History
March 27, 1986, was established branch of the concern "Honda Motors" in the US, known as the "Acura Automobiles Division". At the time of the release of the brand, Japanese cars have proven their reliability and economy to customers, now Honda executives have decided to enter the market of prestigious, expensive cars, such as European BMW, Volvo. In the eyes of American buyers, new cars, the Legend sedan and the Integra sports coupe were supposed to associate as little as possible with Japanese cars, have their own image, the difference between them and the Honda production had to be obvious. The new company was created to emphasize the novelty of the idea, the updated value of the product, to appeal to new buyers and connoisseurs. In new cars, Honda relied on high technology, innovative engineering, unrivaled quality and, traditionally, the satisfaction of all customer wishes.
Due to the good quality of the metal and paintwork, corrosion does not appear on the body, and if the car was not involved in an accident, then the body of most MDHs will be in excellent condition. Thanks to the special design of the body "Acura Engineering" and 10 airbags, which are provided as standard, MDH was recognized as the safest premium crossover in 2012.
Acura MDH was equipped with two petrol engines 3.5 (256 HP) and 3.7 (300 HP). The main advantage of these motors is the VTEC system, which expands the maximum torque range from 2000 to 5000 rpm, and also reduces harmful emissions. Also, MDH can boast of low fuel consumption (an average of 12-15 liters per 100 km in city mode). As operating experience has shown, the engines are very reliable, and in order for the motor to work without failures, it is enough to carry out maintenance on time. The oil should be changed at least once every 10-12 thousand km.
To avoid serious problems with the engine, it is necessary to adjust the thermal clearances of the valves every 100,000 km; on the same run, the timing gear drive also requires attention (the timing belt and rollers need to be replaced). Spark plugs, provided that high-quality fuel is used, will last up to 50,000 km. Cleaning the fuel injectors and throttle assembly is required once a year.
The most common engine is 3.7, despite the fact that this engine does not have injection systems and a turbine that are fashionable today, it confidently accelerates the car both in the city and on the highway, not inferior in dynamics to more powerful cars. In the secondary market, this motor is not to be afraid of, since it has a good resource to the "capital".
Acura MDH was equipped with a five-speed (until 2010) and six-speed (since 2010) hydromechanical automatic transmission. The owners of the car of the first years of production often faced incorrect operation of the transmission (jerking jerks when switching), this is due to a software failure of the transmission control unit and the failure of hydraulic lifters. In cars operating in a metropolis, transmission overheating often occurs. After restyling, the manufacturer replaced the problematic unit with a six-speed gearbox, which turned out to be more reliable and rarely presents unpleasant surprises to the owners. In order to extend the life of the gearbox, it is recommended to change the oil in it at least once every 60,000 km, while it is advisable to use only high-quality lubricants.
The car is equipped with a plug-in all-wheel drive, the reliability of the all-wheel drive system does not cause serious complaints, but only if you do not use the car as a full-fledged SUV. The electronic clutch is very afraid of overheating, and if you constantly storm off-road, then expensive transmission repairs cannot be avoided.
This model has excellent driving characteristics - comfort, smoothness, handling. This is facilitated by the multi-link suspension, which is installed not only at the front, but also at the rear. The disadvantages of this combination include only the high cost of repairing the chassis. Traditionally, for modern cars, stabilizer struts and bushings are considered consumables; their resource, with careful operation, does not exceed 50,000 km. Ball joints, front shock absorbers and thrust bearings, on average, take care of 70-90 thousand km. The front and rear levers are hardy enough and can last 150-170 thousand km. The rear shock absorbers have a stiffness control system and are afraid of "speed bumps", if you often move them without slowing down, replacing the shock absorbers may be necessary after 30,000 km.
Despite its heavy weight (2 tons), the Acura MDX is driven like a passenger sedan with sporty habits, while the steering mechanism is quite reliable and, as a rule, does not present surprises up to 150,000 km. Tie rods and tips require replacement every 100-120 thousand km. The biggest drawback of the brake system is the rapid wear of the discs, they have to be changed almost simultaneously with the pads, every 40-50 thousand km. Many owners solve the problem by replacing conventional discs with perforated ones.