. Transmission shifts very smooth. I have a Canadian model so the hardware/software may be different.

I would go on several test drives before buying to see if it is the vehicle for you! And if you do buy, test drive the car you are buying before you pay! Good luck.

chris03tl

Thanks!

We are definitely going on a few more test drives, and once narrowed down I plan on asking for an extended test drive (i.e. borrow it for a couple days).

We liked the MDX and used it to determine that my wife feels comfortable driving something of that size, but Im not exactly sold on our need for an SUV. For the 10% of the time we *might* use the utility vs the 100% of the time we're getting less than stellar mpg.

Also waiting to see if I can get a hold of a 2016 Pilot at our Honda dealer. Kinda sux the "good stuff" seems to be going into that instead of the MDX, at least for now. But to get something equivalent to MDX Advance, you need to get a Pilot Elite which Ive read wont really be available until the fall. Ill at least drive an AWD Pilot and see if it does anything for us. Its also nice that it wont require premium gas, so that can sort of offset any worse mpg that we'll get by having an SUV (Im amazed that after 12 years and 120K miles, our 03 TL still gets 20mpg city, actually tracked by me, not some EPA estimate)

On the flipside, of the cars we've test driven so far, she likes the TLX the best....so we're still in the Acura family and still looking at the 9 speed auto.

mrgold35

The +16 RDX is a smaller version of the MDX with the 6AT "if" you don't really need the +3500-5000lbs towing, 3rd row, or sh-awd. You can get an RDX Advance model for $11,000 cheaper if you compared apples to apples (fwd MDX Adv $53,000 -vs- fwd RDX Adv $42,000). My 08 RDX is my weapon of choice for commuting and running errands around town. Save the MDX for longer trips with +3 folks mostly.

chris03tl

My take on it is if we arent getting something with 3 rows, Id just as soon buy a car.

Never been a fan of the smaller SUV/CUV type things. They seem like a jack of all trades, master of none to me. I also already have a pickup truck so for ultimate "utility" I use that. The wife is mostly interested in a 3rd row in case we ever cart around more people than just our kids (which, in the 20 years Ive known her, we never have!)

mrgold35

We only used our 3rd row once we had to take a bunch of drunk co-workers home after a holiday party. There are times the extra room of the MDX makes it a lot easier for Costco, dry cleaning, shopping and Home Depot runs all in one trip with +3 folks. You can never have too much space with a family vehicle.

Some folks may say you won't need it; but, sh-awd on the MDX is extremely nice to have in every type of weather situation. I would rather get a base sh-awd and skip the fwd tech model if I had to choose.

mdkxtreme

I kind of agree with this. Taking my extended family out on trips meant taking two cars. Now with the MDX I shove them all into one. If I wasn't in the market for a 3rd row I would have gotten a car instead. But then again, having more space in an SUV size vehicle is really convenient for hauling stuff from Costco and Home Depot.

This is really dependent on where you live. In areas where there's snow, rain, and dirt I would absolutely put SH-AWD as a must have. In drought Southern California driving on paved roads 99% of the time I have no need for SH-AWD.

mrgold35

I think it depends on how you drive also. I live in NM is we usually get even less moisture per year than SoCal (2-4 inches per year). With the hwy speed limit at 75 and 80 mph in TX and twisty mountain roads, sh-awd can really enhance the driving experience. I was in SoCal visiting my bro last Xmas. We left LA with rain, moved to fog, freezing rain, +12 inches of snow in flagstaff, snow packed roads, ice, and ended up with +40 degrees and sunny in Albuquerque in the 24 road trip (over night stay in Flagstaff). Sh-awd is really nice to have if you really like to drive your vehicle a little hard and travel across a lot of states year round. The MDX will feel and handle like a smaller vehicle with sh-awd. The "Sh" kicks in just taking a right hand turn at a stop sign for my 11 MDX.

mdkxtreme

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Acura's SH-AWD.

I was really contemplating whether or not I wanted SH-AWD with my MDX. In the end, and I agree with you, the way that I drive in an SUV is not the way I drive in a car. I came from a supercharged TSX with aftermarket suspension and rear sway bar. I love taking corners hard.....but only in a car. I really don't feel comfortable at all taking hard corners in an SUV because of all that weight being thrown around. If I were in the market for a car, the TLX with SH-AWD is very attractive to me and I most likely would have gotten that.

jchoi5

I like it. I do have to fiddle with the IDS though:

I drive comfort mode in the city/suburban area, and switch to sport mode on the highway.

I cannot drive comfort or normal in the highway, the throttle isn't enough for me. Plus I like having a tighter handling when I'm like 50mph+

RC1991

Just returned from a 500+ round trip from NJ to MA. The MDX was very comfortable on the ride and the transmission was very smooth the whole way. The only downer was a little lack of passing power at times as some have noted but not too bad. LKAS was excellent feature on the highway as well as the lane departure. What impressed me was the mileage....on the way up we were up to 29 mpg on the highway and on the return it was up to 32 mpg. 3 adults and 1 10 year old plus 3 suitcases and some other miscellaneous luggage - not too loaded.

cassius

I have a 2016 MDX Elite and am currently having a major issue with it.

Last weekend while driving on the highway at high speed the car shifted itself into neutral, would not let me shift back into drive, and told me to pull over and apply the parking brake along with 3 relatively unrelated warnings:

1) "Transmission System Problem"
2) "Emission System Problem"
3) "Blind Spot Indicator Malfunction" (WTF?)

I was fortunately in the right lane and was able to drift off to the shoulder.

I had it towed to my dealership. By the time they looked at it, the car was fine except for the warning lights so they ran some checks, reset the warnings and gave it back.

Well, this past weekend it happened 4 times in 3 hours again. Fortunately I found another person with the identical problem (including the BSI warning which is weird re: transmission) and he learned that by shutting the car off, and exiting the car so the key is out of range (I walked about 50 ft away) and coming back it will allow you to put it back into drive.

Needless to say I am taking it to the dealer today and won't give the loaner back until they fix this major safety issue (exiting the car on an 8-lane highway isn't always great, nor is a car that decides to shift itself into neutral).

Anyone else having this?

stefans

I own 2016 AWD tech with Acura Watch since mid March.
I was debating if I need AWD since I live in Arizona, but now driving it over 2.5k I am really glad I got the AWD. The cornering is very easy and solid. I can feel the car and it behaves predictably. No issues with transmission.
I took it on a long ride 600 miles round trip and the ride was very comfortable and not tiring at all.

E92Vancouver

I had this issue at 900 km and the dealer could not find anything wrong. The problem has not appeared.

You have quoted my situation verbatim. I am on high troll alert. To confirm that you are a legitimate owner with this problem, can you post a picture of your message screen like I did. These Acuralink messages can not be deleted. It is under your info screen.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-...-p0657-929247/

Alternatively, please post a photo of a portion of your work order. My work order for this incident was 10 pages long with everything that was checked.

Sorry I am skeptical, but there was a user on another forum that seemed to have a vendetta against Acura. My thought is that he was pissed off having just bought a 2015 MDX weeks before the 2016 was released. So all he did was trash talk the Acura 9 speed transmission. He has since been kicked out of that forum.

For the record, I am totally happy with my new MDX. The transmission shifts smoothly and no issues except for this initial incident.

Rexorg

So far, so good with the tranny. I am a little disappointed the suspension is a bit too firm, but I guess that what is needed for the excellent handling.

javomo

This is my second MDX and I admit I am a fan.

Can not deny the 9 speed transmission has had it's issues, especially when we bought it back in March.

I did not see the transmission learn our driving patterns like the dealer mentioned. We drove it alot for commuting and trips those first months. It stayed lagging a little on downshifts and struggling to catch the right shift. So on our first visit at 10K Miles, (yes first oil change visist was not due until aprox. 10000 miles while my other 2008 MDX was at around every 7K miles) I mentioned to them to check.

They had one tranmission update available, and it got so much better. It is not perfect like my other 6 speed (yes we kept it and is now now at 164K Miles), but runs nicer than before and the drive in general is superior to my very good 2008 that I love.

I know if they keep working at it will be near perfect soon thru updates.

You should not hesitate to buy it. I would still consider it my first option against any other brand. Hope this helps!!

kash37

We just purchased a new 2016 MDX with all the trimmings. We test drove a bunch of SUV's over 4 months. Wifie was keen on the range rover so you can imagine all the choices in between. We test drove the Infinity QX 70, QX 80, range rover sport, Mercedes GL, Audi , Buick and looked at the Tahoe and Lexus.

All said - the MDX drove very nicely. When did drive a 2015 MDX for comparison and the 2016 is very different in terms of the gear box.

My initial impression is that its is different. There is no "shift" in gears especially going up. I have noticed a tug when down shifting. We got the options that have paddles and driving with the paddles is fun. I drove for 50 miles on local roads "manually" and it very satisfying. Back on auto there is a tendency for the car to "think too much" on its own. I am hoping that is a matter of just getting used to it but not 100% sure. It is very smooth and does not drive like a heavy SUV - comparing with a Ford Explorer.

The wife loves the drive, the kids l love the TV and there is now a big dent in the check book that I don't love !

Evil Teo

i just test drove it today and it was ok. i won't be mainly driving it but couldn't really push it as I had family with me on the test drive. all in all i think its a greay suv, only wish the fog lights was standard

mapleloaf

Hi there folks. I have owned a 3.5 SH-AWD TLX since November 2014. I noticed the harder shifts from 1-2 and 2-3 early on, with the 2-3 the most annoying. Over time, and perhaps with warmer weather, my transmission and I have learned each other's ways, and I no longer have any issues that concern me, with the 2-3 shift being a little notched once in a while. I drive in Eco mode to begin my journey, and eventually move to Normal or occasionally Sport, depending upon driving conditions, which I believe has helped.

BTW, the other 6 shifts have always been buttery smooth, and I have never had the lurching or lagging downshifts that some on our forum have experienced. I wonder if some posters are having difficulty in adapting to a 9 speed transmission, particularly those that value fast off the line starts and more aggressive driving. All that being said, there are certainly folks on the forum who are having legitimate issues, so i agree that you should test drive extensively. I love my tLX, including the Idle Stop and VCM features.

Texas325

Hmm, did you happen to buy at Ed Martin? I see you have the MDX badging on the side. What's up with that? Just bought myself a '16 MDX which originally was from Ed Martin before it came over to Ohio.

So far I'm impressed by the MDX. Haven't experience any transmission issue and hope it stays that way. I wanted a RDX but really dislike moving into a non SH-AWD system and the RDX felt blah. Especially coming from a 4G TL SH-AWD. I want something that feels sporty yet practical with moving two dogs and family.

BrianV

It takes getting used to (the 9spd), but once used to it, it is fine, and actually quite great. A 3-row SUV that gets 26/27mpg highway and does 0-60 in 5.9 seconds (with only 290 horsepower and no turbo torque), that is all very impressive.

I only have 700 miles on ours, and I hear it adapts, but I also think the driver adapts. I do find the responsiveness of using the paddles to be a joke, but my other car has a real DSG so it's hard to compare. This also isn't a sports car so downshifting via paddles with 9 total gears is sort of a funny thought anyways. It does sort of surge when you downshift which is strange if you're a big engine braker, but you get used to it. Some of this has to do with the dog clutches in two of the gears, those two gears are very obvious when paddle downshifting. However, if driving normally and you completely floor it, it downshifts extremely quickly and puts you right into the power band (which is limited on this naturally aspirated engine). So essentially, the transmission functions perfectly in normal driving, but in spirited and paddle shifting, it's definitely not an Audi DSG...

That said, the upshifts and shifting smoothness is there. In the sport modes, it is ultra responsive, but in comfort and normal it can be resistant to downshift which makes the car feel a little sluggish. All of that is expected and it is easily fixed by changing IDS modes.

I'm sure some software refinement will come as well, but honestly, the 9spd is pretty impressive...

JCL622

wow all good info. I'm actually thinking about going backwards from @BrianV , I want to trade in my S7 for an MDX so i can have that NFG mentality

mrlunecy

iTrader: (1)

We just bought a '16 SH-AWD MDX about a month ago & have 800 miles on it. Overall, I'm very satisfied. Still trying to get used to 9sp but so far, it's pretty smooth. I only have a couple of issues; (1) in stop n go traffic, the trans feels a bit unpredictable and kicks between gears when moving forward slowly and feathering the throttle. This may just be that I'm not completely used to the car & my accelerating timing is off when the trans is shifting. (2) the throttle response seems very sluggish when accelerating from a stop, and I feel the need to press the gas pedal down a lot to get the car going the way I want. Then, after a second or two, I have to ease off the throttle to maintain the same acceleration. I'm not a big fan of that. The 03 pathfinder we replaced with this car and my '15 soccer mom Sienna have much peppier throttle response from a stop. Even my wife complained about this.

Nonetheless, these issues are minor & we still love the MDX & its performance.

neoshi

I spoke to my ACR case manager about those exact issues. He said they have ZERO plans to fix anything on the MDX 9ZF. Oh yeah he actually suggested I try comfort or normal, which makes me wonder why he thinks those modes will address sluggish performance.

9SpeedTran

I had something similar (without the shifting into neutral) in my TLX and it turned out to be a rear-wheel speed sensor. When these fail, it basically causes a cascading system failure. Unfortunately, it will start to fail and not set the codes until it has reached complete failure, which makes it difficult to diagnose and correct once it has started. Given the added aspect of the transmission, I would say it may be a different sensor, but my gut says that's where to start looking.

neoshi

The problem cass described is actually addressed via a TSB for adv/elite MDX and v6 TLXes. It has to do with the start/stop system in connection with the 9ZF.

Brasco

Hi Everyone. Not really new here as we has a 2008 RDX but we just picked up a 16 MDX tech (Canadian Version), so far the car has been pretty good. Wife drives it daily and she's not a huge car person but she definitely notices when slowing down around 20km/hr the car lurches forward, and it throws her off. I haven't driven the car much but I'm guessing its downshifting?

9SpeedTran

Interesting, hadn't seen that one posted.

neoshi

Not sure what the Canadian TSB version is, but the US one is 15-034: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-.../#post15489565

mondster

Had the chance to get the 2016 before we decided on our 2015 and im just so glad we picked the 15. Got it 5k off msrp plus i dont have to deal with the zf9... although i am dealing with it on my tlx. Lol

weekend_driver

Yes - "Transmission System Problem" has stranded us 3 times while on open roads. Each time dealer has tried their best, but no fix. Most of our driving is late at night in winter, fully loaded, and Acura's solution is to tow the car when it fails, which is not a good solution. Have initiated the Canadian Arbitration program, as we have no lemon law. This is a 2015 TLX V6 AWD Tech.

E92Vancouver

As there is no way to put a 9 speed into neutral with the engine off, did they tow your car with dollies or a flat bed? If they used a flat bed, did you watch them drag the locked wheels onto the deck?

weekend_driver

To E92Vancouver: we limped off the highway locked in a mid range gear with "Transmission System Problem". We had dinner and then tried the car, and it had "healed itself". Similar situation in all 3 failures.

Edward'TLS

This is the worst part : non-reproducible problems.

The dealership has to see the problem first hand, before it will attempt to do fixing; as if we (as Acura owners) are all liars.

nickyraymond1

The problem is if Acura MDX transmission goes bad it is going to be tough to find and it runs around $1500 minimum.

My friend needs an engine for Acura MDX. Can someone recommend a good source where I could buy a rebuilt engine. I head about Used Japanese Engines & Transmissions anyone bought from them before ?