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2012 Acura Tsx

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Tsx years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Acura Tsx are substantially higher than the model-year median of 50.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

106 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 100 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

What owners actually said

133 reports
32,000 miles · Jun 15, 2016
Vehicle Speed Control

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN INTO A PARKING SPACE AT A VERY LOW RATE OF SPEED, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND SURGED FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A FAULTY BATTERY. THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. APPROXI…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN INTO A PARKING SPACE AT A VERY LOW RATE OF SPEED, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND SURGED FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A FAULTY BATTERY. THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. APPROXIMATELY 10 MONTHS LATER, THE SAME FAILURE RECURRED WHILE TURNING LEFT INTO A PARKING SPACE AT A VERY LOW RATE OF SPEED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE AND NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,000. UPDATED 08/22/16*LJ THE CONSUMER HAS SINCE TRADED THE VEHICLE. UPDATED 08/30/16.*JB

NHTSA ODI #10874317

51,800 miles · Apr 25, 2016
Structure

ON MONDAY APRIL 11, 2016 AT APPROXIMATELY 9:40AM WHILE DRIVING ON I-15 NORTH I HEARD A VERY LOUD NOISE WHICH I FOUND OUT AFTER PARKING MY CAR THAT THE MOONROOF HAD SHATTERED AND WAS BENT OUTWARD. IT WAS NOT CLEAR TO ME WHAT HAPPENED OR WHERE THE NOISE CAME FROM WHEN I WAS DRIVING, SINCE THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES IN CLOSE VICI…

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ON MONDAY APRIL 11, 2016 AT APPROXIMATELY 9:40AM WHILE DRIVING ON I-15 NORTH I HEARD A VERY LOUD NOISE WHICH I FOUND OUT AFTER PARKING MY CAR THAT THE MOONROOF HAD SHATTERED AND WAS BENT OUTWARD. IT WAS NOT CLEAR TO ME WHAT HAPPENED OR WHERE THE NOISE CAME FROM WHEN I WAS DRIVING, SINCE THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES IN CLOSE VICINITY AND THERE WERE NO LOOSE OBJECTS ON THE ROAD. I WAS DRIVING ROUGHLY AROUND 70MPH WHEN THE MOONROOF UNEXPECTEDLY SHATTERED, ALL WINDOWS WERE CLOSED, RADIO WAS OFF AND THE VISOR/SHADE TO THE MOONROOF WAS ALSO CLOSED. I IMMEDIATELY REPORTED THE SITUATION TO ACURA OF RIVERSIDE IN CALIFORNIA WHERE I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THE CAR (BRAND NEW) AND WAS REFERRED TO ACURA CLIENT RELATIONS WHO THEN INSTRUCTED ME THAT I GO TO THE NEAREST ACURA DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE CAR INSPECTED.I TOOK THE CAR TO KEARNY MESA ACURA IN SAN DIEGO AND THEY HELD MY CAR ALL DAY ON APRIL 14. THEY DID NOT INSPECT AND EXAMINE THE MOONROOF TO DETERMINE WHAT CAUSED IT TO SHATTER. IN CONCLUSION, IT IS DISINGENUOUS FOR KEARNY MESA ACURA TO NOT EVEN INSPECT THE CAR AND IT IS APPALLING AND INEXCUSABLE FOR THE CASE AGENT AT ACURA CLIENT RELATIONS TO NEGLIGIBLY DISMISS THE REPORT AS 'DAMAGE IS FROM OUTSIDE INFLUENCE'. LASTLY, I TOOK THE CAR FOR INSPECTION TO ACURA OF RIVERSIDE ON APRIL 23 AND WAS TOLD THERE IS NO IMPACT ON THE MOONROOF BUT THE DECISION IS UP TO DISTRICT PARTS & SERVICE MANAGER AT AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY, INC. ACURA OF RIVERSIDE CALLED ME ON APRIL 25, 2016 STATING THE DISTRICT PARTS & SERVICE MANAGER SAYS DAMAGE WAS DONE BY OUTSIDE INFLUENCE WOW! THIS EXPERIENCE TO SAY THE LEAST HAS BEEN HORRENDOUS AND UNFAIR, AS I WRITE THIS I HAVE A 2002 CIVIC EX ON THE DRIVEWAY CURRENTLY ON RECALL FOR THE TAKATA AIRBAGS AND MY FAMILY OWNS TWO MORE ACURA TSX'S. I CAN ONLY SAY SHAME ON EVERYTHING ACURA AND SHAME ON EVERYTHING HONDA. POST NOTE: (FULL LETTER ATTACHED IN PDF)

NHTSA ODI #10861321

Mileage unknown · Apr 2, 2016
StructureUnknown Or Other

THE RED PAINT IS FADING IN PATCHES ON THE TOP SURFACES-HOOD, ROOF, AND TRUNK. OTHER BOARDS REPORT SAME PROBLEM WITH HONDA/ACURA RED CARS. CAR HAS ONLY 40,000 MILES, GARAGE KEPT. DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED ISSUE. OFFERED TO REPAINT HOOD ONLY BUT COULD NOT GURANTEE MATCH. ACURA/HONDA HAS DEFECT IN RED PAINT THEY WILL NOT BACK

NHTSA ODI #10853040

64,710 miles · Aug 21, 2015
Electrical SystemSteering

UPON STARTING VEHICLE I NOTICED INTERMITTENT "CHECK POWER STEERING SYSTEM". DURING DRIVE CYCLE I ENCOUNTERED FAILURE OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING ASSIST, VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER VEHICLE. WENT TO DEALER FOR SERVICE, THEY WITNESSED SAME SYMPTOMS STATED ABOVE, BUT INTERMITTENT CHECK LIGHT WILL NOT PRODUCE A FAULT CODE, TECHNICIAN STA…

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UPON STARTING VEHICLE I NOTICED INTERMITTENT "CHECK POWER STEERING SYSTEM". DURING DRIVE CYCLE I ENCOUNTERED FAILURE OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING ASSIST, VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER VEHICLE. WENT TO DEALER FOR SERVICE, THEY WITNESSED SAME SYMPTOMS STATED ABOVE, BUT INTERMITTENT CHECK LIGHT WILL NOT PRODUCE A FAULT CODE, TECHNICIAN STATED IT SEEMS LIKE A GROUND PROBLEM. UNABLE TO DRIVE VEHICLE DUE TO UNSAFE CONDITION, VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER, WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO AVOID AN EMERGENCY WHILE DRIVING BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF FORCE NEEDED TO STEER VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI #10758477

32,000 miles · Jan 26, 2015
Service Brakes

FIRST THING IN THE COLD MORNING MY BRAKE PEDAL WAS SOLID, NO MOVEMENT WHEN I PRESS IT, AND THUS NO BRAKES. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME, BUT THE FIRST TIME (A WEEK AGO) I THOUGHT I DID SOMETHING WRONG BECAUSE IT WENT AWAY QUICKLY. THIS MORNING I ALMOST DROVE INTO TRAFFIC. AND AFTER I ENTERED THE ROAD, IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE BR…

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FIRST THING IN THE COLD MORNING MY BRAKE PEDAL WAS SOLID, NO MOVEMENT WHEN I PRESS IT, AND THUS NO BRAKES. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME, BUT THE FIRST TIME (A WEEK AGO) I THOUGHT I DID SOMETHING WRONG BECAUSE IT WENT AWAY QUICKLY. THIS MORNING I ALMOST DROVE INTO TRAFFIC. AND AFTER I ENTERED THE ROAD, IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE BRAKES RETURNED TO NORMAL. I'M GUESSING THERE IS SOME MOISTURE IN THE BRAKE LINE THAT IS FROZEN AND EVENTUALLY IT THAWS AND THE BRAKES RETURN. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10678909

28,000 miles · Jan 25, 2015
Service Brakes

I WAS TOLD I NEED TO REPLACE MY BRAKES. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH 2012 TSX AT 28K MILES? *TR

NHTSA ODI #10678768

20,000 miles · Oct 15, 2014
Engine

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL EPISODES OF ENGINE HESITATION. I HAVE ALWAYS USED PREMIUM GAS. I RETURNED FOR AN OIL CHANGE (ANNUAL SERVICE) AND ALSO ASKED IF ANY ENGINE HESITATION SERVICE BULLETINS OR ADVISORIES HAD BEEN ISSUED. NONE HAD BEEN. THESE EPISODES HAVE OCCURRED ABOUT 20 TIMES WITH THE CAR. IT ALWAYS OCCURRED WHEN ACCELERATING MO…

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I HAVE HAD SEVERAL EPISODES OF ENGINE HESITATION. I HAVE ALWAYS USED PREMIUM GAS. I RETURNED FOR AN OIL CHANGE (ANNUAL SERVICE) AND ALSO ASKED IF ANY ENGINE HESITATION SERVICE BULLETINS OR ADVISORIES HAD BEEN ISSUED. NONE HAD BEEN. THESE EPISODES HAVE OCCURRED ABOUT 20 TIMES WITH THE CAR. IT ALWAYS OCCURRED WHEN ACCELERATING MODERATELY FROM BELOW 20 MILES AN HOUR. IT LAST FROM 2 TO 3 SECONDS, WHILE THE ENGINE DOES NOTHING. THE HESITATION CANNOT BE SUMMONED UPON DEMAND. ON SOME OCCASIONS, THE HESITATION HAS PUT ME AT RISK OF COLLISION, WHERE I COULD NOT GO FORWARD BUT HAD TO BRAKE. THE RISK OF NONPERFORMANCE IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND IS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF DISSATISFACTION FOR US. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10644740

4,800 miles · Aug 20, 2014
EngineFuel System, Gasoline

ON 7/3/2013, I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE BECAUSE IT HAD DEMONSTRATED SEVERAL EPISODES OF ENGINE HESITATION. I HAVE ALWAYS USED PREMIUM GAS. THE CAR WAS CHECKED, BUT THE SYMPTOMS WERE NOT OBSERVED AND NO CAUSE COULD BE DETERMINED. ON 9/19/2013, I RETURNED FOR AN OIL CHANGE (ANNUAL SERVICE) AND ALSO ASKED IF AN…

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ON 7/3/2013, I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE BECAUSE IT HAD DEMONSTRATED SEVERAL EPISODES OF ENGINE HESITATION. I HAVE ALWAYS USED PREMIUM GAS. THE CAR WAS CHECKED, BUT THE SYMPTOMS WERE NOT OBSERVED AND NO CAUSE COULD BE DETERMINED. ON 9/19/2013, I RETURNED FOR AN OIL CHANGE (ANNUAL SERVICE) AND ALSO ASKED IF ANY ENGINE HESITATION SERVICE BULLETINS OR ADVISOR'S HAD BEEN ISSUED. NONE HAD BEEN. THESE EPISODES: ?HAVE OCCURRED ABOUT 15 TIMES WHILE OWNING THE CAR. ?HAVE ALL OCCURRED WHEN ACCELERATING MODERATELY FROM BELOW 20 MILES AN HOUR. ?HAVE OCCURRED UNDER ALL COMBINATIONS OF ENGINE AND AIR TEMPERATURES. ?LAST FROM 2 TO 3 SECONDS, WHILE THE ENGINE DOES NOTHING. ?ARE INTERMITTENT AND CANNOT BE SUMMONED UPON DEMAND. ON SOME OCCASIONS, THE HESITATION HAS PUT ME AT RISK OF COLLISION, WHERE I COULD NOT GO FORWARD BUT HAD TO BRAKE. THE RISK OF NONPERFORMANCE IS ALWAYS PRESENT AND IS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF DISSATISFACTION FOR ME. BASED ON MY LIMITED UNDERSTANDING, MY GUESS IS THE CAUSE INVOLVES A SENSOR OR COMPUTER. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10626545

15,000 miles · Jul 18, 2014
EnginePower Train

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED IT MAKES A NOISE AS IF MY CAR WAS ALREADY STARTED AND I WAS TRYING TO START IT AGAIN. HAPPENS WHEN CAR HAS SAT FOR A FEW HOURS. IF THE VEHICLE IS ACCELERATED FAST IT SMELLS AS IF SOMETHING IS BURNING. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10614650

300 miles · May 23, 2013
Power Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN HE DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS HESITANT TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN HE DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS HESITANT TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10513273

Official recalls

6

19V502000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jun 27, 2019

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2014 TSX Sport Wagon, 2010-2013 ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic and Civic Hybrid, 2008-2010 Civic GX NGV, 2012-2015 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2014 Fit EV, 2010-2014 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger 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 passenger 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 F5F and Q5E.

19V378000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

May 16, 2019

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2013 TSX Sport Wagon, and 2010-2012 ZDX and 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, 2012-2014 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2013 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrectly installed air bag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal air bag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M4O, P4R, T4Q, and W4P.

18V661000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Sep 27, 2018

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014 Honda Insight and Acura TSX and TSX Wagon, 2014-2015 Honda Crosstour and Pilot vehicles nationwide, as well as certain 2014 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, California, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Honda is also recalling certain 2011-2013 Acura TSX, TSX Wagon and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Insight, Fit and Pilot vehicles, 2011-2012 Honda Accord and 2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Lastly, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot, 2011-2013 TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord and 2010-2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher 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 passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M2J and S2K.

18V042000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jan 9, 2018

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX, ZDX, Honda Accord Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot vehicles, 2011-13 Acura TSX Sportswagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord,, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles and 2013 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2012 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Accord Crosstour, Fit and Pilot, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V, and 2010 Acura ZDX and Honda Insight vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Unless included in Zones A or B above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Fit, and Pilot vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher 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 passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are B0K and L0J.

17V545000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Aug 31, 2017

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 Accord, 2010-2012 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2012 Fit and Pilot, 2010-2012 Insight, and 2009-2012 Acura TSX vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators. One dealership may have incorrectly installed the replacement air bag inflators.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal air bag inflator may deploy the air bag improperly, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are O07, Y0A, N06, G05, M04, Y01, and O09.

17V030000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jan 10, 2017

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Acura TSX, 2011-2012 Acura TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Acura ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2012 Honda Accord Crosstour and Honda Insight, 2009-2012 Honda Fit, 2009-2012 Pilot, 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2012 Honda FCX Clarity and 2006-2011 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic NGV vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Fit and Pilot, 2008-2009 Honda Accord, 2006-2009 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, and 2007-2009 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2008 Honda Accord, 2006-2008 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV and 2007-2008 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KE1 and KE2.

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.