Owner-reported complaints naming the powertrain system, filed with NHTSA
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Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 Acura TLX submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 17 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Vehicle has been recalled for a speed sensor issue that still persists. Recall repair was NOT properly executed. Vehicle engine still randomly shuts off while in idle at stoplights and during travel. Engine won’t start at this point.
Car experiences intermittent electrical system failure. Upon failure, drivers will experiance random and rapid clicking, clanking, and electrical systems discharging like lights, screens, and alarm. After restarting the car, users will find, all warning lights displayed with a few blinking: transmission, parking brake, traction control, a few more. Headlights will randomly turn on, as well as the alarm, intermittently. All ADAS offline. Experienced sudden system failure causing all ADAS to fail while stationary/parked or moving/(actively driving on highway). Does actively affect driving ability more specifically: disrupts steering ability, causes random malfunctions with electrical components, cannot exceed 40 mph, car will not shift above 3rd gear, engine does seem much louder. After a thorough investigation/diagnosis with the dealership I concluded the main fault is due to the "Smart Power Control Unit" located behind the glovebox compartment of the vehicle. More specifically, one of the chips on the circuit board is not fully coated with sealant from the factory, leading to a potential for some kind of mold, dust, or organic growth to form and short one of the ground pins on the end of the chip. Driver States: This is a control unit failure, I believe a small short on a single ground pin with the positively charged chip housing was causing a short within the control unit circuit board where the chip was not fully covered with non-conductive coating/sealant. This caused a handful of issues, like electrical systems prematurely wearing due to rapid discharge of electronics. Impairs drivers ability and ability in turning, braking, and accelerating. Also car will roll backwards if driver is not careful. BIGGEST CONCERNS: FIRE, partial loss of control while driving, and premature wear on electrical components. A extra note: Disconnecting battery does temporarily fix issue but rarely, most time it will start discharging electrical systems immediately or in the day.
I was driving on highway 3 weeks ago and all of a sudden my car shifted into neutral on its own and would not let me select any gears. Luckily I was safely able to pull over to the shoulder without getting rear ended. Once I powered off the car and restarted, it let me select "D" drive gear again and behaved normally. I contacted Acura dealer and they said it is a software issue and Acura is aware of it and no fix is available at this time. Then it happened again 3 days ago while I was turning into a parking lot and this time I took it to dealer service department. They checked but could do nothing about it other than clean gear selector push buttons which does not solve the issue. My car has had all recommended maintenance including transmission fluid change done about 5000 miles ago. This is an extremely serious issue and could have resulted in major accident on highway resulting in injuries or death.
Auto start-stop system failed on several occasions, the car shut itself down Since then every time I start the cat I disable it. Transmission feels clunky, there is kick to it between 2nd and 3rd gear, many complaints found on the web. Bought the car with 16xxx miles 2 years old.
AFTER COMPLETING GROCERY SHOPPING IN WALMART I RETUNED TO MY PARKED VEHICLE IN THE PARKING LOT AND, TO MY HORROR THE CERTIFIED PREOWNED 2017 ACURA TLX THAT I JUST TOOK DELIVERY ON 12/23/20 WOULD NOT START. GOT ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FOR JUMP START, CAR STARTED BUT COULD NOT PUT IN REVERSE, DRIVE, OR NEUTRAL. DASH PANEL WAS LIT UP WITH MULTIPLE WARNINGS INDICATED. THIS HAPPENED ON A SUNDAY SO HAD TO HAVE VEHICLE TOWED TO MY RESIDENCE A MILE AWAY BECAUSE DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT OPENED FOR ME TO TOW THERE. DISGUSTINGLY I DID NOT MAKE A FULL MONTH FROM DELIVERY DATE BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. I WAS FORCED TO TOW THE VEHICLE TO MY RESIDENCE A MILE AWAY, DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE OVERNIGHT IN THE PARKING LOT FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. IN FACT, COULD NOT EVEN LOCK THE VEHICLE. HAVING THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP TOMORROW TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. HOPEFULLY GET A PERMANENT FIX. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE UNCOVERED MULTIPLE INSTANCES ON THE INTERNET DESCRIBING THIS VERY SAME ISSUE THAT HAD I KNOWN PRIOR TO MAKING THE PURCHASE I WOULD HAVE GIVEN STRONG CONSIDERATIONS TO "NOT" BUYING THIS VEHICLE.
JERKING FROM TRANSMISSION. WHEN A STOP AND GO MOTION IT FEELS LIKE GETTING REAR ENDED. MY TRANSMISSION IS AUTOMATIC AND WHEN DOING A QUICK STOP AND GO THE JERK AND ACCELERATION FEEL LIKE I WAS DRIVING MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLE
ON THE INTERSTATE GOING 75 MPH, CARS THROWS ITSELF INTO NEUTRAL AND COMPLETELY LOSES POWER. WARNING LIGHTS COME ON SAYING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION, ELECTRIC BRAKE, AND EMISSION SYSTEM. CAR COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND IS COMPLETELY DEAD, BUT DASHBOARD LIGHTS ARE ON. CAR IS LOCKED IN NEUTRAL AND CANNOT BE SHIFTED. SAT WAITING FOR A TOW FOR 30 MINUTES, CARS CAN NOW BE TURNED OFF, THEN RESTARTED AND SUDDENLY IT CAN BE DRIVEN AGAIN. VERY DANGEROUS AND I WAS NOT HAPPY WITH DEALERS EXPLANATION AS TO WHAT CAUSED PROBLEM. FIRST THEY SAID IT FUEL PUMP, THEN A SOFTWARE ISSUE. SINCE I BROUGHT IT TO DEALER, TRANSMISSION NOW DOES NOT SEEM TO SHIFT PROPERLY, ITS VERY JERKY. THE CAR IS VERY DANGEROUS TO TAKE ON THE INTERSTATE. THIS ALL HAPPENED WHEN IT WAS 90 DEGREES OUTSIDE, A VERY HOT DAY.
IN 2017 I HAD THE CAR LOSE THROTTLE POWER WHEN PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL AND EVERY LIGHT IN THE CAR BEGAN TO FLASH. I LET OFF THE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES AND TRIED ACCELERATING AGAIN AND THIS DID NOT WORK. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE, PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED IT OFF. AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES OR SO OF TRYING THE CAR FINALLY STARTED. BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS STILL ON AND SO WAS THE WARNING OF "EMISSIONS SYSTEM PROBLEM" AND "EMERGENCY PARKING BREAK PROBLEM". THE NEXT DAY I DROPPED THE CAR OFF AT ACURA. THEY CALLED THE NEXT DAY AND TOLD ME THE CAR HAD MALFUNCTIONED AND TRIPPED THE SENSORS BUT THEY CLEARED THE CODES AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE. THEY ALSO TRIED TO BLAME MY LENGTHY ROADTRIP FOR THE MALFUNCTION. WHEN YOU SPEND 40,000 DOLLARS ON A CAR THAT HAS 6,000 MILES ON IT YOU DO NOT EXPECT A "MALFUNCTION" BUT I ACCEPTED THE RESULT AND WALKED AWAY. IN 2018 IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THE LIGHTS BEGAN TO FLASH AND I LOST ALL THROTTLE RESPONE. BUT SUDDENLY THE CAR DOWNSHIFTED INTO 4TH GEAR(GOING 60MPH) AND WAS SITTING AT ABOUT 4500 RPMS AND I WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT BUT REGAINED THROTTLE RESPONSE SO I PULLED OVER. I ALLOWED THE CAR TO SIT FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND THE CAR STARTED WITH NO PROBLEMS. I DID NOT TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALER THIS TIME BECAUSE ALL OF THE LIGHTS HAD CLEARED OVERNIGHT. IN JUNE 2019 THIS HAD HAPPENED AGAIN FOR THE LAST TIME AND I TOOK THE CAR STRAIGHT BACK TO ACURA AND TOLD THEM TO FIGURE IT OUT. THEY CALLED ME 2 DAYS LATER AND TOLD ME THEY HAD TO UPDATE MY TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. THAT WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND SAID THEY FIXED IT. SO I ASSUMED THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED AND I WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY. BUT NOW JUST THE OTHER DAY AUGUST 19TH 2019 THE THROTTLE LOST COMPLETE POWER AGAIN EXCEPT THIS TIME NO LIGHTS CAME ON. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON WITH NO ISSUES. COULD YOU PLEASE HELP WITH THIS MATTER. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOU TIME!
VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 60MPH ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REVVED TO THE REDLINE. A 'TRANSMISSION TOO HOT' NOTIFICATION CAME UP ON THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY. VEHICLE HAD NO POWER AND WAS UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. VEHICLE KEPT REVVING UNTIL IT WAS PULLED TO THE SIDE AND SHUT DOWN. AFTER THAT, WE WERE UNABLE TO START THE VEHICLE. CAR WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP AND WAS DIAGNOSED. LATER, THEY TOOK OUT THE ENGINE AND CONFIRMED THAT THE FLYWHEEL HAD BEEN SHEARED OFF. VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY, SO ACURA REFUSED TO TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY, ALTHOUGH THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT.
VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY IN VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC WHEN BRAKES WERE EMPLOYED AND VEHICLE DID NOT STOP BUT GRINDER FORWARD, HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT.
WENT TO ACCELERATE AND NOTHING HAPPENED. EVERY ERROR MESSAGE THAT COULD BE DISPLAYED WAS FLASHING. ENGINE, PARKING BRAKE, EMISSION, SIDE WARNING, TRANSMISSION, (ALL) AND WAS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR AND WOULD NOT SHIFT UP. (RPM SHOULD HAVE BEEN 2000, BUT WAS 4000 AT 70MPH.) AFTER 4 MILES I COULD STOP BUT NO REVERSE. TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, REST, TURN ON, REVERSE WOULD WORK, CAR PERFORMED NORMAL, WITH ALL THE WARNINGS STILL DISPLAYED. CONTINUED TO DESTINATION OR 200+ MILES AND SEVERAL STOPS, ALL WARNINGS WHERE RESET. *TR CONSUMER HAS SUBMITTED 2 EQ'S RELATED TO THE SAME ISSUE 11207694 & 11217044 ARE THE SAME. *JB
THE LAST SAFETY RECALL DID NOT FIX A BASIC PROBLEM. THIS IS A BUG IN THE SOFTWARE THAT IS VERY UNLIKELY TO BE FIXED AT THE DEALER WITHOUT A SOFTWARE FIX. ITS NOT MECHANICAL AND WILL NOT HAPPEN DURING A DRIVE TEST. (COMPLETELY RANDOM) PROBLEM: COASTING OR DEACCELERATING AND STEPPING ON THE GAS WILL CAUSE THE TRANSMISSION TO GO INTO NEUTRAL, DISCONNECT FROM THE ENGINE. THE SAME EFFECT IF THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. AFTER 1-2 SECONDS IT WILL RECOVER. *TR*JB CONSUMER STATED BUG IN THE ACURA SOFTWARE SECOND EXPERIENCE: WENT TO ACCELERATE AND NOTHING HAPPENED. EVERY ERROR MESSAGE THAT COULD BE DISPLAYED WAS FLASHING. ENGINE, PARKING BRAKE, EMISSION, SIDE WARNING, TRANSMISSION, (ALL)AND WAS STUCK IN 3RD GEAR (LOW GEAR) AND WOULD NOT SHIFT UP OR DOWN. (RPM SHOULD HAVE BEEN 2000, BUT WAS 4000 AT 70MPH.) FOUND AN OFF RAMP AFTER 6 MILES TO PULL OFF AND SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE TO RESET THE COMPUTER. TURNED THE ENGINE ON, AND NORMAL OPERATION AND ALL THE WARNINGS STILL DISPLAYED. CONTINUED TO DESTINATION OR 200+ MILES AND SEVERAL STOPS, ALL WARNINGS WHERE RESET. THIS WILL HAPPEN DURING AN 8 HOUR TRIP AT LEAST ONCE. CRUISE CONTROL IS ON AND FAIRLY FLAT AND EASY DRIVE FOR 20-30 MIN. THE ENGINE IS IN ITS MOST ECONOMIC CONDITION FOR 20 TO 30 MIN. PULL INTO TRAFFIC AN ACCELERATE, RPM DROPS, TRANSMISSION IS IN NEUTRAL, AND COSTING FOR 2-3 SEC. THEN IT SHIFTS TO 3RD GEAR (4000 RPM) AT 70MPH AND STAYS THERE, UNTIL RESET.*JB
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 ACURA TLX. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO PASS A VEHICLE ON THE LEFT, BUT THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE DECELERATED. THE CONTACT HAD TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SHOULDER. THE VEHICLE BECAME STUCK IN NEUTRAL AND MULTIPLE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THOMAS ACURA (580 S CITRUS AVE, COVINA, CA 91723, (626) 915-1602) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS SCHEDULED TO BE REPAIRED, BUT IT HAD NOT YET BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,600. *DT
I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING DOWN AND UP A GEAR WHEN IT SHOULD. THIS HAPPENS AT SPEEDS 5 MPH TO 40 MPH WITH GEARS 1ST THROUGH 5TH. A GREAT EXAMPLE IS WHEN I ACCELERATE FROM ROLLING AT 5 TO MPH, PRESS ON THE GAS TO SPEED UP AND IT WILL NOT DOWN SHIFT FROM 4TH OR 5TH GEAR TO SPEED UP, IT STAYS IN 4TH OR 5TH GEAR AT AROUND 1200 RPMS AS IT SPEEDS UP AS TO 40MPH. EVEN IF I HAVE MY FOOT TO THE FLOOR IT STAYS IN THAT GEAR UNLESS I USE THE PADDLE SHIFTER TO FORCE IT INTO A LOWER GEAR TO SPEED UP. I HAVE HAD THE CAR IN ACURA SERVICE TWICE NOW FOR THIS AND ABOUT TO TAKE IT IN A THIRD TIME FOR THIS. IT HAS ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. IMAGINE TURNING TO OFF A HIGHWAY, SEEING ONCOMING VEHICLES AND WHEN YOU HIT THE GAS TO CROSS YOU EXPECT IT TO ACCELERATE BUT INSTEAD YOU GET HESITATION TO THE POINT THAT IF IT WERE ANY WORSE YOU'D THINK THE CAR STALLED. THIS IS IN NORMAL MODE, WHEN IT IS IN SPORT PLUS MODE THIS ISSUE IS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT. I BOUGHT THE V6 FOR THE EXTRA POWER BUT AT TIMES IT SEEMS AS IF ITS ONLY A 2 CYLINDER ENGINE. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A SAFETY RISK AND WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. THIS HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK AND IS MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF STARTING THE CAR. THIS STILL HAPPENS EVEN AFTER TAKING IT IN FOR THE FUEL PUMP RECALL FROM JANUARY 2019.
THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD WHEN CHANGING GEARS. FEELS LIKE YOU BEEN REAR ENDED. ESPECIALLY AT LOW SPEEDS OR TRAFFIC
THIS CAR LUNGES/JERKS WHILE THE TRANSMISSION IS CHANGING/SHIFTING GEARS WHEN IN SLOWER SPEEDS, IT ALSO FEELS LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED WHEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP THEN LUNGES FORWARD WHILE IT HAS ALREADY COME TO A STOP
I WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH IN IOWA ON A 4-LANE (NON-INTERSTATE) WHEN MULTIPLE FAULT LIGHTS APPEARED ON THE VEHICLE DASH, AND THE ON-BOARD COMPUTER ABRUPTLY SLOWED THE VEHICLE'S SPEED TO 40 MPH OR LESS. REPEAT, ABRUPTLY. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT ON AN INTERSTATE AMID A PACK OF 18-WHEELERS RUNNING NOSE-TO-TAIL AT 70+ MPH, WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT! LATER I FOUND THAT THE PUSH-BUTTON TRANSMISSION SELECTORS (JPEG PHOTO ATTACHED) CAN BE AFFECTED BY DEBRIS SUCH AS CRUMBS, SAND, OR LIQUID. SEE THE ATTACHED ACURA SERVICENEWS ARTICLE #B17010C VERSION #2, DATED FEBRUARY 2017 (PDF FILE ATTACHED). SEE ALSO THE CONSUMER REPORTS ARTICLE AT HTTPS://WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG/CAR-SAFETY/CARS-WITH-CONFUSING-OR-DANGEROUS-SHIFTERS/. I HAVE ALSO ATTACHED TWO WARRANTY REPAIR INVOICES, 9/25/2017 AND 10/04/2017.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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