Other engine problem on the 2003 Acura MDX
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Acura MDX report other engine problem at a median of 115,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 190,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 75,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 215,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 138,907 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
10% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76,593 miles | 88,875 miles | 112,500 miles | 191,250 miles | 215,500 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 24 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 135,000 miles.
By volume the 2016 carries the most reports, with 85; the 2003 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
While waiting at a stop light and without warning vehicle surged forward while driver's foot was on the brake pedal. *ak failure also occurred by a stop sign at an elementary school. The problem was an air intake leak, which began approx. Three weeks after consumer purchased the vehicle and still exist today. The engine died and the check engine light illuminated. The consumer made several attempts to have the vehicle repaired, but to no avail. The consumer would like her monies reimbursed or a brand new mdx with the same options and color of her choice. *ph *nlm
I have a very well kept 2003 acura mdx touring luxury SUV that retails at more than $45,000 when new. The engine is mounted on 3 engine mounts and I just discovered that 2 of the 3 engine mounts are broken. If the 3rd mount had broken, the engine could shift position resulting in serious consequences. This vehicle was used for normal highway and city driving (no off highway driving). After doing some research, it appears acura under-designed this part making these engine mounts very prone to failure. Some people reported having to replace engine mounts every 30,000 miles. To make the problem worse, the cost of repair is about $1,000 which makes it likely for people to postpone repairs until a crash happens. I firmly believe that this problem should be part of a safety recall campaign. *tr
State inspection failed due to defective motor mounts 86,000 miles on vehicle that otherwise runs like new, we're the original owners, find it unusual to need motor mounts replaced, never needed to replace in other vehicles, I think this is a manufacturers defect. *tr
Also reported on the 2003 Acura MDX
Other powertrain problem
Complete transmission failure
Torque converter failure
Other electrical problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Seat belt or retractor failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2003 Acura MDX?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 115,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 190,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2003 Acura MDX?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed