Acura TL: which years to buy, and what breaks on them
Best and worst years of the Acura TL
Of the 19 model years of the Acura TL that carry enough owner reports to score, 1998 comes out best at 59 out of 100 and 2012 worst at 72. The scores rank each year against other cars of the same model year, so an older one is not penalised for having had longer to break.
4,054 owner reports across 19 model years, 2,759 of them carrying an odometer reading. 19 years carry enough reports to score.
The year to buy, and the year to avoid
Both figures are ranks against other vehicles of the same model year, so the two are comparable even when the years are a decade apart. Each links to that year's full report.
1998 Acura TL
Best of 19 years on 22 owner reports, its own worst problem being other speed control problem. Evidence behind the score: low confidence.
2012 Acura TL
Risk 72 of 100 from 162 reports, worst problem airbag inflator rupture.
High High confidence confidence
How much the year actually matters
The gap between the best and worst year is 13 points on a 100-point scale, which is small enough that the year is a weak reason to choose one of these over another. Service history will tell you more.
Across every year of the Acura TL, owners have filed 4,054 reports with NHTSA. The 2004 accounts for the largest share at 766, which can mean a genuinely troublesome year or simply the year that sold best and has been on the road longest.
What tends to break across the Acura TL
Taking the most-reported failure from each model year, the recurring problems on the Acura TL are airbag inflator rupture (worst mode in 5 years), other powertrain problem (worst mode in 4 years) and other body or interior problem (worst mode in 3 years). A fault that heads the list in most years is characteristic of the design; one that heads a single year is usually a batch or a supplier.
Every model year, scored
Shorter is better, and the outlined row is the best year of the line. A year with too few reports to score is shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not the same as no problems.
| Year | Reports | Per 1,000 | Median report | Most reported problem | Recalls | Risk | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Acura TL | 33 | 2.4 | 114k | Seat belt or retractor failure | 2 | 63 | Moderate confidence |
| 1997 Acura TL | 29 | 2.1 | 91k | Steering column or shaft failure | 2 | 62 | Moderate confidence |
| 1998 Acura TL | 22 | 1.6 | 98k | Other speed control problem | 2 | 59 | Low confidence |
| 1999 Acura TL | 197 | 2.1 | 112k | Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | 4 | 61 | High confidence |
| 2000 Acura TL | 325 | 5.0 | 113k | Other powertrain problem | 6 | 67 | High confidence |
| 2001 Acura TL | 163 | 2.5 | 82k | Other powertrain problem | 3 | 68 | High confidence |
| 2002 Acura TL | 403 | 3.2 | 73k | Other powertrain problem | 7 | 71 | High confidence |
| 2003 Acura TL | 466 | 3.7 | 76k | Other powertrain problem | 5 | 70 | High confidence |
| 2004 Acura TL | 766 | 11.8 | 90k | Other body or interior problem | 6 | 63 | High confidence |
| 2005 Acura TL | 555 | 8.6 | 96k | Other body or interior problem | 7 | 63 | High confidence |
| 2006 Acura TL | 345 | 6.3 | 90k | Other body or interior problem | 6 | 62 | High confidence |
| 2007 Acura TL | 167 | 1.9 | 76k | Other steering problem | 4 | 59 | High confidence |
| 2008 Acura TL | 181 | 2.0 | 89k | Other steering problem | 4 | 62 | High confidence |
| 2009 Acura TL | 51 | 1.4 | 50k | Airbag inflator rupture | 3 | 69 | Moderate confidence |
| 2010 Acura TL | 75 | 2.1 | 54k | Airbag inflator rupture | 3 | 67 | High confidence |
| 2011 Acura TL | 23 | 0.6 | 90k | Airbag inflator rupture | 3 | 63 | Low confidence |
| 2012 Acura TL | 162 | 4.5 | 48k | Airbag inflator rupture | 3 | 72 | High confidence |
| 2013 Acura TL | 74 | 2.1 | 67k | Other steering problem | 3 | 65 | High confidence |
| 2014 Acura TL | 17 | 0.5 | 36k | Airbag inflator rupture | 3 | 63 | Low confidence |
What each column means
Reports counts owner complaints filed with NHTSA against that model year. Filing is voluntary and unverified, so the count is a floor on how often something went wrong, never a census. It also rises with how many cars were sold, which is why the next column exists.
Per 1,000 divides those reports by an estimate of how many of that model year are on the road, so a common car and a rare one can be compared. The estimate comes from the vehicle counts in recall campaigns covering the same model year, which is the only per-model fleet figure published free of charge; where no recall covers a year, this column is blank rather than guessed.
Median report is the odometer reading at the midpoint of that year's reports: half of the readings owners gave were below it. It is a description of when problems get reported, not a prediction of when this car will break, and it needs at least eight readings before it is shown at all.
Risk is a 0–100 score combining how often reports arrive relative to fleet size, how serious they are, and how early they land, ranked against other vehicles of the same model year only. Confidence says how much evidence sits behind it: a low score on thin evidence is a shrug, not a clean bill of health. Both are defined in full on the methodology page.
Generations, and why the boundary matters
The Acura TL splits into generations: 1996–1998 (best 1998, worst 1996), 1999–2003 (best 1999, worst 2002), 2004–2011 (best 2007, worst 2009) and 2012–2014 (best 2014, worst 2012). Comparing years inside one generation is the fair comparison — same body, same engines, usually the same suppliers.
Generation boundaries here are inferred from the pattern of model years in the data rather than taken from manufacturer documentation, so they are occasionally a year out. Where a boundary matters to a purchase, check it against the build date on the car.
| Generation | Years | Best year | Worst year | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-1998 | 1996–1998 | 1998 Acura TL 59 | 1996 Acura TL 63 | 4 |
| 1999-2003 | 1999–2003 | 1999 Acura TL 61 | 2002 Acura TL 71 | 10 |
| 2004-2011 | 2004–2011 | 2007 Acura TL 59 | 2009 Acura TL 69 | 10 |
| 2012-2014 | 2012–2014 | 2014 Acura TL 63 | 2012 Acura TL 72 | 8 |
How to use this page
Use it to eliminate rather than to select. The years at the top of the risk column are the ones where enough owners reported enough serious failures to be worth avoiding when there is a choice; below that, the differences are smaller than the difference between a well-kept car and a neglected one.
Every figure comes from owner complaints filed with NHTSA and from recall records, both voluntary in the sense that nobody audits them for completeness. Counts are floors. The AtWhatMileage methodology page sets out each formula.
Questions this page answers
What is the best year for the Acura TL?
Of the model years we can rate, 1998 Acura TL scores best at 59 out of 100, based on 22 owner reports. 2012 scores worst at 72.
Which years of the Acura TL should you avoid?
2012 has the highest risk score in this model line at 72 out of 100. The scores compare each year against other vehicles of the same model year, so they are not affected by age alone.
How the generations are drawn. NHTSA does not publish generation boundaries, so ours are inferred from breaks in the recall and complaint record and from the model's own year range. They are close to the enthusiast consensus but not authoritative — if a boundary looks wrong for a car you know well, tell us and we will fix the table rather than argue with you.
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed