How Reliable is the Acura TLX?

Front 3/4 view of a Acura TLX

TLX owners have made 204 complaints over 7 model years. It ranks 17th in reliability out of 17 eligible Acura models.

Our reliability rank is based on our PainRank™ system. A higher number means you can expect more significant problems. The average Acura score is 3.64 while the TLX comes in at 29.72.

The 3 Most Common TLX Problems

We've pulled together a list of the problems TLX owners.

  1. Acura's Very Uncomfortable Seats

    The seat design in certain Acura vehicles has been described as crippling. Owners complain that their legs fall asleep after 30 minutes of driving, and any long trips result in stiff backs, sore thighs, or messed up necks. Acura has been si…

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  2. TRW Crash Sensor Defect

    There's growing concern that some sort of electrical overstress is messing with airbag control units (ACU) in certain Acura vehicles. And that's a problem since it's the sensor that senses when a crash occurs and tells the airbags to deploy…

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  3. Dual-Clutch Transmission Slips

    According to owners, all the shifting benefits of Acura's 8-speed dual-clutch transmission are nullified by a defective torque converter. While Acura has issued recalls for 2015 TLX owners, it didn't fix the problem and didn't cover all the…

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What TLX Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

Worst Topics

Worst Years

Full Lists on CarComplaints.com

TLX Generations

Generations are groups of model years where few, if any, changes were made to the vehicle which means their model years tend to break in similar ways. The TLX has 1 generation available in North American markets.

  1. 1st Generation TLX

    Years
    2015–2020
    Reliability
    29th out of 30
    PainRank™
    7.49
    Complaints
    204
    Continue Front 3/4 view of a TLX

TLX Key Numbers

  1. 204 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  2. 402 service bulletins

    Documenting the process of troubleshooting common problems.

  3. 5 recall campaigns

    Time-sensitive, free repairs for widespread safety problems.

Recent TLX News

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters. We try to boil down it to the most important bits about things that actually help you with your car problem. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. Tagged
    #lawsuit
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    A proposed Canadian class action lawsuit that could surpass $1 billion

    alleges multiple automakers are guilty of using defective and dangerous airbag control units.

  2. Tagged
    #recall
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Acura is part of a recall for over 437,000 vehicles to prevent the engine from suddenly shutting down due to a clogged fuel pump.

    Sodium particulates, often found in cheap gas, can cling to the inside of the pump and increase resistance as they heat up.

  3. Tagged
    #recall
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Acura's transmission supplier, ZF, has filed a warning about how insufficient crimps in the transmission's wire harness can send the unit into failsafe mode.

  5. Tagged
    #recall
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    You've barely cracked 4 digits on your TLX's odometer, but your car might already need a new transmission.

    Acura says something happened during manufacturing that can cause the 9-speed automatic transmission to fail to properly shift into the 'park' position. Yeah, I'd say "something happened." Something like "you guys messed up."

    A transmission that can't go into park means your car could easily roll away and hurt someone. So until the problem is fixed, the parking brake should always be set.

    The recall begins in January 2015.

  6. Tagged
    #lawsuit
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    2015 Acura TLX owners want to know why their transmissions jerk and hesitate so much. It's a fair question.

    When you spend $35k+ on a car, you usually do so with the assumption that the transmission will be able to make it's way from 1st to 4th gear without acting like a washing machine filled with bricks.

What Owners Say About Their TLX

Well, I feel as if I made a 42500 dollar mistake. This 9 speed ZF tranny is without a doubt the worst shifting transmission I have ever driven. And if this is normal operation for the car as the dealer says, Acura should be responsible for a fix or replacement of the tranny.

Dual-Clutch Transmission Slips

Each time I reported a rough shifting from 1st to 2nd gear (slight) and from 2nd to 3rd gear (very pronounced) They have yet to fix the problem. I could shift a manual smoother than this 'advanced' automatic transmission system.

Dual-Clutch Transmission Slips

From the moment I bought this piece of junk the transmission has been jerking going in & out of second gear. Numerous passengers in my car have pointed out to me that my transmission is failing, as if I don't know. My mother once thought we'd been rear ended after a particularly bad thud.

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