2020 Acura TLX: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2020 Acura TLX are still climbing years after launch. The last three full years account for 45 of the 61 filings on record, which usually means a defect that surfaces with mileage rather than a factory fault.

61
Complaints
5
Recalls
4
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
1
Injuries
39.3
Severity index

Severity index 39.3 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 39.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2020 Acura TLX sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 103 2020 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2020 Acura TLX ranks 69 of 103 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 33% of its model-year peers. See the full 2020 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 18 complaints (29.5%)18 30%Fuel SystemFuel System: 12 complaints (19.7%)12 20%GasolineGasoline: 12 complaints (19.7%)12 20%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 9 complaints (14.8%)9 15%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 8 complaints (13.1%)8 13%Power TrainPower Train: 7 complaints (11.5%)7 11%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 6 complaints (9.8%)6 10%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 5 complaints (8.2%)5 8%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE1829.5%
FUEL SYSTEM1219.7%
GASOLINE1219.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM914.8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING813.1%
POWER TRAIN711.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER69.8%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE58.2%

Complaints filed per year

012252020: 12021: 52022: 42023: 52024: 252025: 152026: 6 (partial year)2021222324252526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20201
20215
20224
20235
202425
202515
2026 (year to date)6
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 4.5x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V21500025/03/2021FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport
23V75100013/11/2023ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICALHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging
23V85800018/12/2023FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 H
24V06400001/02/2024AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX
26V33200021/05/2026AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGERHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.