Acura TLX: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Acura TLX: 11 model years scored from 879 NHTSA owner complaints and 39 recall campaigns. Worst year 2015, best year 2022.
Acura TLX: which years to avoid
Across 11 scored model years the Acura TLX ranges from 38/100 in 2015 to 89/100 in 2024 — a 51-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a TLX at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Power Train (160 of them).
Avoid: 2015 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2015 TLX, the nameplate's first year, which scores 38 on 341 complaints with Power Train at 160 and Engine at 82. Buy a 2016 or 2017, which score 78 and 84 on 110 and 70 complaints, or a 2022 to 2025, which score 85, 84, 89 and 87 on 25, 10, 5 and 4 complaints, evidence low. The 2015 carries two transmission campaigns specific to it, 14V779000 for the automatic transmission on V6 cars and 16V640000 for wire harness crimps that can cause an unexpected shift, and it is the first year of 23V751000, the connecting rod bearing campaign that runs to 2020, and of 19V060000, the V6 fuel pump campaign. From 2016 the counts are small, and Engine is the top component each year from 2016 to 2020 at 27, 23, 30, 31 and 19. The 2019 and 2021 are CAUTION at 67 and 69; the 2021 has Power Train 26 with 24V950000 for a fuel filler neck weld and 25V391000 for the brake pedal pivot pin.
Read the guide
Used Acura MDX, RDX and TLX: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2022 (score 85). Worst: 2015 (score 38, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87 | BUY | $3,656 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 89 | BUY | $3,768 | 5 | 1 |
| 2023 | 84 | BUY | $4,023 | 10 | 3 |
| 2022 | 85 | BUY | $4,218 | 25 | 3 |
| 2021 | 69 | CAUTION | $4,494 | 67 | 4 |
| 2020 | 73 | BUY | $4,726 | 62 | 5 |
| 2019 | 67 | CAUTION | $4,917 | 91 | 6 |
| 2018 | 74 | BUY | $4,880 | 93 | 4 |
| 2017 | 84 | BUY | $4,848 | 70 | 3 |
| 2016 | 78 | BUY | $4,699 | 110 | 3 |
| 2015 | 38 | AVOID | $5,370 | 342 | 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 TLX, through the years →
TLX sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the TLX 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 TLX
Across every TLX 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.
- Power Train249 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Engine214 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System148 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other99 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Engine And Engine Cooling56 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Water pump, thermostat and coolant service$600–$1,040
- Service Brakes48 complaints across all TLX years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
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
Which Acura TLX years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2015 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2015 is the weakest at 38/100, with its complaints concentrated in Power Train.
What are the best Acura TLX years to buy?
2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2024 at 89/100, on 5 complaints and 1 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Acura TLX problem?
249 of the complaints filed against the TLX across all its model years sit in the Power Train group — more than any other component.
Compare with
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04