Ranked by the record, the Acura TLX is the best of the three, with one AVOID year and eight BUY years out of eleven; the Acura RDX is second, with nine BUY years but three AVOID years including the 2019 and 2020 at 32 apiece; and the Acura MDX is third, with three AVOID years and four CAUTION years across a record of 1,916 complaints and 70 recall campaigns. The years to avoid are the 2015 TLX (38), the 2014 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021 RDX, and the 2016 to 2020 MDX, with the 2016 (367 complaints, score 49) and the 2020 (47) as its low points. The years to buy are the 2016 to 2017 and 2022 onward TLX, the 2016 to 2018 and 2022 to 2024 RDX, and the 2011 to 2013 MDX, which score 95, 92 and 94, the highest scores any of the three nameplates has produced.
The MDX: engines from 2016
The second-generation MDX of 2011 to 2013 is close to faultless on the record: 70, 76 and 29 complaints, Engine the top component at 28, 23 and 9, and two safety-critical campaigns in three years, 12V063000 for a fuel tank vent valve on the 2012 and the 23V858000 fuel pump campaign, which starts at the 2013. The third generation arrived for 2014 with 170 complaints and a spread of components — Steering 38, then Electrical System, Engine, Service Brakes and Power Train at 27 and 26 each — and nine recall campaigns, including 13V571000 for driveshaft bolts on all-wheel-drive cars, 14V639000 for seat belts and 15V301000 for collision mitigation braking that could misread roadside objects. The 2015 settles to 70 complaints and a score of 80.
Then the 2016. Complaints go to 367, more than five times the 2015's count, and two components account for most of them: Engine at 157 and Power Train at 111. The Engine count has a campaign behind it, and a late one: 23V751000 (13/11/2023) covers 2016 to 2020 MDX and 2015 to 2020 TLX for a connecting rod bearing that may wear because of a manufacturing error. The fuel pump campaign 19V060000 (29/01/2019), for particulates that reduce the pump's performance on the 3.5-litre V6, covers 2016 to 2018. The Power Train count coincides with the year the nine-speed automatic arrived. Engine stays the top component on every MDX through 2020 — 78, 35, 46 and 79 — and the 2020 adds five safety-critical campaigns, the most of any MDX year, among them 23V458000 for a brake master cylinder fastener and 21V215000, a third fuel pump campaign. Scores: 49, 58, 66, 59 and 47. Two further campaigns run across 2014 to 2020: 25V259000 for tailgate lights that moisture can reach, and 26V365000 for frame corrosion on cars sold in the salt states.
The 2021 is not on record. The 2022 has 147 complaints with Power Train at 61 and scores 59; the 2023 and 2024 have 38 complaints each and score 85 and 79, evidence low, with 25V391000 for a brake pedal pivot pin and 26V332000 for the occupant classification sensor as their two safety-critical campaigns. The 2025 has 94 complaints in its first year, Engine at 60, and scores 39, AVOID, evidence medium.
Acura MDX: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 39 | AVOID | 94 | 3 |
| 2024 | 79 | BUY | 38 | 2 |
| 2023 | 85 | BUY | 38 | 2 |
| 2022 | 59 | CAUTION | 147 | 2 |
| 2020 | 47 | AVOID | 215 | 8 |
| 2019 | 59 | CAUTION | 185 | 9 |
| 2018 | 66 | CAUTION | 164 | 10 |
| 2017 | 58 | CAUTION | 253 | 8 |
| 2016 | 49 | AVOID | 367 | 7 |
| 2015 | 80 | BUY | 70 | 8 |
| 2014 | 77 | BUY | 170 | 9 |
| 2013 | 94 | BUY | 29 | 1 |
| 2012 | 92 | BUY | 76 | 1 |
| 2011 | 95 | BUY | 70 | 0 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Acura MDX model page.
The RDX: lights, then a redesign
The RDX has two bad stretches and they are unalike. The 2013 to 2015 second-generation cars complain about one thing: Exterior Lighting is 89, 162 and 337, and on the 2015 it is more than four fifths of the year's 409 complaints. Air Bags is second each year at 36, 41 and 33, matching the driver-side inflator module campaigns 16V061000, 19V182000 and 19V500000 that cover 2011 to 2016. There is no lighting campaign on file, so the record shows the symptom and nothing official to close it. Scores: 72, 50 and 39. The 2016 to 2018 cars are the recovery: 40, 75 and 77 complaints, no component above 22, and scores of 89, 88 and 84.
The third generation launched for 2019 and its first two years are the worst RDX years on record. The 2019 has 433 complaints, 61.9 per year on the road, and the 2020 has 344. Unknown Or Other is the top component at 139 and 102, Visibility/Wiper second at 96 and 83, Engine third at 89 and 53. Each year carries five safety-critical recalls, among them the fuel pump campaigns 21V215000 and 23V858000 (the 2019 also has 20V314000), the seat belt buckle campaign 23V158000, and the occupant classification campaigns 26V332000 and, on the 2020, 24V064000. Both score 32. The 2021 has 111 complaints, a CAUTION at 51, and 21V939000 for a front driveshaft that may have been improperly heat-treated. The 2022 to 2024 cars fall to 31, 21 and 11 complaints and score 83 to 84, evidence low. The 2025 has 29 complaints with Steering top at 23, and 25V582000 (05/09/2025) for power steering software that can put the system into a failsafe mode, which fits; it scores 58, CAUTION.
Acura RDX: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58 | CAUTION | 29 | 1 |
| 2024 | 84 | BUY | 11 | 2 |
| 2023 | 84 | BUY | 21 | 2 |
| 2022 | 83 | BUY | 31 | 2 |
| 2021 | 51 | CAUTION | 111 | 3 |
| 2020 | 32 | AVOID | 344 | 5 |
| 2019 | 32 | AVOID | 433 | 5 |
| 2018 | 84 | BUY | 77 | 1 |
| 2017 | 88 | BUY | 75 | 1 |
| 2016 | 89 | BUY | 40 | 2 |
| 2015 | 39 | AVOID | 409 | 3 |
| 2014 | 50 | CAUTION | 242 | 3 |
| 2013 | 72 | BUY | 162 | 3 |
| 2012 | 92 | BUY | 15 | 2 |
| 2011 | 92 | BUY | 16 | 2 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Acura RDX model page.
The TLX: one bad year
The TLX is the cleanest record of the three after its first year. The 2015 has 341 complaints, Power Train 160, Engine 82 and Electrical System 64, and six recall campaigns, two of them safety-critical. Two of the six are transmission campaigns specific to that year: 14V779000 (08/12/2014) for the automatic transmission on V6 cars, and 16V640000 (06/09/2016) for transmission wire harness connections with insufficient crimps that may cause an unexpected shift. The 2015 is also the first year of both the connecting rod bearing campaign 23V751000 and the V6 fuel pump campaign 19V060000. Score 38, AVOID. From 2016 the counts are small: 110, 70, 93, 91, 62 and 67 for 2016 to 2021, with Engine the top component every year from 2016 to 2020 at 27, 23, 30, 31 and 19. The 2019 and 2021 are CAUTION at 67 and 69; the 2019 has the timing belt campaign 19V298000 and four safety-critical recalls, and the 2021 has Power Train at 26 with 24V950000 for a fuel filler neck weld and 25V391000 for the brake pedal pin. The 2022 to 2025 cars have 25, 10, 5 and 4 complaints and score 85, 84, 89 and 87, all evidence low. All three nameplates run on premium fuel; the TLX returns 23 to 28 mpg combined, the RDX 21 to 23 and the MDX 18 to 23.
Acura TLX: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87 | BUY | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 89 | BUY | 5 | 1 |
| 2023 | 84 | BUY | 10 | 3 |
| 2022 | 85 | BUY | 25 | 3 |
| 2021 | 69 | CAUTION | 67 | 4 |
| 2020 | 73 | BUY | 62 | 5 |
| 2019 | 67 | CAUTION | 91 | 6 |
| 2018 | 74 | BUY | 93 | 4 |
| 2017 | 84 | BUY | 70 | 3 |
| 2016 | 78 | BUY | 110 | 3 |
| 2015 | 38 | AVOID | 342 | 6 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Acura TLX model page.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2016 to 2020 MDX or 2015 to 2020 TLX, confirm 23V751000 for the connecting rod bearing has been completed against the VIN, and ask whether the engine was inspected or replaced under it.
- On the same cars, confirm 19V060000 and 23V858000 for the fuel pump; on a 2019 or 2020 MDX, RDX or TLX, add 21V215000.
- On a 2016 to 2020 MDX, drive it in traffic with attention to the shifts. Power Train is 111 complaints on the 2016 and 64 on the 2017.
- On a 2013 to 2015 RDX, drive it at night on an unlit road before you buy. Exterior Lighting is 337 complaints on the 2015 with no campaign behind it.
- On a 2019 or 2020 RDX, confirm all five safety-critical campaigns, including 23V158000 for the seat belt buckles.
- On a 2015 TLX, confirm 14V779000 and 16V640000 for the transmission and drive it through every gear from cold.
- On a 2021 to 2025 TLX or 2023 to 2025 MDX, confirm 25V391000 for the brake pedal pivot pin.
- On a 2014 to 2020 MDX in a salt state, check the frame for the corrosion that 26V365000 describes.
Summary
Buy an MDX from 2011 to 2013, or a 2023 to 2024 if the low evidence does not put you off, and avoid the 2016 to 2020 cars unless the connecting rod bearing and fuel pump campaigns are documented closed. Buy an RDX from 2016 to 2018 or 2022 to 2024 and avoid the 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2020. Buy a TLX from 2016 to 2017 or 2022 onward and avoid the 2015. Ranked, it is TLX, then RDX, then MDX.