“Not spend the next six months in Court” - Exactly, we gave a bad review to a local mechanic, and instead of addressing the problem, he threatened to take it to court, called us liars, threatened to take other, Less than legal actions, this is what you have to expect from dishonest or incompetent shops

I had a shop really mess up my car once. They would not fix anything they broke, and I took it to another shop. Without telling the new shop anything they said "wow. Whoever worked on this really messed up!" and I said "Can I have that in writing?" and they were like "Nope. Not going to touch a lawsuit". They would fix it (on my dime) but would not make any sort of statement of the findings. I understand that they didnt want to get involved, but this is literally protecting bad mechanics.

It says a lot about the times we live in that people are buying daily drivers with over 200,000 miles on them with the intention to fix them. Before the car market went crazy, that was the kind of vehicle you bought from a neighbor for 500 bucks and ran into the ground. At least it's less wasteful I guess.

Wild to think this generation goes all the way back to 2007. I remember these coming out like it was yesterday.

I drove my 2004 Acura MDX (bought new in June 04) till 330,000 miles and sold it to a family member in 2017 .. she still has it and it's approaching 400,000 miles. Same engine 3.5 and runs great. ... I loved the MDX , drove it for 13 years with little problems.

These aged really well and look modern even to today’s standards. They’re all around great vehicles and have seen some with 200 plus K miles

I can only imagine the number of techs at the edge of their seats wondering if it was them, lol

The 07-09 mdx are super reliable. Those earlier j37 are a beast if the maintenance is kept up. 230k on the original drivetrain still going strong.

I used to work in aircraft maintenance (avionics). Intermittent issues are by far the worst to troubleshoot. Good job running this down!

I got a used RL with the 3.7L and I knew the previous owner ditched the car when all the timing components needed to be replaced. The dealer I bought the car from gave me a phone number to a mechanic they use. I called the guy after doing my own research on the 3.7L. I told him it needed a timing belt kit installed. He argued with me that that Honda motor has a timing chain, argued with me. After I was able to get off the phone with him, I called the local Acura shop and had the timing belt service done right by ppl trained specifically in Honda/Acura cars.

8:18 You really are a wizard! I have a '09 Acura TL SH-AWD with the 3.7 and i had the low oil warning pop up on the nav screen many times while driving. This definitely is a common problem with the oil pressure sending unit. I replaced it with the updated part number sending unit and the warning has never came back. Also, you are 100% right on the transfer case. Everyone i know with either a Honda/Acura AWD never services it! I do my transmission drain and fill, transfer case, rear diff service every 20k miles. I always love watching your videos. Been here since you first started producing them when Hoovie was recording with an iphone on a tripod.

in 1974 My first job out of college was Regional Manager for SUBARU. Just getting starting in those days. My dealer in Huntsville Alabama was also a Citroen repair shop. I was fascinated by the cars especially the DS. He told me you had to be part mechanic and part plumber to work on these. Can't wait to see your Citroen episode.

My mom bought one of these back in 2010. The seller worked worked at google here in the Bay Area. Google maintained the car. It was a company car serviced at the dealership. Mom still drives it and loves it. 200k miles and runs like a champ.

He's the WIZ and nobody beats him!!

I had this local shop I had a great relationship with, always had done good work and generally quick. We took in a Camry for a timing belt and it came back leaking oil. We took the car back and all of a sudden they were rude as hell. They finally agreed to fix their screw-up and it came back leaking again and that was that. Any shop can make a mistake but owning it and making it right is what keeps customers.

What you found is why I take my time and double check my own work. I will not do anything that can ever come back on me. We have very high integrity at my current shop

Thank you Wizard definitely a good video on how these kinds of problems manifest and why it is hard to diagnose. Looking forward to the next video they have become a fix i need to make thru the week.

As soon as I saw what warning indicators came up, I knew it was the Rocker arm actuator. A couple years ago I ran some marvel mystery oil in my 2010 mdx to see if it would help the oil consumption issue I had, which wasn't terrible at the time. After I did the oil change after the MMO, when accelerating full throttle I had those same warning lights and a p 2648 code. I changed the actuator and the screen filter, haven't had an issue since. Also significantly fixed the oil consumption, I rarely need to add oil now. I LOVE my MDX! 250,000km and going great! It even endured the abuse of being a leased car previously.

Your explanation of the pre-purchase inspection expectations at the end was illuminating. Thank you.

Great video yet again. Very professional and informative. Great job Wizard.

Always enjoy and appreciate your honesty Weeeeeeeeeeeeezard. You have helped so many of us viewers out. Acura is a great vehicle and will last and last, unlike junkRovers. You are amazing

David, love your channel, and the fact you always do the tight thing. Also ,I enjoy Mrs Wizard's commentary. Just purchased a beautiful, well serviced 2014 MDX. Out of n abundance of caution I had the timing belt,tensioner,water pump,and sparkplugs replaced. After one week all kinds of codes started being set And the vehicle had a misfire code. I called the shop who never returned my call. I got a towing service to take my vehicle to a trusted shop 50 miles away. He fixed the misfire in about two hours when he detrrmined the other dhop had not correctly replaced the connector on the fuel injector controller. He checked and made sure none of the pins were bent and sprayed the connectors with silicone, erased the codes now it runs as it should. Haste makes waste and now I will never use that shop again. Thank you for your channel!

As a retired technician who took great pride in his work I want to tell this “Wizard” that a pre-purchase inspection is not a “cursory glance.” I took a minimum of 1 to 1.5 hrs to pull plugs, inspect gear and trans fluids, run system scans, test calipers, run the vehicle on the lift and look for anything suspicious. An experienced Honda specialist would have caught that (but not a generalist). Also, if I knew the shop that did the work I’d probably give them a friendly call and try to explain what I found. If they care about their work and it wasn’t done too long ago they’ll make it right.

I like the Car Wizard. And I enjoy the debug process used on this channel. Work is not done prior to knowing what is being done or why. The "shotgun" approach aka the theory of "replace everything to run up the bill" is not used.

Wizard...pointing out how some shops screw up jobs is a breath of fresh air! I have experienced it more than once. A shop broke the tabs on a plastic cover on a Passat that I owned. I only found that months later!

Love your videos. You are such a good communicator to your audience. Thank you.

One of the best SUVs I've ever owned was the MDX. Loved it

The first-generation and the second-generation of the Acura MDX will hopefully be on one of the six used vehicles that you should not buy list, as well as the Mazda CX-7 with the 2.3 L turbocharged four-cylinder engine and the early model years of the first-generation, 2002 and 2003 Saturn VUE with the 3 L V6 engine. The second-generation, Mitsubishi Outlander with the 3 L V6 engine and the first-generation and the second-generation of the Mazda CX-5 will not be on the do not buy list, because they are currently great vehicles to buy. Thank you very much and have a great week ahead.

I have 2007 MDX technology package it has 157,000 mi on it right now and it has never skipped a beat one of the best cars I've ever had

I don’t know why but watching these videos just relaxes me so much. The Wizard is so didactical when it comes to explaining.

Omg, this beautiful car wizard and his beard of gold is making the world literally better every day. Thanks!

Have had three of these MDX’s from new to 200k miles. All bulletproof engines; transmissions and torque converters not so much….

True Wizardry! Love your channel.

A least he was lucky enough, or smart enough, to get this MDX into the Car Wizard’s Lair. Thanks for the video.

Reminds me of some boat motor work in the past. Guys would show up with a multi-cylinder outboard that wouldn't start. " I already did the carburetors so they right." Nine times out of ten those 'right' carburetors were the problem.

I hope the customer can get financially set and get that car fixed properly. There are many going through tough times, and it is only going to get worse.

That's funny. I was just looking through you're channel yesterday because I was curious if you've ever reviewed one of these 2nd gen MDX's and I wake up today and find this!

Another great video from the wizard. Keep it up

Nice catch at the end :D

The undercarriage on that mdx is clean! I’ve got a 2013rdx with 124k and most of the undercarriage is spotless as well! Honda makes a great vehicle!

Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish will clean those frosty/foggy headlights in a couple minutes. Wax on wax off. Some come out as if you replaced the headlights. Others 50-75 more clarity.

Thank you, Wizard and Mrs. Have been to dealerships and private shops for crapy service. Hard to find a good mechanic you can trust.

@10:17 nearly everyone neglects the transfer case/power transfer unit fluid, on everything. It's not specific to Honda/Acura cars, trucks and SUVs.

Thank you, Car Wizard.

If I was in the good old US of A. I'd work for ya. Knowledge is cool. Thanks for all your time

You technically can service (most) staked U-joints. In the vast majority of circumstances, if you actually do remove the staked joint, there is a surface suitable for a snap ring joint. Of course, this isn't something you really want to be doing as a business while you can still get replacement driveshaft assemblies, but as they become unavailable, it's a another option on the table instead of going to a custom driveshaft and new transmission/diff yokes.

Hey wizard your improving not overly repetitive with your descriptions, or Mrs Wizard has edited well👍

My Akkie TSX was wiped out in a high speed highway crash. My Integra type R was put to death in a multi-car pileup. I really miss both those cars; they both saved my life.

The tension! The suspense! How will it all end?! Leaving the diagnosis for the middle! Not too bad for the amount of miles on it. The previous owner must have had it serviced regularly. Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Wizard! ✌️❤️🙂

You’re a hell of a great guy wizard!!

Nice find wizard! Sad it was incompetence, but at least u found the issue!!!

Thanks for the information very helpful 👍

that 2007 Acura MDX is honestly kinda beautiful (headlights aside)

Sunday video? Hell yeah!

I got my girlfriend a 2010 MDX Oct of 2020 we still have it 40,000 miles later and it's nothing but maintenance. The only thing outside of maintenance was a ac compressor. It's coming up on 170,000. Oil change every 5k miles and transmission drain and fill every 30k miles. I haven't touched transfercase or differentials. K&N air and cabin filters.

Did my own timing belt/water pump on my 09 MDX about a year ago and it's still running great! My 2nd timing belt job I've done, and my first on a V6. It was fun! It's scary turning the engine on though when you're done.

You know, I can honestly say that I don't blame the customer for not wanting to do the full repair at this time. With the price of "everything" rising steeply over the past couple of years, you gotta take care of home/family FIRST in most cases and just live with whatever car problems you have until you can scrape up enough money to cover the repair cost(s). I just had an issue with my '05 Highlander where she started slowly leaking power steering fluid at this past summer. I started saving up for repairs after asking my mechanic the cost of the "worst case scenario" some time around November. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I finally was able to put the car in the shop, had the problem fully diagnosed (second-to worst case scenario; it just needed a new pump and hoses not a full rack replacement), and I was comfortable paying the cost of the repairs because I prepared for it. OH, and yes...that MDX is still a great looking SUV and I'd TOTALLY buy one if I were in the market for a new vehicle.

Thanks wizard

I have a 2009 w 114k miles on it. Was getting a Check Emissions alert, which tripped the Check SH-AWD System & Brake System. Pulled two codes that were related to Bank1 Sensor. Had Acura replace it today, drives fine now. Just had to spend 3k in repairs (resealing oil pump, rebooting inner cvs, O2 sensor) but these are literally the only repairs I’ve ever had done. These suvs are tanks!

Love the intro wizard. My vtech ain’t kicking in bro. Absolutely funny. I’m still laughing

@11:20 in Houston , very rear and hard to find shops able to service the U joint. Not many shops like to take liabilities that’s why everyone tells you that buy the whole drive shaft. I had honda CRV 98 back in a days, was able to service it. I bought the u joints from Canada and went to local shop and they replaced it. My Honda crv Drive shaft is non serviceable in American but once you break open then you should be able install replace UJoint.

Plastic wood trim and Corinthian leather headliner.. marvelous!

When the Gmc z71 All Terrain first came out my friend's truck lost almost all the power after the warranty expired. His friends had the same kind of truck and that one had oil consumption issues and both trucks were bought new

I wouldn’t have guessed that much mileage, car is in good shape.

That shiny aluminum Timing belt tensioner usually comes from dayco, gates or Continental. Very high failure rate in my experience. We only use OE Honda or Aisin as they usually go the whole 100k interval versus 20 to 30 k

I've owned 2 MDX cars and pretty sure they did not make the 3.5 for 07 year model Wizard only the 300 hp VTEC. 275 K miles on my 07 still runs and drives great ... Original trans and motor.

Finally a video on a car I own except it’s a 2010 with oil consumption due to clogged piston rings 😔

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but the 2 tires on the left of the car are Hankook Dynapros, and the back one that the Car Wizard looked at was a Firestone Destination. Just something interesting to note.

When I used to work at Acura like 4 years ago I used to do timing belts on those mdx’s in 20 mins flat. About an 1 hour if I was doing the oil pump seals and timing belt cover seals.

Little note you may have missed, while it's not the end of the world, that 1 tire you checked is mismatched from the rest of them. The 3 hankooks are looking to be getting a little low on tread. Its not the greatest for an AWD system but it should survive.

I like how wise the Car Wizard is by effectively staying out of any legal troubles, backlash and any unwanted feuds because he simply leaves the other shops anonymous.

Could you not pull the wire out from behind the tensioner at all? Back out the solenoid and retighten after? Wouldn't save it by any means, but buy time perhaps? We all know how temporary becomes permanent, and I'm no expert on that vehicle by any means, but seems like the sort of thing "we can try this, may buy more time, may not, it'll be a cheap and dirty attempt" would cover for a half hour labor

Can't wait to see the Citroën. Love the videos, wizard.

Without knowing that engine I'd ask the question what would happen if the timing tensioner was released just a little such that the cable could be pulled back around the end of it so no longer under tension. Just added a reply from CW to another comment - makes sense although good luck to the customer... "And ruin the chances for warranty work for the customer? The other shop could claim that I broke it by moving the wire."

Great vid as usual! It might have a different rear-right tire ?

If the customer doesn't wanna dump a bunch of money into it just tell them to get the Sylvania headlight restorer kit. Only takes maybe 20 to 30 minutes each side and works a treat.

Looking forward to see the footage of the Citroën ! I hope it will be a specially weird one, such as a 2CV or a DS 🤩

Great video wizard.

Hey Yo Great video thanks for sharing.

Let's get started

Yeah the intermittent issues like this are the worst to track down. It took me months to figure out I had a bad fuel pressure regulator because the pressure was perfect every time I would test it. Then the truck would run perfect most of the time then bog down out of nowhere and run like crap the rest of the day and throw 02 sensor codes. Everyone kept saying "Replace the 02 sensors" I finally figured out the fuel pressure regulator was just getting stuck shut sometimes, And the 02's were doing what they were supposed to, Lol it was so simple but if you don't have experience with that stuff it's not so easy to figure out. That was really smart checking where the last shop worked on the Acura. I don't know how he even noticed that wire lol. Definitely a wizard!

I know the feeling with intermittent issues, my 03 Bravada gives me a service AWD light maybe once or twice a month and it turns off when the engine shuts off. Only parallel I can draw is it happens more often when it's raining so it could be a wiring issue but otherwise I'm completely clueless...

i had a same generation mdx 2011 that was in limp mode aswell and it was the o2 sensor that was bad.

Looks like it's time to reseal the oil pump (and the pan, of course, as you can't do one without the other). It's a shame, because you need to take the TB off for this, which means it should have been done alone with the TB. Ah, well.

I'm glad I found a shop in my area that found me a used engine for my car that has a two-year warranty after owning the car for a year with the original going bad at 190,212 miles after buying the car at 180,000 miles. It was $8,000+ to replace the engine including some of the accessories, now it's leaking it's just one of the accessories that was not the right part and now the control arm is cracked and the cv joint is leaking after driving for 4 hours to get my new tires.

Love these j series motors Honda has they got hella potential. Had the 3.2 in my TL with the 6 speed and man that was my 2nd favorite car I've owned,regret not keeping it🤦‍♂️

Turtle has kits for making the headlights shine again, it really makes a difference at least for a year or two!

The 3.5 was for the FWD models. The 3.7 Only came in all of Acuras "SH-AWD" Models at the time. Super notorious for the piston rings going bad causing excessive oil consumption. There was a recall for that issue. Hopefully this vehicle had that done at some point in its life.

We love your analysis and inspections, however we your fans want to see that car that's is up on the lift the Malibu with a Jag engine put in it running !

On my son's 11' Escape the transfer case is also notoriously crammed right up against the exhaust like this, and also Ford insists that it's a lifetime fill. No. It is actually a 30k mile item on that vehicle. Fortunately my son's transfer case was not smoked when we bought it, so changed it with a top quality fluid, and will be doing it on short intervals. It's not difficult or expensive.

I work with a girl that had a 2004. It has the nav screen, DVD player, felt so ahead of its time.

Yes to La Diesse! I'm sooo loking forward to that!

Great SUV, all have issues. but this looks great. Thanks

That and the P2646 error on the K24 engine are pretty much the same. Same symptoms if that screen gets clogged and/or if a defect happens in that unit. That V-TEC Solenoid should be considered a consumable part for all Hondas/Acuras made in the 00s.

Well done wizard 🧙🏼‍♀️ when are we going to see more videos off the bus 🚌

Good diagnostic

Even on Sunday.

Good find.

Polish the headlight and it looks like a 2014-ish model, beautiful and powerful.

Hi Wizard! Love your channel!! Hit them head lights with some toothpaste for the customer and make it a free because we like you service :)