Acura MDX vs Audi Q7: which is more reliable?
The Acura MDX and the Audi Q7 are level on the federal record — 66/100 against 65/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Acura MDX
- 14 model years scored
- 1,916 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 70 recall campaigns, 36 safety-critical
- best year 2011 (95/100) · worst 2025 (39/100)
Audi Q7
- 12 model years scored
- 816 owner complaints on record
- about 11 complaints per year on the road
- 48 recall campaigns, 29 safety-critical
- best year 2013 (88/100) · worst 2017 (29/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: MDX against Q7
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
| Year | MDX | Q7 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 39 AVOID | 60 CAUTION | -21 |
| 2024 | 79 BUY | — | — |
| 2023 | 85 BUY | 86 BUY | -1 |
| 2022 | 59 CAUTION | — | — |
| 2021 | — | 31 AVOID | — |
| 2020 | 47 AVOID | 79 BUY | -32 |
| 2019 | 59 CAUTION | 62 CAUTION | -3 |
| 2018 | 66 CAUTION | 43 AVOID | +23 |
| 2017 | 58 CAUTION | 29 AVOID | +29 |
| 2016 | 49 AVOID | — | — |
| 2015 | 80 BUY | 86 BUY | -6 |
| 2014 | 77 BUY | 87 BUY | -10 |
| 2013 | 94 BUY | 88 BUY | +6 |
| 2012 | 92 BUY | 86 BUY | +6 |
| 2011 | 95 BUY | 87 BUY | +8 |
What owners actually complain about
Acura MDX
- Engine — 553 complaints
- Power Train — 388 complaints
- Electrical System — 334 complaints
Audi Q7
- Engine — 164 complaints
- Exterior Lighting — 156 complaints
- Electrical System — 147 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Acura MDX — avoid: 2016, 2020, 2025.
Audi Q7 — avoid: 2017, 2018, 2021.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Acura MDX prices at about $55,100 and a Audi Q7 at about $55,100 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 21.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Acura MDX or the Audi Q7 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Acura MDX scores 66/100 against the Audi Q7's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Acura MDX and Audi Q7 years should I avoid?
Acura MDX: 2016, 2020, 2025. Audi Q7: 2017, 2018, 2021. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Acura MDX and the Audi Q7?
The largest complaint group on the Acura MDX is Engine (553 complaints); on the Audi Q7 it is Engine (164).
Is the Acura MDX or the Audi Q7 cheaper to own?
A recent used Acura MDX prices at about $55,100 and a Audi Q7 at about $55,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.