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Acura MDX (pre-2007)
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Realistically though, it's okay to use it for a few tankfuls, but one shouldn't make this a habit because over the long run, it's not good for the engine for the reason stated above (according to the experts on our mailing list).
Drew
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
Have a problem with the side airbag idiot light coming on intermittently. Will have it checked at the 3750 mile oil change. This is the dealer recommended first oil change (Continental Acura in Lisle, IL).
Only real complaint that I have about the engineering of the car is that the rear window wiper does not have an intermittent feature. Seems like an obvious thing given the otherwise great value.
Overall, am really enjoying the MDX. Highly recommend it.
"my side airbag light comes on periodically as well. It only comes on when my 11 year old sits in the front seat and slouches in his chair. I read the owners manual and it states the light will come on if the airbag system detects something is in its path that may result in harm being done if it gets deployed. The light indicates the system is automatically shutting itself down. Is there someone sitting in the front seat when your light comes on??"
Since the MDX is based on the Odyssey and built at the same Canadian plant, there may end up being some correlation to MDX reliability. On the one hand, there might be more attention paid to the higher-profile MDX platform, so it might do better. On the other hand, the MDX has more sophisticated components and is less familiar to the assembly workers, being a first year model.
(Despite the "average" score, Consumer Reports still considered the Odyssey the best minivan, even over the Sienna, which has higher reliability.)
cpatenn Check your tire pressure. After my first drive home from the dealer, I measured the air pressure in the Michelins and found it to be 36 psi (warm), whereas it should have been 35 psi (i.e., 32 + 3). With the wheels rebalanced and with the cold tire pressure lowered to 32 psi, the pulsation I felt has ended. It's still rather taut, but I expect the suspension system to loosen up as the miles pile up.
sri5 You can make your StarTAC or Nokia cell phone handsfree with the Navigator Hands-Free Kit from www.comtrad.com. I highly recommend it.
tpauls My side air bag light would come on when my (hefty) brief case got too close to the door. The solution? Just adjusting the seat and placing the case in such a manner as to keep the minimum safe distance.
wmquan Temperatures here have been ranging from the 20's to the 40's. No snow yet. Will post what happens when we get a major dusting.
Transpower
While I enviously read the posts from many of you rolling up miles on your MDXs, I'm still waiting with a deposit on a TP. I had decided against the nav, figuring the $2k would buy me more than a lifetime's supply of TG maps and then some. They're great for getting around the L.A. area. But now I'm reconsidering, and would like to hear some feedback from those who have had a chance to put their's to use, especially in L.A.
If you're not one to really pay attention to how to get to where you're going (familiar or new), or make note of landmarks along the way (sort of a "mental bread-crumbing"), or have a tendency to turn up the stereo and just drive . . . will the nav system really help you negotiate your way? If you're on the freeway, do you get enough lead time on directions to make lane changes, catch the interchanges, offramps, etc? Is the voice system good enough? Does it lower the stereo volume enough so it can be heard? I guess the same general questions apply to street driving, too.
Don't mean to scare anyone with the impression that somebody on the L.A. freeways has gone blank behind the wheel. It's just that someone else will also be driving my MDX, someone whose many talents do not include having a solid sense of where one is/needs to be, in terms of direction, and time and distance in between - will the nav be a good "navigator" for someone like that? Btw, I know the limited coverage area has disappointed some of you, but I'm assuming that So. Cal. is not a problem.
Right now I'm primarily interested on the usefulness of the nav feature. But I know the nav system has lots of other gee-whiz features, so any comments on their utility would also be most welcome.
I agree. It was a weird thing for this coworker to say; I even told him I felt the opposite. I think the ML feels "truckier" mainly because of the lower frequency of the exhaust. The MDX also feels a lot more nimble. I still don't get his decision. Oh well...as long as he's happy...
William:
Given what the folks here have experienced so far, the MDX doesn't seem bad. Should be interesting to see how its reliability holds up for everyone over the next year or two. At least you folks didn't have the chronic problems of the '98 ML: buggy alarm, machine gun locks, fuel sender failures; it took MB years to fix these :-P
Drew
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
http://www.msnbc.com/news/498507.asp
If it's on the article ... man ... might be hard to stomach watching it.
Yes, the radio is dimmed when the voice (and chime) sound... but depending on how loud you listen to the radio (etc.)... you may not be able to completely understand the voice commands completely (even with the voice setting at its loudest) -- however this has not been a problem, since you'll definately hear the chime and you can simply glance at the Nav display to see what your next move is. It would have been nice however for a "dim" setting (to define how low to dim the Radio/CD/Tape) in addition to the existing voice/chime level control.
As for lead time on the Freeway -- I'm pretty sure it's 2 miles (which has worked fine for me)... and you do get a continuously updated milage to the next move readout.
Wish we had a choice of other voices besides the one Japanese lady... but she's pretty inteligible most of the time
I'd highly recommend the Nav.. However I feel that the technolgy's bound to improve exponentially in the not too distant future -- so I'm sure in the next couple of years I'll want to replace the current unit with one that will be able to get weather and traffic conditions and have internet access (no doubt for a monthly fee)... but in the meanwhile this will do just fine.
Regards.
Rail
http://www.msnbc.com/news/498507.asp
Typically sensationalistic TV story, but some sobering points:
1) 65 percent of children ages four to eight who die in car accidents are unbelted.
2) Most childseats are improperly installed and some are obsolete; they went to a voluntary carseat checkup clinic and only 3 of 150 seats were installed properly.
3) Many children who outgrow their convertible seats are placed in the adult seats, rather than in booster seats that can hold children up to 80-100 lbs. Boosters help reposition the belts so they don't come uncomfortably and dangerously close to the neck.
What to do? Restrain children properly, using rear-facing carseats until they're a year old, then a forward-facing convertible seat, then a booster. Preferrably in the second row, middle position is safer.
Have the installed seat checked at a car safety clinic; see the above link for more links to such events, or call your local police and fire department.
Consider a vehicle with ISOFIX / LATCH, which should reduce the percentage of improperly installed seats significantly. There's at least one LATCH-compatible convertible seat on sale in the U.S. and more are coming. Unfortunately, the MDX isn't available with this option.
In reconsidering the nav, I was thinking that maybe it has benefits as a safety asset; e.g., you or your wife and kid are hurt, in trouble, need help, etc., so you punch up the nearest hospital or police station or fire station or whatever. I know the database is great at listing pizza joints, does it also have emergency services?
As far as updates on the database, I've forgotten what was posted earlier and I've heard different things from the dealers: $150/update; free updates first three years; updates every year, $$ unknown. So what's the real deal as far as cost and frequency?
Rail: I never thought I'd type the words "penis thing" in any forum I'd ever visit, but there it is. I guess your girlfriend means the nav is a "guy thing?" We'll never have to get hassled to ask for directions again!
My dealer was honest (I've heard other stories) -- updated DVD's are never free... you have to buy them through Acura. You only need to update it when you feel that it's needed -- usually it'll update any businesses and add more coverage and fix any errors that may have been found. New updated DVD's apparently come out every October.
Sorry if I offended anyone using the "P" word (I thought it over before I posted) but felt it's allowed by the FCC so it shouldn't be too offensive -- The Nav system will definately end those family disagreements we've all encountered growing up, sitting in the rear seat while your parents circled the same block for hours :^)
Regards.
Rail
The guide view is helpful, too. One curious thing: the system causes periodic distortion in my compass-radar detector; this must be due to the magnetic fields in or surrounding the equipment.
black ice I forgot to mention in my previous post that although we haven't had any serious snow yet, there have been cases of black ice reported. In Pottsville (in the center of PA) there were a number of serious accidents, one deadly. My own brother (driving a Ford Explorer on his way back to Michigan after the Thanksgiving holiday) flipped his SUV in that area, but landed upright in a field. His injuries were minor. Still sobering, isn't it?
Transpower
Thanks for posting the info (#400) from Dateline's report. Only 2% of the 150 inspected child seats were considered to be installed correctly? Wow! My guess is that the new childseat standard of using tether straps with anchors should help improve the safety of infants and toddlers. Attaching the tether straps tightly to an anchor in the automobile might help compensate for a seat that isn't installed 100% correctly. The ISOFIX/LATCH system should help much more, but I bet it will be quite some time before it is a standard feature in most automobiles.
Seems like whenever I hear of children being killed in local automobile accidents, the report will go on to say that seat belts were not used. I'm surprised that the percentage reported by Dateline wasn't greater than 65%. Probably other areas of the country do a better job of enforcing and reminding people to use seatbelts than here in Arizona. In Phoenix, I believe it is still legal to carry passengers completely unrestrained in the beds of pickup trucks!
I thought I read somewhere that the cu ft behind the MDX 3rd seats was 15.7 cu ft. I believe that LC is a ~20.5 cu ft. Can anyone describe what they can place behind the 3rd seat (including if it does extend above seat backs?)
Any thoughts on the protection from a rear end collision to occupants in the 3rd seat?
My delemma is that probably 80% of the time the MDX provides enough room, but there is always those times when the extra room of a Sequoia would be used and muchly appreciated. Then again I may just to decide to stay with the LC and buy that HDTV for Christmas
Any help is greatly appreciated.
I have been looking into stand alone GPS systems, and though there are only a few that have DVD, functionally they can do everything the Acura system can but does requires a laptop. But even the high end one with color map screen on the GPS unit costs 500, plus 100 for the sofware, and I assume everyone buying a MDX has a laptop, a substantial savings.
The advantages are that it is more easily upgradeable, cheaper by far, can move from car to car, and the gps unit can be used alone for hiking, biking, boating etc.
Anyone else looked into separate GPS/laptop systems?
The best thing about the 3rd row is you can fold one of them and thus the cargo area is expanded.
Keep in mind that the back of the MDX does not go straight up like the LC. Is is very curved.
Good luck.
For those folks looking to upgrade your base MDX to the TP in-dash 6 disc CD Changer system – it is possible and hopefully my very long saga will aid you. After 2 different units, several calls to Acura CS, and extreme patience by Tim at HondaAcura World, I believe I have the answer, but some more research on your part would be recommended.
The base radio has a built in Amp (120w, 4 channel), but the in-dash CD Changer does not because it needs the extra space for the stacking CD’s. Therefore purchasing just the in-dash unit is not enough. You must also purchase the front 100w Amp to power the speakers. In the rear, the base model comes with a 35w Amp for the sub-woofer. The TP has a 100w Amp for the sub and also powers the ceiling tweeter. Since the base MDX does not have the ceiling tweeter, there should be no need to replace the rear Amp.
If interested, give Tim @ HondaAcura World a ring as he has helped me through this seemingly never ending process. Acura CS has been much less than helpful in providing information on this personal quest and has stated they do not recommend modifying/changing either radio configuration – standard company line, but I was hoping for more. That’s all I have on this one. I choose not to continue this quest as the price was more than I am willing to shell out at this point even with Tim's great pricing.
FWIW, the base unit is made by Alpine and the in-dash CD changer is made by Pioneer. Amp’s are by Bose.
Part number info for those interested:
Radio AMP
------ -------
Premium 39100-S3V-A21ZA 39186-S3V-A11
Premium-Navi 39100-S3V-A31ZA 39186-S3V-A11
Even with this price, there are many advantages to going this route – radio works with the Navi system, steering wheel radio controls, etc. Acura does sell a separate CD changer that either goes under the seat in no-Navi models, but the under the seat option is lost on Navi models as I have. The other viable option for the base owners out there is an aftermarket CD changer using FM modulation so that the CD changer is just another radio station as far as your in-dash unit is concerned. Crutchfield is a good place to look – www.crutchfield.com.
Yes the technology will move forward and enhancements will be added to future iterations, but the Navi system is solid and will only get better with increased coverage. It certainly has my recommendation for those in the northeast corridor.
** After the a fore mentioned Thanksgiving trip with lots of stuff loaded in the rear, I now have the squeaky mouse several others have described. I believe it is related to the 3rd row of seats. No matter what I try, it remains. The dealer gets a crack at it this week. I suggest others give the cargo area a “work out” to see if the mouse makes an appearance for you. I am guessing that pressure on the 3rd row of seats unsettled and loosened something up.
** The separation net works great in allowing you to stack up the cargo area with LOTS of stuff and protecting the 2nd row passengers. I got it for our mutts, but this is a very nice side benefit.
** Mileage continues to disappoint. I have yet to top 20 even with the holiday road trip.
** I have a cold weather starting problem. My Odyssey turns right over, the MDX really churns. Another issue for the dealer.
** I actually got noticed more in our Odyssey when we got it a month after release than I have with the MDX. The rear and side styling really blend in. The front still looks fresh and distinctive, but 1 out of 4 eye catching views is not a great statement to it’s enduring lasting power IMO. At a minimum, the designers could have taken a little more risk with the rear end.
** No snow yet, so nothing to report on that front.
Sick of my chain posts – well this is it for a while. Hope some of this was useful . . .
DC
With that price you still won't have the climate control and other features of Navi. It also looks like a definite add on.
My wife too thought is was just a boys toy until she had a demo. Didn't hurt that the day before we drove a 100 miles on I5 wondering where we could get a decent meal from a restaurant we could trust.
Anyway she says it's a go. Now all I need is the vehicle to go with it.
Appreciate your help. I might consider M5 or ML320, if things are getting worse.
There were some previous posts about updating the MDX Nav, with a few people saying that the upgrade will cost $150. When I took delivery of my MDX my salesman told me (and the sales manager confirmed) that I'll receive the next two DVD upgrades at no charge when they become available.
I also was offered a free full tank of gas if I were to return the completed new owner's survey to the dealer instead of dropping it in the mail. For this, I drove until my MDX was running on fumes, then took them up their offer. The 15-minute trip saved me roughly $35.
Perhaps my dealer feels that the free Nav upgrades and the free gas for returning the survey alleviates some of the guilt they feel by charging MSRP for the MDX, but inflated pricing on the mandatory options that came with it.
Regardless, my GG Touring/Nav has made me an EXTREMELY happy camper!
(BTW, can anyone tell me the process for highlighting Town Hall forum text in bold and/or italic? I've just about worn out my mouse looking for the procedure.)
Do stand-alones cover stuff like Banking, Emergency Services, Restaurants, etc? And what would something with that kind of info cost? I assume anything around $150 is pretty basic; I'd cap the cost at the $2k it costs for the factory nav.
A dealer gave me a demo on the nav, but I don't exactly recall how you pick out alternate routes -you can ask it to do that for you, right?
"Bonfire of the Vanities" factor - didn't read the book, didn't see the movie. So the lesson to be learned is . . . ?
The comments about upgrades were quite different and yet were said with some conviction, so I'm still unclear how that's supposed to work. Not a breaking point (unless they're real $$$), I'd just like to know.
Goodyears/Michelins: I thought the TP Michelins give you a smoother ride, but didn't someone recently post otherwise? Was that just one opinion, or did I miss something about which is the better tire?
Spare: Can you swap out a full size for the standard issue emergency one?
Random thoughts:
- Good God this car is smooth. I could hardly feel gear shifting. Turns are very stable. It does feel a bit bouncy, but I've been driving a sedan for 5 years so that was expected.
- Good God my butt hurts. The seats are definitely not made for wide asses (6'3", 240lb). I guess you could say it's more my hip. The seats have these wings with very ridgid foam which I'm sure would beautifully cup the bottom of person 150lb or less, but it simply feels like it's digging into my hip. I liken it to sitting on the toilet, reading a wonderful magazine article, not noticing that your leg has fallen asleep - that kind of dull ache. Oh well, sheep skins with extra padding may help. Any suggestions?
- Oh my, did I really just go through 4 gallons of gas. Yes, i knew it was coming but it does kinda shock me a bit that my fuel gauge just went down 1/4 after about 65 miles. Yeouch.
- Errr, the base stereo is out (or speakers at least). I must have good tunes!!! Tomorrow I make a trip to the local stereo shop for some estimates. I've been listening to bass produced by 2 10" JBL woofers for the last 5 years- the system in the MDX is very distorted and lacks well defined highs. On the CD, why oh why is there no way to go back to the previous tune...perhaps I've not found the right control.
- The control screen seemed pretty cool during the test drive, but once I've discovered it's true functionality I'm a little put off.
- Climate control, heated seats. Very nice. I like the idea of taping the temperature button and letting the car figure out the heat I need. The fan control, as with the CD, lacks the ability to go to the previous selection. You must ratchet up the fan until it returns to the lowest setting. People have posted the seats lack heat, however, I notice my buns getting toasty quick when I turn the setting to high.
- Man! I bird just craped on my new car. Before I could get out of the Odometer teens. Sheesh.
- Running boards and fender flares. I saw the side steps on internet pictures and I said "that's fer me." I then saw them at the dealership and they had an unfinished look to them. You could see 3 large bars (no paint, no finish, just bars that look like they belong out of sight) holding up the side steps. Definitly more sporty however. The running boards looked like they belonged on the car, smooth lines and all. Functionality? fahgitaboutit. Unless you have children or older persons riding frequently. The fender flares are very nice indeed, but I would only recommend them for the darker paints. I saw them on the lighter, eh. Still, the flares seem incomplete without a thick bead of seal between the flare and the fender metal. I fear moisture and grit will get inbetween, scratch the paint and startup the rust. sigh.
- Ever see that commercial, for VW I think, with the guy at the goccery store lunging at a cart bullseyeing his car. That's what I'm gonna feel like for every car parked next to mine since there is NO protection for the sides from dings. I've heard some good ideas about do it yourself strips...Anybody out there have good experiences with that?
- Oh the envy. I must admit, the looks sold me on this vehicle. The eyecatching qualities are very subtle, your not sure what it is, but you must stare. Possibly the same reason infants stare at handsome people (myself not being one)more than plain looking folks...they know they like it, but they still don't know why. Anyway, on the trip to work I got ~5 gawks, 2 of them from new BMW 5 series. One guy, while in the fast lane and me babying my new ride in the lane over, did everything but whip his head around and stare for 10 seconds, oncoming traffic be damned.
If you've read this far, congratulations. I probably shouldn't put my questions this far down, but here goes: 1) I've never owned a security alarm before. If I turn on this feature, how sensitive is it? I live in an apartment complex and I don't want it going off simply because somedody brushes against it. hmmm, guess that's the only real question I had.
Sorry for rambling...Chris
Go to www.acuramdx.org
go to "Forums" and go to topic called "Driver's seat!!" (you can also search for this). This thread was started by the guy who is 240 pounds and had problems with the seats. I think it's got a lot of usefull info.
Enjoy!
Last week I called Discount Tires and asked if the Michelins were available yet. The service manager wasn't sure so he called me back and said he could get them from a Reno warehouse in five days. I ordered them and they arrived three days later.
Last night I had the tires installed. What a difference it made. Leaving the tire store I immediately noticed an improvement. The harshness was gone and the MDX had a more luxurious ride. It felt kind of like going from a hard ride to a soft ride. Road imperfections were absorbed better.
I did chirp the tires leaving the tire store as I pulled into traffic -- this had never happened before with the Goodyears. The Michelins seemed quieter to me (maybe 30%), but not like night and day difference.
I hope this helps anyone considering a similar decision. After one night, I'm already happy I made the switch.
Nope. That was the point but I did not do the math online.
????
Michelines - back on this forum I think somebody said ~$100/ea.
to Tahoe. Stopped at Mohn Ski Rack company in
Sacramento. Not having street map of Sac, I entered address in my NAV and it competently
directed me there.
By the way, the voice turn prompts seem to occur at 1 mile, 1/4 mile, and at the intersection. Also, it has quick prompts if needed. For example when going through a maze of ramps, it rapidly says stay left, then go right, then ...
If you take the wrong turn (or maybe have a better route yourself), it recomputes a new route as soon as it figures out you didn't make the requested turn. (Without griping too!!)
Other neat features: The map that goes by while you are traveling has golf courses, parks, rivers plotted and you can set your joystick on the feature and get the name of a local road there.
I stopped at a friend's place about 3 miles in the boonies off I80. While his road(s) were not on the map, I was able to give him the latitude and longitude of his place because he wanted to find it on a USGS topo map.
any advice for a NYer ?
Thanks
Alpine Nav systems can be purchased at discount. We know how Acura is selling the Nav upgrade...
Alpine Nav system can play DVDs and other video sources on the video screen...
Alpine's DVD has MUCH,MUCH more than the limited subset that Acura has contracted with Alpine to include on the Acura DVD. (Check old discussions on a more complete discussion.)
The Alpine system can (depending on install) be move to a new vehicle when traded/sold.
The alpine system MAY have a better upgrade path than our friends at Acura will provide.
All in all, I'd venture that in 5 years the system will be seriously outdated (both in technical hardware/firmaware, and possibly in update availability). I'd also hate to have to fix either system once out of warranty.
Ard
William, glad that you were able to catch the segment. Actually the Dateline NBC story wasn't too sensationalised compared to some of their others. It's sad that the guy at the opening part of the segment lost his wife and daughter. But then again, their previous generation Chevy Blazer is not what one would call a good performer in an offset collision. People who say that offset crash tests don't reflect real world performance should really take a good look at that.
The IIHS footage of the side impact crash test between the Grand Caravan and the Jeep Grand Cherokee was striking (pun intended)! Didn't look like a 5 star performance to me at all. This is the main flaw, as I have mentioned, with the NHTSA's car-like side impact ram vs. the SUVs/minivans. The ram does not reflect an SUV/minivan's side impact crashworthiness with another SUV/minivan.
In any case, it was certainly chilling. I'll have to watch out when driving my van now. I'll try to have things hit me in front or from behind (hopefully the entire front end, not offset - 4 stars for driver/passenger).
Drew
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
Am I missing something here or did they just loose their mind on this one? Other cars and SUVs (Landrover for example) do offer shoulder belt for the middle seat, but they anchor it to the seat not the ceiling!@?
I have contacted Acura dealers and e-mailed Acura about this and see if an auxiliary lap belt is available so you can just forget this bad idea and have a child seat in there without a seat belt running to the ceiling. The answer so far is NO!
BTW, Acura does have child seat anchors but that is only for anchoring the top of a child seat. The bottom still needs a seat belt.
Can someone who has an MDX tell me the real story?