Yes, it is. Someone has some ‘splainin’ to do.
Missing driveshaft? Not a joke
Hi All,
Heads up, this is probably the weirdest/dumbest question I’ve ever asked on the internet.
background: my wife and I bought our 2017 MDX Elite in 2021 with 120,000km as an Acura CPO with the best of the best 7 year/160,000km bumper to bumper warranty package (purchased by the original owner, expired April 2023). This vehicle was a one owner, dealer serviced with complete service records for everything. We have also serviced it religiously at the dealer.
My wife has always complained that it sucked in the snow. I figured it was more to do with her driving and lack of winter tires than anything.
this afternoon, I was replacing the rear brakes and noticed the void under the vehicle.
Am I losing my mind, or IS THE DRIVESHAFT LITERALLY MISSING FROM THIS VEHICLE?????
I am beside myself with anger and frustration. How do I go about dealing with this and getting the vehicle fixed up?
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Heads up, this is probably the weirdest/dumbest question I’ve ever asked on the internet.
background: my wife and I bought our 2017 MDX Elite in 2021 with 120,000km as an Acura CPO with the best of the best 7 year/160,000km bumper to bumper warranty package (purchased by the original owner, expired April 2023). This vehicle was a one owner, dealer serviced with complete service records for everything. We have also serviced it religiously at the dealer.
My wife has always complained that it sucked in the snow. I figured it was more to do with her driving and lack of winter tires than anything.
this afternoon, I was replacing the rear brakes and noticed the void under the vehicle.
Am I losing my mind, or IS THE DRIVESHAFT LITERALLY MISSING FROM THIS VEHICLE?????
I am beside myself with anger and frustration. How do I go about dealing with this and getting the vehicle fixed up?
1 - 20 of 37 Posts
From the photo it is clear your propellershaft (40100-TZ6-A22) is missing. That's like USD $550, so like CAD $750 +tax. If you know how to change your brakes, you should be able to install a new propellershaft yourself. The p/n I provided is a new assembly, but it might come with a new protector as well. I'm pretty sure you'll need new bolts as well.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Is it safe to assume it was removed and not reinstalled? Clearly 1 bolt from the strap was removed and there’s no damage underneath to indicate it fell off
From the photo it is clear your propellershaft (40100-TZ6-A22) is missing. That's like USD $550, so like CAD $750 +tax. If you know how to change your brakes, you should be able to install a new propellershaft yourself. The p/n I provided is a new assembly, but it might come with a new protector as well. I'm pretty sure you'll need new bolts as well.
Good luck!
I am beside myself trying to understand what happened. I literally can’t think of an explanation other than someone forgot to put it back on. Hence, the SH-FWD username lolYes, it is. Someone has some ‘splainin’ to do.
I’ve got my popcorn out, would love to know how that ever passed inspection at the dealer to sell as a CPO. I’d go to the dealer and raise hell. I’m not sure how one wouldn’t notice if it fell off, or better yet, how a dealer left it off - it’s not like it’s an inconspicuous part. Let us know how it goes. It’ll handle those Canadian winters a hell of a lot better once you bring it back to SHAWD. I don’t miss those winters at all.
I think it is. Though it makes you think about the reason. Hopefully, it was just bad U-joint(s) (typical issue with older propellershaft).Is it safe to assume it was removed and not reinstalled?
I'm curious as well. Though note it's been two years since the purchase, so chances of getting this explained are pretty slim.Let us know how it goes.
Did the MID show any errors? What is the torque distribution showing now?
Mine was making noise when driving, I have no choice but replace the whole thing, part costs $630 and I replaced it myself, shop quoted me $1000.
Mine was making noise when driving, I have no choice but replace the whole thing, part costs $630 and I replaced it myself, shop quoted me $1000.
I’m not expecting much, but who knows. My guess is that the job changed hands during the repair and there was some level of miscommunication. Perhaps the old unit got tossed and the new one never installed because it was back ordered. It would have happened to the previous owner because we haven’t brought it in for repairs, only regular service (same dealership as the original sale and every service since new).
The torque distribution has always shown each wheel receiving some amount of power (seems front biased, which I assume is typical). It has never had a check engine light or any other error message (until this winter when we put winter tires on without sensors). I haven’t been under the vehicle until yesterday because it has low ground clearance and I didn’t feel the need to.
Did the MID show any errors? What is the torque distribution showing now?
Mine was making noise when driving, I have no choice but replace the whole thing, part costs $630 and I replaced it myself, shop quoted me $1000.
Since everything is done by the same dealership, I really hope they will take care of it for free, clearly if the part was taken off during repair, you will def see it in the record. By the way, you can register an Acura account, I remember someone saying you can track down all the service records there, so I think you can start from there to see if you can find any lead.I’m not expecting much, but who knows. My guess is that the job changed hands during the repair and there was some level of miscommunication. Perhaps the old unit got tossed and the new one never installed because it was back ordered. It would have happened to the previous owner because we haven’t brought it in for repairs, only regular service (same dealership as the original sale and every service since new).
You can also register for a Carfax account and pay for the report to see what repairs and services were done on the vehicle before you owned it.
What seems strange to me is that the power distribution display on the MID is showing power to all 4 wheels. I'd have thought that no driveshaft to the rear would have shown an error with wheel speed on the 2 rear corners. Maybe it's THINKING it's sending power to the rear - but with no error getting tossed, that really puzzles me....
This is the first question most people ask me, but if you consider how the AWD sends individualized power to each wheel, what would be the point of a driveshaft sensor of any sort? I would imagine they don’t consider the possibility of a mechanical connection being removed.What seems strange to me is that the power distribution display on the MID is showing power to all 4 wheels. I'd have thought that no driveshaft to the rear would have shown an error with wheel speed on the 2 rear corners. Maybe it's THINKING it's sending power to the rear - but with no error getting tossed, that really puzzles me....
My next step, after I receive a formal response from the dealership, is to Jack up the front and put it in drive. I’m assuming it would throw a code after a few seconds of the front wheels spinning free and the back not moving
When I replaced mine, I don't recall any sensor or electrical plug attached to the driveshaft.This is the first question most people ask me, but if you consider how the AWD sends individualized power to each wheel, what would be the point of a driveshaft sensor of any sort? I would imagine they don’t consider the possibility of a mechanical connection being removed.
My next step, after I receive a formal response from the dealership, is to Jack up the front and put it in drive. I’m assuming it would throw a code after a few seconds of the front wheels spinning free and the back not moving
I was thinking not so much that the driveshaft itself has a sensor (it's a physical thing) - but the SH-AWD system does tie into the wheel sensors to detect speed/slip - and one would think that if the wheel didn't sense a difference in behavior when it thought it should be getting power - that SOME sensor would get wonky. Interesting....When I replaced mine, I don't recall any sensor or electrical plug attached to the driveshaft.
UPDATE: The service manager and owner of the dealership looked at the vehicle and were completely puzzled. After looking at the service records, they found a propeller shaft replacement job “completed” 2 days after we signed the purchase agreement (a few days before pick up). Without hesitation, they said they would order a new driveshaft and have it installed as soon as it lands. They didn’t question me about taking it to a different shop or anything. Any time I asked how this could have happened, the owner was adamant that his tech’s were awesome and couldn’t possibly have missed that. They won’t admit that there was any possibility that they could have forgotten to replace it, but also agree that the underside of the car is pristine and there’s no possibility that it fell off.
The best guess I have is that somehow it wasn’t put back in 2 years ago and either they didn’t notice during subsequent visits, or did notice and hoped we didn’t notice/sold the vehicle before it became an issue.
Either way, they didn’t argue with me and we’re getting it fixed, so I suppose that’s all that matters
The best guess I have is that somehow it wasn’t put back in 2 years ago and either they didn’t notice during subsequent visits, or did notice and hoped we didn’t notice/sold the vehicle before it became an issue.
Either way, they didn’t argue with me and we’re getting it fixed, so I suppose that’s all that matters
The computer is still sending the power to all 4 wheels, but there is no feedback from the rear diff regarding the momentum not going through.What seems strange to me is that the power distribution display on the MID is showing power to all 4 wheels.
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