| Maurice |
| I am at a loss for words and somewhat disappointed. I have owned several Acura autombiles along with BMWs over the past 12 years. I recently purchased a 2003 MDX for my wife and a 4.6is X5 for myself. Three months have elapsed and we have both been extremely happy with the both vehicles until now. The MDX after 7700 miles has had to have the transmission replaced, the leather in the rear seat replaced, the external seal and moulding around the windshield replaced, the monitor for the entertainment system rattles noisly when it is lowered from its cradle and along with this there are also two other defective trim issues. Of course all of this is covered under the warranty but it sure is not at all resassuring considering in the past we never experienced one problem from any Acura product. The dealer has been very cooperative in addressing this laundry list of defective items and Acura Customer Care has contacted me. My fear however is that I have acquired the single poorly assembled MDX in recent history. I have not seen anyone else report experiencing such unpleasantness. In case anyone wonders, all these problems were present from day one but were particularly manifest after 3 months. The BMW has been pretty solid thus far which is absolutely no consolation to my wife. |
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| jswift2000 |
| Sorry to hear about your problems. Acura/Honda has had problems with the transmissions they put in cars but I thought they licked those problems in the 2003 MDX - new transmission. As far as the leather and other trim pieces go... unacceptable. Good luck and I hope that the mdx turns out to be headache free after this. |
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| Emerald01 |
| Sorry about your experience. What kind of symptoms/problems were you having with your tranny to warrent replacement? |
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| Maurice |
| There was a dull knocking/clicking sound coming from the engine almost like noisy tappets but resonating at a lower frequency. This noise would be present at engine start up and initially was noticeable only while you were outside the car. After three months the noise became more noticeable as you could hear it inside the car but it could almost be mistaken for a faulty belt. I realized that this was atypical because I did not remember hearing such a sound when I drove the demo prior to purchase. I could not have imagined that this was the transmission! The windshield problem was even more difficult to locate as that seemed to be loose trim inside the dashboard, I found the problem while washing the vehicle and the gasket holding the windshield in place on the right side pillar came away from the body of the car in my hand. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealer, the dealer also discovered that the unlocking mechanism for the doors using the key rather than the fob also is faulty. Sounds like this vehicle may have been assembled during a particularly stressful period in someone's life. Acura has an extended warranty program for select vehicles but does not include the MDX at this time. I am going to press this matter with Acura, all of us need to be concerned by this issue! |
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| y2ks2k |
quote:
Originally posted by Maurice
There was a dull knocking/clicking sound coming from the engine almost like noisy tappets but resonating at a lower frequency. This noise would be present at engine start up and initially was noticeable only while you were outside the car. After three months the noise became more noticeable as you could hear it inside the car but it could almost be mistaken for a faulty belt. I realized that this was atypical because I did not remember hearing such a sound when I drove the demo prior to purchase. I could not have imagined that this was the transmission! The windshield problem was even more difficult to locate as that seemed to be loose trim inside the dashboard, I found the problem while washing the vehicle and the gasket holding the windshield in place on the right side pillar came away from the body of the car in my hand. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealer, the dealer also discovered that the unlocking mechanism for the doors using the key rather than the fob also is faulty. Sounds like this vehicle may have been assembled during a particularly stressful period in someone's life. Acura has an extended warranty program for select vehicles but does not include the MDX at this time. I am going to press this matter with Acura, all of us need to be concerned by this issue!
Whats your VIN? Lets look it up... |
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| Blueflame |
| My suggestion to you is anytime you hear funny noise from the, engine, you should bring it back right away especially a new car. As for extended warranty, you could check out the Internet or do a search in this forum. There are previous discussions regarding extended warranty, and yes they do offer it for the MDX. |
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| EXCALIBUR |
quote:
Originally posted by y2ks2k
Whats your VIN? Lets look it up...
How about showing a pic of your MDX? Show us da pics!:confused: |
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| harmonr1 |
| Do they have a Lemon Law where you live? I'd press Acura to give you a 100K/7yr warranty or threaten to turn it back under the lemon law. |
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| Maurice |
The VIN # is 2HNYD18993H519414. The vehicle is Black, Touring with Navigation and Entertainment Package. The only accessories are the tubular running boards and a bug deflector on the hood.
I am following up with Acura. Based upon this VIN, the extended warranty progam excludes my vehicle. They are asking me to give them a chance to sort out the problems first. I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau to determine what the Lemon Law in Maryland provides as relief for this situation.
I appreciate everyone's input and suggestions. |
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| Maurice |
I don't mean to sound like a cliche but maybe it is true that behind every cloud there is a silver lining. So far, Acura has been extremely responsive. They are not only fixing all the items on the laundry list but they are also sending me some paper work to extend the warranty on the car to 7 years 100K miles. They also indicated that they were willing to sit down and talk reasonably if all issues were not resolved satisfactorily. I never once had to become irate.
A big reason for purchasing anything with a good reputation for quality is the support behind that product. So far, in this case, Acura has demonstrated that there is value associated with purchasing their product. I must honestly admit that I have owned two Honda and two Acura vehicles in the past which never gave me ONE problem. Based upon such a record, it was not difficult for me to make the decision to purchase the MDX, especially after reviewing this website. I was disappointed to discover that Acura was not as perfect as I had idealized them to be but who on this Earth is perfect.
I have taken the time to share this entire experience with all who read this so that it will be known that even if there are problems with the vehicle, the appropriate support is provided. I believe in fairness. If Acura had not responded favorably then that is what I would have shared.
Another good thing happened during this experience. The dealer who is handling this matter is not the dealer from whom I purchased. I received a good deal and great treatment from Motorworld where I purchased in Wilkes Barre . Tischer Acura is the servicing dealer in Maryland. These guys have been absolutely tip top. They have treated me as if I did purchase from them, kudos to Greg Yancy and his team at Tischer.
Although the journey is not complete yet, I do have a good feeling that this will turn out to be a positive experience in the long run and have confidence that the vehicle will be reliable in the future.
In closing, yes the 4.6is is a barnstormer. I am very happy with that vehicle and BMW but that is a story for another website. |
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| EXCALIBUR |
Maurice,
Glad to hear everything is working out.:4: |
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| feliz |
| I'm glad things are being resolved for you Maurice. I'm also convinced Honda/Acura put out good products. My wife and I have owned several of their products dating back to the early 70s and believe it or not I can't recall one issue worth mentioning and only one recall (TL-S power window switch). I still receive recall notices for "domestics" we owned several years ago and are probably now in the scrap heap. |
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| JTM |
Maurice,
I am glad you did receive great services and responses from Acura. It is terrible to have these many troubles on the new car, but with such great services you received, I am sure you will still be a HAPPY customer with acura. |
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| Maurice |
Finally, all is well again. Acura has taken care of all the issues and Tischer's service department was incredible. I got the SUV last week and I am really happy. Acura gave me a 7 year 100K extended warranty. The vehicle seems fine, my kids and wife are also thrilled.
My confidence is restored.
I just logged on today for the first time since I last posted and was reading another thread posted by some obnoxious human going by the name coolguy. I noticed that some folks were assuming that this person was my alter-ego. Coolguy is obviously not cool and has issues. Allow me to say definitively, I am not that individual. He seemed a bit outraged when he was asked if he was Maurice.
Once again, thank you all for your support.:D |
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| mdxxxx |
quote:
Originally posted by Maurice
Finally, all is well again. Acura has taken care of all the issues and Tischer's service department was incredible. I got the SUV last week and I am really happy. Acura gave me a 7 year 100K extended warranty. The vehicle seems fine, my kids and wife are also thrilled.
My confidence is restored.
I just logged on today for the first time since I last posted and was reading another thread posted by some obnoxious human going by the name coolguy. I noticed that some folks were assuming that this person was my alter-ego. Coolguy is obviously not cool and has issues. Allow me to say definitively, I am not that individual. He seemed a bit outraged when he was asked if he was Maurice.
Once again, thank you all for your support.:D
Good news Maurice! I'm glad your pleased...:29: |
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| BaldEagle |
Glad you got things worked out to your satisfaction Maurice.
I knew all along the you were not that other guy. You had a much better grasp of the English language (and reality also) than that jerk. |
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| kimsta |
| Glad to hear you got the problems resolved. Hope your wife enjoys the X as much as all of us do :29: |
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| msu79gt82 |
| cool, er I meant sweet:1: |
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| jeych |
| Based on my own experience you are on the path of the Lemon (focus Danielson). At about the same rate I was with my '01 MDX. Sorry to confirm your fears but the interior is Cheap and the leather is Cheap. Plastic moldings scratch so easily, the leather on my driver's seat was looking like crap after 900 miles (No I am not a 300 pounder I weigh a healty 160). So more replacements are in store for you if you are expecting the MDX to keep up with the BMW. Acura Has a unique blend or Lexus-like exteriors, Hyundai Quality interiors, Dodge reliability (ya the tranny is built by the same company that puts them together for dodge I hear) and Yugo-Like Customer service. I have seen more luxurious interiors on $22,000 minivans that aren't sold as luxury vehicles. |
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| Wazowski |
| The leather in my Acura still looks great. The leather in my wife's Lexus also looks great. Of course, we both take care of our cars! :10: |
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| ECON1 |
| Can't help but remark on the comment about the "great" BMW leather. While still under warranty, my BMW developed a hole in the left bolster of the driver's seat (wear from getting in and out of the car, with less than 35,000 miles on it). While the dealer was willing to try and have it "repaired" by having some "leather patch" solution put on it (lasted about 2 months), BMW was completely unwilling to replace the leather in the seat, the only real fix. The person from the upholstery shop said he saw lots of similar problems in BMW leather, and commented that their leather was much thinner than in the past. My Explorer (EB) with 150,000 miles on it had NO problems with the leather the entire time I owned it. Go figure. |
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