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2014 MDX Transmission Problems

10K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  vtech92 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and hoping some of you can help me out with options. In April 2015 I took over a lease of a 2014 MDX, everything was done through the dealership and after looking at service records of the vehicle and the dealership telling me that the previous lessee was a very good customer of theirs I took over the lease. The vehicle had about 40,000KM on it. In Februry of 2016, I took it for the first oil change at a Jiffy Lube and brought my own oil & filter (Mobil1). I've been using this oil in all my vehicles for the last 20 years. The reason I took it to the place I always bring all my vehicles to in the last 25 years is because my closest Acura dealership is 7 hours away. The Computer indicated that I still had about 20% left on the oil motor oil. The MDX presently has about 55,000 KM on it.

On May 9th, I was driving on a freeway passing 2 transports and I heard a clunk sound and the vehicle's RPM changing. No warnings came on and the vehicle kept going but RPM seemed high. I drove to the nearest city which was about 25 miles away and pulled to a gas station to fill-up. When I restarted the vehicle, the computer displayed a transmission problem. I drove to a nearby's friend place and called Acura Roadside Assitant where the MDX was transported to the nearest dealership (3 hours away). I was left on my own for me and my wife to make it home the rest of the 4 hour drives... Thank God for family and friends.

After several calls to the both the dealership where I signed the lease and where it was towed as well as Honda Customer Service I still do not have my MDX back (June 4th). The dealership where it was towed is saying that the wrong transmission fluid seems to have been added to the transmission which caused the failure and they can't cover the warranty repair. They have passed this on to Honda of Canada. After several call to them and speaking to Rep by the name of Hassan and leaving several messages to call me back on what was happening I've heard nothing! I have recorded the entire process and also audio recorded most of the conversations with all parties. I've also contacted a lawyer thinking that this might be my only choice to pursue.

I would like to know if any of you have any opinions or suggestions that could be useful before I pursue this legally. All I can say is that since I have taken over the lease no one that I've been in contact with has touched the transmission fluid or added anything to it. The reason I specifically go to this Jiffy Lube is that they allow me to be right there under the hood with them. I believe Acura, as many other car manufacturers do, they do NOT WANT TO HONOUR THEIR WARRANTIES. This has left a very sour taste in my month and I will never own another Acura or Honda vehicle in my life after this is all over.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the lengthy post.

:frown2::frown2:
 
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#2 ·
Website Home - BuzzCars recommends: 1. Despite the recommendations and advice of some factory dealerships-we advise you change oil in automatic transmission Acura MDX every 20000 km-not less! Best oil fill quality, we recommend-DW1. 2. Flushing the radiator cooling system as the engine and GEARBOX is simply necessary, avoiding problems with box automatic after repair. 3. After the automatic transmission repair, the early days of operation of automatic transmission not worth loading her greatly and tried her work in hard conditions: requires " " oil lapping mechanism and adaptation of the electronic control system. 4. Be sure to install the automatic Acura Mdx additional radiator (if it isn't already installed)-overheating of the box an extremely adverse impact on the resource.
 
#3 ·
Having worked for Acura for 21 years, your issue has nothing to do with Acura cheapening out on the warranty of your vehicle. They're a big company with a reputation....they just don't do that. If it's a fault covered by warranty, it'll get replaced.

I would be interested to know how they substantiated that the fluid was non-standard.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your responses. Not sure of Panchers response but changing the transmission fluid on a new vehicle every 20,000KM seems excessive to me. It's my first time owning an ACURA, I went through the manual and no where does it state the transmission oil change intervals. I would have expected the onboard computer to tell me this. As far as Hondaacuraplanet's reply - all I can say is that today makes a month since the vehicle has been towed to the nearest dealership. After leaving several phone calls at Honda's customer Service they can't even return my call to let me know what is going on. Both Dealership have been pretty good but they are also waiting on Honda for a decision. As far as how the dealership diagnosed that the wrong oil was mixed with the correct transmission fluid - they are only going by the smell of the oil that was removed! I now have a sample of that oil and am looking to have it analyzed. I also purchases a litre of both oil they say has been mixed. All I can say is that I or no one else that has touched that vehicle since I took over the lease has changed/added or played with the transmission fluid.

If Honda has any type of reputation it has all been lost by me and my wife for the way we have been treated - it seems they have completely abandoned us as customers. If that's what you get for buying an ACURA luxury vehicle from them, it will definitely be my last ACURA or HONDA.
 
#5 ·
Update - Coincendence or a Honda Dealership Trend

Suspicious situation: We lease several vehicles for work, mostly Toyota's and Honda's. One of our Honda's was brought in for a major failure last week which should have been covered under warranty. Honda dealership came back with a diagnostic that the wrong fluid was used in the vehicle and it would NOT be covered under warranty. Our Company has proof that the vehicle was only serviced at a Honda Dealership. How weird is this - sure sounds like the Acura/Honda Dealerships have a "Best Practice" going on. As for me, I still don't have my MDX and now Acura is sending a Field Engineer to go look at my 2014 Acura MDX to make a final decision. Buyer be warned - NEVER AGAIN ACURA/HONDA. :(
 
#6 ·
Suspicious situation: We lease several vehicles for work, mostly Toyota's and Honda's. One of our Honda's was brought in for a major failure last week which should have been covered under warranty. Honda dealership came back with a diagnostic that the wrong fluid was used in the vehicle and it would NOT be covered under warranty. Our Company has proof that the vehicle was only serviced at a Honda Dealership. How weird is this - sure sounds like the Acura/Honda Dealerships have a "Best Practice" going on. As for me, I still don't have my MDX and now Acura is sending a Field Engineer to go look at my 2014 Acura MDX to make a final decision. Buyer be warned - NEVER AGAIN ACURA/HONDA. :(
Sorry about the issue but you have a strong case here. What did they say about the service papers you have from their own dealership?
 
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