14th Feb 2010, 00:13
2002 MDX with 135K miles and I am the original owner. Transmission seems to be failing. The light came on today.
I am getting rid of this junk.
14th Feb 2010, 10:26
If you can buy one of these used and very cheap maybe drive and buy transmissions yourself. I always bought them new (then) and sold them just as the warranty expired... the only issue we encountered was people buying see the CARFAX mechanical issues-replacements and beat us down terribly at resale. I no longer buy new Hondas, switched to GM.
22nd Feb 2010, 19:10
What is the process to start a class action law suit.
Reading this thread (and many others) it's clear there are many like us: purchased $40K car ~8 years ago that came with a defective transmission that Acura managed to delay the inevitable with a low cost filter.
This is absurd.
With Toyota facing such horrible PR for a gas pedal, I can't believe how Honda/Acura is getting away with a luxury SUV that has worst problems than the infamous Explorer with Firestone tires.
Again: how can we deal with it?
Letters to the CEO won't do anything.
24th Feb 2010, 16:04
"Car is 8 years old. Why not sell in 3 years and buy a new GM as we did."
Hey maybe that worked for you, but I've never had a GM that worked properly. I've never even had a GM that made 100,000 miles!(My family owned 2 Lumina's at one time, purchased new. A '95 and a '96. The '95 made about 43,000 miles, the '96 made about 78,000 miles.) I didn't perform proper maintenance? Yeah, that's what the dealer said too.
Too bad the USED '89 Honda Accord that had 150,000 miles, and had been sitting outside for 2 years before I purchased it to replace the '96 Lumina, made over 350,000 completely trouble free miles.
25th Feb 2010, 13:28
Selling in 3 years was smart for us as the warranty expired on our Honda. Maybe GM you had in 1995 was your basis, but since 2005 we have saved time and repairs on our new ones. If Honda backs their car for 100,000 miles standard, perhaps that would be a consideration. It's unlikely I will go backwards searching for a 1989 used Honda that performed better. My best Hondas were back them, and mid nineties, the best being the Legend. My nod up now is GM and I switched from new Hondas. I like the V8 GM motor, and the gas mileage is good as well on our long distance driving.
26th Feb 2010, 11:13
19:10 Letters to the CEO might be effective if you were driving a 2010 or even a 2009, 08, 07 perhaps? Driving an 8 year old used vehicle is very different. A car ages, you pay to fix it. As an example, I have a 35 year old car in my garage with extreme low mileage. I hardly expect to have a new master cylinder replaced as an example in my classic which sits. I drive it 1000 miles a year. The only comfort I have is my domestic is worth 15 times what it cost new vs. having a 35 year old Honda worth less than what it cost new. If you were driving a 2007-2010, then write the CEO during the early years and mileage constraints that are sensible.
26th Feb 2010, 15:18
To February 25th, 2010 13:28.
I can see purchasing a new vehicle each time the warranty runs out. However, if you drive less than 36,000 miles in 3 year, which you must if your Honda's warranty lasted the full 3 years, then what's a 100,000 mile warranty going to do for you? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying, but this is what I got out of your comment.
I on the other hand, drive over 90 miles a day, 5 days a week. If you do the math that's over 21,600 miles a year. It's not going to matter to me how long my warranty is because I go through it so fast. Not to mention that Honda's warranty is now 5 years, 60,000 miles. The exact same as GM's if your driving the national average.
I actually don't even drive a Honda right now either. I drive a Hyundai Elantra. I test drove a few new Civics when I was shopping for a new car, and really didn't like the new design. My Hyundai came with a 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty. That's a real warranty. Although it still doesn't matter for me, because by the end of this year, I will have gone through it already.
Here's something for you though, the Honda dealer that I test drove those Civics at gives a FREE lifetime powertrain warranty on every new and used car they sell. I figured that there would be a catch, like you HAD to service your car there or they wouldn't honor the warranty, but you actually can have your car serviced anywhere you choose so long as you keep all the receipts and work orders (I keep those on file anyways).
9th Feb 2010, 21:53
I purchased a new MDX in 2002.
In May 2004, the transmission revved up suddenly while in the `Park' position. The problem disappeared after re-start. The next morning the car revved up again suddenly while on `Drive' on the road, then made grinding noises. The car almost choked to a stop. I made it to the dealer and reported the problem. When I picked up the car later that day, the dealer claimed that they could not duplicate the situation and that the car was OK.
Fast forward to April 2008, the transmission failed at 84,000 km. As the warranty had expired by a few months, I was given an initial repair estimate of $5,000. After raising the issue with the service manager, I ended up paying for about $1,000 to have the transmission replaced. I subsequently raised the issue with Acura Canada asking for the $1,000 refund, as I concluded that there was a fundamental engineering flaw with their transmission. I also believed that something was done to my MDX in May 2004 to alleviate the transmission malfunctioning, but I was not advised of that. I had brought the choking MDX to the dealer on that occasion, and it simply could not have run OK if nothing was done to it.
I had owned many Hondas/Acuras for more than 30 years prior to the MDX experience. Now I have lost confidence in the company.
I do not expect that products can always be `zero defect’. I do expect, though, that Acura stand behind their products 100%. In this case, there is clearly something wrong with the 2002 MDX transmission, as anyone can find out by simply going on Google. Acura did the right thing by covering the parts as a goodwill gesture. But a transmission from Honda/Acura, or from any car manufacturer, simply should not fail at 84,000 km, and they should have extended the full warranty covering both parts and labour.
I escalated the case to the Acura CEO, but they stood firm and denied any fundamental defects.
I told them that this business practice was not acceptable to me, and that I would trade in the 2002 MDX, and would never again purchase any Honda/Acura products in future. They did not bother to reply.