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A group of drivers have filed a class action lawsuit against Honda, saying that 2016-2019 Acura MDX and 2019-2020 Acura RDX vehicles possess a transmission defect.
This defect allegedly causes cars to stall, downshift, decelerate, or shutdown while driving, which poses a safety risk to drivers and others.
The Honda Acura transmission defect class action lawsuit was filed by Daniel Abel, Ewelina Ciula, Marguerite Floyd, Debra Hartzell, and Tasha Williams. These drivers state that they purchased Acura RDX and Acura MDX vehicles believing them to be free of defects. However, after purchasing the vehicles, the drivers say they discovered their vehicles possessed the transmission defect.
The Acura transmission defect class action lawsuit asserts that the defect is caused by a miscommunication between the software and computers that control the vehicles’ transmission, engine and throttle.
Describing how the defect manifests, the drivers say the problem often occurs when the vehicle is driven at highway speeds, when the driver changes lanes or when they pass another vehicle. The plaintiffs point out that these moments require acceleration.
However, when a driver attempts to accelerate, the defect allegedly can cause the vehicle to decelerate rapidly, cause the engine to stall or the gas pedal may hesitate when pushed down. Additionally, the vehicle could also shut down or shift into neutral while the vehicle is being driven.
The Honda Acura transmission class action lawsuit goes on to explain that this defect poses a danger to drivers, passengers and others. The consumers explain that drivers rely on their vehicle’s ability to accelerate when needed and maintain a consistent speed when needed. Often, acceleration gives a driver the ability to move away from other vehicles.
However, the defect allegedly prevents drivers from being able to drive their vehicles reliably, and can increase the risk of a crash. If a car is unable to drive away from other vehicles, or if it suddenly stops or stalls while being driven, then a crash could occur. As a result, the lives of drivers, passengers and others are put at risk.
The Honda Acura transmission problem class action lawsuit goes on to say the defect financially injures drivers. Allegedly, the drivers would not have purchased the vehicles or would not have paid as much for them if they had known that the vehicles were defective.
Despite the financial injury to consumers and the risk of physical injury, the company has not taken adequate steps to repair or address the problem, say the drivers. Allegedly, the company is aware of the defect, but misrepresents the vehicles as safe.
According to the drivers, the company received unjust enrichment from the sale of these vehicles, and violated state and federal consumer protection laws. Additionally, the drivers say that the company violated both express and implied warranties by misrepresenting the vehicles.
Based on these defects, the drivers seek damages on behalf of themselves and all other similarly affected consumers, and they seek a disgorgement of profits that they say were unjustly gained. They also seek declarative and injunctive relief, requesting that the court require the company to stop misrepresenting the vehicles.
They seek to establish a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased the vehicles, as well as several subclasses of consumers who purchased the vehicles in states including Wisconsin, Maryland, Colorado, and California.
To support their claim that Honda was aware of the defect but did not provide consumers with sufficient remedy, the drivers note that within months of the first sales of the 2016 Acura MDX vehicles, Honda began receiving consumer complaints regarding the defect.
Allegedly, these reports were sent to the company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Despite Honda’s knowledge of the defect since 2015, the drivers claim Honda has not issued a complete recall. Honda issued some repairs, but these allegedly did not fully address the problem. The first repair offered was a software update, which did not fix the defect. After that initial repair, the company reportedly ignored the problem.
Have you ever had transmission problems with your vehicle? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
The drivers are represented by Roman M. Silberfeld, Jennifer W. Leland, Glenn A. Danas, Michael F. Ram, and Marie N. Appel of Robins Kaplan LLP; and by Samuel J. Strauss of Turke & Strauss LLP.
The Honda Acura Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Daniel Abel, et al. v. American Honda Motor Company Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-04949, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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38 thoughts onHonda Class Action Alleges Transmission Defect
We have a 2018 that jerks and shudder when upshifting. Went before 50k, right after we bought it and told them if the problem. They said it was fine. Took it back this week and now I’m told it’s a known problem and needs a transmission flush and software fix but will cost $600. I’m livid.
I have 2019 Acura MDX. Bought new in 2019. It has had several issues including broken seat motor, fuel pump issues, but above all it used to jerk while driving, shift in the neutral at signal light, and stall sometime. With 36000 miles it eventually stop on the road (service road) while I was going 40 MPH. It just stalled, and displayed “transmission error”. At this point, the transmission is dead and dealership requesting a new one from Acura. This is insane for a new car! A day ago we were driving on a highway at 80 MPH. It could’ve stopped then. This is a big safety issue, and Acura is not responding to my complaint case I filed more than a week ago.
I have a 2019 Acura MDX I Car stopped couple days ago it’s been happening least 5 times since 2019 I was so nervous every time everybody honking me I have to put emergency light so they can pass.me
I have a 2015 Acura MDX. I have been experiencing the same issue too. The gears are slipping from 0-5mph. The car chugs and sputters. I took it into Acura and they said they needed to update the computer system. It didn’t help. They also did a transmission flush that helped for a week and then it was back to doing what it does best. It is so frustrating. Acura/Honda has really disappointed me, I have been told that they are one of the best brands out there for reliability and performance and it is far from it. My backup camera was glitching and then just failed too. These cars are expensive if you buy new or used. This should be happening.
We have had similar problems with our 2016 Acura RDX. It would hesitate and not accelerate when driving as it should. It was if you were down shifting. We took it in to Acura and they did a software update. When we got it back, the system emission light started to cycle on and off and the car would gurgle and the same problem persisted. We contacted Acura, they offered a solution with the gas cap not creating a vacuum. We replaced the cap. The problem still persists. We eventually took to Honda, they replaced knock sensors for about a 1000.00. Some issues still exists.
I own a 2016 MDX That also has the transmission shifting problem. How do I get added to this class action lawsuit?
I have the same issue. Did you find out how to join this Class Action Lawsuit? Thank you.
2016 Acura MDX trans disengages now and then when on freeway. Engine still running but no transmission working.
We have a 2016 Acura MDX FWD and we’re on vacation in Cashier, NC when the emissions System Problem, Transmission System Problem and Blind Spot Warning came on when restarting the car after a brief stop. The car started and the next morning the car would not go into gear. We had to have the car towed to Asheville where they told us it needed a new transmission. I researched all the issues and mentioned to the repair shop this was a car defect. They were able to “negotiate” with Honda to get us a new one for $500. We had to drive back to Asheville from Atlanta to pick up the car.
A year later I’m driving home from St. Louis and the car slips into Neutral. My heart sunk. The speed immediately reduced to 45mph on the highway. I took my foot off the gas pedal and slowly tried to accelerate and the car reengaged. When we returned home I told my husband we need to get rid of the car. He brought it to the shop and the said there were no error codes. They changed the transmission fuel and cleaned the fuel injectors for $700. My husband then took it on a road trip to Charlotte with no problems.
Now 3 weeks later we are driving back from St. Simons and the emissions System Problem, Transmission System Problem and Blind Spot Warning are back on. We pulled over to stop the car. The lights went off and now we’re back on the highway and the lights are back on. We tried to accelerate and the transmission slipped and disengaged with the engine. I’m so stressed right now as we are trying to make it back home on a Sunday. We have lost faith in the dealers and Acura and are ready to get rid of it.
This problem started long before 2016. I had a 2004 Acura MDX that I absolutely loved but the transmission went out at 60k-ish miles. The Acura dealership stated that this was a known issue to them and only a replacement would help but our warranty company would only pay for a rebuild. We had to have it rebuilt twice more and finally got rid of it at around 85k, which is far earlier than we normally would.
Thank you, I currently have a 2004 Acura Mdx that needs a transmission. We have tried everything to avoid buying a new transmission for it but nothing has helped. We have sunk a lot of money into it and still don’t have it running. Before the transmission went out that was by far my favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned. But from what I’ve been reading it started in like 2002 with them having transmission problems, I don’t understand why they haven’t recalled ours as well.
I have a 2016 MDX and have had troubles with mild transmission skipping for quite some time (pause when I press the gas, then jerks). I mentioned this whenever I brought my car in for service. Recently, I was driving on the highway with my 3 kids and it shifted into neutral when I was going 65 mph. Luckily, I was able to get off the highway and pull into a parking lot. I restarted my car and it fixed it. That was terrifying. I brought it into service a told them I’d like to have that looked at along with the other scheduled maintenance. They said they found no issue and the car seemed to be fine, but to bring it back if it happened again….. 3 weeks later, as I was driving home with my daughter, I received an alert for Transmission Service Problem and Blind Spot Malfunction while the Drive display ‘D’ was flashing on and off. Again, I made it home and went back to the dealer the next day only to have them tell me I need a new transmission. When we started questioning them on why this wasn’t found 3 weeks earlier or the previous times I had raised the concern, they didn’t have an answer except that the rep had seen it happen on at least 5 2016 mdxs this year already. It was annoying when it was slipping, however, it is extremely dangerous when it pops into neutral when I have been driving on the highway. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt because of this.
Same exact thing happened to my family only there were 7 of us in the car going down the highway on the way to a family Christmas party. Very scary when it happened. Luckily, we were able to exit the freeway safely, stop the vehicle, restart the car without the issue persisting right then and there. Less than a week later, my wife and kids were left stranded on the side of the road with a blown transmission. Hopefully Honda will take responsibility for this issue and do what is right.
2016 MDX. The transmission lurching problem has been there since 2017. Last night the transmission finally gave out. Acura dealer in Huntsville AL wants $7K to replace the transmission. Car only has 100K miles on it. They refuse to negotiate. I am not fixing it since I now know MDX has transmission issues in general. I will sell it to dealer and loose roughly 10K on unrealized funds in the process.
My 2016 Acura MDX has had shifting/transmission issues since I bought it in 2019. Is there anyway this can be fixed?