Here's the key question. Was the Consumer Reports grade you saw actually based on ownership responses or their prediction based on Acura history?
When CR reviewed the MDX in the July 2001 issue, they gave it a grade of "above average" (which is very good in your terminology). But it wasn't based on actual ownership experiences. They said "the MDX is too new to have compiled a reliability history, but other Acuras have been better than average."
So I'm curious if the grade you're citing reflects some actual numbers that they've compiled -- still seems a bit early for them to have it but who knows.
It is definitely predictable that the MDX would recover from initial problems much more quickly than the Odyssey. The Ontario plant and Honda designers now have greater experience and better processes now to react to issues in a larger, more complex vehicle, whereas it took longer with the Odyssey. I'll bet that the new Honda Pilot will fare very well as a result.
Definitely not as good as Consumer Reports, JD Power's site does have some encouraging initial quality numbers for the MDX. Higher scores than the fourth-year M-class, but lower than the RX which sets the standard.
When CR reviewed the MDX in the July 2001 issue, they gave it a grade of "above average" (which is very good in your terminology). But it wasn't based on actual ownership experiences. They said "the MDX is too new to have compiled a reliability history, but other Acuras have been better than average."
So I'm curious if the grade you're citing reflects some actual numbers that they've compiled -- still seems a bit early for them to have it but who knows.
It is definitely predictable that the MDX would recover from initial problems much more quickly than the Odyssey. The Ontario plant and Honda designers now have greater experience and better processes now to react to issues in a larger, more complex vehicle, whereas it took longer with the Odyssey. I'll bet that the new Honda Pilot will fare very well as a result.
Definitely not as good as Consumer Reports, JD Power's site does have some encouraging initial quality numbers for the MDX. Higher scores than the fourth-year M-class, but lower than the RX which sets the standard.