2012 Acura TSX problems & reliability
133 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Acura TSX, alongside 6 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.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2012 Acura TSX vehicles were involved in 18 fatal crashes with 12 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Steering | 100 | 75% |
| Electrical System | 16 | 12% |
| Service Brakes | 9 | 7% |
| Air Bags | 6 | 5% |
| Engine | 6 | 5% |
| Power Train | 5 | 4% |
| Structure | 4 | 3% |
| Unknown OR Other | 4 | 3% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 2 | 2% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 1% |
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 73,200 miles (middle 50% between 61,000 and 90,000 miles), based on 101 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Steering system failed-safety was a risk because wheel was very hard to turn-calling the dealer on Monday. Warning light came on right before the steering failed.”
Steering · filed Aug 1, 2026
“Traction control didn’t work, and the large OEM seats did not hug my body as advertised, causing bodily injury when struck by another vehicle, “t-bone” on passenger side.”
Seats · filed Jan 16, 2026
“On two occasions my college aged daughter was driving this vehicle when the steering wheel became inoperative. There was an error message on the dash about checking the power steering system. There was also an icon displaying with a steering wheel. Luckily she was only in a parking lot when this happened and was able…”
Steering · filed Jun 28, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Electrical overstress
Engineering Analysis EA19001 · opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024 · led to recall 20V024
Technical service bulletins
30 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2012 Acura TSX. The 10 most recent:
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2009-2014 TLs, TSXs & TSX Wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the…
BPaS02262021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 26, 2021
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2009-2014 TLs, TSXs & TSX Wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the…
BPaS02102021903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 10, 2021
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2009-2014 TLs, TSXs & TSX Wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the…
BPaS01222021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 22, 2021
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2009-2014 TLs, TSXs & TSX Wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the…
BPaS01062021905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 6, 2021
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2009-2014 TLs, TSXs & TSX Wagons with a client complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the…
BPaS12102020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 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…
B20-011 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Owner Notification Letter - The vehicle's steering may feel heavier than normal - or is hard to turn - particularly when the vehicle is not moving because of an electric power steering (EPS) control unit failure. If…
ONL6E108202019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 20, 2019
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
"Dealer Message - On April 19, 2019, Acura announced a warranty extension for certain 2012-14 Acura TL vehicles to address a concern with the electric power steering (EPS) system. On June 1, 2019, Acura announced an…
BBOM07112019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 11, 2019
Service Bulletin - American Honda is extending the warranty on the EPS (electric power steering) control unit to 15 years from the original date of purchase with unlimited miles. This warranty covers vehicles where the…
B19-021 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 11, 2019
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 2012 Acura TSX has 6 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 2012 Acura TSX?
- · 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 73,200 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.