KnownCarProblems2003 Acura TL Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 391 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Acura TL, most often about the transmission (63% of complaints, typically around 76,500 miles). It is the 2nd most complained-about TL model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2003 Acura TL problems
Transmission
246 complaints · 63%Half of these problems showed up before 76,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, driveline.
When accelerating onto the freeway the transmission malfunctioned leaving no power and creating a rapid decel while merging into traffic. Car was towed to the dealer and the transmission was found to be faulty. Further investigation indicates this is a common occurrence on Acura 3.2 TL, but the dealer denies any…
Dt: consumer states he has an intermittent shuddering when the transmission shifts. The dealer cannot duplicate the problem. He says Acura knows there is a transmission problem/ they have extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. He has 66,000 miles on the car. He states this problem started happening around 55, 000…
Air bags
50 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 104,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, air bag/restraint control module.
Hi sir, I have recently purchased the above used vehicle from a local dealer in aug 2011. It is indicated in the carfax report that there was a safety recall (#r55) for a/s drivers airbag inflator. The "SRS" light is illuminated . When I took the car to godson Acura at 1750 e, airport freeway, irving texas. They…
On sept 3 2010 I was in an accident with my 2003 Acura TL type s. I was traveling around 45 MPH getting onto the highway from the service road when someone came from the far left and hit me on the drivers side front - front left fender and front light, and bumper were damaged. The passenger side air bag went off -…
Engine
22 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 86,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
Engine started idling at about 3000 RPM unexpectedly, could not make it stop. It was hard to control the vehicle when it would not go under 3000 RPM. Fortunately it stopped after about 10 minutes. Took to dealer, found problem was idle control mechanism on top of engine, it was replaced.
Upon a normal recall invitation for the air bag inflator ( per manufacturer requirement) a separate normal inspection was done to vehicle. The mechanic found the front and right front motor mounts have collapsed. I know several other owners of honda and Acura of the same year and SUV models with the same failure.
Speed control
20 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, linkages, cruise control, cables.
I was on the highway with heavy traffic and I was at a full stop on the right lane when my car lunged forward. I pressed the brakes harder and when nothing happened I tried to get into the exit lane which luckily was right next to me. Unfortunatley I hit the rear right hand side of the vehicle in front of me and the…
The contact owns a 2003 Acura TL. The accelerator would repeatedly get stuck, which caused unintended acceleration. She took the vehicle to the dealership, and the accelerator was replaced. However, the failure resurfaced. She took the vehicle to another dealer, and the technician stated that the accelerator was…
Other or unspecified
18 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles.
Recently purchased an 03 Acura TL. 64000 miles at time of purchase. I drive it using the slap stick and mostly highway driving. I notice when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gears, at approximately 20-25 MPH the car seems to jerk, or jump in the front end. Also between 3rd and 4th gears. Depending on how fast I accelerate…
My brother was driving my car one then it all the sudden car just stopped when was going and bad part was it stopped in traffic he almost got hit it was scary. I got lots of problems with this car please help!
Body and structure
15 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
The paint on all 2003 Acura TL the paint fails badly. The transmission also went out on me soon as my car hit 100,000 miles which sad for an Acura. I owned a 96 TL and never had any of these issues.
I was applying the brake due to stopped traffic ahead of my car. As I did so, the car accelerated rather than slowed down. My car contacted the left rear of the car in front of mine, and as I tried to straighten out the car, it again accelerated. Veered to the right, and struck the stone wall of the bridge on the…
Electrical
15 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring.
2003 Acura 3.2 TL on december 5, 2008 a faulty ignition switch on our 2003 Acura 3.2 TL allowed the key to be removed in any gear, resulting in a rollaway accident causing head, foot and hip injuries to our daughter after she parked the car in our slightly inclined driveway. Dealer agreed ignition switch was…
Ignition lock failed allowing key to be removed in any position and not securing the auto in a parked condition. Hence the vehicle rolled back into another car. The vehicle in question has only 87243 miles on it and this part should not fail, especially as it did to allow the car to move when it was supposedly turned…
Suspension
14 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 69,500 miles. Parts named most often: front.
Upon a normal recall invitation for the air bag inflator ( per manufacturer requirement) a separate normal inspection was done to vehicle. The mechanic found the front and right front motor mounts have collapsed. I know several other owners of honda and Acura of the same year and SUV models with the same failure.
Rust through condition on right sub-frame supporting engine, transmission, right front suspension. Air conditioning condenser drain tube drips condensation/water directly onto this area of the sub-frame causing severe corrosion and eventually part failure leaving engine, transmission, right front suspension without…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 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.
Engine
Risk: If the timing belt breaks, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the water pump and if it is one of the defective pumps, the water pump and timing belt will be replaced. Owner notification began august 30, 2002. 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 honda at 1-800-999-1009 or acura at 1-800-382-2238.
Full defect summary
On certain minivans, sedans, coupes, and sport utility vehicles equipped with v6 engines, a timing belt tensioner pulley on the water pump is misaligned and could cause the timing belt to contact a bolt on the cylinder head. Eventually the belt could be damaged and fail.
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
Automatic transmission sudden downshift
Summary
See attached report.
Questions about the 2003 Acura TL
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Acura TL?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (246 complaints, typically around 76,500 miles); air bags (50 complaints, typically around 104,000 miles); engine (22 complaints, typically around 86,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Acura TL have?
- 5 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 2003 a bad year for the Acura TL?
- It is the 2nd most complained-about TL model year since 2000, with 391 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.