| Kanuck |
I own an '02 MDX with 76,000 miles on it. I take it on trails here in the Rockies and never had an issue with the transmission or anything else for that matter. I change all fluids myself and try to avoid dealerships unless there is a recall that forces me to go there. The MDX is the most useful vehicle I ever owned as it can handle rough roads and haul my four dogs and baby with ease and comfort.
That being said, I've been following threads about transmission issues for quite a while. I realize that a few people with transmission issues can make quite a bit of noise so I tend to walk away from acuramdx.org from time to time as those discussions make me second-guess if I should trade-in my X or not. The thing is I really love that car and it's been very reliable so why take the financial hit of trading it in instead of running it to the ground?
I did experience the "rumble strip" noise at some point. That was around 40-45k miles. I'm not a mechanic but I'm a computer engineer so I tend to apply logic to everything. I'm not at all convinced that the "rumble strip" has anything to do with the transmission. It used to happen intermittently but around the SAME SPOT on my way to work. One day, I parked my car and examined that section of the road and there was nothing visible that would explain that noise. Then I moved and didn't hear it for a while. Since I moved to Colorado, I probably experienced it twice. On my regular commute, I NEVER hear it. My commute takes me uphill and downhill and at a variety of speeds on local roads and highways. It's been months now and no more "rumble strips". Logic tells me it can't possibly have to do with the transmission.
So, amongst those of us who have been very happy with an '01 or '02 MDX, can someone share POSITIVE experiences and mileage? |
|
|
| theseans |
I think the tranny issues on the 01/02's were maybe more than "just a few people making lots of noise". It was a real issue that was resolved in 2003. The Acura dealer (as paranoid as he might have been) told me NOT to buy any MDX prior to 2004 over this issue.
In your favour, there are way more 01/02 owners on this site stating the opposite from their good personal experiences. That speaks miles, so I would be confident (but if I owned the first 2 model years of any suv, I'd have a couple of bucks ready for a new transmission).
Incidentally, my favourite SUV on this site is "Excaliber's" 2002 Hot White X! I'd trade my '04 outright for it.
quote:
Originally posted by Kanuck
I own an '02 MDX with 76,000 miles on it. I take it on trails here in the Rockies and never had an issue with the transmission or anything else for that matter. I change all fluids myself and try to avoid dealerships unless there is a recall that forces me to go there. The MDX is the most useful vehicle I ever owned as it can handle rough roads and haul my four dogs and baby with ease and comfort.
That being said, I've been following threads about transmission issues for quite a while. I realize that a few people with transmission issues can make quite a bit of noise so I tend to walk away from acuramdx.org from time to time as those discussions make me second-guess if I should trade-in my X or not. The thing is I really love that car and it's been very reliable so why take the financial hit of trading it in instead of running it to the ground?
I did experience the "rumble strip" noise at some point. That was around 40-45k miles. I'm not a mechanic but I'm a computer engineer so I tend to apply logic to everything. I'm not at all convinced that the "rumble strip" has anything to do with the transmission. It used to happen intermittently but around the SAME SPOT on my way to work. One day, I parked my car and examined that section of the road and there was nothing visible that would explain that noise. Then I moved and didn't hear it for a while. Since I moved to Colorado, I probably experienced it twice. On my regular commute, I NEVER hear it. My commute takes me uphill and downhill and at a variety of speeds on local roads and highways. It's been months now and no more "rumble strips". Logic tells me it can't possibly have to do with the transmission.
So, amongst those of us who have been very happy with an '01 or '02 MDX, can someone share POSITIVE experiences and mileage?
|
|
|
| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by Kanuck
So, amongst those of us who have been very happy with an '01 or '02 MDX, can someone share POSITIVE experiences and mileage?
115K miles on original tranny with oiljet kit, no issues thus far. |
|
|
| MDXanyone |
I had over 99K on my 01 when I got my 06.
Never had any problem with the tranny. |
|
|
| bdisco |
POST # 3000
Transmisson Problem? What problem? |
|
|
| JL_SS |
Well, to try and put the 2001/2002 tranny problem in some perspective with the little data that we have:
CR reported that 2001 Acura CL coupe owners reported a 25% major problem rate. The MDX hasn't been included in the tranny warranty extensions because Acura claims that the MDX failure rate is much lower. I believe Supertech agreed that the MDX failure rate was lower in a similiar post. So in the worst case scenario of a 25% failure rate, you can assume that 75% of the 2001/2002's will not have tranny failures. In reality, it is above 75%. It seems a lot higher than that here because people usually are looking for places to help/complain if they have a problem. |
|
|
| Kanuck |
dj-mdx2, MDXanyone,
Did you guys do your own tranny fluid changes? How bad was the color every time? Was there a lot of metal on the magnet? How often did you change it?
I do a single drain every 7,500 miles and it always comes out pretty dark with a lot of metal on the drain bolt magnet. It's not very comforting to see, but the transmission is acting fine. I wonder if those of you with 100K+ miles are seeing a cleaner fluid or not? |
|
|
| NewMDXOwner |
Kanuck:
I do a drain and fill at about the same interval you do, but the fluid always looked clean with not much residue on the drain plug. That might be because I put in a very large transmission cooler right in front of the condenser. It is an aftermarket cooler, not an "Acura Approved" cooler, but I can't stand the expensive and dinky Mickey Mouse cooler sold by Acura. |
|
|
| Kanuck |
| Interesting. I only recently started to do my own fluid changes after reading about the transmission issues. My local dealer wanted $100 for a single drain and I thought that was ridiculous. Also, they kept insisting that it only needs a single drain every 30,000 miles. After reading several posts, I decided to switch to the single drain / 7,500 mile routine but I wonder if following the dealer's service routine has caused some damage that could have been avoided if I had done the maintenance myself from day one? I guess that's another argument in favor of doing your own maintenance... :mad: |
|
|
| NewMDXOwner |
Kanuck:
I don't think it's that bad in your case. I got this car used at 45K miles. Since it was out of warranty anyway, I decided to put in an aftermarket cooler even though I have heard that Acura doesn't like that. Then I did the drain and fill 3 times to flush out all the dirty fluid, and they were quite dirty in fact. From then on, I just did the drain and fill once at about 6k - 7.5k miles, depending on how lazy I feel.
Anyway, I'm creeping up on the 100k miles now, and I'm dreading the timing belt/water pump replacement. I hate to bring it to a shop, but I am too lazy to do it myself. |
|
|
| theseans |
My fear in buying a early modell, was that this wasn't a case of "some were good, some were bad". I think they were all weak (and still are in some respect). My suspician is that anyone that towed, and pushed these tranny's through harder than normal circumstances were all rewarded with all four wheels locking up.
quote:
Originally posted by JL_SS
Well, to try and put the 2001/2002 tranny problem in some perspective with the little data that we have:
CR reported that 2001 Acura CL coupe owners reported a 25% major problem rate. The MDX hasn't been included in the tranny warranty extensions because Acura claims that the MDX failure rate is much lower. I believe Supertech agreed that the MDX failure rate was lower in a similiar post. So in the worst case scenario of a 25% failure rate, you can assume that 75% of the 2001/2002's will not have tranny failures. In reality, it is above 75%. It seems a lot higher than that here because people usually are looking for places to help/complain if they have a problem.
|
|
|
| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by theseans
My fear in buying a early modell, was that this wasn't a case of "some were good, some were bad". I think they were all weak (and still are in some respect). My suspician is that anyone that towed, and pushed these tranny's through harder than normal circumstances were all rewarded with all four wheels locking up.
I've been around for the history of the failures. There is valid reasoning behind your suspicion, however, there was never an established failure pattern. There were plenty of people who babied their vehicles and still had failures and there were people who towed a lot that didn't. Another mystery is why the same transmission doesn't fail in the Pilot which is probably used to tow even more than the MDX. The Pilot had the 2001/2002 MDX tranny up until 2006. The Pilot was released in 2003, the same year that the MDX got the new transmission. It could be that it was really a manufacturing/tolerance/assembly/etc issue that Honda fixed in 2003 so that failures never showed up in the Pilot - that would support the some good/some bad without relation to usage scenario that did exist. We'll never really know. |
|
|
| Kanuck |
NewMDXOwner:
What cooler did you install? How much did you pay for it? How difficult was the install?
I figure I may want to put one in since I plan on keeping my X for a long time...
If it was a manufacturing issue, it would be interesting to know the failure stats based on the production date. Maybe the problem was resolved even before the 2003 model. It could have been a temporary issue with a supplier. Too bad Honda won't come clean on it. That could explain why some people experienced failures early on and others are still running strong. |
|
|
| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by Kanuck
dj-mdx2, MDXanyone,
Did you guys do your own tranny fluid changes? How bad was the color every time? Was there a lot of metal on the magnet? How often did you change it?
When I first found about the tranny failures, I had Acura do a triple drain and fill, and the fluid was dark chocolatey brown. Since then I've been trying to change the ATF every 5K miles, essentially at the same time that I change the oil. I'm going to do a 3X drain and fill every 15K miles just for the heck of it. |
|
|
| NewMDXOwner |
Kanuck:
I don't remember the model number exactly, but it's one of those Hayden coolers, a really big one with lots of fins on it :D I don't remember the cost either, but it's about $50 or so. It's pretty easy to install too. |
|
|
| hondacuraworld |
I'm curious to know out of those that HAVE had failures, if anyone had theirs rebuilt, or did it themselves, and if so, what were the failure spots and the total cost.
People always go for a reman exchange, but I haven't heard yet of anyone having it repaired or doing it themselves. I rebuilt my own transmission in my old van and the total cost was $140 (this was two months ago). |
|
|
| NewMDXOwner |
quote:
Originally posted by hondacuraworld
I'm curious to know out of those that HAVE had failures, if anyone had theirs rebuilt, or did it themselves, and if so, what were the failure spots and the total cost.
People always go for a reman exchange, but I haven't heard yet of anyone having it repaired or doing it themselves. I rebuilt my own transmission in my old van and the total cost was $140 (this was two months ago).
Yes, that's my plan if and when my transmission goes. Alas, the thing just keeps on ticking along :) |
|
|
| ocuriel |
125k on original trans and still going strong.
Transmissions are good as long as the oil jet recall was done before any damage to trans occured.
Also allot of transmissions were condemned as failed when in many cases, the egr valve was causing trans failure symptoms. |
|
|
| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by ocuriel
125k on original trans and still going strong.
Transmissions are good as long as the oil jet recall was done before any damage to trans occured.
Also allot of transmissions were condemned as failed when in many cases, the egr valve was causing trans failure symptoms.
There were many failures after the oil jet kit was installed reported by owners who babied there vehicles. There was a seperate diagnostic procedure for the EGR valve and that was performed first before replacing a tranny. |
|
|
|
