KnownCarProblems2002 Acura TL Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 333 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Acura TL, most often about the transmission (67% of complaints, typically around 53,500 miles). It is 4th of 15 TL model years by number of complaints and has 7 recalls.
Most common 2002 Acura TL problems
Transmission
224 complaints · 67%Half of these problems showed up before 53,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, driveline, axle assembly.
I have a 2002 Acura TL type s, and it has had its transmission replaced approximately 8 months ago. Yesterday my check engine light came on, and I have taken it to the dealer. The dealership has notified me saying that a part inside the transmission has failed, and is now being ordered. The part will take a little…
The auto transmission slips from 2nd to 3rd gear. The car did not accellerate in highway. Check engine, vsa, and traction lights went on. The d5 blinking. The engine was running in 2-3rd gears only. Drove to the Acura dealer. They are looking at it right now.
Air bags
42 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 99,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
Dt: 2002 Acura 3.2 TL. The consumer states the SRS indicator light comes on. The dealership states it is a faulty opds unit. The problem has not been fixed. There is a service bulletin for this. The light came on approximately 2 months ago and has not gone off.
The contact owns a 2002 Acura TL. While driving 65 MPH, the air bag deployed when the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. There were no injuries. The contact continued to drive the vehicle to her residence. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v499000 (air bags). The contact called crown Acura…
Brakes
21 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 40,500 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, disc, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Consumer complained about a brake problem. Defective rotors are causing the steering wheel to shimmy. The rotors were resurfaced no numerous occasions but the problem persisted. The manufacturer and dealer are aware of the problem but have not been able to provide a permanent repair or additional assistance.
Sudden, loud grinding sound coming from rear disc brakes. At same time, SRS indicator light came on. Contacted Acura dealer, clair Acura of walpole ma, unable to service for at least a week, didn't appear concerned about safety issues. Took car to tire/break specialist who immediatley diagnosed total brake failure…
Speed control
15 complaints · 5%Parts named most often: linkages, accelerator pedal.
My transmission died on 21 nov 2003, @ 42,500 miles. The dealer replaced it. Again, I suffered a failure, on 23 jan 2004...I thought it was the transmission again, but dealer stated it was the idle air control valve...which - he said...can mimic transmission failure due tio improper engine commands. I'm not sure I…
I was pulling out of a parking lot when the vehical floored it own gas peddal. I was able to stop by both feet on the brake, but engine continued full acceleration. Trying to get home using heavy break pressure the gas peddel released (five minutes latter).
Engine
13 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 140,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
TL contact owns a 2002 Acura TL. The vehicle was purchased without a warranty on february 25, 2009. While driving 40 MPH on the highway, the vehicle began shaking and then stalled. The vehicle lost power and shut off. During the shaking, the check engine light blinked on the instrument panel. The shaking occurred when…
: the contact stated while driving various speeds on the highway, the automatic transmission seized and the engine stalled without warning. A NHTSA recall, #04v176000 was performed on the vehicle concerning, the automatic transmission however, the recall did not remedy the problem. The dealership determined the…
Electrical
12 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 157,500 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
The contact owns a 2002 Acura TL. While driving various speeds, the transmission warning indicator illuminated and the front driver's side window button failed to operate. Hinshaw's Acura (5955 20th st e, fife, wa 98424, ([phone]) was informed of the transmission indicator and stated that the vehicle was not included…
Allege that vehicle airbag deployed causing the driver to be unable to control vehicle and/or including possible acceleration leading to a collision and/or seat belt restraint system. Received two recall notices and/or possible more than two. Srs light appeared to be activated prior to the incident. ( facts: power…
Visibility and wipers
11 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 92,500 miles. Parts named most often: defroster/defogger/hvac system, rearview mirrors/devices, power window devices and controls.
Dt: the consumer filed a previous complaint on the SRS of the airbag, odi 10137149 . The consumer refused to add this information to her previous complaint and wished to file a separate complaint on the same vehicle. The consumer was having problems with the blower motor resistor that went to the heater, the air…
Takata recall: problems occur on regular roads, local areas, cities. The car's window, the left passenger side behind the driver, is fail. It doesn't go up or down any more. It began couple years ago, and we had to to pay for the car repair person to pull it up only. Yet, it is automatically pulled down again and…
Body and structure
8 complaints · 2%Parts named most often: body.
Cracked driver's side fog lense on 2002 TL (light still works). Dealer will only replace entire unit instead of lense at a cost of over $220 - ridiculous! Other problems that have been fixed under warranty - cup holder lid would not operate correctly, bad shudder when applying brakes, loose sunroof.
: the contact stated while driving various speeds on the highway, the automatic transmission seized and the engine stalled without warning. A NHTSA recall, #04v176000 was performed on the vehicle concerning, the automatic transmission however, the recall did not remedy the problem. The dealership determined the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2002 Acura TL recalls
Air bags: inflator module
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.
Full defect summary
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 exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
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.
Full defect summary
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 as part of a previous takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Air bags: inflator module
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 after september 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already rec
Full defect summary
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, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Transmission: automatic transmission
Risk: Gear failure could result in transmission lockup, which could result in a crash.
Fix: On vehicles with 15,000 miles or less, the dealer will update the transmission with a simple revision to the oil cooler return line to increase lubrication to the second gear. On vehicles with more than 15,000 miles, the dealer will inspect the transmission to identify gears that have already experienced discoloration due to overheating. If discoloration exists, the transmission will be replaced if discoloration is not present, the dealer will perform the revision to the oil cooler return line. The recall began on april 21, 2004, for pilot, odyssey, and mdx owners. Owners of the accord vehicle
Full defect summary
On some mini vans, sport utility and passenger vehicles, certain operating conditions can result in heat build-up between the countershaft and secondary shaft second gears in the automatic transmission, eventually leading to gear tooth chipping or gear breakage.
Seat belts: buckle assembly
Risk: In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained.
Fix: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the front seat belt buckles. Owner notification began august 20, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact acura at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: the following vehicles were repaired with incorrect parts: 2002 acura 3.2tl sedans with replacement buckles installed per recall 01v-166001; certain 2000 acura 3.2tl vehicles with replacement buckles installed as product update repairs; and certain 2000-2002 acura 3.2tl vehicles with replacement buckles installed as warranty or collision repairs. Repairs were made from march 9 through july 27, 2001. Some of the noncompliant buckles were mislabeled and redistributed to acura dealers to be used as recall repair parts. Honda also determined that incorrect front seat belt buckle replacement parts were used for some product update repairs of 2000 acura 3.2tl vehicles, and warranty or collision repairs of 2000-2002 3.2tl vehicles. These seat belt buckles may not comply with requirements of fmvss no. 209, "seat belt assemblies."
Seat belts: buckle assembly
Risk: In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained.
Fix: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the front seat belt buckles. Owner notification began may 9, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact acura at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with requirements of fmvss no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." certain driver and passenger seat belt buckles were improperly manufactured.
Visibility and wipers: power window devices and controls
Risk: The auto-reverse system failure could result in occupant injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the power window control unit. Owner notification began may 21, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact acura at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: sedans equipped with an "auto-up" power window feature on the driver's door. The driver's side power window control unit can fail, and depending on the failure mode, the window could become inoperative, open or close independent of switch activation, or the auto-reverse system may not operate.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Rupturing driver's air bag inflators
Summary
This rq investigation was opened to collect and analyze additional information to better evaluate the scope and timeliness of honda's two safety recalls addressing rupturing of the driver's side air bag inflators (08v-593 and 09v-259).in an earlier response to rmd's request for information, honda indicated that the second recall (09v-259), essentially an expansion of the first (08v-593), was necessary since later information informed that the source of the defect was different than originally postulated, and so the scope of the vehicles affected changed. Honda indicated that it had relied on its supplier of the air bag inflators, takata, inc. (takata), in studying the possible sources of the
Automatic transmission sudden downshift
Summary
See attached report.
Questions about the 2002 Acura TL
- What are the most common problems with the 2002 Acura TL?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (224 complaints, typically around 53,500 miles); air bags (42 complaints, typically around 99,500 miles); brakes (21 complaints, typically around 40,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2002 Acura TL have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 27, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2002 a bad year for the Acura TL?
- It is 4th of 15 TL model years by number of complaints, with 333 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.