After 10,000 Miles Our 2022 Acura MDX Is Losing Some Luster

• Impressive levels of luxury, comfort and quiet.
• We gave Acura's True Touchpad a chance, but it's so frustrating.
• Acura had to replace our MDX's steering column.

The touchpad has to go

We tried really hard to give the True Touchpad media system controller a chance. Senior Reviews Editor Mark Takahashi felt the touchpad was "one of the worst in the industry. It's difficult to use when you're parked and aggravating when you're driving ... the computer-like cursor is extraordinarily hard to control." Senior News Editor Cameron Rogers agreed that it was not intuitive, and only after a month straight in the car was he finally "able to use the touchpad interface without tearing out what remains of [his] hair." They echo our general sentiment. There shouldn't have to be a learning curve for a feature you use as often the primary audio and information controller.

The steering column's swan song

An ominous groan bellowed from the MDX's steering column each time we started the car and again when we turned it off. That's because we had the comfort entry feature on, which automatically tilts and telescopes the wheel to make space when you enter and exit the car. But why was it groaning in the first place? That's the question we posed to our local Acura dealership. While we never really got a satisfying answer as to the cause of the issue, our dealer replaced the entire steering column assembly — under warranty, of course. Our technician mentioned, "This problem happens from time to time on 2019-2020 models but this is the first I've seen it on a new MDX." On the bright side, making an appointment was quick, the staff was friendly, a loaner car was offered, the part arrived quickly, and the car was only out of our hands for one day.

Edmunds says

We are halfway to our goal of 20,000 miles with the long-term 2022 Acura MDX. So far we're happy with its luxury appointments and, despite a big warranty repair, our service experiences are positive. We'll check back in 5,000 miles to see if we've forgiven its technology hang-ups by then or not.