NHTSA Complaint #11711475 — 2020 ACURA MDX

On December 4th I noticed a rattling sound when I was driving. It worsened when my car would rev above 2RPMs and before shifting. It also would make a terrible grinding sound when I started the car. I had about 1/4 of a tank of gas and thought that maybe that was part of the issue. After filling up, the sound was not as loud, but was still present when I started the car and upon accelerating. I took my car to my Acura dealership on December 5th. Within an hour of having the car they called to tell me that the engine needed to be replaced due to a connecting rod failure. They told me that the car is no longer safe to drive and that the repairs would be required in order to continue to use the vehicle safely. There was no warning sign. My only other concern is that the downshifters of this vehicle have never worked properly. I have mentioned this to the dealership multiple times and even drove the vehicle with their representative to recreate the issue. The car would accelerate and lurch forward upon utilizing the downshift feature. This would also cause the vehicle to over-rev which I am concerned was problematic to the connecting rod failure. Additionally, the vehicle has always made a grinding noise upon starting the engine, but the dealership assured me this was normal. Acura is unwilling to cover the full cost of replacement even though this vehicle has been maintained per the manufacturer's recommendations. There are approximately 90,000 miles on this vehicle.