Acura TLX UA8 Problems, Recalls & Lemon Law

warning light; recall notice; repeated dealer repair

Incorrect GVWR and GAWR values on the vehicle's certification label could lead an owner to overload the vehicle, increasing the risk of tire failure at speed. Acura acknowledged the error via recall 14V613, making this a manufacturer-confirmed safety non-conformity. Under Song-Beverly, a safety recall that requires a dealer visit and the dealer fails to complete the remedy within 30 days counts as a repair attempt, contributing toward the lemon threshold even for an administrative label fix.

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will install a corrected certification label, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on October 21, 2014. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-800-382-2238. Honda's number for this recall is JK6.

transmission shifts unexpectedly; hesitation; harsh shift; transmission warning

Recall 14V779 addresses a failure of the transmission parking pawl to properly engage Park, risking unintended vehicle rollaway — a direct crash risk documented in three injury reports to NHTSA (drivers struck by their own rolling vehicles). A safety defect this serious, confirmed by formal recall, demonstrates the vehicle does not conform to the manufacturer's express safety warranty under Song-Beverly Cal. Civ. Code §1793.2(d). If a TLX was presented to the dealer for this issue and the repair was delayed beyond 30 calendar days, California's lemon-law presumption may apply.

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the transmission if necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 30, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-310-783-2000. Honda's number for this recall is JM8.

transmission shifts unexpectedly; hesitation; harsh shift; transmission warning

Recall 16V640 covers a wire harness defect that causes the ZF 9-speed transmission to unexpectedly shift into neutral while driving — effectively cutting power to the wheels at any speed. This loss-of-motive-power defect contributed to at least 10 NHTSA-reported injuries. Under Song-Beverly, a vehicle that loses drive at highway speed is substantially impaired for safe use; owners who brought their TLX in for neutral-shift complaints before the recall repair was available have documented repair attempts that count toward lemon-law eligibility.

Acura has notified owners, and dealers will, based on the automatic transmission serial number, update the transmission software to prevent the transmission from shifting into neutral due to a faulty crimp, free of charge. The recall began January 13, 2017. Owners may contact Acura Client Relations

engine stalls while driving; vehicle will not start; loss of power; fuel pump recall

Recall 19V060 addresses a fuel pump degradation that causes engine stall at highway speed with no warning — a direct crash risk that Consumer Reports flagged as a high-urgency recall. The remedy required both an ECU software update and, in confirmed stall cases, physical pump replacement. Owners who experienced stalling prior to recall completion, or who required multiple dealer visits because the software-only fix proved insufficient, have repair visit documentation that supports a Song-Beverly lemon-law claim.

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the fuel injection engine control unit (FI-ECU) software and, if necessary, replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began March 25, 2019. Owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's recall number for this recall is P3W. H

engine knocking; engine stalls; sudden loss of power; check engine light; engine failure recall

Recall 19V298 covers timing belt tooth separation on 2019 TLX models — a failure that can cause sudden engine stall with no warning. Loss of engine power on a highway or intersection creates an immediate crash risk. If an owner's 2019 TLX stalled before the recall was remedied, or if belt replacement parts were unavailable causing an extended wait period, that experience — documented on a dated repair order — satisfies both the 'safety defect' and the 'reasonable repair attempt' prongs of California Song-Beverly eligibility.

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and replace any affected timing belt free of charge. Vehicles receiving a replacement timing belt will also have the engine inspected and any damaged components will be replaced for free. The recall began June 7, 2019. Honda owners may c

engine stalls while driving; vehicle will not start; loss of power; fuel pump recall

Recall 21V215 expanded the 19V060 fuel pump campaign to cover 2019-2020 TLX models whose pump failure risk was not addressed in the earlier recall. Owners who experienced stalling events between the 19V060 and 21V215 campaigns — a gap of roughly two years — were driving a vehicle with a known safety defect the manufacturer had not yet remedied. Under Song-Beverly, stalling events before the recall fix is applied constitute a non-conformity that substantially impairs safe use, regardless of whether a formal repair order was written on that date.

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.

engine knocking; engine stalls; sudden loss of power; check engine light; engine failure recall

Recall 23V751 covers a manufacturing defect in the connecting rod bearings of the J35 V6 that can cause engine seizure, stall, or fire while driving — one of the most severe defect categories in NHTSA's taxonomy. This is one of the rare cases where Catastrophic severity is appropriate: NHTSA and Acura both acknowledged fire risk, and recall parts unavailability left many TLX owners driving unsafe vehicles for months post-notification. Under Song-Beverly, extended recall part unavailability (30+ calendar days) independently triggers lemon-law presumption eligibility, separate from the repair-attempt count.

Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner n

engine stalls while driving; vehicle will not start; loss of power; fuel pump recall

Recall 23V858 is a third-wave expansion of the low-pressure fuel pump campaign, extending coverage to virtually the entire 2015-2020 TLX lineup. By this point, Acura had issued three separate recall actions for the same root-cause defect (sodium contamination of the fuel pump). Owners whose vehicles were not covered by 19V060 or 21V215 but did fall under 23V858 may have been driving with an unaddressed safety defect for years. The repeated expansion of this recall — covering the same symptom (engine stall) — demonstrates manufacturer awareness of an unresolved systemic defect, strengthening a lemon-law argument for owners who experienced stalling before each successive recall.

Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

airbag warning light; passenger airbag may not deploy; SRS warning; occupant detection fault

Recall 24V064 addresses a seat weight sensor defect that can cause the front passenger airbag to deploy incorrectly for small or child occupants — a direct injury risk in a crash. Because the occupant classification system (OCS) determines whether the airbag fires at all for light passengers, a faulty sensor creates an unpredictable airbag suppression failure. Under Song-Beverly, any safety recall tied to the airbag system — California's courts have treated airbag-related defects as serious safety impairments — counts as a qualifying non-conformity. Owners with children or small-stature passengers who drove a 2020 TLX during the sensor defect window should document their vehicles' recall status.

Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024, October 18, 2024, and August 2025. 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.

airbag warning light; passenger airbag may not deploy; SRS warning; occupant detection fault

Recall 26V332 expands the 24V064 occupant classification sensor campaign to cover 2018-2020 TLX models, confirming that the circuit board base-material defect (introduced after a supplier's natural disaster) was more widespread than initially remedied. Owners of 2018-2020 TLX vehicles who may have had the airbag suppression system silently malfunction during the years before this expansion recall are in the same Song-Beverly posture as 24V064 owners: they drove a vehicle whose safety system did not conform to Acura's express warranty, documented by federal recall action.

Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 6, 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, DO

transmission shudders or jerks when accelerating from a stop; hard bump or clunk when coming to a stop; transmission slips during 1st to 2nd gear upshift; rough jerking between gears when cold; RPM flares or drops unexpectedly on 2-3 upshift; dealer cannot duplicate intermittent jerk

Under California's Song-Beverly Act, a defect that substantially impairs use or value and persists after a reasonable number of repair attempts triggers repurchase or replacement eligibility. Acura acknowledged this DCT condition with at least two formal TSBs (15-021 and 17-015) yet owners routinely report the same harsh-shift symptom returning after repeated dealer software updates. Multiple failed repair attempts for the same driveability defect — each documented on a dated repair order — constitute the core Song-Beverly pattern.

PGM-FI/AT software update (Repair Procedure A per TSB 17-015); if symptom persists, full DCT clutch break-in procedure (Repair Procedure B). Some owners require valve body or clutch pack replacement after repeated software-only attempts fail.

jerky or slamming upshift during steady acceleration; transmission hesitates before engaging next gear; abrupt downshift jolt when decelerating; shift-to-park warning message illuminates unexpectedly; transmission unexpectedly drops to neutral at highway speed; multiple dealer software updates provide only temporary relief

TSB 20-015 confirms Acura's awareness that the ZF 9HP produces harsh shifts across all 2015-2020 TLX V6 models, yet the bulletin itself acknowledges the fix requires 500 miles of relearning — meaning any rapid recheck is premature. Owners who return within days of a software-only repair and receive a 'cannot duplicate' response have strong grounds: the TSB describes exactly why the symptom is intermittent and difficult to replicate under short test-drive conditions, supporting a Song-Beverly claim where the dealer's repair order records the same complaint on multiple visits.

TCM software update per TSB 20-015 (J2534 Rewrite); 500-mile relearn period required. For earlier harness-related neutral shifts, recall 16V640 wire harness repair. Persistent cases may require valve body inspection or full transmission replacement.

engine temperature gauge rising unexpectedly; coolant looks brown or milky when checked; poor or sluggish transmission shifting quality; chirping or squealing noise during 3rd to 4th gear shift; transmission fluid looks contaminated with brownish coolant residue

Acura extended the warmer warranty to 10 years / unlimited miles, acknowledging that the original factory component was defective. If an owner's TLX was returned to the dealer with overheating or shift-quality complaints and the warmer was not inspected or replaced on the first visit, subsequent visits for the same symptom satisfy the Song-Beverly repeat-repair pattern. Coolant/ATF contamination causing transmission failure is a substantial impairment of vehicle use — a core element of the California lemon-law claim.

Pressure-test the transmission warmer. If it fails, replace under Acura's extended warranty (10 years / unlimited miles per TSB 17-027). Flush and replace both ATF and engine coolant. In severe contamination cases, transmission internal components may also require replacement.

engine does not restart when foot lifted off brake after idle stop; car stalls in intersection with no warning; push-button start must be used to manually restart engine; idle stop malfunction light illuminates; repeated failures even after TSB software update at dealership; failure occurs most commonly in hot weather or at high mileage

NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25004 (March 2025) formally identifies the auto idle stop restart failure as a safety defect under investigation, documenting 4 crashes and 2 injuries. An engine that stalls in an intersection and cannot be restarted through normal operation constitutes a safety-related defect under Song-Beverly. Owners who returned to the dealer for repeated idle-stop failures after Honda's TSB remedy was applied have a strong argument that the manufacturer's repair attempts were unsuccessful — a direct trigger for California lemon-law repurchase eligibility.

Stage 1: PGM-FI software update (Honda TSB 23-008 / 23-009). Stage 2: Replace starter assembly, starter relays, and perform valve adjustment if Stage 1 does not resolve. Owners whose vehicles fail to restart after both stages are candidates for escalation to American Honda regional representation.

car suddenly slams on the brakes with no obstacle ahead; forward collision warning activates without a vehicle or object present; collision mitigation system unavailable message on dashboard; all AcuraWatch features (LKAS, adaptive cruise, road departure) disable simultaneously; front camera shows error or requires $2,000 replacement; CMBS warning light on after normal driving

Unexpected automatic braking on an open highway constitutes a safety defect that substantially impairs safe operation of the vehicle. Under Song-Beverly, a safety-related defect that cannot be repaired within a reasonable number of attempts — particularly when the manufacturer's only guidance is to disable the feature — supports a lemon-law claim. Owners should document every CMBS false-activation incident with dates, mileage, and dealer repair orders noting the complaint, even when the dealer cannot duplicate the event.

Dealer CMBS radar and camera recalibration; if camera module is failed, replace forward camera assembly (customer cost ~$1,500-$2,000 out of warranty). Software updates to CMBS/ADAS control unit may reduce false-activation frequency. Owners advised to disable CMBS if activations become dangerous — a workaround, not a repair.

AcuraLink app shows vehicle offline; remote start via app no longer works; automatic collision notification system inactive; vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle locator disabled; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality lost; navigation traffic data updates stopped

While the 3G shutdown itself is a carrier-driven event, Acura represented these vehicles as equipped with connected safety features including Automatic Collision Notification at time of sale. Permanent loss of a marketed safety feature — particularly one tied to emergency dispatch — may support a claim of non-conformity to warranty or implied merchantability under California law. Cases are fact-specific; owners who were charged for AcuraLink subscriptions that became worthless before the subscription period expired have a stronger basis.

Dealer-installed 4G/LTE hardware retrofit (cost varies; Acura offered subsidized pricing for a limited time). Without the retrofit, all AcuraLink connected features remain permanently inoperative. New AcuraLink subscription required after hardware upgrade.

abnormal knocking sound from engine at startup or under load; engine suddenly loses power while driving; engine seizes or stalls with no warning; oil pressure warning light illuminates; engine failure after recall repair was completed on replacement engine

NHTSA probe RQ25 documents 3,012 engine failure instances and 7 reports of crashes or fires involving the J35 V6 in vehicles not fully addressed by recall 23V751. An engine that seizes or stalls at highway speed is a safety defect under Song-Beverly — and one that Acura's own recall history shows the manufacturer was aware of in related form. Owners of 2018-2020 TLX V6 models who experienced engine failure outside the 23V751 remedy window should document every dealer visit and any denial of warranty coverage, as NHTSA's ongoing investigation strengthens the legal argument that this is a manufacturer-known defect.

Engine disassembly and connecting rod bearing inspection (per NHTSA recall 23V751 protocol for vehicles within that recall scope). For vehicles outside 23V751 scope, no recall remedy is yet available; owners must escalate to Acura Customer Service and document all engine noise complaints with dated repair orders.