| David Sealey |
I am looking to purchase a "used" MDX for my wife and three children. I have read quite allot of feedback concerning the transmission problems that owners are having w the MDX. My budget is forcing me to look at "used" in the 2001 to 2003 years and this generally means mileage in the 80-100K range. 2001 is the first year for MDX sales, are the transmission problems unique to the first generation MDX models, IE) 2001 & 2002 or do the problems still exist on the newer models as well? When or has this apparent transmission problem been fixed? Are there particular model years that I should stay away from to avoid this problem?
David |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by David Sealey
I am looking to purchase a "used" MDX for my wife and three children. I have read quite allot of feedback concerning the transmission problems that owners are having w the MDX. My budget is forcing me to look at "used" in the 2001 to 2003 years and this generally means mileage in the 80-100K range. 2001 is the first year for MDX sales, are the transmission problems unique to the first generation MDX models, IE) 2001 & 2002 or do the problems still exist on the newer models as well? When or has this apparent transmission problem been fixed? Are there particular model years that I should stay away from to avoid this problem?
David
2001/2002 model years have a much worse than average tranny reliability rating. The tranny was redesigned for 2003 and the reliability went up to average. Tweaking the design further brought the reliability rating up to much better than average for the 2004/up model years. For that price range, have you considered a newer Pilot? |
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| midnightMDX |
| What is your budget? I also agree, the Pilot is a cheaper alternative. Try to get an 03, if not, factor in that will need a couple grand on hand if the tranny does decide to fail. |
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| David Sealey |
| Budget is approx $15K |
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| David Sealey |
| Thanks for the suggestion of the Honda Pilot. We have to have a 3rd row seat as we have 3 children. Do ALL pilots come w a 3rd row? |
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| JimH |
| yes--pilots come with a 3rd row seat. |
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| Ceenit |
+1 on the Pilot, for the price range you are looking in, you can go a year or two newer on the pilot with lower miles.
On the chart above....I'm wondering if the difference between the '03 and the '04/'05 is really the amount of miles on the vehicle having an impact on the number of issues. I believe that '03-'06 all have identical transmissions.
I also agree that the '01/'02 I would stay away from if I were looking to purchase. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by David Sealey
Thanks for the suggestion of the Honda Pilot. We have to have a 3rd row seat as we have 3 children. Do ALL pilots come w a 3rd row?
Yes, and the Pilot is a little wider in the third row so Honda put three sets of seat belts back there. The Pilot is a legal 8 seater versus the MDX's 7 seats. |
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| ncelk |
| I agree that with your requirements the Pilot would be a good choice. I owned 2 and was very happy with them. They were MY vehicles, the wife was the one that wanted the MDX, but you get the same basic qualities with a few less bells and whistles with the Pilot. |
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| nipsy3 |
| What are consumer reports basing the "black circle" rating on? Is it 1 major transmission failure every X amount of vehicles? How many is X? |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by nipsy3
What are consumer reports basing the "black circle" rating on? Is it 1 major transmission failure every X amount of vehicles? How many is X?
It is a rating relative to other vehicles in it's class based on user submitted surveys. They don't give absolute values. The black circle means that the 2001/2002 MY has a much worse than average reliabilty rating. The only absolute value CR has given for the problem Acura/Honda trannys was for the 2001 Acura CL which had a reported serious tranny problem rate of 1 out of every 4. |
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