[notmycar]

they're aka as stealerships for a reason... princeton (NJ) acura wanted to replace the whole transmission cable assembly to the tune of ~$700 a couple of years ago on my wife's Gen1... but this site saved me the headache of just checking the cable to trans coupling & cleaning/ lubricating it with anti-seize.

get a 2nd opinion at an independent shop (suspension stuff/alignments can be done elsewhere with competent technicians). also, some aftermarket stuff are warranted for lifetime (with original owner)

the gen1 (2005) still has original front struts... the rear shocks, however, shows signs of leaking fluid out; not a bad run for original suspension. Got cheap aftermarket ones for replacements & it's working fine.

 

[mdxstang]

some aftermarket stuff are warranted for lifetime

I replaced the water pump on my Durango at least 3 or 4 times (I put 235K miles on the vehicle) and after the first one the remainder were no cost - it had a lifetime warranty from Autozone or O'Reilly. I'd just bring the failed one in and they'd hand me another one with no fuss.

I got quite good and quick at replacing them after awhile (much easier than on a sideways engine).

Luckily the water pump on the MDX is working much better and hasn't needed replacing yet (83K miles).

 

[Otis1997]

I got a 2022 MDX with 2,800 miles and the front right is making a squeaking and rattle sound, bring it to the dealer and they say i have a bad Strut so they are replacing it, Acura quality is going south

Yep .

 

[Northern Man]

So I had a similar comment from my dealer last month in regards to my 130k km 2016, that the rubber on my lower control arms was cracked and needed replacement. At the time I said no, but when switching from winter to summer tires last month looked at them closely and saw this.

In the first photo the rubber looks like it is about to come out, and in the second you see the cracking. This is the passenger side, the drivers side is fine. Did the youtube DIY research and it is only '5' bolts or so, and alignment, so am trying to decide between DIY and the dealer.

 

[TennesseeMDX]

Frustrated with the dealer, I called Acura corporate and they had a field rep review the pictures. Now they are saying only one strut, and one lower control arm need to be replaced. Acura corporate is satisfied with their findings. To me that makes little to no sense. Don't you replace these type of parts in pairs? Thanks in advance.

 

[mdxstang]

Don't you replace these type of parts in pairs?

Typically struts are replaced in pairs. If one strut failed because of an early life failure or an accident or something and the other strut was fairly new then it'd be reasonable to replace just the one bad one but if they both had a lot of use on them and one happens to fail first (which is typically the case) then it wouldn't make sense to replace one and not the other. The other one will likely fail soon and they wouldn't dampen similarly since one would be new and the other quite old.

On the control arms - if it's a normal wear situation as opposed to debris damage or abnormal wear (like a chunk of the bushing missing) then both are likely to need replacing at about the same time but when it comes to fine cracks in it it's a matter of opinion as to when it's bad enough to warrant replacement.

 

[notmycar]

So I had a similar comment from my dealer last month in regards to my 130k km 2016, that the rubber on my lower control arms was cracked and needed replacement. At the time I said no, but when switching from winter to summer tires last month looked at them closely and saw this.

In the first photo the rubber looks like it is about to come out, and in the second you see the cracking. This is the passenger side, the drivers side is fine. Did the youtube DIY research and it is only '5' bolts or so, and alignment, so am trying to decide between DIY and the dealer.

View attachment 120603 View attachment 120604

bump, those still look pretty good... i heard horror stories about the bolt snapping on the first pic though... i'll probably spray down those areas with lubricant for a week before attempting to DIY

 

[Sal And]

Other option is buy your own parts, and asks independent shop to change them for you, much cheaper, 3 years ago, I changed both front struts for a total of $600, $420 are parts, $160 labor, $20 tips.

Yep! This is the way to go!!!

 

[Iowa Garren]

Are there any good videos or step-by-steps on replacing the struts on a 2016 (3rdG) MDX? I found a great one on YouTube, but it's 2nd Gen. Found a not-so-great one for a 3rd Gen. TYIA.

 

[Otis1997]

There’s one for 3rd gen

 

[trlrunrct]

Same thing for us at 88k. This car is junk as we have had other issues. Last Acura I buy.

 

[bear1906]

The dealer will try you until you have a solid enough relationship with them to know when to give up the gig.

i heard same thing, but it was because my bushings were lightly cracked and you cant just replace the bushings. I used some AT205 Sealant and it went away. Scotty Kilmer has a video on it.