2004 Acura TL problems & reliability
551 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Acura TL, alongside 4 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.
9 complaints report injuries (17 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2004 Acura TL vehicles were involved in 38 fatal crashes with 24 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 232 | 42% |
| Air Bags | 199 | 36% |
| Power Train | 56 | 10% |
| Tires | 51 | 9% |
| Unknown OR Other | 49 | 9% |
| Steering | 34 | 6% |
| Suspension | 30 | 5% |
| Visibility | 14 | 3% |
| Electrical System | 11 | 2% |
| Exterior Lighting | 10 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 90,000 miles (middle 50% between 60,250 and 116,019 miles), based on 390 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was driving and all of a sudden I hit a pot hole and then when I went to take a turn my car ended up making a shaking rattling sound when I pulled to to side to check it the ball joint was half way out of the control arm”
Suspension · filed Jul 19, 2024
“I noticed that my power steering hose is all dirty and full of built up power steering fluid and my airbag light in the dash screen does not come off. I’m concerned the air bag will fail in the events of an accident”
Air Bags · filed Apr 29, 2023
“In December of 2022, my power steering hoses were found to be leaking. This was confirmed by a local mechanic, but not any manufacturers or insurance reps. There were no warning lights or symptoms prior to this happening. Upon my research, I noticed that there is a standing recall for the 2004 Acura TL, but not for my…”
Steering · filed Mar 24, 2023
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FAILURE
Preliminary Evaluation PE07060 · opened Nov 29, 2007 · closed Mar 5, 2008 · led to recall 08V169000
Technical service bulletins
123 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2004 Acura TL. The 10 most recent:
This SKU is a Front Upper Ball Joint. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for the outer diameter of the ball joint housing being too small. The outer diameter being too small would…
DORE5C4S09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 11, 2019
Sending vehicle data to tech line.
BJA46167 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 1, 2017
Service bulletin - navigation system information.
B05-018 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 23, 2016
Letter sent in conjunction with the florida highway safety and motor vehicles department to remind florida owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_FLORIDA D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 29, 2016
Special Tool Loan Program: Under TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR LOAN, the list has been updated.
B98015 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 18, 2016
Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, Acura announced three recalls for various 2002-06 Acura models. As of August 4, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and VIN status inquiry has been updated.
DLR MSG - Acura · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 6, 2014
Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, Acura announced three recalls for various 2002-06 Acura models. As of July 23, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and service bulletins 14-023, Safety Recall: Front…
DLR MSG - Stop S · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 23, 2014
Acura: the malfunction indicator lamp (mil) is on, with dtc p2138 (accelerator pedal position sensor a/b incorrect voltage correlation), and have poor performance in engine. Model 2004-2008 tl, tsx. *pe
IN-27-14 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 12, 2014
Dealer message - American Honda (AHM) is investigating certain 2004-2008 TLs & TSXs with a complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) on with the DTC P2138 (Accelerator Pedal Position Sensor A/B Incorrect Voltage…
DLR MSG - RFP - · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 27, 2014
Service bulletin - Some symptoms related to the HandsFreeLink (HFL) system can be difficult to diagnose. Before beginning troubleshooting, it is extremely important to determine if the problem exists with the client?s…
Service Bulletin · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 12, 2014
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 2004 Acura TL has 4 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 2004 Acura TL?
- · 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 90,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.