Acura TLX vs Acura TL: which is more reliable?
The Acura TLX and the Acura TL are level on the federal record — 75/100 against 78/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Acura TLX
- 11 model years scored
- 879 owner complaints on record
- about 10 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (89/100) · worst 2015 (38/100)
Acura TL
- 4 model years scored
- 229 owner complaints on record
- about 3 complaints per year on the road
- 12 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2011 (87/100) · worst 2012 (42/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: TLX against TL
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Acura TLX
- Power Train — 249 complaints
- Engine — 214 complaints
- Electrical System — 148 complaints
Acura TL
- Air Bags — 83 complaints
- Steering — 55 complaints
- Power Train — 31 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the TLX's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the TL's in Air Bags. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Acura TLX — avoid: 2015.
Acura TL — avoid: 2012.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Acura TLX prices at about $55,100 and a Acura TL at about $20,700 — the Acura TL is roughly $34,400 less, and they return 25.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Acura TLX or the Acura TL more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Acura TL scores 78/100 against the Acura TLX's 75/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Acura TLX and Acura TL years should I avoid?
Acura TLX: 2015. Acura TL: 2012. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Acura TLX and the Acura TL?
The largest complaint group on the Acura TLX is Power Train (249 complaints); on the Acura TL it is Air Bags (83).
Is the Acura TLX or the Acura TL cheaper to own?
A recent used Acura TLX prices at about $55,100 and a Acura TL at about $20,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.