2003 Acura Tl problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train:automatic Transmission (168) · Power Train (57) · Air Bags (30)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Acura Tl model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
305 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-06-27 · campaign 19V499000 · 3,947 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 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 e
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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 Q5A and Y58.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-03-06 · campaign 19V182000 · 1,101,534 vehicles
Defect: 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
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2015-05-28 · campaign 15V320000 · 6,281,043 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that
Risk: 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.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or a
Service bulletins (187)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train 2021-05-28 · B21-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - case v. american honda motor co., inc., case no. bc 424169 (third clutch transmission settlement - $25 credit vouchers).
Air Bags 2020-03-10 · B20-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects in the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Air Bags 2018-10-26 · B18-041 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin has been cancelled because the collection is now complete. if you did the collection in this service bulletin on or before october 26, 2018 (ro date), use the warranty claim information provided below.
Engine And Engine Cooling 2018-08-09 · BBOM08092018901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - today, acura is notifying dealers of a voluntary noncompliance recall for a small number of acura vehicles due to an error on the replacement (service part) underhood emissions labels. american honda previously notified carb and the epa for this action.
Equipment 2018-08-09 · B18034 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - emission certification labels that were replaced on a small number of vehicles may have been replaced with a label listing incorrect information. the affected emission labels are replacement service parts, and were not installed at the factory; they were installed during postmanuf
Equipment 2018-05-24 · B18-017 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects to the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Showing the 6 most recent of 187 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-07-12 · Unknown Or Other“it's like when my transmission gets warmed up the rpm's will rev up and then it will come out of gear. then i have to pull over put it in park and turn the car off. let it sit for a minute or two then it will drive fine for 10 to 15 minutes before doing it again. …”
2024-09-20 · Air Bags“this complaint relates to safety recall campaigns work regarding my 2003 acura tl car's srs (air bags). i took my car to the acura service center in guaynabo, pr, for recall related repairs at various times during 2022 and 2023. the last time was [xxx]. the problem is that the acura center's initial recall-related repair may have been faulty, thus …”
2024-01-20 · Power Train“driving on highway going 65mph vehicle suddenly jerked and dropped to 20 mph. causing my entire body to collide with the steering wheel. luckily there no cars behind me. was on my way to work when this happened too far from home. so when i got at work which is thirty minutes from where i live i had to get a tow truck to get my car home. that’s how …”
2023-10-21 · Fuel/Propulsion System“this car is not safe. first, the takata airbags are in it. i drove my daughter, my mother and my little dog in this car! i can’t believe the used car dealership did not let me know that. then the car starts shifting funny. also dangerous. there should be a recall for transmission. there are over 500 people affected by this. i’m trying to enter a hi…”
2023-05-10 · Power Train · 160,000 mi“the contact owns a 2003 acura tl. the contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the vehicle failed to shift from second gear to third gear. there was no warning light illuminated. the contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal, the rmp’s revved up but the vehicle failed to respond. the contact stated that the failure had bee…”
2023-02-19 · Seat Belts“the driver’s side seat belt is frayed. the area of concern on the belt goes through the upper guide loop and into the b-pillar trim panel. when in use it resides along my upper left torso. the amount of fraying is about twelve inches in length and the width is decreased by about a quarter of an inch in one area. the issue came to my attention on …”
2022-08-28 · Structure:body“this complaint is in regards to the 2003 acura model tl, which is made by honda and seems to have a notorious car frame rust/rot problem due to designing the ac compressor drain line to dump water directly onto the cars front subframe/engine cradle causing it/them to be compromised to a serious extent that could lead to major injury and or death if…”
2022-03-22 · Power Train · 160,000 mi“the contact owns a 2003 acura tl. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and hesitated to accelerate. the check engine, third and fourth gear, esp fault, and vsa system warning lights were illuminated. the contact self-diagnosed the vehicle with a code reader and the code p1750 appeared. the vehicle was no…”
2022-03-18 · Power Train · 200,000 mi“the contact owns a 2003 acura tl. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. the vehicle then lost motive power. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with transmission failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the f…”
2022-02-21 · Power Train“unknown but transmission is slipping in and out of gear even while going down the road…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.