Ignition Coils For 2003 Acura MDX

 
The 2003 Acura MDX uses 6 ignition coils. Each ignition coil sits right over each spark plug. This design allows for better performance, fuel economy, and emissions. Replacing these ignition coils is not a difficult task. Diagnosing the problem can potentially be a bit confusing (aka all misfire codes showing up at once), but we can help you with finding the problem. See our how-to section to find out methods to find the bad ignition coil. We have these coils for much lower prices than your local auto parts store. We are able to do this not by cutting quality, but by purchasing large volume. This allows us to get these parts at real wholesale prices, and pass the savings along to you. Ignition coils for this year MDX are a common failure, but not out of the ordinary. What is a little out of the ordinary is that the ECU on the MDX (and most other Honda and Acuras of this generation) are not the best at identifying the misfiring cylinder. Many owners have reported seeing a misfire code for each cylinder in addition to a P0300 (random misfire) code, even if one cylinder is misfiring. Don't let this discourage you however. There are a number of ways to find the misfire including disconnecting each ignition coil from the harness one at a time. This will only work if the faulty ignition coil is 100% non functioning. If the misfire gets worse, then the ignition coil is good. If there is no change whatsoever, then the ignition coil is bad. Of course this doesn't happen every single time, and the ECU can identify the cylinder that is misfiring. In this case, you will get a misfire code for whichever cylinder is misfiring. This can be done with any entry level OBDII scanner.

 

Misfire Symptoms in the Acura MDX

 

A misfire will certainly be felt when the engine is running rough. A slight misfire can feel like the engine is skipping here and there. A heavy misfire will make it difficult to drive the vehicle; especially while the engine is under a load. These type of misfires are almost always accompanied by a check engine light. When you have a bad ignition coil in your 2003 MDX, it's best to resolve the issue by replacing it as soon as possible. While a vehicle can be driven with a misfire, prolonged driving on a misfire can damage he catalytic converter. Often times, if a coil is bad, you may get a misfire code along with a P0420, which means "catalyst efficiency bellow threshold" which usually points to the catalytic converter being bad. Often times MDX owners will mistake this for a bad catalytic converter when this code often times will comes right after a misfire. Raw fuel gets dumped into the exhaust which will oxygen sensors will detect, causing a temporary P0420 code. When the misfire is fixed, just reset the ECU, and this code will go away.