What are the common problems with the 2009 Acura MDX?
Owners of the 2009 Acura MDX have filed 52 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system (18). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 37 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 52 owner complaints on the 2009 Acura MDX. Owners named the electrical system most often: 18 complaints, and half of the 14 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 52 complaints, 4 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 MDX
NHTSA's file holds 52 owner complaints on the 2009 Acura MDX. Owners named the electrical system most often: 18 complaints, and half of the 14 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 18 | 14 | 70,000 |
| Engine | 8 | 7 | 74,000 |
| Power Train | 8 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Exterior Lighting | 6 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 5 | 55,000 |
Of the 52 complaints, 4 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 MDX
The 37 mileages owners gave run from 3,400 to 150,061 miles. A quarter are at or under 21,000 miles, half at or under 55,000, three quarters at or under 90,000 and nine in ten at or under 130,000; 6 (16%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (3%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 MDX wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 31 of the 37 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 MDX can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 3,400 miles |
| 25th percentile | 21,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 55,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 90,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 130,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 150,061 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 6 (16%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (3%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 1,728 NHTSA owner complaints on the Acura MDX that list mileage came after 72,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will an Acura MDX last? →
Is the 2009 MDX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad MDX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 52 complaints, the 2009 ranks 19th of the 24 Acura MDX model years from 2001 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2016 (378). The fewest: the 2013 (30).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 MDX | 224 | 169 | 100,000 |
| 2002 MDX | 206 | 161 | 98,000 |
| 2003 MDX | 206 | 157 | 108,000 |
| 2004 MDX | 171 | 133 | 94,000 |
| 2005 MDX | 180 | 139 | 82,197 |
| 2006 MDX | 87 | 63 | 76,000 |
| 2007 MDX | 99 | 90 | 92,000 |
| 2008 MDX | 49 | 35 | 40,000 |
| 2009 (this page) | 52 | 37 | 55,000 |
| 2010 MDX | 45 | 30 | 63,500 |
| 2011 MDX | 70 | 43 | 62,000 |
| 2012 MDX | 76 | 46 | 56,000 |
| 2013 MDX | 30 | 19 | 50,000 |
| 2014 MDX | 172 | 115 | 23,412 |
| 2015 MDX | 71 | 51 | 23,000 |
| 2016 MDX | 378 | 174 | 38,000 |
| 2017 MDX | 261 | 96 | 36,000 |
| 2018 MDX | 169 | 41 | 40,000 |
| 2019 MDX | 193 | 53 | 22,229 |
| 2020 MDX | 228 | 40 | 44,000 |
| 2022 MDX | 162 | 13 | 60,000 |
| 2023 MDX | 44 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 MDX | 41 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 MDX | 117 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every MDX year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Acura MDX years to avoid →
2009 Acura MDX recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2009 model year under the name MDX. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2009 Acura MDX: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 MDX lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 MDX.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 15 of the 52 complaints on the 2009 Acura MDX give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: MDX. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file names matched: MDX and MDX HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 Acura MDX questions
What are the most common 2009 Acura MDX problems?
NHTSA's file holds 52 owner complaints on the 2009 Acura MDX. Owners named the electrical system most often: 18 complaints, and half of the 14 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 52 complaints, 4 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 Acura MDX?
Of the 37 complaints on the 2009 Acura MDX that list mileage, the middle half came between 21,000 and 90,000 miles; 6 (16%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (3%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 MDX can cover.
Is the 2009 Acura MDX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad MDX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 52 complaints, the 2009 ranks 19th of the 24 Acura MDX model years from 2001 to 2025 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2016 (378). The fewest: the 2013 (30).
How many recalls does the 2009 Acura MDX have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2009 model year under the name MDX. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2009 Acura MDX: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 Acura MDX before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 Acura MDX.