NHTSA Complaint #10361015 — 2008 ACURA MDX

WHEN DRIVING MY 2008 ACURA MDX IN THE RAIN, SPECIFICALLY IF I HAVE GONE THRU A PUDDLE, SIMULTANEOUSLY A MESSAGE WILL APPEAR "CHECK BATTERY CHARGE" AND I WILL LOOSE MY POWER STEERING FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS, MAKING IT NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I GOT THE CAR 2 YEARS AGO. I HAVE RECENTLY BEEN TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THERE ARE MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM AND IT IS A DESIGN FLAW THAT HAS BEEN CORRECTED IN NEWER MODELS. AT PRESENT THE ONLY SOLUTION IS DRIVE SLOWER THRU PUDDLES SO THE CABLES THAT ARE EXPOSED UNDER THE CAR DO NOT GET WET AND THEREFORE THE POWER STEERING IS MOMENTARILY LOST. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED, AND IT WAS QUITE FRIGHTENING SINCE BASICALLY ONE IS LOSING STEERING CONTROL OF THE CAR. MY 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS IN THE BACK SEAT. THERE IS NO WARNING WHEN THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND ONE DOES NOT ALWAYS KNOW WHEN THE CAR HAS GONE THRU A PUDDLE. FURTHERMORE, WATCHING FOR PUDDLES IS A DANGEROUS DISTRACTION IN A RAIN STORM. I CALLED ACURA TODAY AS I LOST BATTERY POWER YESTERDAY AND HAD TO CALL ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND I SUSPECT THIS IS RELATED TO THE PROBLEM I HAD THE WEEK BEFORE. THEY DENY ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE SITUATION EVEN THOUGH I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP, MIAMI ACURA, THAT THEY HAD NOTIFIED ACURA AND THAT ACURA FIXED THE PROBLEM IN NEWER MODELS BUT HAD NO SOLUTION FOR THOSE WHO WERE DRIVING THESE MODELS. I ASKED THEM IF THEY WERE, LIKE TOYOTA, GOING TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE DIED BEFORE THEY WOULD ISSUE A RECALL. I HOPE NHTSA WILL TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND PURSUE AN INVESTIGATION IMMEDIATELY. *TR