2020 Acura Tlx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Fuel System, Gasoline (11) · Engine (11) · Power Train (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Acura Tlx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2026-05-21 · campaign 26V332000 · 98,892 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor ma
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2024-02-01 · campaign 24V064000 · 750,114 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
Risk: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2023-12-18 · campaign 23V858000 · 2,490,460 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/Mechanical 2023-11-13 · campaign 23V751000 · 248,999 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early Apr
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2021-03-25 · campaign 21V215000 · 624,552 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.
Service bulletins (50)
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.
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-09-25 · B26-023 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - the factory fuel fill pipe assembly may not have been manufactured to specification. as a result, small contamination particles inside the fuel fill neck may prevent the primary shut-off valve flap seal from sealing properly. this may result in a fuel smell from the fuel fill neck
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-09-25 · BEBM09252026901 · Other
dealer message - the fuel fill pipe assembly may not have been manufactured to specification. as a result, small contamination particles inside the fuel fill neck may prevent the primary shut-off valve flap seal from sealing, resulting in fuel smell from the fuel fill neck area and may cause dtc p04
Engine 2025-07-07 · B22-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and engaging idle stop the vehicle may not restart automatically due to excessive cylinder pressure and/or low cranking torque. typically, the client can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting park and pressing the engine s
Engine 2025-02-19 · B24-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - the awd warning light is on with one or more awd dtcs having been set due to water intrusion into the electric oil pump motor connector area corrodes the terminals.
Structure:body 2024-11-22 · B24-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - the awd warning light is on potentially due to water intrusion into the rear differential pump motor connector area that corrodes the terminals.
Engine 2024-05-01 · B24040A · Other
service news - due to on-board diagnostic (obd) regulation change starting with 2019 vehicles, american honda’s variable valve timing and lift electronic control (vtec) on-board diagnostic monitors are now included in the egr/vvt obd monitor readiness status group. due to some customer’s driving pat
Showing the 6 most recent of 50 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-30 · Electrical System“my acura tlx was stolen on from my driveway in chicago, il. the vehicle was locked, and the only key fob was about 200 feet away inside home at the time. the thief was able to unlock, start, and drive away the vehicle without the authorized key fob. component that failed: the vehicle's anti-theft and keyless entry/ignition security system smart ke…”
2026-08-05 · Engine“- the engine system failed and it is available for inspection -while driving on the highway at normal traffic speed, my vehicle suddenly developed a loud knocking noise and the check engine light lit up. within moments, the engine lost power and became inoperable, leaving me unable to continue driving while being 300 miles away from home. this inci…”
2026-05-01 · Service Brakes“the cars emission systems and parking brake lights come on, and the dealer can not diagnose this issue properly. i have taken it in 4 times, and it continues to happen. i fear the parking brake coming on while driving.…”
2026-03-08 · Power Train“transmission harsh and delayed gear engagement, sometimes it won’t shift unless it’s done manually, few times it didn’t shift even though i shifted manually, i had to increase engine speed to about 5000 rpm so it shifts, transmission goes into neutral when trying to to accelerate while it’s in drive and intermittent vibration caused by hydraulic ci…”
2026-02-02 · Engine“pe 25008 the engine knock started on 12/22/25. motorcars acura recommended get a case number & have the 2020 tlx towed in for a diagnostic. online case # xxx towed to motorcars on 12/23/25. talked to michelle with customer relations & she was going to call motorcars for info. motorcars, without my permission, pulled the oil pan & inspected the be…”
2026-01-30 · Lane Departure: Warning“the front camera that operates the cruise control, lane assist, automatic braking, automatic high beam has stopped working. after further research it seems to be a popular problem with this car in a short amount of time. this car is a 2020 with 61,000 miles. the camera costs approximately $2000 to fix and should have a longer life span. …”
2026-01-11 · Engine“recall performed on 2020 acura tlx 3.5 for rod bearing recall. crankshaft and bearings were replaced. 24000 miles later, the engine spun a bearing again with all the new internals. all maintenance records were supplied when the car was brought in. acura is wanting me to pay 40% of the cost for a short block.…”
2025-11-19 · Engine“49,622 mark on my 2020 acura tlx awd… auto stop was enabled, car was at stoplight, engine attempted to re-engage but did not and car went into “neutral”… and the lights stayed on. i immediately turned on blinkers to avoid crash and and attempted to re start car, i shifted into park, shut down car and re-started it successfully. i am seeking repair…”
2025-11-04 · Unknown Or Other“on or about october 21–22, 2025, i brought my 2020 acura tlx (brown, 99,000 miles, vin [xxx] ) to goodson acura of dallas for a recall repair related to engine concerns. the vehicle was returned to me on october 24, 2025. shortly afterward, the car began to lag and hesitate while accelerating. on november 3, 2025, while driving to a doctor’s appoi…”
2025-10-31 · Steering“was driving on the highway at posted 65 and 70-mph when car suddenly went into 'limp mode' to under 50mph and i was forced to exit the highway after nearly being rear-ended. dash error indicated 'precision all wheel steering had malfunctioned'. took the car to crown acura in cleveland where i was told that it would be $9210 to replace two rear whee…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.