2025 Acura MDX Electrical Problems

Auto Idle Restart failed three times in traffic at red light. Have to shift to Park and push Start button. Nothing happens for several seconds, then engine starts.

NHTSA ID

11755686

Incident

Aug 8, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while at a complete stop at a traffic light, the vehicle unexpectedly shut off and failed to restart. After approximately 15 minutes, the vehicle restarted, and the contact drove into a parking lot before driving to the residence. No warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure the following day, and a service appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

NHTSA ID

11755315

Incident

Aug 5, 2026

Mileage

14,000 mi

I am writing to formally report a serious and recurring safety defect with my 2025 Acura MDX A-Spec (VIN [XXX]) involving the Auto Idle Stop system. The engine repeatedly fails to restart after the Auto Idle Stop feature shuts it off. When my wife releases the brake pedal (for example, at a traffic light), the vehicle either stalls completely or experiences a major delay before restarting sometimes lasting more than 20 seconds, leaving the my wife unable to accelerate. This creates an immediate and unacceptable safety hazard, particularly in intersections or heavy traffic. I previously brought the vehicle to Acura of Langley regarding this exact issue. Despite that visit, the problem has continued. Most recently, on today, while my wife was driving with my kids, the vehicle again entered Auto Idle Stop at a traffic light. When the light turned green, the engine completely shut off and would not restart for more than 20 seconds. This left her stranded in traffic and unable to move the vehicle, creating a clear risk of collision. This is not an isolated complaint. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened Engineering Analysis EA25004 into precisely this condition “No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages” affecting, among other models, 2016–2025 Acura MDX vehicles. American Honda has also issued dealer communications specifically seeking 2023–2025 MDX vehicles with client complaints of no auto re-start after Auto Idle Stop for inspection prior to any repair attempts. Class-action investigations and prior litigation involving related Idle Stop failures further underscore the known nature and seriousness of this defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11754100

Incident

Jul 31, 2026

Auto start-stop system stalled car at a light, could not turn car off after multiple tries following instructions on dash, but ultimately finally turned off, and then struggled to turn back on, all while on a busy road during rush hour.

NHTSA ID

11749541

Incident

Jul 6, 2026

I was stopped at a red stop light waiting to turn left when my 2025 Acura MDX engine auto-stopped per the auto-stop feature. When the light turned green, I removed my foot from the brake and pressed the gas. The engine did not auto-start and displayed a message on the dash telling me to depress the brake and press the ignition button to continue driving. I did this several times, each time the dash would go black for a few seconds then come back up with the same message. Eventually, after getting the car to completely turn off, waiting 30 seconds, and restarting it, I was able to get the engine to start. While all of this was happening, I was passed unsafely by several angry drivers who were behind me, including one who tried to cut around me after I was able to get the car restarted, nearly clipping the front-right corner of my vehicle. I have an appointment with the dealer to have the issue investigated, but the appointment is not for another week. There was no indication of trouble prior to the first time this occurred. We have had this issue at least three times in the past week.

NHTSA ID

11748754

Incident

Jul 6, 2026

2025 Acura MDX will turn off with the auto on/off feature at red light but has had issue several times with turning back on. The car turns completely off and have to push start button to turn back on. On one occasion the same issue happened but would not immediately start with the push start again.

NHTSA ID

11746622

Incident

Jun 23, 2026

the car shuts off at a red light, fails to auto-restart, forces the car into Park, and requires a full manual reboot or jumpstart while stuck in moving traffic. It also struggles to turn on at times mimicking a drained battery. I am needing to deactivate the auto start/stop feature in order for the vehicle to properly function. Vehicle will not start when parked at times.

NHTSA ID

11739107

Incident

Jan 17, 2026

Description of Incident: While stopped at a red light at a busy intersection near a shopping district, the vehicle's Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged and shut off the engine. When I attempted to restart by pressing the brake pedal — as instructed — the vehicle failed to restart. The dashboard displayed an error message reading "Idle Stop Function: Press Brake to Restart." My foot was on the brake pedal at the time; pressing it did not restart the engine. I then manually shut off the vehicle using the Engine Start/Stop button and attempted to restart it. The vehicle would not start. I remained stranded at the intersection for approximately 10 minutes. I had to call the cops for a patrol car because other cars were piling up behind me and I had my 6 month old son in the vehicle. Safety Impact: During this time, I was unable to move the vehicle from a live traffic intersection. This created an immediate safety hazard to myself, my family, and other drivers.

NHTSA ID

11738536

Incident

May 18, 2026

The auto idle stop feature will kick in at red lights, shutting the engine down. However, every approximate 1 out of 10 times the engine and electrical system fully shut down when I try to start the car moving again. The car can then not be restarted for close to a minute. This results in not being able to move when the light turns green and is dangerous is heavy traffic areas.

NHTSA ID

11737684

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

Car engine turns off at a red light, by turn off I mean completely turned off, not just silent. And takes a couple of attempts to restart the car before the engine turns on again. This has happened over 5 or 6 times over the last 3 months, however yesterday (May 9, 2026) it happened twice within the hour. Luckily, I have not been involved in an accident because of this, but I'm concerned that it's easy to imagine a scenario where someone will be rear-ended. Please issue a safety recall for Acura to fix this issue.

NHTSA ID

11736850

Incident

May 9, 2026

Last year, my 2025 Acura MDX was repaired under warranty for a known starter issue that is affecting all 2025+ MDX models. The issue is that the vehicle will stall or fail to start on random occasions leaving drivers stranded or stopped in traffic unable to move their vehicle. Honda and Acura are well aware of the fact that this is an issue, yet they continue to produce these vehicles with the same parts. This repair took several attempts and the dealership refused to even diagnose the issue for several months causing me to have to record each instance on my phone for proof. Once they eventually replaced the starter, the issue went away for approximately 10 months. Today, however, I was temporarily left stranded at a gas pump as my vehicle would not start. Honda and Acura dealerships are replacing these parts with the exact same part number, so the no-start condition comes back in about a year or less. It is incredibly dangerous to have a vehicle that you cannot move as anticipated, or if you’re in an area that you cannot leave or get away from potential danger because your vehicle won’t start. This is a less-than two-year-old vehicle that has now left me stranded on several occasions including in the middle of traffic on a motorway. I know for a fact that several other owners of the Acura MDX are having the exact same issue and ask that you please launch an investigation into this as Honda is well aware of it and still refuses to address the blatant safety risk it poses to its customers.

NHTSA ID

11735656

Incident

May 4, 2026

Engine stalls when at intersection and the engine cuts off at idle and fails to start back up when you remove your foot from the break. Can have keep lane assist enable. KLAS mode narrow, you have to fight the wheel to maintain control of the vehicle, formal mode is a 50/50 chance it works, wide you can sift right off the road for 5-10 secs before to realize your off the road. Steer wheel control button intermittently fail and stop being able to control the midi instrument panel and infotainment system. I believe there is a systematic electrical issue in the car. They attempted to fix this by replacing a starter which hasn’t because the engine stalled at an intersection again and on cold start this morning 5/4 at the same intersection as this is by my girlfriends apartment.

NHTSA ID

11735602

Incident

Apr 29, 2026

While stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle had auto shut off normally. However when I released the brake and pushed the gas it unexpectedly stalled and shut off without warning. When attempting to restart the vehicle, it would not start again. There were no prior warning indicators or messages suggesting an imminent issue. This created a hazardous situation as the vehicle was disabled in an active traffic lane. After several attempts, the vehicle either restarted after having set the emergency brake. The failure appears to be sudden and without driver input, raising concerns about reliability and safety in traffic conditions.

NHTSA ID

11735584

Incident

May 4, 2026

Vehicle is equipped with start stop system and we have had multiple instances where we come to a stop , and the car will not restart. In the latest instance, we pulled up to stoplight, the start stops system engaged shutting off the engine then wouldn't restart. Car also wouldn't turn completely off, so I had to hit the flashers at the busy intersection, try to get the car into park, then shut completely down, then restart the car. It also struggled to restart as if the battery was dying. In this instance most dash lights come on, but it appears to be an engine, electrical, and software issue. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealer multiple times, and in once instance they said the issue was caused by a bad battery, mind you the car is slightly over a year old. This latest time, they claimed that the battery was good and no issues were found. This issue continues to put me and my family at risk by leaving us disabled in the middle of traffic especially when it has happened near exiting the freeway,

NHTSA ID

11735372

Incident

May 2, 2026

We have had multiple incidents when the car is at a stop light with the idle stop not active, the vehicle engine will just die. The light turns green and the vehicle is not running, it will take multiple times pushing the start button for it to start back up. This has resulted in multiple almost rear end incidents due to other drivers assuming we would go when light turned green. More recently this weekend on a trip from Columbus OH to St. Louis MO; stopped to get gas east of Indianapolis, after pumping gas the vehicle would not restart. It took multiple tries to get it to restart; this happened again the following day at a stop during the day at a shopping center, we ran in to get subs for lunch, came back out, would not start, I have a video of the sound and flashing lights but I can't upload a video here.

NHTSA ID

11732431

Incident

Apr 18, 2026

Stopped for a red light at a busy intersection with the auto start/stop feature turned on. After releasing the brake pedal to begin driving after the light turned green, the vehicle attempted to start the engine, but struggled and in doing so, the vehicle stalled out. After two or three attempts of placing the foot onto the brake and pressing the start ignition button, the vehicle finally started and we were able to drive away.

NHTSA ID

11729911

Incident

Apr 7, 2026

Incident 1 (Loss of Propulsion in Traffic) - 12/16/25 The vehicle failed to restart immediately after the auto start-stop system attempted to re-engage the engine. Upon attempting to accelerate, the engine did not restart, resulting in a complete loss of propulsion while in active traffic. The vehicle became temporarily inoperable and unresponsive, creating a hazardous condition with elevated risk of rear-end collision and inability to safely clear traffic or intersections. Incident 2 (Failure to Start – Reliability Concern) - 4/1/26 On a separate occasion, the vehicle failed to start entirely upon initial startup (first use of the day). The engine did not turn over as expected, rendering the vehicle inoperable. This incident raises significant concerns about system reliability and dependability, particularly given its occurrence independent of the auto start-stop event. Safety Concern: The first incident demonstrates a critical safety defect involving unexpected loss of propulsion in live traffic conditions. The second incident, while occurring at startup, indicates a broader pattern of failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to reliably start and operate. Together, these incidents suggest a potential defect in the starting/ignition or auto start-stop system that may compromise safe vehicle operation and increase the risk of crash or stranding.

NHTSA ID

11729170

Incident

Dec 16, 2025

Hello… this has happened at least four times.. the car goes to stand by/idle mode when the auto shut off is engaged. I was at a light and car went to idle and when it goes to green. Car just goes to idle mode. I had to put hazards on and restart car. People honking while I’m trying to restart car from this state. It’s like the car does not return on after the gas is engaged.

NHTSA ID

11727802

Incident

Jan 5, 2026

The contact owns a 2025 Acura MDX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle bucked for approximately 3-seconds before the vehicle stalled. The hazards were activated, the vehicle was turned off, and the contact waited before restarting the vehicle. While restarting the vehicle, several warning lights quickly flashed, and the vehicle failed to exceed 4 MPH while driving to the nearest parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V031000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11726899

Incident

Mar 21, 2026

Mileage

24,000 mi

Car stalls at idle. Auto Idle does not allow engine to restart from stop. Creating dangerous situations when on highway traffic, traveling around town and more. 2025 MDX, 21,000 Miles Nov 2025 at 14,500 miles reported issue after experiencing intermittently for a few months. Filters replaced, software updated Dec 2025 issue still occurring battery replaced March 2026 issue still occurring starter being replaced Technician at dealership did not seem confident that replacing the starter will remedy this issue.

NHTSA ID

11724995

Incident

Mar 17, 2026

There are times when my car comes to a stop shuts off ( auto off) then will not turn back on. This has happened numerous times. The dealers states that this a battery problem

NHTSA ID

11722643

Incident

Mar 1, 2026

On several occasions, when the vehicle has been driving and comes to a stop in traffic. the auto start stop kills the engine when the brake is fully depressed. When we take our foot off the brake the engine will not start and a notification is shown on the dash. to start the engine push brake and ignition button. When we follow those directions the it does not start the engine. It usually requires us to release brake several times and continue to push start button. This issue has almost caused two accidents because we are stuck and the traffic behind does not see brake lights, because we have to release the brake. This occurred on the interstate in heavy traffic, and was almost struck from behind by a vehicle traveling at interstate speed, because all vehicles went around us and the upcoming vehicle did to see brake lights.

NHTSA ID

11722443

Incident

Feb 12, 2026

Auto Idle Stop/Auto Start-Stop Issue- On multiple occasions, occurring randomly, the vehicle will not start at stoplights after auto-idle stop is engaged. Sometimes this happens after the vehicle has been running for over an hour. Currently, the vehicle must be completely powered down and then restarted to revive engine.

NHTSA ID

11715662

Incident

Feb 4, 2026

Autostart (stop/start) stopped engine but failed to restart car. Had to shut down computer and restart computer and then car started. Cars were coming around blind corner serving to avoid us. Has since happened multiple times just starting up vehicle (not involving autostart). Taken to Acura dealership 3 times to fix, but they have been unable to resolve issue.

NHTSA ID

11708571

Incident

Oct 8, 2025

I was at a red light. My auto idle kicked in. I went to turn it off and Either simultaneously or right before I hit the idle off button my car stalled. It took several attempts to turn back on and a bunch of codes threw. I almost got rear ended. This is a known problem. Ive contacted acura / honda via email as well.

NHTSA ID

11705846

Incident

Dec 18, 2025