← New search

2013 Acura Tl

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2013 Acura Tl do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 124.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
Compare all Tl years →

Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

35 reports with mileage · 27 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Steering. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

1 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

What owners actually said

62 reports
92,000 miles · Apr 13, 2019
Engine

BURNS ENGINE OIL

NHTSA ODI #11196068

57,711 miles · Apr 10, 2019
Steering

WHILE DRIVING, THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING FAILED NOT ALLOWING A SAFE PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF ROAD. CAR WAS THEN STOPPED IN A BUSY MORNING COMMUTE TRAFFIC. THE SYSTEM FAILED ON THREE SEPARATE DAYS. THE FIRST TWO DAYS RESTARTING THE VEHICLE RESET THE POWER STEERING BUT THE THIRD TIME THERE WAS NO RESET. CAR WAS TOWED TO AN ACUR…

Read full complaint

WHILE DRIVING, THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING FAILED NOT ALLOWING A SAFE PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF ROAD. CAR WAS THEN STOPPED IN A BUSY MORNING COMMUTE TRAFFIC. THE SYSTEM FAILED ON THREE SEPARATE DAYS. THE FIRST TWO DAYS RESTARTING THE VEHICLE RESET THE POWER STEERING BUT THE THIRD TIME THERE WAS NO RESET. CAR WAS TOWED TO AN ACURA DEALERSHIP WHERE THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING CONTROL UNIT WAS REPLACED AT A COST OF $1,026.29. THE VEHICLE HAS 59,711 MILES. NO TROUBLE CODE WAS RECORDED AND WAS CONSIDERED INTERMITTENT BY AAA SERVICE CENTER AND LIKELY TO RETURN. BECAUSE WE WERE DRIVING IN CITY MORNING COMMUTE TRAFFIC, THE SPEED WAS LOW BUT THIS COULD HAVE OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING THE POSTED 45 MPH SPEED OR ON A LOCAL INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY DEFECT ON MY VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI #11195367

67,000 miles · Apr 2, 2019
Steering

THE POWER STEERING ON THE CAR FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. IT APPEARS THE EPS SYSTEM HAS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND WILL CAUSE A DEATH OR ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI #11193463

72,572 miles · Mar 28, 2019
Structure

THE STRUTS/SHOCKS NO LONGER HOLD THE HOOD OPEN/UP. UNABLE TO CHECK ENGINE/FLUIDS WITHOUT USING SOME OTHER MEANS TO HOLD THE HOOD OPEN/UP. FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS ALMOST STRUCK BY THE UNEXPECTEDLY CLOSING HOOD.

NHTSA ODI #11192223

Mileage unknown · Aug 25, 2018
Structure

I HAD THE HOOD UP IN ORDER TO PUT IN WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID. JUST WHEN I STEPPED AWAY THE HOOD FELL DOWN. I TESTED IT AGAIN AND NOTICED THAT IT WOULD STAY UP ONLY IF IT WAS UP ALL THE WAY. HOWEVER, IF IT I TOUCHED IT LIGHTLY OR MOVED IT DOWN JUST A TINY AMOUNT, THE HOOD THEN FALLS DOWN LUCKILY MY HEAD OR ARM WAS NOT UNDER THE…

Read full complaint

I HAD THE HOOD UP IN ORDER TO PUT IN WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID. JUST WHEN I STEPPED AWAY THE HOOD FELL DOWN. I TESTED IT AGAIN AND NOTICED THAT IT WOULD STAY UP ONLY IF IT WAS UP ALL THE WAY. HOWEVER, IF IT I TOUCHED IT LIGHTLY OR MOVED IT DOWN JUST A TINY AMOUNT, THE HOOD THEN FALLS DOWN LUCKILY MY HEAD OR ARM WAS NOT UNDER THE HOOD WHEN IT FELL DOWN. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. I WAS ADVISED THAT THE OIL IN THE 2 PISTON LIKE SHOCK ABSORBERS WHICH HOLD UP THE HOOD, LOOSES VISCOSITY AND THE PISTONS HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR HAS JUST UNDER 60,000 MILES AND THE HOOD IS RARELY OPENED. IT WAS INTERESTING THAT THE DEALER HAD THE PARTS IN STOCK. THAT TELLS ME THESE PISTONS FAIL REGULARLY. AFTER THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED, I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE REPLACEMENT PISTONS FOR THE HOOD WERE MUCH STRONGER THAN THE ORIGINAL ONES.

NHTSA ODI #11122265

Mileage unknown · Jul 5, 2018
Air Bags

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 ACURA TL. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V061000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SPRINGF…

Read full complaint

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 ACURA TL. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V061000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SPRINGFIELD ACURA (243 US-22, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, NJ 07081) AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ODI #11109702

109,000 miles · Nov 30, 2017
Steering

THE CAR LOST POWER STEERING COMPLETELY WHILE HIGHWAY DRIVING. STEERING ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MANAGE AND A WEAKER/SMALLER/FRAIL INDIVIDUAL COULD NOT. TURNING FROM A STOP EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. NO WARNINGS WERE GIVEN AND THE CAR WAS MAINTAINED RELIGIOUSLY. THE VEHICLE DID HAVE 109,000 MILES BUT I HAVE NOTICED NUMEROUS INCIDENTS REPOR…

Read full complaint

THE CAR LOST POWER STEERING COMPLETELY WHILE HIGHWAY DRIVING. STEERING ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MANAGE AND A WEAKER/SMALLER/FRAIL INDIVIDUAL COULD NOT. TURNING FROM A STOP EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. NO WARNINGS WERE GIVEN AND THE CAR WAS MAINTAINED RELIGIOUSLY. THE VEHICLE DID HAVE 109,000 MILES BUT I HAVE NOTICED NUMEROUS INCIDENTS REPORTED ONLINE ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM WITH FEWER MILES. POWER STEERING SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT LASTS THE LIFE OF THE CAR. THIS PARTICULAR POWER STEERING INVOLVES A "MODULE" THAT APPEARS TO FAIL FREQUENTLY AND CAN RESULT IN REPAIRS TOTALING $3500. MOST PEOPLE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT COST. MY MECHANIC ALSO STATES HE BELIEVES THIS IS A MUCH MORE FREQUENT ISSUE THAN IS BEING REPORTED SINCE MOST JUST CONSIDER IT A MAINTENANCE ITEM. POWER STEERING FAILURE IS NOT A ROUTINE ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #11051409

Mileage unknown · Oct 25, 2017
Electrical SystemSteeringWheels

LOST POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING. ALSO AT THE SAME TIME TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM LIT UP SAYING TIRES WERE LOW, WHEN CHECKED THE TIRES WERE AT PROPER PRESSURE.

NHTSA ODI #11039524

2 miles · Oct 20, 2017
Electrical System

TPMS CHECK TPMS SYSTEM

NHTSA ODI #11035108

Mileage unknown · Jul 27, 2017
Air Bags

HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A YEAR & A HALF FOR THE ACURA DEALER TO GET ME IN TO REPLACE MY AIRBAGS AND EVERY TIME I CALL I AM TOLD I AM STILL ON A VERY LONG LIST. SURE HOPE WE DON'T GET IN A WRECK & GOD FORBID HAVE SHRAPNEL KILL US.

NHTSA ODI #11010916

Official recalls

3

19V500000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

Jun 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.

19V182000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

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.

16V061000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

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

1

EA19001 · 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.