2012 Acura TL Engine Problems

They changed the originality milleage of the car and sold it too expensive

NHTSA ID

11666017

Incident

Mar 25, 2025

I BOUGHT MY CAR FROM THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT APRIL OF 2019 WITH 59920 MILES AND THE RECALL WAS NOT FIXED NOW THEY ASKED ME TO DO A TEST TO BRING THE CAR BACK AND FOURTH ONLY TO RUN UP THE MILES AND TIME FRAME TO NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS THAT HAS OCCURRED FROM THE RECALL NOT BEING FIXED THERE WAS ALSO A LAWSUIT DOCUMENT SEND TO ME HOME STATING THEY WOULD FIX THE RECALL FOR FREE AND AT THIS POINT MY CAR COULD BRING DOWN ANY DAY I AM A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY THEY ARE SELLING PEOPLE DEFECTED CAR / LEMONS WITH OUT CONSEQUENCE AND NOT FIXING THE RECALL BEFORE THEY ARE BOUGHT. *TR

NHTSA ID

11325229

Incident

Apr 12, 2019

Mileage

59,000 mi

CAR HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY USING OIL SINCE I BOUGHT IT. HAVE IT DOCUMENTED BY THE DEALER WHEN TAKING IT FOR OIL CHANGES ABOUT THE OIL CONSUMPTION. CAMPAIGN IS RELEASED FOR OIL CONSUMPTION AND I AM TOLD DON'T QUALIFY B/C NOW I SUPPOSED HAVE THREE OIL LEAKS. I HAVE NEVER SAW OIL IN MY DRIVEWAY. CALLED ACURA CLIENT SERVICES, USELESS. DIDN'T HELP ME AT ALL. FEEL THEY JUST RELEASED IT TO SHOW THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING WHEN, THEY AREN'T HELPING THE OWNERS. NOW ENGINE HAS A TICK TO IT AT 120,000 AND I AM TOLD MY REAR CAM SHAFT AND ROCKER ARMS ARE DETERIORATING. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS. THIS CAR HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A NIGHTMARE. IT WAS ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER. MY REPAIR FILE IS INTO TWO FILE FOLDERS. I PAID FOR RELIABILITY AND THAT IS NOT WHAT I GOT. VERY DISAPPOINTED - THIS WAS A HORRIBLE ENGINE DESIGN, NO WONDER THEY STOP PRODUCING IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

11323783

Incident

May 7, 2020

Mileage

126,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TL. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, A KNOCKING NOISE WAS HEARD COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. ALSO, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES WAS NOT DETERMINED. ACURA FIRST (16 HIGHLAND AVE, RT 6 SEEKONK, MA) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 123,000.

NHTSA ID

11257463

Incident

Sep 1, 2019

Mileage

123,000 mi

DRIVING ON INTERSTATE FOR 8 MIN AT 70 MPH ON A 70 DEGREE MORNING WHEN I LOST POWER TO THE ENGINE. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. MY CERTIFIED MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE ENGINE LOST ALL COMPRESSION. THE CAR HAS 98,000 MI. I CALLED ACURA CLIENT SERVICES AND THEY STATED IT HAD TO BE DIAGNOSED BY ACURA DEALER. THE DEALER STATED IT WAS A BLOWN ENGINE AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT HAPPENED. I CALLED ACURA AGAIN AND THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I STATED SOMETHING UNUSUAL HAS HAPPENED AND IT SHOULD BE RESEARCHED TO UNDERSTAND WHY. ENGINES SHOULDN'T JUST FAIL. ACURA STATED THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THE CUSTOMER WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS BEFORE THEY WOULD REVIEW THE CLAIM. I PAID THE DEALER TO TEST. THE DEALER FILLED THE SYSTEM WITH FLUIDS AND SET THE VEHICLE OUTSIDE. HE CHECKED FOR LEAKS EVERY FEW HOURS. I TOLD HIM IT WAS A SLOW LEAK AND HE HAD TO MONITOR IT CLOSELY. THE DEALER STATED HE COULDN'T FIND ANY ISSUE. I CALLED ACURA AND TOLD THEM THE TEST WAS NOT CONDUCTED PROPERLY. ACURA STATED THE DEALER CAN'T FIND THE ISSUE AND NO MORE INVESTIGATION CAN BE DONE. I ASKED ACURA WHY THEY ARE NOT HAVING THEIR FIELD TEAM REVIEW THIS INCIDENT. ACURA STATES IT'S A CUSTOMER ISSUE NOT AN ACURA ISSUE. WITHOUT CONDUCTING THE PROPER TESTING & DIAGNOSIS THAT CONCLUSION CANNOT BE MADE. ACURA REFUSES TO AUTHORIZE THE DEALER TO INVESTIGATE THE DEFECT PROPERLY. ACURA REFUSES TO HAVE THEIR FIELD TECHNICIANS, WARRANTY GROUP, AND SUPPLIER REVIEW THE DEFECT, ASKS THE CUSTOMER TO PAY TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ACURA'S POLICY TO NOT REVIEW MAJOR FIELD ISSUES WITH THEIR VEHICLES OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY IS A DANGEROUS POSITION ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WITH A BLOWN ENGINE. ACURA'S CORPORATE STRATEGY TO SUPPRESS AN INVESTIGATION UNTIL A MAJOR INCIDENT HAPPENS CREATES A POTENTIAL RISKY PRODUCT LIABILITY WITH ALL THEIR CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ID

11256672

Incident

Jul 11, 2019

Mileage

98,000 mi

ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION WHEN THERE ARE NO LEAKS DETECTED UNDERNEATH. THIS PAST WEEK MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. I ADDED 2 QUARTS OF OIL WHEN I AM ONLY 50% THROUGH THE USE UNTIL MY NEXT OIL CHANGE.

NHTSA ID

11221655

Incident

Jun 17, 2019

Mileage

83,000 mi

OIL CONSUMPTION, ENGINE KNOCKING AND CAR FELT OUT OF POWER SPECIALLY IN LOW IN SPEED. FEW TRIPS TO ACURA BUT WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEM. I END UP GETTING RID OF THE CAR AND AFTER FEW MONTHS I BOUGHT OTHER TL SAME YEAR AND MILES AND UNFORTUNATELY HAVE A SAME PROBLEM. ITS USING 70 PERCENT OF OIL WITH IN A MONTH AND AROUND 12000 MILES...SO I HAVE TO FILL UP OIL BUT MAJOR ISSUE IS WHILE I AM TRYING TO ACCELERATE 50 PERCENT OF THE TIME CAR MOVE VERY SLOW WITH ENGINE KNOCKING SOUND AND FEW TIMES GOT HONKED BECAUSE OF THE CAR COMING BEHIND ME WHEN YOU JUST MADE A RIGHT TURN AND ALSO WHEN TAKING OF FROM STOP SIGN OR AT THE LIGHT IT FELT SO SLUGGISH .THIS IS MY 6TH TL BUT I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM IN LAST 4 BECAUSE MAY BE OLDER MODEL BUT LAST 2 2012 I HAVE EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11144446

Incident

Oct 2, 2018

Mileage

75,000 mi

ON 7/20/2017, I WAS DRIVING ON I-680 S TOWARDS FREMONT CA. I WAS DRIVING ROUGHLY 70 MPH. WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO PASS A CAR, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. I HIT THE GAS PADDLE ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND IT DIDN'T WORK. AS I FELT A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER, I PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND STOPPED THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY WHEN I CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR, BUT IT DOES NOT WORK, AND THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT POPPED UP. I HAD MY INSURANCE TOWED MY CAR TO OAKLAND ACURA, AS I DID AN OIL CHANGE THERE ON 7/19/2017. AFTER AN INSPECTION, OAKLAND ACURA INDICATED THAT THE INTAKE AND EXHAUST VALVE DOES NOT OPEN AND CLOSE NORMALLY. A VALUE ADJUSTMENT WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I FELT THAT IT'S PRETTY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ALL THE VALVES TO BE MALFUNCTION ALL AT ONCE. THUS, I ASKED THE TECHNICIAN ARE ALL THE VALVES MALFUNCTIONING, THE TECHNICIAN SAID SHOULD BE. I THEN ASKED WHETHER SUCH A PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY AN IMPROPER OIL CHANGE SINCE THEY DID MY OIL CHANGE THE DAY BEFORE, AND I ONLY DROVE 25 MILES AFTER THE OLI CHANGE. THE TECHNICIAN SAID, "I DON'T THINK SO". I FURTHER ASKED WHETHER IT'S AN ENGINE DESIGN PROBLEM THAT IS SUBJECT TO A RECALL, THE TECHNICIAN COMMENTED THAT THESE ENGINES LAST FOREVER. THUS, THEY DID A VALVE ADJUSTMENT FOR ME, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY REALLY DID. I GOT CHARGED FOR $499 FOR THIS VALVE ADJUSTMENT. I ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN I STARTED MY ENGINE (ESPECIALLY IN COLD WEATHER), MY CAR HAS A BUBBLING NOISE. I NOTICED THAT ON MANY ACURA FORUM, MANY ACURA TL OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ASKED OAKLAND ACURA TO LOOK INTO THIS. THE CONCLUSION THEY GAVE ME WAS INCONCLUSIVE. I WANT TO REPORT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY DANGEROUS THAT AN ENGINE LOST POWER COMPLETELY ON A HIGH WAY. I AM NOT SURE IF IT'S AN ENGINE DESIGN PROBLEM OR NOT, SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT THIS.

NHTSA ID

11133630

Incident

Jul 20, 2017

Mileage

70,755 mi

CAR WENT IN FOR 100K SERVICE. VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS ALSO NEEDING VALVE ADJUSTMENT. WHILE VALVES WERE BEING ADJUSTED A BAD CAMSHAFT WAS IDENTIFIED AS CAUSE OF NOISE. I PAID TO HAVE CAMSHAFT REPLACED BUT HAVE BEEN IN AUTOMOTIVE FIELD 50 YEARS SO I KNOW UNLESS THERE IS A PROBLEM THIS IS NOT A NORMAL WEAR ITEM.. I ASKED FOR THE OLD PARTS AFTER THE REPAIR. INSPECTION OF THE OLD CAMSHAFT SHOWED ONLY ONE LOB HAD UNUSUAL WEAR WHICH AGAIN IS UNUSUAL. I DID A ROCKWELL HARDNESS TEST ON THE SUSPECT LOBE AND THE VERY NEXT LOBE AND FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN HARDNESS. THE NON WORN LOB WAS 47.9C AND THE FAILED LOB MEASURED 42C. I LOOKED ON LINE AND NOTICED MANY OTHER ACURA/HONDA OWNERS HAD POSTED MESSAGES ABOUT THE SAME FAILURES. I CONTACTED HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND GAVE THEM THIS SAME INFORMATION. ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER I RECEIVED A CALL LETTING ME KNOW THEY DIDN'T,T FEEL RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I USED A HONDA DEALER FOR THE REPAIR RATHER THAN AN ACURA DEALER. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE THE SECOND EXCUSE BECAUSE THE ENGINES IN BOTH THESE VEHICLES ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME

NHTSA ID

11099302

Incident

Mar 27, 2018

Mileage

105,000 mi

MY VEHICLE IS BURNING 1QT OF OIL EVERY 1000 MILES. THAT AMOUNTS TO 3QTS EVERY 3000MILES. WITH NO REMEDY IN SITE.

NHTSA ID

11066167

Incident

Mar 15, 2015

Mileage

35 mi

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION DUE TO FAULTY PISTON RINGS. MINE IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM ACURAZINE WEBSITE HAS DISCUSSION THREADS ABOUT THIS DEFECT.

NHTSA ID

10994223

Incident

Jan 1, 2017

Mileage

95,000 mi

ENGINE IS MISSING A PISTON RING ON ONE OF THE CYLINDERS WAS OVERLOOKED IN FACORY. CAUSING CAR TO CONSUME 0VER 80% OF OIL EVERY 1000 MILES

NHTSA ID

10981051

Incident

Apr 27, 2017

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION HAS NOW LED TO 2 ENGINE REPLACEMENTS (THIS IS THE CARS 3RD ENGINE, ORIGINAL PLUS 2 REPLACEMENTS). I HAVE HAD 3 OIL CONSUMPTION TEST (OCT), ALL SHOWING THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT CONSUMPTION. THE LOCAL ACURA DEALERSHIP (AUTO NATION ACURA OF SPOKANE (ANA)), IS UNABLE OF BEING TRUSTED AND INCAPABLE OF ANY SIGNIFICANT REPAIR SO I HAVE BEEN TRAVELING TO ANOTHER ACURA DEALERSHIP OVER 700 MILES AWAY FOR HONEST AND QUALITY WORK (ANA BOTCHED THE 2ND OCT AS THEY KNOWINGLY ADDED OIL RIGHT BEFORE MY 2ND TRIP TO THE OTHER DEALER). THANKFULLY FOR ME I CHECK MY OIL EVERY FILL UP AS REQUIRED BY THE OCT AND MARK IT'S LEVEL. UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME, THIS NEGATED THE SECOND TEST (EVEN THOUGH IT SHOULD A SIGNIFICANT LOSS, ANA OF SPOKANE DENIED TOPPING IT OFF). I THEN HAD TO DO THE 3RD OCT, AND IN 3 DAYS PUT THE REQUIRED MINIMUM 1,000 MILES REQUIRED AND RETURNED TO DEALER 2. AGAIN THERE FINDINGS SHOWED EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION AND PUT IN THE 3RD ENGINE. BECAUSE THE REPLACEMENT TIME WAS LONGER THAN I COULD STAY, I FLEW HOME. THERE ARE MANY FORUMS OUT THERE WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUE. IT IS A MANUFACTORS DEFECT WITH THE J37 MODEL ENGINE (ALSO USED IN MANY OTHER ACURA & HONDA VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

10807119

Incident

Oct 15, 2015

Mileage

39,500 mi

ENGINE HAS A PINGING NOISE

NHTSA ID

10787532

Incident

Feb 4, 2015

Mileage

3,000 mi

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD TECH. BEGAN TO NOTICE THAT I WAS HAVING TO HAVE MY OIL CHANGED EVERY 2,500 - 3,000 MILES. TOOK IT TO DIFFERENT DEALERS TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. NEITHER DEALER COULD FIND A PROBLEM. IN MARCH 2014, SEVERAL WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 20 MPH. I HAD IT TOWED TO AN ACURA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD I HAD NO OIL. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ERROR MESSAGES EVER ALERTED ME. BEGINNING OF APRIL 2015 (MILEAGE WAS 33K), I STARTED HEARING A KNOCKING NOISE FROM THE ENGINE BETWEEN IDLE AND 2,500 RPM'S. AGAIN TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID I HAD ONLY A QUART OF OIL. THEY PUT ME ON AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST. JUST OVER A MONTH LATER AND 1,900 MILES, MY CAR WAS AGAIN OIL LESS. NO LEAKS EVER DISCOVERED. I WAS TOLD I WAS BURNING OIL. 1 QUART TO EVERY 500 MILES. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND ACURA REPLACED THE ENGINE WITH A NEW ONE. WHILE I WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP I WAS TOLD BY THE SERVICE ADVISOR THAT ANOTHER '12 TL WAS ALSO GETTING ITS ENGINE REPLACED FOR THE SAME ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

10722433

Incident

Feb 12, 2014

Mileage

15,500 mi

AFTER OWNING MY 2012 ACURA TL FOR ROUGHLY 2YRS, I'VE BECOME CONCERNED WITH THE ENGINE WORKMANSHIP. ACCELERATION SEEMS TO BE AT A LOSS BETWEEN 30-45MPH IN BETWEEN GEAR CHANGES. IT'S ALMOST AS THOUGH THE TRANSMISSION DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. YOU HAVE TO EITHER LET UP ON THE ACCELERATION OR INCREASE YOUR SPEED TO AVOID THAT ANNOYING HESITATION. THE SECOND PROBLEM IS WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS LIFTER/VALVE NOISE. THE NOISE OCCURS WHEN ACCELERATING, INTERMITTENTLY THOUGH. ALTHOUGH IT IS EMBARRASSING DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT LOOKS AS GOOD AS THE TL LOOKS AND HAVE IT SOUND LIKE AN OLD CHEVY WHEN YOU ACCELERATE, I HATE IT. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE NOISE, OF COURSE. THEY TOLD ME THE CAR WAS FINE. I TOLD THEM SPECIFICALLY I BELIEVED THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM LIFTER/VALVE. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS PROBABLY POOR GAS SELECTION. I EXPLAINED TO THEM I USED THE RECOMMENDED PREMIUM OCTANE/CHEVRON. THEY HAD NO ANSWER. LASTLY, MY BRAKES ARE SQUEALING, I TOLD THE ACURA MECHANIC TO PLEASE CHECK MY BRAKE PADS, HE SAID THEY WERE PERFECTLY FINE AND SHOULD NOT WORRY. HE SAID THE ROTORS DEVELOP A BLUE FILM OVER TIME, AND THE SQUEALING NOISE IS NORMAL. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT, I AM SUPPOSED TO ACCEPT THAT ANNOYING BRAKE NOISE. THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED FROM ACURA/HONDA, IS THIS BAD WORKMANSHIP OR POOR MATERIALS BEING USED BY ACURA TO KEEP COSTS DOWN ON MANUFACTURING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10643218

Incident

Oct 1, 2013

Mileage

30,000 mi

I PURCHASED MY 2012 ACURA TL IN MAY 2013. IN JUNE I TOOK IN BECAUSE IT KEPT STALLING WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND MORE SO WHEN I STOPPED AT A LIGHT AND BEGIN TO ACCELERATE. I KEPT TAKING IT BACK FOR THE SAME THING OVER THE PASS YEAR AND KEPT GETTING THE SAME RESPONSE.. WE CAN FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH YOUR CAR. THE PROBLEM GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AND IN FEBRUARY OF 2014, IT STALLED WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND COASTED AND THEN PICKED BACK UP. I TOOK IT BACK AGAIN AND STILL THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AGAIN I TOOK IT BACK AND STILL THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. WHILE WAS DRIVING ON VACATION TO WILLIAMSBURG VA WITH MY FAMILY AT 65/70MPH, THE CAR JERKED US ABOUT 3 TIMES AND THEN SLOWED DOWN WITH NO HOPE FOR ACCELERATION, I TRIED TO COAST OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD MEANWHILE 2 CARS ALMOST HIT ME AND ARE BLOWING THE HORN AT ME ALL WHILE I AM A NERVOUS REC ABOUT THE CAR. I TOLD MY HUSBAND THIS IS IT..THIS CAR IS CERTIFIED AND HAS A WARRANTY FOR 7 YEARS 100,000 MILES AND AT THAT POINT IT HAD $50K MILES AND I WAS DONE.. I TOOK MY CAR BACK AGAIN ON AUGUST 3RD WITH THE SAME COMPLAINTS AND THIS TIME WHEN I GET A CALL ITS TO TELL ME THAT I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION.. WELL I NEEDED THAT LAST YEAR WHEN I FIRST BROUGHT THE CAR BACK WHEN IT WAS JUST A YEAR OLD...I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON WITH THIS COMPLAINT AS I HAVE READ COMMENTS ON OTHER WEBSITES. BUT I HAVE SEEN WAY TO MANY OF THEM TO IGNORE THIS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10619308

Incident

Jun 26, 2013

Mileage

30,000 mi

PURCHASED MY NEW 2012 SH-AWD ACURA TL ADVANCE IN MARCH OF 2012. THE CAR HAD LESS THAN 100 MILES WHEN PURCHASED AND CURRENTLY HAS 5K MILES (JANUARY 2013). THE CAR VIBRATES WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 40 AND 80 MPH. IT FEELS LIKE THE TIRES ARE FLAT SPOTTED OR WHEELS ARE OUT OF BALANCE. THE WHEELS AND TIRES HAVE BEEN CHECKED AND CONFIRMED BY THE DEALER ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS AS OK. THE DEALER CLASSIFIED THIS VIBRATION AS A "VEHICLE CHARACTERISTIC." I'M WORRIED IT IS THE SIGN OF A MAJOR ISSUE THEY DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH. *TR

NHTSA ID

10493791

Incident

Apr 2, 2012

Mileage

100 mi