POWER TRAIN06/06/2026
The vehicle's all wheel drive system has malfunctioned at 77,000 miles with a known all wheel drive system issue. Because we are 7k beyond the power train warranty, Acura is not wanting to cover the repair even though this is a known issue.
POWER TRAIN06/01/2026
Reporting an additional case in support of ongoing defect petition investigation DP26001. 2022 Acura MDX Type S SH-AWD, currently at 63,700 miles. While driving and making a turn, I heard a grinding noise with no warning lights illuminated. I stopped immediately and shut off the engine but noticed no abnormality. I restarted the vehicle and drove with no further issues or noises. Later, during a scheduled oil change, I discovered that the area between the transmission and PTU was covered in oil. The Acura dealership diagnosed a bad PTU seal and replaced the PTU under powertrain warranty, but completely disregarded my concern regarding investigation DP26001 and the known issue with stripped splines. The leak was repaired, but several weeks later while driving in the rain, the vehicle felt very unstable during acceleration on wet pavement. I raised the vehicle on a lift and engaged drive to inspect AWD function. The rear wheels were not spinning while the front wheels were, and the driveshaft was also stationary. When I brought this to the dealership’s attention, they stated this is normal SH-AWD behavior — however, I have personally observed all four wheels spinning under identical conditions in another Acura of the same model and configuration. I am confident the transmission-to-PTU splines are stripped and am escalating this to Acura corporate for further investigation.
POWER TRAIN05/31/2026
Under medium acceleration vehicle shuddered a lot. Currently it’s only driven by the front wheels and it will torque steer a lot. I’m assuming my splines are stripped to transfer case. Thankfully, I am under warranty and I’m going to get this repaired.
POWER TRAIN05/22/2026
When about to make a left turn since oncoming traffic on to highway I hit the gas quickly after stopping and heard a loud bang. Drove till I got off the highway at a red light I hit the gas and noticed the front wheels was spinning and realized it wasn't a awd. Took it the dealer and they realzied the driveshaft was spinning by hand.
POWER TRAIN03/12/2026
Catastrophic Power Take-Off Unit (PTU) and Transmission spline failure on a 2022 Acura MDX Type-S vehicle. Had dangerous loss of traction and unexpected handling characteristics with rough shifting, RPM Surges, Sensor problem LOSS OF Power, Delayed shifting with Jerky ride, and a smell of burning oil or rubber, also would move into reverse and the Drive Letter "D" was blinking. The problem was confirmed by Independent service center and it was inspected by the manufacturer. Messages indicating engine/transmission issues appeared on Jan 4, 2026; *Transmission system problem. Paddle shifters not available. See your dealer. *Emissions system problem. Power may be reduced. See your dealer. * Transmission system problem. Avoid heavy acceleration and High speed. See your dealer. * AWD All Wheel Drive system problem. Only the Front wheels may be powered. See your dealer. Notes: (A.) Transmission system errors and infotainment warnings appeared upon concluding a round-trip 3,000 miles from Southern California to East Texas and back home to Yuma AZ. (B.) After Honda Motor Co gave a 75% Goodwill Offer to replace control box and valves, they indicated that the transmission also need to be replaced. Furthermore, they rescinded the 75% Goodwill coverage which appears to be based solely on the incorrect assumption that third-party transmission repairs were performed and that the transmission was overfilled.
POWER TRAIN03/10/2026
I own a 2022 MDX Type-S. I recently read about complaints about TLX and MDX models losing their AWD system and only resulting to FWD. I was a victim of this in Montana and it was a long fight with Acura / Honda to look at the problem. It was also very dangerous as I worked up in Big Sky and would rely on the AWD system in snowy conditions. This system would always fail. After a long fight, they finally towed my vehicle back to Salt Lake City, where it was purchased from, and replaced a "sensor."
POWER TRAIN03/09/2026
Starting hearing issues late 24 of MDX and TLX losing all-wheel-drive due to splines stripping between the transmission and transfer case. Had car thoroughly inspected and fluid samples taken in December of 24. In February on 25 with a frame rattling bang as I was pulling out onto a street, rear wheel drive went out at 64k. No warning lights and no indicators, dash showed all 4 tires pulling. Dealership verified system was stripped as rear tires were not turning. Also discovered connection between the two units failed allowing water to get in and wash all grease out around the spines. New transmission is two parts number newer than original and transfer case is one parts number newer than original. Also noted transmission and transfer case take less fluids than original. Car feels a lot tighter and smoother on shifting with new units.
POWER TRAIN01/12/2026
The vehicle is experiencing a catastrophic mechanical failure of the transfer case/transmission splines, resulting in a 'Loss of Motive Power.' On two occasions while merging into high-speed highway traffic, the engine revved to high RPMs, but the vehicle failed to accelerate for approximately 5 seconds (Mechanical Neutral Drop). These incidents resulted in near-collisions. The vehicle also exhibits violent torque steer and unpredictable handling. The issue was initially reported to an authorized dealer at 70,320 miles but was misdiagnosed as 'no codes were present.' Subsequent inspection by a second dealer confirmed a mechanical failure of the drive splines. This is a purely mechanical failure that does not trigger dashboard warning lights or Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), leaving the driver unaware of the impending drivetrain failure until power is lost. First signs of a problem: Late August 2025 First loss of motive power incident: Early October 2025 Second loss of motive power incident: [XXX] Initial Dealer Report: October 28, 2025 (MetroWest Acura) Confirmation video from Acura of Boston: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
POWER TRAIN12/03/2025
Vehicle is 3 years old with 60K miles. Transfer case became defective under normal driving and with regular recommended maintenance. We did not know this occurred until a recent dealership visit for another issue. We do not know how long this has been an issue. When the transfer case malfunctioned, there were no warning lights and vehicle has been only functioning in front-wheel drive (designed to be AWD) which is extremely dangerous during the midwestern winters as the weight of the rear of the vehicle leads to sway. Issue was detected by the dealership who states the fix is to replace the entire transmission and transfer case.
POWER TRAIN11/20/2025
The transmission and transaxle malfunctioned. Evidence was a leak from the transaxle. The dealer confirmed that the vehicle was operating in 2WD mode even though it did not detect any issues from its onboard sensors, and the car thought it was still sending power to all 4 wheels. There were no warning lights that the vehicle was no longer driving in 4wd mode, so the driving dynamics would've been unexpected in conditions that 4wd would normally help, like rain and snow. Unexpectedly experienced tire spin in the rain, for example. The dealer confirmed that both the transmission and transaxle need to be replaced, under the powertrain warranty. The spline between the transaxle and transmission were worn, causing the transaxle to not spin the rear wheels.
POWER TRAIN10/14/2025
The transfer case spline stripped preventing power to be sent to the rear wheels
POWER TRAIN10/07/2025
Upon normal highway driving a couple of months ago, began to notice shifting that was not smooth and rpm "surges" on hills despite constant throttle. Upon taking car to dealer, inspection revealed an internal spline failure between transmission and transfer case. Lead mechanic explained it was not the first he had seen of this model and that it was clearly internal and caused by a manufacturing and/or assembly defect. I caught the problem early enough to not have a complete car failure; however, left untreated, it would lead to a transmission failure. The remedy was a full transmission and transfer case replacement, with repair costs exceeding 13,000. Given car had 84,000 miles, it was not covered by 70,000 Power Train Warranty from Acura. Pictures of parts below.
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