| nn3w |
New poster here.
My wife saw a very nice condition 2001 touring MDX with about 55,000 miles on it. It has all the features and is competitively priced based upon the analyis by KBB and Edmunds.
I am VERY concerned about the transmission issue. The owner states that they have had no problems with it and it has run perfectly. They further state that they have maintained it with the local dealership here.
Is there any feeling as to the failure rare on the 2001 trannys? Since it is clearly beyond warranty, is there any likelihood that Acura would do a courtesy replace on the tranny should it fail - especially given that I am a second owner of the vehicle?
Love the look and feel of the car, but am not prepared to pony up an additional $3500 over the sale price owing to defective design. |
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| vetdude |
We bought an "Acura-Certified pre-owned" '02 MDX Touring with 56k miles on the clock a few months ago. Only problems have been minor (noisey fan motor and rear a/c blower not working). We purchased the Acura extended warranty at the time of the sale in light of all the talk about the transmission problems. When I asked the service writer at the dealership about the trans problems he said they haven't seen that many at all. Touch wood, neither will we. If you can get a good deal, I say go for it.
PS: You'd probably get more replies if you post this in the general discussion forum. |
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| jimbo858 |
yeah... I bought a used '02 off of ebay last year and "knock-on-wood" no problems so far....
:D |
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| oilchange |
quote:
Is there any feeling as to the failure rate on the 2001 trannys? Since it is clearly beyond warranty, is there any likelihood that Acura would do a courtesy replace on the tranny should it fail - especially given that I am a second owner of the vehicle?
Consumer Reports had some full black dots on the reliability chart for MDX 2001-2002. The charts changed a lot between the 2006 issue and the 2005. In 2005 Consumer Reports there was a dot that seemed to mean 9-14% in only one year's time.
Also, super tech who posts here notes 01-02 commonly have transmission problems in his dealer.
Here is a quote from him. quote:
Someday I'll write something that truly puts to rest any questions as to why a transmission still fails "even though it's had the recall done" as I've seen so many people say.
Just know that the recall/update only addresses one particular, and very rare type of failure that can cause a loss of control of the vehicle.
There are many other design flaws in the 2001-02 transmission, and as of yet, those are not covered under any recall or warranty extension.
quote:
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...?threadid=25008
I suppose if the price is low enough to compensate for a future $3500-5000 repair, it may be worth a gamble. You might be able to complain courteously to Acura if the failure happens and get some of the repair paid by Acura even out of warranty.
If the dealer claims "haven't seen that many at all", they are not being totally truthful. |
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| vetdude |
| ...or get the 0-deductible extended warranty for $1500 and be done with it. |
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| nn3w |
I have thought about the warranty issue, but I'd have to be vary careful that the terms include the tranny.
Given that the person wants $18,750 for the car, I'm going to start to have to negotiate down....
Ugh. Maybe I'll look at an '04 or '05 Pilot instead. |
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| vetdude |
| ...at least the Pilot only requires regular fuel! |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by vetdude
...at least the Pilot only requires regular fuel!
Lots of people run regular in the MDX too. |
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| DaleB |
You can probably add to your comfort level by sticking with low-mileage MDXs. The drive train overall should be very reliable, sans the potential for a transmission problem. And assuming it was well maintained.
I would not even consider a low mileage one without it being certified, at a minimum, or having the transferable AcuraCare extended warranty for coverage. I would not trust a 3rd party warranty.
Acuracare will not transfer the warranty unless the original owner also provides copies of receipts for all work performed. That gives you even more confidence.
Given all that, I am sure there are many MDXs out there that are well cared for and have a good number of years left on them. |
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| voytekwp |
Worth buying used MDX ....
JUST FORGET IT UNLESS YOU LIKE TO GAMBLE !!!!!
:trustme: |
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| devil421 |
quote:
Originally posted by voytekwp
Worth buying used MDX ....
JUST FORGET IT UNLESS YOU LIKE TO GAMBLE !!!!!
:trustme:
Any used car purchase is a gamble.
Go drive your 4runner somewhere. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by voytekwp
Worth buying used MDX ....
JUST FORGET IT UNLESS YOU LIKE TO GAMBLE !!!!!
:trustme:
There's always exceptions. If all used cars out there were as nice and built as well, overall as the MDX, there would be fewer new car sales IMO.
Everything is relative. A bad tranny in an MDX is a black mark. In a GM, Ford or Dodge it's just one more black mark. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by devil421
Any used car purchase is a gamble.
Go drive your 4runner somewhere.
But you try and minimize the "gamble" by avoiding known problems like the 2001/2002 tranny. |
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| devil421 |
Im curious (as many others are, Im sure) to know what the actual failure rate of the 01/02 trannys are? You only hear about the bad stuff....
I have an 02 and my factory warranty just expired so Id love to see real figures. Anyone have them? |
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| voytekwp |
Any used car purchase is a gamble.
Go drive your 4runner somewhere.
__________________
and I do without any hesitation.
The gamble is about total tranny failure and how Acura deals with consumers , not about awerage use car purchase .Go to :
General > Problems > Transmission Problems
By the way, my wife still has MDX 01 with replaced tranny after 45K.
I traded my MDX 01 for 4Runner 04 ( I'm not so brave ). |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by devil421
Im curious (as many others are, Im sure) to know what the actual failure rate of the 01/02 trannys are? You only hear about the bad stuff....
I have an 02 and my factory warranty just expired so Id love to see real figures. Anyone have them?
Honda will not release the failure numbers - some members have tried to obtain them. A while back, when the failures first started, Honda released failure percentages related only to the recall. It was a very small percentage. Since then there have been many more failures and we know they are for other reasons than the recall problem. |
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