Model-year matrix

Acura MDX
which year?

Compare every Acura MDX model year the EPA recorded, 2001 to 2026. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Acura MDX year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Acura MDX?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Acura MDX years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2016

364 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2016 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2017

251 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2017 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2001

224 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2001 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Acura MDX model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2025 Acura MDX

NHTSA complaint allegations: 85
Combined EPA economy: 19–22 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 3
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,450–4,000
Fuel labels: Premium Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsengine 55electrical system 35unknown or other 21

Open the 2025 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2026 Acura MDX

NHTSA complaint allegations: 6
Combined EPA economy: 19–22 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 3
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,450–4,000
Fuel labels: Premium Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 2unknown or other 2engine 1

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2026 has 79 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2025.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Acura MDX by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Acura MDX model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2026	6	electrical system 2unknown or other 2engine 1	19–22	3	$3,450–4,000	Dossier →
2025	85	engine 55electrical system 35unknown or other 21	19–22	3	$3,450–4,000	Dossier →
2024	37	electrical system 10service brakes 10unknown or other 9	19–22	3	$3,450–4,000	Dossier →
2023	37	power train 9electrical system 8forward collision avoidance 8	19–22	3	$3,450–4,000	Dossier →
2022	141	power train 55forward collision avoidance 22unknown or other 21	19–22	3	$3,450–4,000	Dossier →
2020	214	engine 79forward collision avoidance 53electrical system 38	21–27	4	$2,800–3,600	Dossier →
2019	184	engine 46electrical system 39forward collision avoidance 32	21–27	4	$2,800–3,600	Dossier →
2018	162	engine 35forward collision avoidance 33fuel/propulsion system 28	21–27	5	$2,800–3,600	Dossier →
2017	251	engine 77power train 63electrical system 43	21–27	5	$2,800–3,600	Dossier →
2016	364	engine 155power train 111unknown or other 39	21–23	4	$3,300–3,600	Dossier →
2015	70	electrical system 15unknown or other 14power train 12	21–23	2	$3,300–3,600	Dossier →
2014	169	steering 39electrical system 27engine 26	21–23	2	$3,300–3,600	Dossier →
2013	29	engine 9electrical system 8unknown or other 5	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →
2012	76	engine 23electrical system 13power train 13	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →
2011	70	engine 28power train 8electrical system 7	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →
2010	45	engine 11electrical system 9steering 6	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →
2009	52	electrical system 18engine 8power train 8	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2008	49	electrical system 8structure 8suspension 6	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2007	99	electrical system 51suspension 12engine 11	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2006	87	power train 40air bags 15engine 9	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2005	180	power train 87air bags 40electrical system 18	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2004	171	power train 80air bags 26electrical system 21	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2003	206	power train 106air bags 42electrical system 18	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2002	204	power train 126air bags 23engine and engine cooling 14	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →
2001	224	power train 131engine and engine cooling 20suspension 19	17	1	$4,450	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.