Our 02 just broke the rear sway bar link [driver side]. Our X has a little over 7,000 miles. Sounds like this is a COMMON PROBLEM ....
This was discussed before, and it was suggested it could have been a bad lot rather than a design problem even they look rather fragile. I wouldn't try breaking one over my knee...srpbep said:NTENNA,
Our dealer acknowledged that the sway bar link was a "known problem" and had them in stock! Your post adds a little bit more info:
** The size of the backlog and the fact that one exists indicates that this is a "significant problem".
** Our vehicle is an 02 but yours is an 01. Thus, this indicates to me that the part is simply weak and likely to break in time.
Now, I wonder about the following:
** I did ask the dealer if they replaced both [since left and right are known to break] or only the broken one. Acura only lets them replace the broken one. Soooo, another failure can be expected.
** There is no indication that Acura has "fixed the problem". They simply might be replacing the broken ones with ones that will break in the future!!
Tim ... If you see this, do you know if the part problem was "corrected"?????
DaleB,DaleB wrote:
This was discussed before, and it was suggested it could have been a bad lot rather than a design problem even they look rather fragile. I wouldn't try breaking one over my knee...
Strange people don't think driving on a mini-spare as a bigger stability issue. And that could happen anywhere too, in a remote location, in adverse weather, etc,. etc..Lugnut said:Don't get me started on the potential loss of stability, and therefore control, a broken link has on a car, let alone more top-heavy SUV!
But what I really want to know is, can any of you who've experienced this problem trace it back to something that caused the break? Like running over the dog or cornering too fast into the driveway. Did it break driving on unpaved or bumpy roads, perhaps?
Was a noise associated with its breakage or did you know by the difference in handling?
:8:
No. 1 .. It seems if it was not a lot problem but required a re-design, that would be a better reason to replace both sides.srpbep said:
DaleB,
I hear what you are saying and I have some issues:
=================
Issue-1: Let's assume that it is a "bad batch" of links. The dealer has confirmed that "both sides break" [it does not only happen on one side of the X]. Thus the bad batch would appear to involve both sides. YET, when one breaks, Acura is only replacing the one that breaks. Thus, one can assume that the other will break also at some other point in time. Is Acura only replacing the one that breaks with the hope that the other will break after warranty has expired and thus the repair will be paid for by the customer rather that Acura? If it is a bad batch, why not simply replace both defective parts and get it over with. Or is this simply too logical and simple?
=================
Issue-2: Maybe it is more than a bad batch. The problem seems to occur on both 01s and 02s. This would imply that the problem has spanned some length of time indicating to me that the problem is much more than "ONE BAD BATCH". Why are you assuming that this is a "one time problem" vs. an ongoing problem? Why do you assume that the problem is "fixed"?
=================
I think that a survey might be interesting to see what is going on here. The things that I would be interested in here are:
** MDX Model Year.
** MDX Manufacture Date.
** Mileage at time of failure.
** Which side failed.
Don't you think that the answer to the above would help us qualify and quantify the problem?
I understand that from a real-world perspective, and what will likely happen.xcel said:Hi DaleB:
___The real difference with driving on a mini-donut spare is that you know your driving on a mini-donut spare. You wouldn’t necessarily know your driving with a broken sway bar link nor would you be able to simply replace it at the tens of thousands of tire replacement shops around the country from my reads of this thread …
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email protected]
I doubt the side makes much difference since they have the same part numbers.srpbep said:pmspwrdmdx,
A couple of questions:
** What year MDX do you drive?
** What was manufacture date?
** Which side of vehicle had broken link?
PS -- You might want to put some vehicle info into your signature line -- sorta helps
I thought there were actually a higher number of 2002s with the problem, at least as reported on the forum.srpbep said:Thus, I fear that the parts are all doomed and it is merely a question of when (e.g. time, miles, stress from driving, etc.).