Towing a 2006 Acura MDX 4-wheels down

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JerArdra

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Mar 3, 2005
Posts
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ALL,

We have a 2004 MDX that we tow so I visited my MDX dealer where the service manager, et. al. all know me.  First I read the 2006 owners manual and it says that it CANNOT be towed 4-wheels down BUT it does say, in an emergency, it can be towed 4-wheels down but you must shift from drive to neutral NEVER SHIFT FROM REVERSE TO NEUTRAL.  If you go to a dealer plan on spending a lot of time finding the comment about emergency towing 4-wheels down, it's hidden.

Then the service folks told me that it is the SAME drive train that I have in my 2004. 

Also, I sat in a 2006 MDX and it has the same "VTM-4 LOCK" button as my my 2004 MDX.  This button locks up all four wheel (4-wheel lockers) when you are going less than 18 MPH in either 1st or 2nd rear and is only to be used on dirt roads or snow where the wheels can slip so as not to torque the axles.

If I wanted a 2006 MDX I would buy one because the ONLY difference is that Honda is fed up with replacing transmissions when the owner does not follow the proper procedure before towing 4-wheels down.  The bottom line is, if the MDX owner does not follow the towing procedure the cost of a transmission fix is now on the owner, not Honda.

This is probably the same for a 2006 Pilot too but I did not check out the Pilot.

If anyone is thinking of one, go to the dealer yourself, talk to the service folks, and read the owners manual.

JerryF

Here is the proper procedure...

                                                        PERFORM THE FOLLOWING FIVE STEPS BEFORE TOWING AN MDX

1.  Engage the parking brake and make sure the radio, GPS NAV system, A/C-heater and anything else plugged into the power plugs are off so they will not run down the battery.

2.  Start the engine.

3.  Press the brake pedal and move the shift lever through all the shift positions (P, R, N, D5, D4, D3, 2, D1).  Then slowly shift from D1 to D2, D3, D4, D5 (pause a second here), and finally to N.  NEVER NEVER GO FROM REVERSE TO NEUTRAL.

4.  Next let the engine run for at least 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes turn off the engine and leave it in the accessory position so the steering wheel will turn.

5.  Release the parking brake and lock the doors.

NOTES:

Before towing you must do the entire Tow Procedure (steps 1-5) even if you did not disconnect your tow car the evening before.

If you do not disconnect each evening you should turn the key from ACCESSORY (1) to ACCESSORY (0), which is OFF, or the battery MAY be run down.

If you travel more than 8 hours in one day (including stopping time) you must repeat the above procedure.


 
Hi Jer!

Having a 2002 MDX and getting ready to buy another vehicle, naturally the forst one I thought of was a new MDX.? Everyone at the dealships agree that the transmission is exactly the same as last year's, but the general concern is that Acura/Honda will NOT honor the warranty on the transmission if there is ANY evidence of the vehicle being towed regularly.? I'm sure a tow bar baseplate would be considered evidence of that.? I don't want to worry about that eventuality.

Al
 
That is the exact procedure I follow for our 1997 Accord.
 
Jerry,

We are in the process of setting up our 2004 MDX to be towed.  Did you have to run wires all the way to the brake and turn lights of the MDX or is there a way to tap into the wiring harness for this?

Thanks in advance,
Darrin
 
We tow a 2008 Honda Fit.  The owners manual does not discourage towing 4-down and the instructions are exactly the same as JerArdra points out above.
 
Kitepwr,

I do not like to cut into a new cars wiring and add diodes so I bought the Roadmaster kit where you run a separate wire to the tail lights and also install a separate new socket and bulb.  This way my tail lights are separate from the cars wiring.  Actually, the Acura dealer did it for me.

JerryF
 
Auto Industry is getting gun shy about toads. The best bible I have found is the annual Motor Home Mag. towing guide if not a subscriber , any one can view or download this guide. Gaylord  Maxwell (bless his soul) had written more then one article on this topic. I remember him saying ,"see policy in writing, don't accept any thing vocal from EXPERT'S as they won't pay for your repairs"
motorhomemag.com
 
Thanks guys for the replies.

I was able to find some older threads on this site that talked about wiring all the way to the lights verse finding the wiring harness up front and tapping in there.  The overwhelming response was to run the wires all the way to the back.  I also called Acura and go the same response.  So, that's pretty much that  :)

Jerry, if I had not already bought the wiring package I would (after reading and talking to more folks) buy the kit for installing additional bulbs.  But I don't have time to return the item and get the replacement before my installer (a.k.a. son-in-law) shows up this weekend.  So, for better or worse I will be using the diodes approach.

Harleyman, the motorhomemag.com web page gets redirected to paradisecasino.com  :(  I think the URL is really http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/.  I was reading that site the other day and, yes!, they do have some great information.

Thanks all for your help.
Darrin
'02 Alfa SeeYa 38'
 
Use of diodes is not a problem and I prefer them over instally separate dedicated bulbs.  We have used diodes on three vehicles and have had no problem in over 100K of towing.
 
The diodes work fine and there is very, very little risk in cutting into the wiring harness just before the stop/tail/turn light fixtures.  Just do it and don't worry.
 
RV Roamer said:
The diodes work fine and there is very, very little risk in cutting into the wiring harness just before the stop/tail/turn light fixtures.  Just do it and don't worry.

Thats been our experience.
 
I JUST FOUND THE RV FORUM AND I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER CONCERNING THE 2006 ACURA MDX AWD.  I PURCHASED THE 06 MDX FROM DATA I REC. FROM REMCO (OK TO TOW 4-WHEELS DOWN).  AFTER I PURCHASED THE MDX I THEN FOUND THE STATEMENT IN THE MANUEL THAT STATED EMERGENCY TOW ONLY.  I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY FEED-BACK FROM ANYONE THAT HAS EXPERIENCE (GOOD OR BAD) WITH THIS VEHICLE. 

THANKS IN ADVANCE, GEORGEO
 
Hi Georgeo,

We have several members who have towed the MDX all 4 down, and hopefully they will respond.

Meanwhile, any chance you could turn off the caps lock on your computer; Reading all uppercase is tough on my old eyes. Thanks.
 
There is at least one member here that tows an MDX and they have no issues.  Hopefully they will see your message and responde.
 
We have a 2004 MDX and it tows just great.  Yes, 2005 also is towable.  In 2006 Honda dropped the warranty for towing, although we were told it is the same transmission as in previous years.  In 2007 the transmission was changed and it definitely is not towable.  We have discussed the MDX numerous times on other threads so may I suggest that you go to the red search button on the main message board page and search on MDX.  After checking previous comments please come back with specific questions.  It's very complex, especially because it involves whether a warranty will be honored and, obviously, none of us can speak for Honda.  By the way, it might also be good to go back to the original message that started this thread and follow it through.  It explains a lot.

ArdraF
 
Georgeo,

Go back to the first post in this thread.  Yes you can tow the 2006 MDX.  We have towed our 2004 MDX for over 30,000 miles with NO problems; just follow what I said in the first post above. 

Best regards,
JerryF
 
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