2003 Acura TL: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the 2003 Acura TL. The newest campaign is 19V499000. NHTSA received the report on 27 Jun 2019. The NHTSA record gives the component Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module. NHTSA has 236 complaints on file for this model year. 4 NHTSA investigations name this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 19V499000, in the NHTSA record
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.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
5 campaigns, newest first. 8,503,871 units in total.
- 19V499000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- 19V182000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- 15V320000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- 04V176000Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- 02V226000Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine
19V499000Received . 3,947 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by Honda (American Honda Motor Co.). Manufacturer campaign number Q5A, Y58. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
19V182000Received . 1,101,534 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by Honda (American Honda Motor Co.). Manufacturer campaign number U40,M45,O41,G44. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
15V320000Received . 6,281,043 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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 received an inflator of a different design, and therefore are not included in this recall and do not require additional servicing. Note: This recall fully supersedes recalls 08V-593, 09V-259, 10V-041, 11V-260, 14V-351 and 15V-153. Honda's numbers for this recall are JQ9, JR0, JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, JR5, JR6, JR7, and JR8.
Report filed by Honda (American Honda Motor Co.). Manufacturer campaign number JQ9 & JR0-JR8. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
04V176000Received . 1,099,796 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Gear failure could result in transmission lockup, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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 vehicles will start receiving letters on june 28, 2004, and on june 29, 2004, for owners of the tl and cl vehicles. Owners should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009 or acura at 1-800-382-2238.
Report filed by HONDA (AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.). Manufacturer campaign number P30/P31. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
02V226000Received . 17,551 units.
Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the timing belt breaks, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
236 complaints, 269 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2003 Acura TL
- All 2003 vehicles
| Component | 2003 TL | All 2003 vehicles | TL, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 661.7 | 136.5 | 414.8 | 178 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 48.3 | 108.8 | 45.4 | 13 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 48.3 | 45.3 | 45.4 | 13 |
| Tires | 40.9 | 29.3 | 65.5 | 11 |
| Equipment | 29.7 | 32 | 18.7 | 8 |
| Electrical System | 26 | 122.3 | 57.4 | 7 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 22.3 | 83.2 | 43.4 | 6 |
| Air Bags | 22.3 | 45.8 | 66.8 | 6 |
| Exterior Lighting | 18.6 | 33.7 | 14.7 | 5 |
| Structure | 14.9 | 51.6 | 71.5 | 4 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 21.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 16
- Complaints that report a fire
- 3
- Injuries in the complaints
- 14
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 28 Oct 2010
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
| Number | Type | Subject | Component | Opened | Closed | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EA21002 | Engineering analysis | Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture | Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module | 17 Sep 2021 | Open | |
| EA15001 | Engineering analysis | Air Bag Inflator Rupture | Air Bags / Frontal | 24 Feb 2015 | Open | 14V668 |
| PE14016 | Preliminary evaluation | Air Bag Inflator Rupture | Air Bags / Frontal | 11 Jun 2014 | 2 Mar 2015 | 13V172000 |
| PE02081 | Preliminary evaluation | AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SUDDEN DOWNSHIFT | Power Train / Automatic Transmission | 28 Oct 2002 | 5 Mar 2003 |
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2003 Acura TLThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2003 Acura TL: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/acura/tl/2003/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 29 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 29 Mar 2018
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2003 Acura TL?
- 8,503,871 units in 5 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Acura TL have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 25 recall campaigns for the Acura TL, model years 1996 to 2014. 5 of them name the 2003 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2003 Acura TL name most often?
- Power Train: 178 of 269 component mentions, or 661.7 per 1,000. For all 2003 vehicles the figure is 136.5 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2003 Acura TL open?
- 2 investigations have no closing date in the NHTSA file, of 4 that name this model year.