Is a 2003 Acura MDX expensive to maintain?

My brother used to have a 2003 TLS and I know that car used to cost about 200 to maintain when ever he took it in for anything.





How much does typical maintenance cost for an 2001-2005 MDX?|||Maintenance is mostly routine, and isn't expensive when done at mechanics. It would wind up around 100-150 dollars for most routine maintenance on the car at mechanics. Dealership will charge more obviously, so its best to avoid that.





I would strongly recommend staying away from this car. Maintenance is one thing, but breakdowns are another. This particular year range, from 2001-2006, the MDX's have a huge knack of transmission failures. People have reported transmissions having replaced more than one time, and it is not common for people to have replaced transmissions even 3 times!





The failures happen 70% on 2001-2003 models, due to their transmission not being revised. 2004-2006 models still experience failures, although it is mainly the torque converter, although the failures are not as common as the 2001-2003 models, due to the slightly improved transmission design.





In Edmunds.com, I actually started a thread concerning this issue around 2 years back, because, as an owner of a 2004 MDX, I was concerned if this problem would occur in my car. As of today, there are over 300 responses of owners complaining of transmission failures. Probably, soon there will be a class action against Honda/Acura. (Honda is concerned here also, because this exact issue affects Honda Odyssey, and Honda Pilot, and V-6 Honda Accords)





Most dealerships only cover partial cost of the transmission when it fails. The full cost winds up to be $5,000 dollars. Very rarely the dealer has covered the full cost for these cars.





Based on these things, I would stay away from the 2003 MDX. You should try to opt for a newer 2007 plus model, which has a fully newly revised transmission, which is reliable, just like a Honda and Acura is supposed to be :).





The thread which I started for these complaints is in this link:





http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/鈥?/a>








Good luck with your choice :)|||there is no such thing as 'typical' in cars these days...computers/chips go bad, injectors clog, brakes seize up, etc...if you can't afford to own the car/vehicle, don't buy it.