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Acura MDX 2007
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German cars have had this smell for years due to them using a heavy duty ethanol based fluid in the windshield washer tank that prevents it from freezing when the car sits for weeks in sub zero temps during transport across the Atlantic.
Oh ya, windshield wiper fluid doesn't "sour".
Thanks for the tips. Never thought of that. I will try and flush it first. If still a problem, will take it up with the dealer/Acura. Hpoefully it is this simple. I have not heard of this typr of issue on any car, and seems no one else on this forum has posted about similer issue. I hope it's nothing that can't be fixed. Will let you know what happens. thanks.
Does anyone know when Rain Shades will be available for the '07 MDX? Can't even open windows 1/4" without having a river of water run into the vehicle. Also, has anyone had any luck reducing the static charge on the plastic bezels of the dash gauges and radio display? Every bit of dust is immediately drawn to the plastic like a magnet!
This is my 3rd MDX. 2001, 2004 and now the '07. I have the sport package with entertainment system....loaded with sport running boards and roof racks. I love the '07 the most...the ELS surround system rocks!!
I just returned from an 8 day trip to Europe where I drove 3,700 kilometres in a loaded Citreon C5 (like a French Buick? big and comfortable) with a 1.8 litre diesel engine and a 5 speed manual. It was a bit slow of the mark but had HUGE mid-range punch and cruised all day at 150 ks on 3,500 rpm and running climate control the whole time. I used 222 litres of standard diesel fuel which cost E242 or approximately US$314 (note that diesel in Europe is around 20% cheaper than gasoline). I don't have conversion tables close at hand but this seems to be in the range of 40 mpg?
And virtually every car in roughly the Acura class I saw (Merc A, B, C, R, E, and S classes, BMW 7, 5, 3 and 2's, a huge number of Audi A3, 4, 6 and 8's - and any SUV variants on these) were all running diesels.
So the question is, has anyone heard of plans by Honda to introduce diesels to North America? I pick up an 07 loaded MDX in 4 weeks and the idea of having this type of vehicle and getting mileage closer to 40 as opposed to sub-20s is very attractive.
Car & Driver recently compared two sedans, a 208HP E320 diesel and a 268 HP E350 model (gasoline) - they are nearly identical in size and weight except for the engines and price, with the E320 costly $1,000 more. Despite gobs of torque the diesel was about 1 second slower 0-60. It made up for it with better mileage (34 mpg vs. 26 mpg on the E350) but based on the gas/diesel prices at the time of the test they estimated it would take 49,000 miles to come out ahead with the diesel. The consensus was that given the performance difference it was not worth getting the diesel version, unless a buyer would have other reasons to buy it.
As fuel prices continue to go up the equation between diesel and gas will change, and I think you will see more engine options being offered across Honda's linep. I think I do recall reading that Honda is developing at least one diesel engine for the U.S., but I can't remember the details or which models they were targeting. I agree that a diesel option for the MDX would be interesting!
So now we're going to pick up the car tomorrow. We got a $0 down lease with $1145 in inception fees for $595 per month and 12k miles. I'm not sure if we wound up getting the 15k miles but if we did, I believe that with the rest of the terms of the lease the same, it was around $623 per month. We also got $7,000 for our '01 MDX which was not in very good condition. It would've been tough to sell on our own because it was barely even in presentable shape.
My mom still hasn't seen a Pearl next to a Taffeta; has anyone seen them together yet? If so, is there a noticable difference? Thanks.
One is an improved 4 cylinder engine. This will probably just be a variant of the 2.2L power plant they have in the Accord, Civic, CR-V, and FR-V over in Europe. When it was first introduced, it quickly became an award winner, but it needs tweaking to make it work here in North America. Expect that engine sometime within the next two years.
The second is a V6 diesel. No idea what this engine will bring. It will follow the four cyl a few years later.
Here's a link to an interview with Taeko Fukui, Honda's CEO. About half-way down, he gets into the subject of diesels.
It helps if you park them end to end, so you can see their profiles together, instead of turning right, then left, then right, then left.
Anyways, the Taffeta White is White, plain and simple.
The Aspen White Pearl is a warmer, creamy white.
Both are nice, but I like the Aspen.
I have seen the Aspen White, and noticed the same problem. Does the Taffeta White also have that issue? How about the Formal Black? I looked at one breifly, and it looked like the Black and a slight difference in color as well.
Thanks for your comments.
We just got back from picking it up...it's amazing. The interior is very nicely laid out and finished. It's as technologically advanced as any car out there and it drives very nicely as well, especially for a 7-passenger SUV. I loved having the XM and the navigation with voice commands were very nice as well. I only got to drive it briefly around the block (it's my mom's car), but in the short time I drove it, I loved it. It handles very fluently and has a nice feel for the road, especially compared to its predecessor. The Aspen White Pearl looks very classy as did the Parchment interior. The only thing my mother and I agreed on was that we would prefer some real oak or walnut wood or something like that as opposed to the black which it currently hosts. Either way, I think we'll be very satisfied with our new ride. Hopefully I'll feel the same way 42 months from now as our lease comes to a conclusion.
A couple on this page have them installed -- http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27120&perpage=15&highl- ight=Garnish%20Pics&pagenumber=3
Front garnish pic at bottom -- http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27709&perpage=15&highl- ight=Garnish%20Pics&pagenumber=1 -- next page in that topic has the rear garnish.
The garnishes like their namesake, are pure eye-parsley, serve no purpose but aesthetics, don't even offer radiator protection. The rear one fills what appeared to be a begging bumper gap between pipes.
At end of April we had the dealer put on front and rear garnishes and the Sport interior matching shifter. The aluminum garnishes are of very high quality and add even more class to a no longer understated vehicle. Until you see them you may not have thought about getting them, yes? The shifter although about a century note installed, ties in the gray plood (plastic/wood) and has perforated leather like the Sport seat centers. It should be standard equipment along with the fancy mirror IMHO. Ours is dressed, not overdressed with garnishes F & B, plood shifter, compass auto-dim mirror, wheel well trim, top remains clean to avoid the family trickster moniker (Our Ody handles that). For those in the market, the body side molding on the ’07 is useless, way to low to provide useful protection and detracts from the snazzy lines.
The Sport suspension offers an awesome yet tailor-able ride, nearly unspin-able in corners, I take the back roads for fun. This is not your grandpas MDX, this baby digs G-forces, don’t forget to grunt to avoid blackouts! If you're on dry roads and avoid the temptation to chcken out and mash the brake instead of the gas, the MDX will power scoot you through with SH-AWD.
I would appreciate if someone is willing to test this one - maybe it is happening to you and you are not aware, just like I haven’t been until I had sunroof under cover open – pushed all the way back.
We have the new 07 with about 7k miles on it. We picked it up at the first of the year. Absolutely love the SUV. It is truly amazing. It does have its faults but all in all it is a great SUV. And you can't beat its features/performance/reliability for the money!
As for your questions...
1. We have 3 children ages 5, 3 & 1. We currently have 2 Britax Parkway booster seats and a Britax Marathon convertible comfortably sitting across the 2nd row. When we first took delivery, we had 3 Britax marathon seats across the 3rd row and they fit without any trouble. When test driving the car prior to delivery, I actually put all three car seats in the 2nd row to ensure that they fit before making our final decision.
2. The sport model is fantastic but I think the base is pretty good as well. So, it if doesn't really interest you, I wouldn't waste the money. For me, it was the second most important feature after the car seats fitting. We had an Audi A6 wagon and we currently have an S4 sedan. So, I was looking for an SUV that didn't handle like one. The MDX is amazing deceptive... it truly feels like an SUV that is half the size while driving. I sometime have to remind myself that it has a third row back there! Oddly enough, I got the exact opposite feeling from the Audi Q7. It felt like I was driving a boat. It handled pretty well but it felt incredibly long and tall... too not so great handling characteristics.
3. We live on the southern coast of Maine and fortunately, we have a dealer about 20 miles south in NH. Amazingly, there isn't a dealer in the entire state of Maine... which is a pretty big state. (I could drive 400 miles north and still be in Maine!) As far as I understand, you can get service at a Honda dealer but they will not cover any warranty work. We also have a Honda Pilot and oddly, we now get it serviced at the Acura dealer because the service is sooo much better. My sister recently picked up the GL450. She really liked the MDX but she lives 4 hours north of us and she opted for the MB since there is a dealer within 30 miles. I would check with the service department at the Honda dealer to find out the exact details. It would be a pain to have to drive an hour to get your car serviced!
4. There will always be pro/cons to everything but imho, this is one hell of an SUV.
Sorry about the long post.
-m
I have the body side moldings and like them ... they did save me from a door ding at least once and (fortunately/unfortunately?) I have the mark to prove it. I didn't buy them for that perse, but I thought they broke up the "blankness" (lack of a better word) or the doors. I have the sport running boards as well.
I think the black looks perfect just the way I have it -- body side moldings, both garnishes, sport running boards, NO roof rails.
The SPORT trim is nice imho ... like the billet trim inside and perforated leather, and most of all the sport rims (like them much better than the base). As far as SPORT mode, I rarely use it, but it is kind of fun once in a while. I didn't think so when I test drove, but IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE RIDE. To be honest it's pretty punishing in Sport mode on uneven pavement, but kind of nice on exit ramps, etc. I almost always have it in "comfort" mode though.
I have had zero leaks in the moonroof and been through the car wash a few times.
Other comments:
-- Stereo is very nice, but not quite what it's played up to be. Maybe I'm finally going deaf
-- I wish the fuel economy was a little bit better AND/OR they'd have not made the engine high-compression as to require premium fuel (and please don't start with the "you can afford the car, you can afford the gas" BS). The ONLY reason this engine is high-compression (prem fuel req'd) is so they could claim the 300hp. VERY smart business move and it probably works, but I'd rather have low compression and 15-20 less horsepower and be able to use regular fuel.
-- That being said ... the engine doesn't feel as powerful as one would think 300hp would feel ... moreso in higher speeds, but not lower in the gear range. Still PLENTY of power.
-- Could do w/o the wood trim altogether personally ... maybe more metallic billet trim like in the TL?
-- Wish the MDX had rain-sensitive wipers (miss them from my Lexus RX 330)
-- Overall I really like the car ... don't want anyone to think I don't. Love the aggressive styling and room inside. Love the tech features and black interior.
Hope that with solve your problem .It did mine.
Good luck
John
Update on my side –
Friend of mine also has 2007 MDX (his is ELITE though) as well as 2006 XC 90 for his wife. We went in the same car wash with his MDX - we checked all - all closed. Same story water goes through when high pressure rinse-off nozzles are going over – the same as mine car. No difference at all. Then, I could not wait to see XC 90. We took then XC 90. Yes water was going through too. But when we took a look at the design in XC 90 on the front side under the sunroof there is horisontal drainage channel and then in front pillars there are holes to drain the water through. On the back side of the sunroof, under it, there is a pan for excess water collection and then that has its drains to get the water out.
In essence both cars assume that water can go in – around the rubber of the sunroof. As I can see MDX has some sponge from left and right side to collect the water, but as I could see, overall solution is far from XC90 in respect to collecting the water and getting it out with no damage.
I still did not call Acura Canada but I am sure they’ll say that car was not designed to sustain that high water pressure and that I should use a different kind of car wash.
I am sure every 2007 MDX is the same in that respect if it goes through the same car wash as I use here close to my house.
I’ll let you know after I talk to my dealer and Acura Canada .
So, I'm finally happy with the car's performance, even if the 18 inch rims aren't nearly as appealing.
My neighbor has an 04 Acura and according to him, his passenger side mirror moves, not the driver side.
What should be the actual behaviour of these side mirrors ? Should both of them tilt in reverse gear ? or just the driver side ? I am confused.
What is your
Bud
Bud :confuse:
You must be thinking about the Toyota were both mirrors may tilt down together. The '07 MDX mirrors are not programmable as far as tilt down in reverse. Every '07 works the same way. I think you can turn this function off entirely in the MID though. The rear tilt is determined by the setting of the Left/Off (center)/Right side mirror switch position as 3mdx said. It is impossible to get both mirrors to tilt down at the same time. I guess you could push the left glass down while the right one is tilting so I should caveat the 'impossible' statement saying you can't do it automatically. Personally I like the left one to tilt as most of my attention is focused on the portion of the vehicle farthest from me. Having a back-up cam helps quite a bit too.
The only thing I wish Acura would have done to aide backing is add the proximity sensors like we have on our Odyssey Touring. If you come within about a foot of an object front (nose proximity centerline up to about 45 degrees R&L), or rear, you get an audible ding alert and a light on the dash. Seems odd that if you buy the premium Acura brand MDX with Sport/Ent packages for nearly $10K more you get fewer features than the top of the line Honda family truckster. These handy little sensors will spoil you once you have them as you are prone to depend on them looking around corners and warning you if you get close swinging into a space going forward. With them, you can focus primarily on the back-up cam and the sensors to alert you before you see the object/person in range. You certainly get strange looks watching TV instead of turning your head backwards like everyone else. This feature has saved me so many times in parking lots as shoppers sneak behind without warning! You can get only the rear sensors added to non-Touring Ody's but Acura doesn't offer them on the front at all. The dealer offered to install them on the rear but looking at Acura.com, that doesn't seem to be a dealer installed option. Even with the smaller MDX's stature, we feel there's a void that the premium brand didn't fill sans sensors.
Oh, one more Ody vs. MDX Q that I could answer next time it rains but someone may know already. When you have wipers on, even in intermittent mode, the Ody turns on the rear wiper when backing up even if the rear wiper control off, a rather clever welcomed surprise. Does the MDX do this too?
I am torn between the MDX and the Cadillac SRX (yes, a Caddy). The MDX seems far and away to have more bells and whistles, but it just doesn't seem to be as finished as nicely inside. The V8 Caddy is so quiet and powerful. I also love the sunroof on the Caddy that goes the entire length of the car. Car and Driver loves the Caddy.
I haven't owned an GM car since my 1991 S-10 blazer . . . $12,000 worth of repairs in 5 years! But, I hear they are better. Has anyone else gone through this comparison? If so, I would really appreciate your thoughts on how you reached a decision.
Thank you.
In this area (N-E suburb of Dallas), I see a lot of CR-V's, Explorers, Durangos, Tahoes and Suburbans, lot of RX3x0's, a few Muranos and infiniti's and strangely, a bunch of Jeeps (listing SUV's only). I see a bunch of 4Runners, highlanders, Pilots and RAV4's too. Wonder if people buy the MDX for that special day use only. The only few I have seen are the 2006 or earlier models. Thanks, - MS.
Glad you're enjoying the MDX Elite - a hell of a good rig, IMO.
also. Car and Driver recently rated them the best two in the lux SUV catagory. I don't need an SUV trying to be a sports car so I think I will go with the SRX. Here in the Northeast its hard to find many V-8's. With the gas crisis
it might be a good time to deal
CFB
Thanks.
While I was on vacation in San Diego back in February, I rented an Acadia for a week and was quite impressed with all the technical features (which I thought even out-trumped the MDX). However, the six-speed transmission was terrible ~ it was constantly searching for the next gear when on the road, between 4th and 5th ~ a real nuisance and didn't give me much confidence in passing! Maybe waiting a year is an excellent idea!
My theory (with no stats whatsoever) is that it takes a while for a new model to be common the road. Most of the other SUVs that you have seen are in their 3rd or 4th model years if not longer with little exterior change. I noticed the same thing with the new CRV. Probably same reason few Audi Q7 or MB R class around though hard to tell if its related to sales or not.
For what it's worth, my friend in Boston reports lots of new MDX on the road there.
I know this is a largely personal preference issue, but can folks out there with either color lend their thoughts on the pros/cons of each? Thanks.