Acura MDX SUV Forums banner

2014 Trailer Wiring Error

6131 Views 20 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  NVAKeith
Our 2014 Advance has an error in the factory wiring. The Battery and Brake leads at the brake controller connector under the dash are reversed. I compensated by reversing the two when I connected the wires to our Prodigy P2 controller. Have not yet talked to Acura, but will Monday. This may not be unique to our vehicle.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Acura Confirms Wirirng Error

Acura Customer Relations confirmed the Brake and 12V leads are reversed in the vehicle's wiring to the trailer brake controller jack under the dash. Ultimately they were very appreciative I called, but I needed to be quite "persuasive" to reach someone who had the authority to investigate without me taking the vehicle to the dealer. The nearest dealer is an hour and a half away.
How do I check if ours has the same issue? Thanks!
Wiring error test

Install the trailer brake fuse in the rear of the vehicle, then measure for 12V on the leads of the controller pigtail supplied with the tow package. If the error is the same as ours, 12V is on the Brake lead instead of the 12V lead.
brake controller wire.

I just removed the P3 brake controller and the wiring hardness from our 2009 MDX. What wires do i need to reverse if I were to put it in the 2014 MDX with the OEM tow package (picking the New MDX tomorrow). Does the 2014 has the same pigtail at the similar location as the last gen MDX? I guess I can always plug it in and see if it works or not, assuming I don't blow anything up.
FYI, my dealer said there is a stop sales order in place for the trailer hitches until a harness issue is resolved. The expectation is the hitches will be available again in August.
Confirmed. Just the wiring has a stop sale, the hitches themselves are available.
Fix for Trailer Brake Issue

It's easy to fix. Reverse (transpose) the ElecBrake and Batt+ leads between the Acura supplied pigtail and the brake controller. When the Acura folks fix it they will have at least three options I can think of: supply pigtails with those leads reversed, get into the cars harness and reverse the leads, or supply a short reversing link that plugs into the car on one end and accepts the existing pigtail on the other. Hope this helps.
My guess is that they'll choose option #1, and they'll be released under a new part number shortly.
Trailer Brake Wiring Fix

Acura has announced the problem is an error in the trailer brake accessory wiring harness. That is the easiest fix, but the problem looks to me to originate in the vehicle wiring, since our 2012 and 2014 came with the same brake accessory harness, and they didn't match the 2014 vehicle wiring. The result of their fix will just mean the 2013 and earlier will use one harness, and 2014 a different one.
The early 2014's all had the wiring reversal in the car, and was discovered by yachthalo and others. Because of this, Acura eventually sent out a recall notice. Whether you received a recall notice or not, call the dealer to schedule checking/fixing. I suppose Acura made the change on the production line along the way and could they should know by your vin#. .....read post 9 above.
I should have also read post #12 above. The wiring problem was in the harness. When I got the hitch the wiring harness was not available due to the reversal. Then Acura released the "new" harness with the wiring corrected to match the car wiring. I installed that harness but didn't put the small harness in for the brake controller yet since I wasn't using one. When I took my car in for the wiring recall and for a few other things, they verified that the wiring was correct up to where that small harness plugs in under the dash.
I know this is an old thread, but I had an issue where my 2014 has the hitch but no wiring. Could this recall be the reason?
I know this is an old thread, but I had an issue where my 2014 has the hitch but no wiring. Could this recall be the reason?


The Acura hitch is available without the wiring. Some people only use the hitch for a bike rack and don't need the added expense of the harness. If you don't have the wiring you are probably missing the trans cooler too.
Correct, I will try to see if I can add the harness. Is the Trans cooler required for trailing motorcycles and smaller items?
Trans cooler ups tow capacity from 3500 pounds to 5000. Choice is yours but cooler could only extend transmission life. I put one on my 2014 to be safe. Pain to hook up though. Be easy if you had front bumper off doing fog lights ar same time. Just costly to do both. Lol.
I know this is an old thread, but I had an issue where my 2014 has the hitch but no wiring. Could this recall be the reason?
I hope this is it. Be ause I'm stuck in limp mode. And I can only go 45 mph at 3500 rpm. And codes everywhere. Transmission refused to work I have to pull over 2 or 3 times to get it to go in 2nd gear. It's horrible having to drive to work 50 miles at 45 mph at 3509 or 4000 rpm
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Top