2005 Acura Tl problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure (115) · Air Bags (42) · Structure:body (32)
🧭 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
275 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Vehicle Speed Control:accelerator Pedal 2019-10-10 · campaign 19E068000 · 3,744 vehicles
Defect: Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain Accelerator Pedal Assemblies part numbers 699-114 and 825-5029-1, sold as replacement parts for 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2004-2008 Acura TL and TSX, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2007-2011 Honda Element, 2005-2008 Honda Pilot and 2006-2014 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The rotating portion of the accelerator pedal assembly may bind. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (
Risk: If the accelerator pedal binds, the engine may not quickly return to idle after the pedal is no longer pressed, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dorman will notify owners, and qualified service facilities will replace the affected accelerator pedal assemblies, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2019. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492, using option 5. Dorman's number for this recall is AS1019XXXX.
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.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Ball Joint 2011-06-22 · campaign 11E022000 · 150 vehicles
Defect: AFFINIA IS RECALLING CERTAIN AFTERMARKET FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS, NAPA PART NO. 2601662, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MISTAKENLY INSTALLED IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 - 2008 ACURA TL VEHICLES DUE TO A MISTAKE IN A NAPA AND NAPA DEALERS' PARTS APPLICATION CATALOGUE.
Risk: MISAPPLICATION OF THIS PART COULD LEAD TO SEPARATION OF THE BALL JOINT FROM THE LOWER CONTROL ARM AND COLLAPSE OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION, WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE A VEHICLE CRASH.
Fix: AFFINIA IS WORKING WITH NAPA TO IDENTIFY ANY OWNERS THAT HAVE HAD THIS PART MISTAKENLY INSTALLED ON TO AN ACURA TL VEHICLE, AND WILL REPLACE THE PART FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 20, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AFFINIA GROUP'S WARRANTY ADMINISTRATOR AT 1-815-759-7757.
Service bulletins (71)
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.
Suspension 2019-07-11 · DORE5C4S09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a front upper ball joint. the customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for the outer diameter of the ball joint housing being too small. the outer diameter being too small would prevent the part from being installed, and would therefore have no impact on
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2017-01-01 · BJA46167 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
sending vehicle data to tech line.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2016-11-23 · B05-018 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - navigation system information.
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2016-08-29 · TAKATA_FLORIDA D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
letter sent in conjunction with the florida highway safety and motor vehicles department to remind florida owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery 2016-05-12 · BPAS-05122016902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - ahm is investigating client complaint of handsfreelink not working or battery being too low to start the engine. prior to performing any repair, please send suspect parts back to ahm.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery 2016-04-29 · B-PAS-04292016-9 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ahm is investigating customer complaint of the handsfreelink not working or the battery being too low to start the engine. please send specific parts to ahm prior to attemping any repairs.
Showing the 6 most recent of 71 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-11 · Steering“the vehicle has been gradually leaking power steering fluid over time. i have been monitoring the fluid level and have noticed a recurring burning smell while operating the vehicle. at times, i have also observed what appears to be a very faint, clear or nearly transparent smoke or vapor that is only visible when light reflects off of it. i am unce…”
2026-04-03 · Air Bags · 230,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owned a 2005 acura tl. the contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the front driver's side air bag might have deployed without impact, hit the contact's face, reducing the roadway visibility and causing the vehicle to crash into the rear-end of another vehicle. the contact stated that the air bag exploded and propelled fr…”
2025-11-08 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“while i was driving 55 mph, on the throttle, the transmission acted as it was in neutral but all indicators verified it was in drive. the rpms were fluctuating during this & my car wouldn't accelerate. i was in the middle of a busy highway, the car came to a stop, i shifted it into park, then tried to engage back into drive with no success. in the …”
2025-08-06 · Unknown Or Other“ my wife, [xxx] , purchased a 2005 acura tl on [xxx]. the car was not inspected, it had a hole in the oil tank, was leaking battery acid, had broken control arms, wore out rotors, wore out brake pads, bald tires, vehicle stability control disabled, no ac, cracked dashboard where the passenger air bag is located, and the alignment was so bad that t…”
2025-03-04 · Tires“see attached document for complaint. …”
2024-10-19 · Unknown Or Other“the driver and passenger side mirror lenses will click randomly while driving on the interstate going at a relatively good speed. when these click and move, it causes a distraction and i can no longer see what’s coming next to me. i have to turn the mirror lenses back to their original position in order to view my blind spot. …”
2024-04-11 · Suspension:front“ball joint purchased from napa auto parts #260-1791was defective. nut supplied with ball joint was too small. this caused the ball joint to separate from the steering knuckle. after driving a very short distance the front end of the car collapsed, causing the front axle to break. the car fell on the front fender damaging it. this is the same …”
2023-02-04 · Air Bags“air bags light flashing on and off almost every day we are driving the vehicle.…”
2022-11-28 · Steering · 200,300 mi · 🔥 fire“the contact owns a 2005 acura tl. the contact stated that she had parked her vehicle and went inside a store as her children waited inside the vehicle. her son then texted her from inside the vehicle that the alarm had gone off. soon after the alarm went off, her daughter noticed that both white and black colored smoke began to emit from the vehicl…”
2022-04-13 · Structure:interior Panels:dashboard · 100,000 mi“the contact owns a 2005 acura tl. the contact stated that the entire dashboard was cracked. additionally, air bag warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.