2012 Acura Tsx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (99) · Service Brakes (8) · Power Train (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Acura Tsx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
106 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-06-27 · campaign 19V502000 · 9,555 vehicles
Defect: 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 p
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 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.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-05-16 · campaign 19V378000 · 19,138 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-09-27 · campaign 18V661000 · 1,355,406 vehicles
Defect: 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
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 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.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-01-09 · campaign 18V042000 · 691,726 vehicles
Defect: 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 (Sai
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 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.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-08-31 · campaign 17V545000 · 3,257 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-01-10 · campaign 17V030000 · 977,708 vehicles
Defect: 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 Sa
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (30)
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.
Service Brakes 2021-02-26 · BPaS02262021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - american honda motor co., inc. (ahm) is searching for certain 2009-2014 tls, tsxs & tsx wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. to better understand the cause of this condition, ahm would like to collect spe
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 2021-02-10 · BPaS02102021903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - american honda motor co., inc. (ahm) is searching for certain 2009-2014 tls, tsxs & tsx wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. to better understand the cause of this condition, ahm would like to collect spe
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 2021-01-22 · BPaS01222021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - american honda motor co., inc. (ahm) is searching for certain 2009-2014 tls, tsxs & tsx wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. to better understand the cause of this condition, ahm would like to collect spe
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:pedals And Linkages 2021-01-06 · BPaS01062021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - american honda motor co., inc. (ahm) is searching for certain 2009-2014 tls, tsxs & tsx wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. to better understand the cause of this condition, ahm would like to collect spe
Service Brakes 2020-12-10 · BPaS12102020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - american honda motor co., inc. (ahm) is searching for certain 2009-2014 tls, tsxs & tsx wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. to better understand the cause of this condition, ahm would like to collect spe
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2020-03-10 · B20-011 · 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 front passenger's airbag inflator only.
Showing the 6 most recent of 30 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-01 · Steering“steering system failed-safety was a risk because wheel was very hard to turn-calling the dealer on monday. warning light came on right before the steering failed. …”
2026-01-16 · Service Brakes · 💥 crash“traction control didn’t work, and the large oem seats did not hug my body as advertised, causing bodily injury when struck by another vehicle, “t-bone” on passenger side. …”
2025-06-28 · Steering“on two occasions my college aged daughter was driving this vehicle when the steering wheel became inoperative. there was an error message on the dash about checking the power steering system. there was also an icon displaying with a steering wheel. luckily she was only in a parking lot when this happened and was able to stop. she was getting ready…”
2025-06-17 · Steering“2012 acura tsx sportwagon: brought car to independent mechanic who diagnosed power steering failure as requiring replacement of "power steering control module". acura has a "tsb" or "technical service bulletin" #19-021 regarding this issue. the car is very difficult to steer and is dangerous to drive because the driver is unable to steer quickly…”
2025-05-28 · Steering“a "check power steering" light on the dashboard came on suddenly leaving me unable to steer the car at all. after re-starting the car several times, the light went off. the car manual indicated pumping the accelerator may cause this symptom, and--given the light had gone off--i drove the car home. however, after trying again to drive the car, the l…”
2025-01-01 · Structure:body“while driving at highway speeds, the a-pillar trim on the passenger side of my acura tsx wagon's windshield flew off the car today as a gust of wind hit the vehicle. i had just cleaned the windshield that morning in preparation for my road trip and nothing appeared loose. while driving for over two hours, nothing had rattled or sounded strange. …”
2024-08-29 · Steering“driving on the freeway. going 65-70mph eps (electric power steering) indicator light came on. a message was also sent in inbox of car stating code such as 32 and 61. steering wheel became stiff and was difficult to steer when car not moving. went to auto zone to check out if there was any code and there was none. i change to a new battery and check…”
2024-07-18 · Steering“check engine transmission abs vsa tpms all lights went on suddenly. while i was driving suddenly all lights came on dashboard. i’ve used obd scanner to find the root cause but the problem can’t be detected. i went to acura dealer in nj and paid $250. they inspected, and said it could be this instrument cluster or that ecu. but they did not said…”
2023-08-21 · Air Bags · 81,915 mi“the contact owns a 2012 acura tsx. the contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the front driver’s side inflator had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer …”
2023-06-08 · Steering“complete failure of the electronic power steering system. warning bulletin and chime activated when car restarted at rest stop. there was no advance warning of imminent failure. steering was compromised and rendered undrivable. car was towed to a repair shop, who confirmed the failure of the steering system. if this event were to have happened…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.