NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
130 reports98,000 miles · Sep 19, 2019
Engine
DRIVING ON INTERSTATE FOR 8 MIN AT 70 MPH ON A 70 DEGREE MORNING WHEN I LOST POWER TO THE ENGINE. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. MY CERTIFIED MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE ENGINE LOST ALL COMPRESSION. THE CAR HAS 98,000 MI. I CALLED ACURA CLIENT SERVICES AND THEY STATED IT HAD TO BE DIAGNOSED BY ACURA DEALER. THE DEA…
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DRIVING ON INTERSTATE FOR 8 MIN AT 70 MPH ON A 70 DEGREE MORNING WHEN I LOST POWER TO THE ENGINE. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. MY CERTIFIED MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE ENGINE LOST ALL COMPRESSION. THE CAR HAS 98,000 MI. I CALLED ACURA CLIENT SERVICES AND THEY STATED IT HAD TO BE DIAGNOSED BY ACURA DEALER. THE DEALER STATED IT WAS A BLOWN ENGINE AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT HAPPENED. I CALLED ACURA AGAIN AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I STATED SOMETHING UNUSUAL HAS HAPPENED AND IT SHOULD BE RESEARCHED TO UNDERSTAND WHY. ENGINES SHOULDN'T JUST FAIL. ACURA STATED THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THE CUSTOMER WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS BEFORE THEY WOULD REVIEW THE CLAIM. I PAID THE DEALER TO TEST. THE DEALER FILLED THE SYSTEM WITH FLUIDS AND SET THE VEHICLE OUTSIDE. HE CHECKED FOR LEAKS EVERY FEW HOURS. I TOLD HIM IT WAS A SLOW LEAK AND HE HAD TO MONITOR IT CLOSELY. THE DEALER STATED HE COULDN'T FIND ANY ISSUE. I CALLED ACURA AND TOLD THEM THE TEST WAS NOT CONDUCTED PROPERLY. ACURA STATED THE DEALER CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE AND NO MORE INVESTIGATION CAN BE DONE. I ASKED ACURA WHY THEY ARE NOT HAVING THEIR FIELD TEAM REVIEW THIS INCIDENT. ACURA STATES IT'S A CUSTOMER ISSUE NOT AN ACURA ISSUE. WITHOUT CONDUCTING THE PROPER TESTING & DIAGNOSIS THAT CONCLUSION CANNOT BE MADE. ACURA REFUSES TO AUTHORIZE THE DEALER TO INVESTIGATE THE DEFECT PROPERLY. ACURA REFUSES TO HAVE THEIR FIELD TECHNICIANS, WARRANTY GROUP, AND SUPPLIER REVIEW THE DEFECT, ASKS THE CUSTOMER TO PAY TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ACURA'S POLICY TO NOT REVIEW MAJOR FIELD ISSUES WITH THEIR VEHICLES OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY IS A DANGEROUS POSITION ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WITH A BLOWN ENGINE. ACURA'S CORPORATE STRATEGY TO SUPPRESS AN INVESTIGATION UNTIL A MAJOR INCIDENT HAPPENS CREATES A POTENTIAL RISKY PRODUCT LIABILITY WITH ALL THEIR CUSTOMERS.
NHTSA ODI #11256672
135,000 miles · Aug 26, 2019
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)
THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM FAILS AND THE CAR IS NEAR TO IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER WHEN DRIVING DUE TO THE SYSTEM FAILING. DIFFICULT RESISTANCE IS EXPERIENCED IN MOTION ON CITY STREETS, HIGHWAYS AND BEING STATIONARY.
NHTSA ODI #11246385
Mileage unknown · Aug 1, 2019
Air Bags
MY RED AIRBAG LIGHT & MY CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM LIGHTS COMES ON AND OFF WHILE STATIONARY. WHEN IT COMES ON IT STAYS ON FROM ONE DESTINATION TO THE NEXT. WHEN I RETURN BACK TO THE CAR TO START IT AGAIN ITS NOT ON, BUT IF I WAIT A WHILE TO GO TO ANOTHER DESTINATION THE CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM LIGHT COMES BACK ON AGAIN.
NHTSA ODI #11241158
Mileage unknown · Jun 21, 2019
Power Train
I HAVE RECIEVED RECALL ON TORQUE CONVERTER .SO I TOOK IN FOR SERVICE BUT ALL THEY(ACURA SERVICE)DID WAS FLUSH TRANSMISSION .MY CAR RUNNING HORIBLE IT HAD NO POWER HAD NO ACCELERATION IT JUDDER BETWEEN 35-45MPH NOISE ON BUMPY ROAD NOT SAFE IF YOU TRY TO PASS OTHER.I HAVE TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE 5 TIMES TWO DIFFERRENT DRALERSHIP90
NHTSA ODI #11221816
83,000 miles · Jun 21, 2019
Engine
ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION WHEN THERE ARE NO LEAKS DETECTED UNDERNEATH. THIS PAST WEEK MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. I ADDED 2 QUARTS OF OIL WHEN I AM ONLY 50% THROUGH THE USE UNTIL MY NEXT OIL CHANGE.
NHTSA ODI #11221655
46,740 miles · May 18, 2019
Vehicle Speed Control
WHEN I WAS STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AWAITING A BREAK TO ENTER INTO HEAVY TRAFFIC I SAW A GAP AND PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. I GENTLY PRESSED UNTIL IT WAS ABOUT 1/4 DOWN AND STILL NOTHING HAPPENED. I THEN GENTLY PRESSED IT A LITTLE MORE AND THE CAR BOLTED FORWARD AT A DANGEROUS SPEED DIRECTLY INTO TRAFFIC…
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WHEN I WAS STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN AWAITING A BREAK TO ENTER INTO HEAVY TRAFFIC I SAW A GAP AND PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. I GENTLY PRESSED UNTIL IT WAS ABOUT 1/4 DOWN AND STILL NOTHING HAPPENED. I THEN GENTLY PRESSED IT A LITTLE MORE AND THE CAR BOLTED FORWARD AT A DANGEROUS SPEED DIRECTLY INTO TRAFFIC WHICH COULD HAVE ALMOST KILLED ME. THIS WAS JUST ONE SITUATION, THERE ARE MANY OTHERS. THIS PROBLEM DOESN'T HAPPEN ON A PREDICTABLE BASIS AND CANNOT BE DUPLICATED WHEN DESIRED. THIS HAS HAPPED DOZENS OF TIMES OVER THE YEARS. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHILE IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE SITUATION THEREFORE CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I SPOKE TO SOMEONE THERE AND HE SAID THAT HE HAS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH ONE OF THEIR FLEET VEHICLES AND HAD TO REPLACE THE APP ( ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SENSOR) 2 TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I PRESENTED THE PROBLEM TO THE DEALERSHIP SHORTLY AFTER BUYING THE CAR AND A COUPLE TIME AFTERWARDS OVER TIME TO GET THE SAME COMMENT THAT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE IT. LATELY IT HAS BECOME WORSE. Q#1 WHAT LAW COVERS A SITUATION WHEN AN OWNER PRESENTS THE SAME PROBLEM TO A DEALERSHIP DURING THE WARRANTY COVERAGE PERIOD AND IT IS DOCUMENTED AND AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES - IS IT STILL COVERED UNDER MFG EXPENSE? BASICALLY, IF A CAR IS TAKEN IN FOR A PROBLEM UNDER THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND THE SAME PROBLEM EXISTS AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES IS IT STILL COVERED. IN MY OPINION I BELIEVE THAT THEY DENIED THAT THE PROBLEM EXISTED BECAUSE THIS WOULD PROVOKE A MASSIVE RECALL THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO PAY FOR. WHAT OPTIONS DO I HAVE TO MAKE THEM ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM AND REPAIR IT AT THEIR EXPENSE. Q#2 WHAT CAN I DO AT THIS STAGE? Q#3 WHAT CAN YOU DO AT THIS STAGE TO ENFORCE THIS?
NHTSA ODI #11208409
75,000 miles · Apr 1, 2019
Air Bags
I HAD THE RECALL DONE ON THE TAKATA STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG, THEN IN JAN 2019 I GOT A AIRBAG WARNING 31-1 AIRBAG SYSTEM. ACURA RESET THE WARNING , BUT 3 MONTH LATER IT HAPPEN AGAIN AND NOW I NEED TO REPLACE THE DRIVERSIDE AIRBAG CURTAIN. THIS IS NOT COVERED ANYMORE, BUT I WOULD THINK ACURA WOULD HELP THERE LONG TERM CUSTOMERS.
NHTSA ODI #11192833
120,000 miles · Mar 30, 2019
Steering
I PURCHASED A NEW 2012 ACURA WITH 20 MILES ON IT IN SEPT 2012. MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT IN APR 2015. I COULD NOT STEER THE VEHICLE GOING DOWN A WINDING ROAD. IT TOOK A LOT OF EFFORT JUST TO STEER IT SLIGHTLY. ACURA DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT IT WAS ABLE TO REPLACE THE POWER STEERING RACK AND CONTROL UNIT UNDER WARRANTY. ON…
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I PURCHASED A NEW 2012 ACURA WITH 20 MILES ON IT IN SEPT 2012. MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT IN APR 2015. I COULD NOT STEER THE VEHICLE GOING DOWN A WINDING ROAD. IT TOOK A LOT OF EFFORT JUST TO STEER IT SLIGHTLY. ACURA DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT IT WAS ABLE TO REPLACE THE POWER STEERING RACK AND CONTROL UNIT UNDER WARRANTY. ON 3/29/2019 I EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE. THANKFULLY I WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY AT THE TIME. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND TURNED IT BACK ON A FEW MINUTES LATER. THE POWER STEERING ERROR CODE WENT OFF HOWEVER WHEN I STEERED THE VEHICLE WHICH IN PARK THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD MOVE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT WITHOUT THE WHEEL TURNING. I THEN TURNED IT OFF FOR A WHILE AND TRIED AGAIN AND IT SEEMS TO WORK. HOWEVER, I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ISSUE AS IT IS A REAL SAFETY CONCERN WHILE DRIVING. I CALLED THE RECALL LINE FOR HONDA AND THEY SAID THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE ON THIS MAKE AND MODEL. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE FIX THEY DID IN 2015 IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY.
NHTSA ODI #11192595
62,000 miles · Mar 29, 2019
Steering
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TL. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DAVID MCDAVID ACURA PLANO (LOCATED AT 4051 W PLANO PKWY, PLANO, TX 75093, (214) 516-7503), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NO…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TL. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DAVID MCDAVID ACURA PLANO (LOCATED AT 4051 W PLANO PKWY, PLANO, TX 75093, (214) 516-7503), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 09459640. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000.
NHTSA ODI #11192515
80,000 miles · Mar 14, 2019
Air Bags
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SOON AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V061000 (AIR BAGS), THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO DON CARLTON ACURA (918-664-2300, LOCATED AT 4905 S MEMORIAL DR, TULSA, OK 74145) FOR A CHECK-UP. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG NE…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SOON AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V061000 (AIR BAGS), THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO DON CARLTON ACURA (918-664-2300, LOCATED AT 4905 S MEMORIAL DR, TULSA, OK 74145) FOR A CHECK-UP. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 80,000.
NHTSA ODI #11186841
Official recalls
3Jun 27, 2019
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013 Acura ILX, 2015 RDX, 2005-2010 and 2012 RL, 2009-2014 TL, 2010 and 2012 ZDX, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2011-2013 and 2015 CR-Z, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013 Fit EV, 2010-2011 and 2013 Insight and 2007-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are S5B and W59.
Mar 6, 2019
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
Feb 3, 2016
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2011-2015 CR-Z, 2010-2014 FCX, and Insight, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013-2014 Fit EV, 2007-2014 Ridgeline, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid, 2007-2016 RDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, and 2010-2013 Acura ZDX vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are JY0, JY1, and JY2.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1EA19001 · Electrical Overstress
Opened Apr 19, 2019 · Closed Sep 19, 2024
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags: Air Bag/restraint Control Module
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW. The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications. The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU. In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment. FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle. Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW. These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes. An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time. In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU. This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners. Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW. The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation. The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage. There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation. The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU. If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC. Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC. All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled. In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024. With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
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