Complete transmission failure on the 2006 Acura MDX
Only 7 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When complete transmission failure gets reported
There are 9 reports of complete transmission failure on the 2006 Acura MDX, 7 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 56,300 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 $2,800–$8,000 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.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 40,000 miles, and latest on the 2017 at 115,000 miles.
By volume the 2002 carries the most reports, with 36; the 2006 has 9. 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.
I own a 2006 acura mdx with funny sounds coming from drivetrain area. If u decelerate to 30-40 MPH, then slightly accelerate, there is a vibrating/shuttering sound followed by a clunking sound as attempts to shift gears. I had a service manager ride with me and he said he has never heard about this. I did some research and found out on edmunds.com that there are numerous consumers having the same issue and they had to have the torque converter and in most cases a new transmission at their expense, because the car is out of warranty when this occurs. I am about to be in the same position, since I am having noise issues, I imagine it is only a matter of time before I have to have it replaced at my expense. I was told there isn't a recall as of yet on the 2006 acura mdx, but read many people having this same issue. Can you please help me because I can not afford to outlay 5000 to 6000 dollars due to manufacturer's issue. *tr
Acura mdx 2006 at 70,000 miles began making a grinding noise, sporadically at first, when car was running between 30-35 miles per hour. Rpm's also jumped when grinding occurred. Took it to an independent transmission shop and was diagnosed as needing a new transmission. Took it to an acura dealer for a second opinion. They diagnosed it as needing a new torque converter. Now in negotiations with acura for the repair. *tr
Second complaint-I own a 2006 acura mdx I am the first owner bought SUV new-on november 2010 I receive a recall notice from american honda motor co., inc. To bring SUV in to acura dealer for technician to update software for transmission. The update will help transmission operate properly, assure longer life-before taking SUV in I had no complaint SUV was operating great. After recall fix I started to hear and feel shuddering ,judder, vibration at 20-45 MPH-my mileage then was 45,610- I immediately took SUV back to dealer and after diagnostic they confirm noise, replaced torque converter-the noise returned after 2 months between 20-45 MPH-mileage then was 56,300- I returned to dealer for a second time-I informed dealer it was the same problem from the previous issue they repaired-they disagreed, told me it was the driveshaft and replaced it-the noise returned, same day I called service manager and made complaint, he said I should drive SUV until noise become louder so technician will hear the noise clearly- by 62,536 mileage noise became louder, I brought the SUV in a 3rd time, same problem-they kept SUV 2 days ran test and…
Also reported on the 2006 Acura MDX
Other powertrain problem
Torque converter failure
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other engine problem
Other brake problem
Airbag inflator rupture
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 9 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 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 complete transmission failure happen on the 2006 Acura MDX?
Across 7 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is complete transmission failure on the 2006 Acura MDX?
9 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