2021 Acura TLX
Gas Compact car
The 2021 Acura TLX is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the TLX FWD, is EPA-rated at 25 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 99 complaints, most often about power train. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLX FWD | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 22 | 31 | 25 | $3,100 |
| TLX FWD A-SPEC | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 22 | 30 | 25 | $3,100 |
| TLX AWD | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 21 | 29 | 24 | $3,250 |
| TLX AWD A-SPEC | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 21 | 29 | 24 | $3,250 |
| TLX Type-S | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 25 | 21 | $3,700 |
| TLX Type-S Perf Tire | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 24 | 21 | $3,700 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (5)
Air Bags
highProblem: Honda (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-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
highProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021-2025 Acura TLX, 2023-2025 Acura MDX, and 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles. The brake pedal pivot pin was not secured properly, which can cause the pedal to shift out of position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Risk: A brake pedal that shifts out of position can prevent the driver from applying the brakes as intended, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the brake pedal assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 29, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are FLX and XLY.
Fuel System, Gasoline
highProblem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2022-2025 Acura MDX Type-S, 2023-2025 Honda Pilot, and 2021-2025 Acura TLX Type-S vehicles. A software error in the fuel injection electronic control unit (FI-ECU) may cause an engine stall or a loss of power.
Risk: An engine stall or loss of power can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the FI-ECU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 17, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are EL1 and AL0.
Fuel System, Gasoline
criticalProblem: Acura (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021-2023 TLX vehicles. The fuel filler neck and fuel tank may have been improperly welded, which can result in a fuel leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel tank assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 3, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is JKX.
Air Bags
highProblem: Honda (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, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
Risk: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
NHTSA investigations
Power Train:Transfer Case (4-Wheel Drive) — All wheel drive allegation (closed)
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a Petition dated January 9, 2026, requesting an investigation into the loss of the optional all-wheel drive capability in model year (MY) 2021-2023 Acura TLX and MY 2022-2023 Acura MDX vehicles. The Petition alleges failures in the interfacing splines between the front wheel drive transaxle and the rear wheel drive power take off unit. Failure of these splines prevents the transfer of drive power to the rear axle, making the vehicle front wheel drive only. The Petition further alleges that this failure reduces vehicle directional control. Most traditional AWD systems utilize mechanical and passive measures. These systems
Opened Mar 6, 2026 · closed Aug 4, 2026 · action DP26001
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages (open)
On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several �eld reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016
Opened Mar 26, 2025 · action EA25004
Owner complaints
99 complaints filed
3 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 3 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2021: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2025: 34 · 2026: 35
Most-cited components
- Power Train — 55
- Electrical System — 11
- Unknown Or Other — 10
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 10
- Service Brakes — 9
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 DR AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 9% |
| 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 9% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.
Other TLX model years
2025 TLX
2 recalls · 4 complaints
B2024 TLX
2 recalls · 5 complaints
D2023 TLX
4 recalls · 18 complaints
D2022 TLX
4 recalls · 33 complaints
F2020 TLX
5 recalls · 62 complaints
F2019 TLX
6 recalls · 92 complaints
D2018 TLX
4 recalls · 94 complaints
D2017 TLX
3 recalls · 71 complaints
D2016 TLX
3 recalls · 110 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 43238, 43237, 43236, 43235, 43966, 43967). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.