Acura TL reliability by year
12 recall campaigns and 1,218 owner complaints across 10 model years. Best year to buy: 2011. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 3 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 10 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 39, more than the 12 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the TL aggregated across 10 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Acura TL?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2011 Acura TL scores 6.8/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2014 range. 20 complaints on file, 3 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Acura TL year should I avoid?
The 2005 Acura TL scores 5.4/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 388 owner complaints with NHTSA, 7 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Acura TL should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2012 (avoid — the steering — 1 fatality report on the steering); 2008 (avoid — the steering — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the steering); 2005 (high-risk ownership — powertrain: 34 complaints, classified severe). The cleaner years on the data are 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Acura TL are tracked?
10 model years (2005 through 2014) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 12 distinct recall campaigns and 1,218 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 39 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Acura TL?
airbags is the most-reported category — 415 complaints across 10 model years. Average shop repair runs about $1,100.