KnownCarProblems2018 Acura Tlx Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 96 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Acura Tlx, most often about the engine (45% of complaints, typically around 60,500 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Tlx model year since 2000 and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2018 Acura Tlx problems
Engine
43 complaints · 45%Half of these problems showed up before 60,500 miles.
When driving as gear changes while hitting the gas ,my car jults as if gas I ran out of gas and hard enough to make me feel like im getting wiplash and dose it around 25mph and 55-60 MPH and RPM wil jump and go back to normal
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 23v858000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 23v751000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the parts to do the recalls repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing…
Electrical
20 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery, instrument panel.
When returning from a 40 mile trip to naples florida, the vehicle stability system displayed failure warning lights. When I made it back to my condo in cape coral, there was s total system failure locking out the transmission, inability to put the car in neutral, antilock brakes, etc. This could have been a major…
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. While driving at an unknown speed, on three occasions, the steering wheel seized while making either a left or right turn. The brake pedal was applied, but felt stiff and failed to respond. The accelerator pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to move. In addition, the electrical…
Fuel system
15 complaints · 16%When driving as gear changes while hitting the gas ,my car jults as if gas I ran out of gas and hard enough to make me feel like im getting wiplash and dose it around 25mph and 55-60 MPH and RPM wil jump and go back to normal
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 23v858000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 23v751000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the parts to do the recalls repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing…
Other or unspecified
13 complaints · 14%On 6/25/19 at 16:39 I was driving my 2018 Acura Tlx northbound on a four lane city street at approximately 35 MPH. Road conditions were dry and clear. As I approached the intersection, the cmbs (collision mitigation braking system) beeped and brought the vehicle to a complete stop despite there being no car ahead.…
This will be the 12th time where my car comes to a sudden and violent stop for no apparent reason - due to the collision mitigation breaking system activating with no cars in front of me. The last time this happened, a few weeks ago, there was someone behind me and it was a very close call. There was also a passenger…
Transmission
11 complaints · 12%Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. While driving at an unknown speed, on three occasions, the steering wheel seized while making either a left or right turn. The brake pedal was applied, but felt stiff and failed to respond. The accelerator pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to move. In addition, the electrical…
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. The contact stated that after refueling and attempting to park in a parking space, the vehicle experienced a sudden acceleration. The contact mentioned that no safety features were activated. As a result, the contact crashed into a pillar where the vehicle came to a stop and…
Driver assistance
11 complaints · 12%Parts named most often: warning, assist, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control.
The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Acura watch warning light illuminated. The adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist system (lkas), and collision mitigation warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who…
Brakes
7 complaints · 7%The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. While driving at an unknown speed, on three occasions, the steering wheel seized while making either a left or right turn. The brake pedal was applied, but felt stiff and failed to respond. The accelerator pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to move. In addition, the electrical…
This will be the 12th time where my car comes to a sudden and violent stop for no apparent reason - due to the collision mitigation breaking system activating with no cars in front of me. The last time this happened, a few weeks ago, there was someone behind me and it was a very close call. There was also a passenger…
Steering
6 complaints · 6%The contact owns a 2018 Acura Tlx. While driving at an unknown speed, on three occasions, the steering wheel seized while making either a left or right turn. The brake pedal was applied, but felt stiff and failed to respond. The accelerator pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to move. In addition, the electrical…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2018 Acura Tlx recalls
Air bags: front passenger
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.
Full defect summary
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 may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Fuel system: fuel pump
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.
Full defect summary
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.
Engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
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 april 2024, 2019 acura tlx owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-may 2024, 2020 acura tlx owner let
Full defect summary
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.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Reduced fuel pump performance can result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the fuel injection engine control unit (fi-ecu) software and, if necessary, replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began march 25, 2019. Owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's recall number for this recall is p3w. Honda's recall number for this recall is n3x.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2016-2018 acura mdx, 2015-2019 acura tlx and 2015-2017 honda accord vehicles, equipped with a 3.5l v6 engine. Particulates in fuel may adhere to the internal components of the fuel pump, reducing its performance.
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
Engine failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5l v6 engine used in the following vehicles: model years (my) 2018-2020 acura tlx, my2016-2020 acura mdx, my2016-2020 honda pilot, my2018-2020 honda odyssey, and my2017-2019 honda ridgeline.â the subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a recall query (rq24013).â it was determined that these engine failures are outside the scope of honda recall 23v-751. Further, evidence gathered in conjunction with rq24013 does not suggest this failure is caused by the same crankshaft manufacturing defect that is addressed by honda in recall 23v-751.â based on analysis of data from rq24013,
No restart after auto start/stop engages
Summary
On june 3, 2022, the oï¬ce of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe22005 after the agency received voqs and several ï¬eld reports concerning the auto idle stop (ais) feature on 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traï¬c light or road intersection with the ais function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5l engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On january 6, 2023, honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016
Engine failure
Summary
On november 8, 2024, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened recall query rq24013 to assess the scope of honda recall 23v-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23v-751. In november 2023, honda recalled 248,999 various model year (my)2016â2020 honda and acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5l v6 engine. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a crankshaft manufacturing defect that caused premature connecting rod bearing wear and engine seizure. While the out-of-scope failures involved in these complaints appear to have a very similar failure mechanism as the recalled engines, a thorough analysis o
Questions about the 2018 Acura Tlx
- What are the most common problems with the 2018 Acura Tlx?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (43 complaints, typically around 60,500 miles); electrical (20 complaints, typically around 22,000 miles); fuel system (15 complaints).
- How many recalls does the 2018 Acura Tlx have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 21, 2026 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2018 a bad year for the Acura Tlx?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Tlx model year since 2000, with 96 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.