Acura ILX: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Acura ILX: 10 model years scored from 269 NHTSA owner complaints and 36 recall campaigns. Worst year 2016, best year 2015.
Acura ILX: which years to avoid
Across 10 scored model years the Acura ILX ranges from 53/100 in 2016 to 93/100 in 2022 — a 40-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy an ILX at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Service Brakes (17 of them).
Safest years: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 — scored 70 or better.
Check carefully: 2013, 2016, 2019.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2015 (score 83). Worst: 2016 (score 53, CAUTION).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 93 | BUY | $3,714 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 90 | BUY | $3,882 | 11 | 0 |
| 2020 | 86 | BUY | $4,012 | 10 | 2 |
| 2019 | 59 | CAUTION | $4,217 | 36 | 5 |
| 2018 | 77 | BUY | $4,164 | 23 | 4 |
| 2017 | 80 | BUY | $4,292 | 20 | 4 |
| 2016 | 53 | CAUTION | $4,488 | 52 | 6 |
| 2015 | 83 | BUY | $4,662 | 19 | 4 |
| 2014 | 78 | BUY | $5,066 | 29 | 5 |
| 2013 | 56 | CAUTION | $5,256 | 66 | 6 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the ILX, through the years →
ILX sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the ILX on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Acura ILX
Across every ILX model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Air Bags76 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
- Service Brakes45 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Unknown Or Other26 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Power Train24 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Electrical System22 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Gasoline20 complaints across all ILX years · typical job: Fuel delivery and emissions repair$580–$1,360
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
What are the best Acura ILX years to buy?
2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2022 at 93/100, on 3 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
Which Acura ILX years should I avoid?
The 2016 is the weakest year we score, at 53/100 (CAUTION), on 52 complaints and 6 recalls. Check the year-by-year table above before committing to any particular car.
What is the most common Acura ILX problem?
76 of the complaints filed against the ILX across all its model years sit in the Air Bags group — more than any other component.
Compare with
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04