The 2003 Acura MDX is a SUV that came with a 3.5L 6-cyl engine. At 23 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Sport Utility Vehicle - 4WD |
|---|---|
| Engines | 3.5L 6-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic 5-spd |
| Drive | 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Premium Gasoline |
| Fuel economy | 15 city / 21 highway / 17 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $4,850 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 523 grams per mile |
| Versions tested by EPA | 1 configuration |
| Age | 23 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 11 safety recalls covering the 2003 Acura MDX. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V…
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii…
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic vehicles manufactured March 21, 2000, to January 20, 2005, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX vehicles manufactured June 14, 2000, to August 19, 2004, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid vehicles manufactured February 24, 2002, to January 18, 2005, 2003-2007 Honda…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey vehicles manufactured February 13, 2002, to August 13, 2004, and 2003 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured February 21, 2002, to September 23, 2003. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags, side air bags, and/or…
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic, 2003-2004 Civic CNG and Element, 2002-2005 CR-V, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Accord, Pilot, Civic Hybrid, and Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in California, and equipped with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 Odyssey and model year 2003 Acura MDX vehicles. Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail causing the front air bags, side curtain air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.
Risk: Inadvertent deployment of the air bags may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 Pilot and Odyssey and 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX passenger vehicles manufactured from November 26, 2001, through August 30, 2006. The interlock lever of the ignition switch may deform, which can allow the interlock function of a vehicle with an automatic transmission to be…
Risk: Removal of the ignition key when the gear selector of a vehicle with an automatic transmission has not been shifted to the park position can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Owners have filed 206 complaints about the 2003 Acura MDX with NHTSA. 11 reports involved a crash and 5 reports involved a fire. Owners reported 9 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2003 Acura MDX.
| Version | Overall | Frontal crash | Side crash | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Dr, AWD | Not rated | — | — | ★★★★☆ | — |
Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP). Ratings from different model years or rating systems aren't directly comparable.
Manufacturers have filed 189 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2003 Acura MDX. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKU
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 5 defect investigations covering the 2003 Acura MDX.
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment
The investigation was opened based on reports of frontal air bag inadvertent deployments (ABIDs) on model year (MY) 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey vehicles.In its response dated September 20, 2013, Honda indicated that the MY 2003 Acura MDX vehicles use a SRS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which contains the same electrical co
Ignition Interlock Failure - Rollaway
On December 10, 2012, Honda Motor Company submitted a defect information report to NHTSA regarding ignition interlocks in approximately 576,117 model year MY) 2003 through 2004 Honda Pilot and Odyssey vehicles that are the subject of this investigation and 231,044 MY 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX vehicles (Recall No. 12V
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. As a heavier vehicle, its scrap weight adds to the offer. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2003 MDXs that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 11 recalls for the 2003 Acura MDX; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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