2005 Acura MDX Problems, Recalls & Reliability
244 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2005 Acura MDX, alongside 13 recall campaigns and 5 defect investigations. It scores 62/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 79,914 miles.
Below average
Where 2005 sits among all MDX years
What owners report
“Transmission start making noise, jerking and problem in shifting. Sometimes it shakes alot. Lot of people had the same problem in the past. I dont understand why there is no recall”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 MDX
“Takata recall, my air bags has been malfunctioning turning off and on. I check if my vehicle is being recall but my vehicle is not in the database ? My acura mdx 2005 needs a recall”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 MDX
“Going 65 miles an hour on the highway vehicle brakes suddenly vsa light comes on almost threw me in the ditch under snowy conditions airbag light also came on”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 MDX
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 181 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 82,700 miles. Half of those reports fall between 58,000 and 123,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (13)
Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain Accelerator Pedal Assemblies part numbers 699-114 and 825-5029-1, sold as replacement parts for 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2004-2008 Acura TL and TSX, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2007-2011 Honda…
Fix: Dorman will notify owners, and qualified service facilities will replace the affected accelerator pedal assemblies, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2019. Owners may contact Dorman…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic,…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall bagan March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic, 2003-2004 Civic CNG and Element, 2002-2005 CR-V, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Accord, Pilot, Civic Hybrid, and Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 26, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflators in all affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during August 2014. Owners may contact Honda customer…
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 Pilot vehicles manufactured July 29, 2004, through August 29, 2005; model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 16, 2004, through September 22, 2005; and model year 2005 Acura RL vehicles…
Fix: Owners will be notified and instructed to take their vehicles to a dealer of their respective brand. The dealer will install a partial wiring harness containing a capacitor for the VSA modulator,…
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 Pilot and Odyssey and 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX passenger vehicles manufactured from November 26, 2001, through August 30, 2006. The interlock lever of the ignition switch may deform, which can allow the…
Fix: Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated shift interlock lever and, if necessary, replace any necessary part of…
HONDA IS RECALLING 2,032 HITCH STYLE BIKE RACKS SOLD AS AFTERMARKET FOR USE ON MY 2003-2007 AND SOME MY 2008 HONDA PILOT, RIDGELINE, AND ACURA MDX VEHICLES. A PINCH BOLT EXISTS BETWEEN THE BIKE ARM BRACKET AND THE UPRIGHT ASSEMBLY OF THE "HITCH" STYLE…
Fix: OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT THULE AT 800-THULE91 (800-848-5391) TO OBTAIN A FREE REPAIR KIT ALONG WITH REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS OR OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238 FOR…
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, SOME FUEL TANKS WERE IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED.
Fix: DEALERS REPLACED THE FUEL TANK. ALL OWNERS WERE NOTIFIED BY TELEPHONE ON NOVEMBER 10, 2004.
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Led to recall campaign 13V092000.
Led to recall campaign 12V573000.
Technical service bulletins
98 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on airbags and electrical — are on file for the 2005 Acura MDX. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2005 Acura MDX reliable?
The 2005 Acura MDX drew 244 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 62/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2005 Acura MDX problems?
The top reported problems for the 2005 Acura MDX are transmission & drivetrain (87 complaints), airbags (40), and other (27).
At what mileage do 2005 Acura MDX problems show up?
Owners most often report 2005 Acura MDX problems around 82,700 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 58,000 and 123,000 miles.
Does the 2005 Acura MDX have recalls?
13 recall campaigns apply to the 2005 Acura MDX. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.