2009 Acura MDX

Typical pattern

5.3% of complaints about the 2009 Acura MDX came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2009 vehicle — around the middle of the 212 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.6 yr in service. The most-reported system is electrical system (18 complaints), typically at 9.3 yr or about 75,000 miles.

Complaints: 76
Median age at failure: 6.6 yr
Median mileage: 45,000 n=55
Crash / fire / tow: 15.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 3,449 mi 7 mo in service

CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING. TOWED IT TO THE DEALER THE DEALER REPAIRED THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FOLLOWING IS THE STATEMENT FROM DEALER 'FOUND INSTRUMENT INTERNAL DEFECTIVE CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL REMOVE AND REPLACE GAUGE RECHECK OPERATION'. *TR

Electrical system 10,000 mi 2.0 yr in service

ACURA MDX 2009 HAPPENED TWO TIMES WITHIN 3 WEEKS. WHILE DRIVING CAR LOST ALL ELECTRIC, ENTIRE DASHBOARD WENT DEAD, NO HEADLIGHTS, NO DOOR/TRUNK LOCKS, NO NAVIGATION, NO DVD, NO RADIO, CAR STALLED AND COULDN'T BE STARTED AGAIN. HAD TO BE TOWED. SECOND TIME SAME THING HAPPENED WHILE APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION AND TRYING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. CAR WAS TOWED AGAIN. *TR

Electrical system 90,000 mi 6.6 yr in service

THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD JUST COME ON AND NOT SHUT OFF. WE TRIED SEVERAL THINGS BUT THE WIPERS WOULD NOT STOP. I HAD TO TAKE THE FUSE OUT SO IT CAUSE FURTHER DAMAGE. *TR

Other MDX model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2009 Acura MDX

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other MDX model years

How to read this