What breaks most · 1995 to 2014 model years
Acura TL problems by year
Owners have filed 2,794 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Acura TL across model years 1995 to 2014. Three years stand out: 2004 for body and structure complaints, 2003 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2005 for body and structure complaints. The quietest years are 1995, 2011 and 1998.
- Years to check closely: 2004, 2003, 2005
- Fewest complaints: 1995, 2011, 1998
- Complaints on file
- 27941995 to 2014, all trims
- Worst year
- 2004516 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 13634 fires · 103 injuries · 5 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 83kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 76Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (1) | |
| 25 | 2 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (5) | |
| 23 | 3 | 2 | Electrical system (8) | |
| 20 | 3 | 2 | Engine and cooling (9) | |
| 146 | 16 | 4 | Electrical system (56) | |
| 221 | 17 | 6 | Powertrain and transmission (106) | |
| 138 | 7 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (102) | |
| 324 | 24 | 7 | Powertrain and transmission (220) | |
| 368 | 24 | 5 | Powertrain and transmission (237) | |
| 516 | 11 | 6 | Body and structure (229) | |
| 338 | 5 | 7 | Body and structure (146) | |
| 214 | 7 | 6 | Air bags (75) | |
| 110 | 1 | 4 | Air bags (34) | |
| 94 | 3 | 4 | Air bags (23) | |
| 39 | 5 | 3 | Air bags (19) | |
| 54 | 4 | 3 | Air bags (30) | |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | Air bags (12) | |
| 104 | 2 | 3 | Air bags (38) | |
| 33 | 1 | 3 | Air bags (15) | |
| 13 | 0 | 3 | Air bags (8) |
What fails on the 2004 Acura TL
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 44% |
229 | 1 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2004 Acura TL |
| Air bags | 35% |
183 | 5 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Tires | 10% |
51 | 2 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 10% |
50 | 1 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2004 Acura TL |
| Unknown or other | 7% |
38 | 1 | — |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 5% |
26 | 2 | Shop steering parts for the 2004 Acura TL |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 5% |
25 | 2 | Shop suspension parts for the 2004 Acura TL |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 3% |
14 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 2004 Acura TL |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Cracks on the dashboard appear rapidly, starting by the passenger airbag location. First crack a week ago and now a another one......afraid that airbag could deploy or not deploy and according to many acura tl 2004 owners this is a very common and upsetting matter.
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Transmission. Recall. Transmission died while driving at high speed on interstate 76 west. Acura should replace under recall.
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Dash board starting to crack, afraid if cracks would make passenger airbag explode. Car has less than 50,000 and garaged.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Acura TL years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2004, 2003, 2005 carry the most filings on the Acura TL. The 2004 alone has 516 complaints, led by body and structure.
What is the most common Acura TL problem?
On the 2004 model year, the most-reported component is body and structure with 229 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Acura TL problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Acura TL complaints that include mileage is about 83,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.