I have a bad sensor on one of my wife's and just for fun I pulled all the electrical connectors "at the base of the struts" to see if it would throw a ADS light. She drive like that for 1week and it never threw a light. It might take more time or it could be a fluke, but she drives about 450miles a week. The new connector should be to my house early next week. If that does not solve the problem, I will be replacing all of them with standard shocks.

PS: It did ride like a bouncy POS though.

I am almost 100% sure the non-sport shocks will work though.

 

I am almost 100% sure the non-sport shocks will work though.

I have confirmed this with a mechanic, the non-sport shocks will work.

 

Ok thanks!

I did unplug the rear shock & a few seconds after start up the message pooped up to check ads system + an icon stays lit. Found the ADS fuse under the hood & pulled it, still got message. If I can bypass the system so I get no message I'd go ahead & get regular shocks.

 

Please keep us posted. A few of our members here surely appreciate knowing that a less $$ is an option. I would not mind converting to regular shocks or better yet the adjustable ones if available.

 

I figured if I did swap out shocks and got a light, I would just try and put a resistor on the plug. That way it would thing the shocks were still there.

Off the top of my head I want to say .45ohms of resistance shows you the shock it good.

You could always test on that is still good on your vehicle and let us know.

 

I figured if I did swap out shocks and got a light, I would just try and put a resistor on the plug. That way it would thing the shocks were still there.

Off the top of my head I want to say .45ohms of resistance shows you the shock it good.

You could always test on that is still good on your vehicle and let us know.

I need to no more about the by pass system.. I have seen many ways to do this but i need to no the exact resister for it...its a 2015 mdx

 

I was just "shocked" to learn of the cost to replace my rears. I'm also considering the regular shock route, but don't want to deal with a warning light for the rest of the cars life.

Questions:
1) Can a Sport MDX be flashed with the regular software so it doesn't even look for an ADS system?

2) Is the ride really different and bouncy like mijdirtyjeep says? Any others have input on this? If it's that bad, maybe it's not the route to go even for a lot less dough.

3) Do all 4 shocks need to be replaced at once, or can you do rears then fronts when they fail? I assume they all need it, but not sure.

Thanks!

John

 

mijdirtyjeep is not saying the ride was bouncy on standard shocks. He is saying its bouncy on the ADS shocks after the electronic connectors were disconnected.

My front 2 shocks been making noise for the past 3 years, had Acura check and they said everything is normal up until the point I was out of warranty. Hate the dealerships in my area. Anyway I am also interested in swapping out the shocks for standard for 2 reasons... 1. too expensive, 2. what if they break again in another 30k miles i'm not interested in throwing my money away on parts that are not made to last. please keep us posted mijdirtyjeep

 

Hi - just wanted to check to see if anyone has a mechanic in NJ that will do the strut conversion on my 2011 Acura MDX? If you do, I would be appreciative of a recommendation!

 

Ah, I see that now. That's basically how mine rides right now with the rear shocks basically bled out. It's like a school bus.

I wish I would have known when I bought my MDX back in 07 what this wear item would cost to replace. Might have made me rethink buying the Sport package.

 

I assumed these would be much more popular accessory across all brands than they are. I was hoping these would be more of a commodity when they needed to be replaced. I too will be trying the regular route when the time comes.

 

Well, just had a conversation with a service advisor at my local dealer. He said re-flashing the computer with the standard MDX software will not work, basically because the ADS system is so ingrained in the electrical system. I guess I kind of believe him, but not entirely. If the software doesn't know there is an ADS sytem, why would it generate a fault or warning?

On my 04 Touareg, the dealer was able to bypass the TPMS warning when I had different wheels than stock, so why wouldn't Honda/Acura be able to do a similar bypass in the software. The more I think about this, the more angry I get. I would have expected $1000 shocks from Mercedes or BMW, but a Honda company? Come on.

 

Crazy1eye

Have you replaced your sport shocks yet? If so did you use sport shocks or regular, and what issues if any did you encounter? I am in a similar situation, and have started a thread, with decent feedback from members.

 

Sorry for the late reply...

Our '07 MDX Elite(Canadian) is my wife's & as she put it to me when I explained it to her, "if this was your car you wouldn't put jobber parts on it". She got me there so when we headed to our friends place for vacation in RI I ordered 2 new ADS rear shocks from Bernardi Acura/Honda online parts in MA & had them sent to my friends, $557 each no tax, much cheaper than here CDN$850 + tax. Since I had the shocks out already I managed to change them in my friends driveway within an hour.

Just to add, the clunking I was hearing was the left rear sway bar end link, I should've known seeing I replaced the sway bar bushings a month before.

Also, over the last few months when I drove it I did notice the rear seemed like it was always in comfort mode, I was always checking the switch so I figured they were done.

So for reference, 2007 with 130000km's or 81250miles the rear shocks, sway bar bushings & end links needed replacing & we occasionally pull a pop up/tent trailer & a snowmobile.

 

INTERESTING RESULTS:: This weekend I wanted to check if the ADS light would go ON if the front shocks were disconnected from the elecrtirical system. Sure enough the ADS light came ON as soon as I started the engine. So I shut the car off and re-connected the electrical connections on the shocks, alarm cleared and think this *somehow* RESOLVED the problem. My shocks are no longer making clank noise and now much smoother again. It's like the disconnect and re-connect did some sort of reset to make the computer start communicating with the shocks again. I would recommend you try this as well as it only takes 10 minutes and hope everyone has favorable results. Good luck!

steps:
-Car OFF key removed from ignition.
-Disconnect the wire that plugs into the bottom of the shock.
-Turn the car ON (engine running). you should get the failure immediately.
-Turn OFF and re-connect the cables. DONE.

Original symptoms: I have 07 Sport and my front struts were making clank noise on all bumps and very stiff. They felt as if they were not absorbing any bumps which made the ride very bumpy.

 

Thanks Sunny! I will try this. If it can save me from spending almost $2k to replace both struts I'm in.

 

Wow, that's terrific that that fixed it. Thanks for posting here, including detailed instructions, so that others can benefit! :29:

 

Thanks sunny61. I will give it a try but mine seem to be the opposite. It's almost like there is no resistance and it drives like a bus.

 

I wonder if the sport shocks have adaptive capabilities, that is, the ability to learn and adapt to the road conditions experienced over certain amount of time..

That will explain the improvement/change when it was disconnected. Same as the adaptive transmissions where many vehicles can easily reset it and make it relearn in order to get smooth shifting patterns again..

 

Patent Protection Expiry

$600+ for front and $500+ for rear ADS is high for all of us.
The ride is very good and in that respect they are worth it.
I have the impression that patent protection should expire soon and when it does prices will fall dramatically.
Does anyone have an idea when that is due.

 

$600+ for front and $500+ for rear ADS is high for all of us.
The ride is very good and in that respect they are worth it.
I have the impression that patent protection should expire soon and when it does prices will fall dramatically.
Does anyone have an idea when that is due.

Actually, a true active suspension system such as the one in the second gen MDX Sport/Advance package is a very advanced technology that very few cars on the road have. They are expensive to build, and they probably lose money on sales of replacement OEM shocks, so don't expect prices to drop any time soon. You may want to replace them with new OEM shocks so you can continue to enjoy their benefits rather than negating their benefits in order to save a few bucks.

You can read more about active suspensions and how they work here.

 

I have a 2012 with Tech. Does my car come with the ADS? We had a 2003 E500 that came with active suspension. Even with very good after market replacement, it would cost about 1K per corner. That's one of the reason we traded for the MDX. A dealer in VA gave us a discount of 8K and that was the deal clincher!

 

I have a 2012 with Tech. Does my car come with the ADS?

No. The active suspension is part of the Advance package (2010-2013 MDX) and the Sport package (2007-2009 MDX), but is not part of the Technology package.

 

Tried the unplugging and restarting method. didn't work for me. New struts it is

 

I have just replaced the rear ADS shocks with the standard shocks ($100 each Monroe). Job was relatively simple, except that one side required superhuman strength to remove the shock mounting bolts. Coincidentally this was the side that the dealer replaced about 3 or 4 years ago.

Toughest part of the install was compressing the old shock to get it to clear the mounting points. I just couldn't compress it by hand and move it around in the confined area. Solution was to compress it by lifting up the "A frame" with the floor jack, then using a wood clamp to pinch the shock together, then release the floor jack slowly and the shock stayed compressed due to the clamp pinching the rubber outside against the piston, I presume. Shock came out easily at this point.

I just taped the electrical connector, to keep water out, and tie wrapped it to the shock mounting area. Someday the prices of the ADS shock might be reasonable and I will change them back.

All in took about 2 hours, replaced both shocks and the sway bar bushings.

Ride is great, but get the ADS message, and when it is cleared for other information, the little logo of the SUV with the bumpy road under it stays lit continuously.

Dealer quote was 2160 for the ADS shocks installed, and 190 for installing the bushings. Interesting that the dealer quoted 3.7 hours, and the backyard mechanic (me) did it in about 2.

For the approximately 2000 bucks that I saved, I can live with the lights on the dash.

Don't have pictures. Once I started, I just wanted to get it done.

 

Maybe you can use an ohh-meter to measure the resistance across the shock sensor pins to see how much the resistance value is.

If you can measure a consistent resistance, you can go to Radio Shack, or similar, to buy some resistors and connect it to the electrical connectors. That may fix the dash light problem, at least, I will try that since the old shocks are out and it is easy to measure.

We can find once for all, too, if that method works or not. In principle, it should in the same way that other sensors in the vehicle can be hacked for different purposes.

AC

 

The ride is a lot better with the new rear shocks. It used to be a pair of suspension bangs when I went over a bump in the road. Now I feel the front bang but the rear dampens the bump and it is difficult to feel it through the rear of the MDX. I think the front shocks/struts are worn out as well,and sometime soon I will be replacing them as well.

I believe they are working as well as they ever did, even though the warning light is on. I will be checking the resistance in the old rear shocks and trying to fit a resistor in the circuit to fool the system into thinking they are still there.

 

Please keep us updated if you can find a way to get the warning light to be turned off! If you do, this will be the way I go when the time is needed for replacement. Hell, for that savings, I'd be tempted to just put a piece of electrical tape over the light to stop the visual distraction.

 

According to the tsb, it looks like resistance should be between 0.4ohms-1.5ohms. Got any resistors to try?

 

I have measured the resistance in my rear Sport shocks, removed from vehicle and it was 1.6 ohms. At some point I will try to stick a resistor in the electrical plug and hope for the best. In the meantime I will likely replace the front sport struts with standard struts as well.

I have started another thread trying to find anyone who has replaced the front struts with standard struts, but so far no one has responded that they have done it.

 

I have just soldered a 10 watt, 2 ohm resistor on each of the elecrical lines leading to the rear shocks. The ADS warning light is now out on the dash. I took it for a small test drive, and the light stays out.

Time will tell if the resistors can handle the load when the going gets rough.

Right now I am pleased that the warning light does not appear. Looks like I have fooled the circuit into thinking the ADS shocks are still present.

I still haven't tackled the job of replacing the front struts. I think it will require more than just changing the strut. Some of the internal strut hardware looks different between the sport and standard MDX.

Will keep you posted.

 

Mine is going in on Wednesday. The ADS light is now on continuously. I have unplugged and plugged in all four corners and the light is still coming on. I am hoping it is just a corrosion issue. The shocks all look fine, i.e. no leaking that I can see. I am also having them check the power steering pump and torque converter. The 08 has been somewhat troublesome to own. I may get rid of it before the 03!

 

Jim.R if the internal components are are different between the standard and sport Strut, can we just buy the entire front strut assembly from Acura. I believe the standard struts are about $300

Could this entire part fit in the front?

 

I plan on removing a front ADS strut assembly early next summer, and then comparing it to the standard assembly, probably at an auto wrecker, since our dealers do not stock the entire assembly. If they are the same, I would likely replace the entire assembly. I would be looking to place resistors in the electrical plug to try and fool the ADS computer as well.

The resistors I put inline for the rear shocks have worked fine in Comfort mode, but when the Sport mode is activated, it takes about 10 minutes or less for the computer to indicate a problem with the ADS. Switch back to Comfort mode, and the code disappears when the vehicle is restarted.

 

Good tinkering, people. ...but I would be so pissed if I bought a used MDX Sport and it had the standard shocks.
I'm a performance car nut and the ADS shocks is one of the key reasons I bought the car. My MDX has 93000 and the rear shocks are looking a little oily, but no clunking and the ride still feels good. Fronts look good. I'll start saving my money because I definitely want to replace with the ADS shocks.

 

Brought mine to the dealer. After 15 minutes they confirmed word per word what I had already told them. "Front left shock is dead" Did not tell them mine Front Right was making noise, so the did not find the problem. How do I unplugs the Cables to the shocks. Was not able to do so.