2019 Acura MDX engine problems

“Dec. 16, 2025, took Acura into the dealership because Check Engine light kept coming on. They did a full inspection and said I needed to have the purge valve replaced and that it was nearing time to have other services: transmission service, front transfer case, rear differential, brake fluid, timing belt, spark plugs, fuel service. Took the diagnostic to my brother who is a mechanic and he started the work starting with the purge valve. He had already done spark plugs with oil change in Oct. 2026. Fast forward to Apr. 2026 my car starts making a weird knocking sound upon accelerating. My brother was in hospital at this time so I didn't want to stress him so I just stopped driving it. I had the other stuff done at shop he recommended but the knocking sound didn't stop. Brother told me to get it diagnosed again. Now Sept. 2026, they said I need a whole new engine, and that Acura would not cover it! What!? They felt so badly they didn't even charge me for the diagnostic. I took it to two other shops just to see if there was anything else that could be done but they all told me the same thing. It's a 2019 how on earth could it need a new engine. I've gotten ALL…”

“issue occurring with automatic start/stop function. car stalls on occasion trying to restart, goes into neutral, even though battery is new and in good condition. hard to replicate and occurs randomly. car has to be turned off and on again. this is the 4th time this has happened over the course of 3 years. seems to be happening to others based on forums as well.”

“I am reporting a recurring safety issue following the Acura rod bearing recall repair on my 2019 Acura MDX SH-AWD. The original recall resulted in catastrophic engine failure and Acura replaced the long block assembly. Since that repair, the vehicle has repeatedly failed and returned to the dealership multiple times for the same issue pattern. Symptoms include: * “Emissions System Problem” warning * SH-AWD, brake, and traction control warnings * strong raw gasoline odor * vehicle becoming undriveable/no-start Timeline: * Recall repair completed with long block replacement * Vehicle failed again the next day * Dealer repaired vehicle * Vehicle failed again about one month later * Dealer repaired vehicle again * Vehicle failed a third time about one week later during normal commuting The recurring failures are accompanied by a strong gasoline smell, creating concern about fire risk and vehicle safety. I regularly transport children in this vehicle and no longer have confidence in the safety or reliability of the recall repair. The dealership has continued repairing the vehicle and providing loaners, indicating the issue is related to the original recall repair,…”

“My car has stalled while driving on the highway multiple times now. The first time it happened, it lost power, stopped accelerating, and cycled through multiple warning lights, causing a significant safety risk. I pulled over and it restarted within minutes. I took it to a repair shop and they could not find a problem with it, even with the codes provided. Nothing pointed to a solution. It happened two other times while I was driving my child on a highway where it lost acceleration and then kicked back in. Again, this post, a significant safety risk as always in a fast lane on a highway with my child cars behind me had to hit their brakes to avoid me after this incident. Other times it doesn’t lose power, yet it cycles through warning lights randomly. I took it to the dealer instead of a local shop. They texted me about items that should be fixed per an inspection, including struts and a battery replacement. Complete with a large bill just for diagnostics. Yet, nothing was found having to do with the main problem at hand. Losing power while driving. . My battery is less than six months old. I had it tested and it is fine. My vin is not listed in the recall,…”

“While driving at highway speed, the vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate. Immediately prior to this, the vehicle was making an abnormal engine noise, which continued until the failure. "Drive" light turned off and the "Neutral" turned on its own. I tried to get it to shift back to "Drive" and it wouldn't. I pulled off to the side of the highway. The engine stalled and the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was towed from the highway and we were told to have it towed to Acura dealer in the morning. This incident occurred while Recall 23V-751 (engine connecting rod bearing defect) was open and incomplete.”

“I was merging onto the interstate from another interstate when my car suddenly became limp and would not accelerate. I had zero warning there was anything wrong with my car, only 67,150 miles. I had to coast to the side of the road and it wasn't driveable. I was forced to have it towed to Acura to find out it's a rocker arm oil pressure switch that apparently goes out after 60,000-100,000 miles. Without warning, this is a huge safety issue. There should be a backup switch and notification to get it to a dealer. I had 3 kids in the car, traveling 65 when it suddenly decided to stop accelerating. ZERO warning. It was terrifying. I could have been hit by another car on the interstate, with 3 kids in the car, zero warning to cars behind me that my speed went from 65 to almost nothing instantly. I've always owned Honda cars and this is the first vehicle I've ever had this happen in. Dealership confirmed it was a faulty switch, nothing to do with low oil, dirty oil and I have that in writing. Acrua/Honda should figure out how to alert users that there is an issue before there is an issue. Or put this on the maintenance schedule because I'm terrified to drive this car…”