2006 Acura RL problems & reliability
32 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2006 Acura RL, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2006 Acura RL vehicles were involved in 10 fatal crashes with 7 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 9 | 28% |
| Electrical System | 8 | 25% |
| Exterior Lighting | 5 | 16% |
| Tires | 4 | 13% |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 6% |
| Engine | 1 | 3% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 3% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | 3% |
| Power Train | 1 | 3% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Projector headlights are often pointed far too low and make it extremely difficult to see in normal city conditions, highway conditions however especially on backroads. According to an online forum for other acura owner's, this is a common problem that factory standards do not correct.”
Exterior Lighting · filed Sep 17, 2020
“Headlights randomly quit working creating hazard driving at night and inclement weather. Sometimes one side and then randomly both lights discontinue working. According to owners on acura owner website/forum, this is a common issue.”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jun 24, 2019
“Front passenger door lock actuator was replaced less than two years ago. The exact same problem with the same door lock has reoccurred. The locked door will not open when the door handle is touched nor will the driver side door lock control lock or unlock the front passenger door. While driving the actuator is…”
Electrical System · filed May 21, 2019
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
79 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2006 Acura RL. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
B18-023 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Driver's Airbag Inflator for 2013-14 ILX Hybrid and Other Listed Years and Models.
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 28, 2026
Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in rollover of internal chip memory. The rollover occurred on January 1, 2022 at 12:00AM local time
B23040A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 17, 2023
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 8, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2022
ServiceNews Article - The clock shows the incorrect time. This issue is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in "rollover" of the internal chip memory; the "rollover" will occur on January 1, 2022, at…
B21120A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 25, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B20-010 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B20-006 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 11, 2019
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
B18-025 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2018
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2006 Acura RL has 8 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2006 Acura RL?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.