2013 Acura TSX problems & reliability
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Acura TSX, 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.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2013 Acura TSX vehicles were involved in 12 fatal crashes with 3 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 → | 19 | 58% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 15% |
| Electrical System | 3 | 9% |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 6% |
| Tires | 2 | 6% |
| Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | 1 | 3% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 3% |
| Engine | 1 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 3% |
| Power Train | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 69,735 miles (middle 50% between 51,750 and 88,000 miles), based on 20 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“ABS / VSA module failed at 90k miles causing spongy brakes. Acura quoted me $3500 for a new module which is more than the value of the car.”
Service Brakes · filed May 28, 2026
“Power steering electronic module went out and can’t find any replacements. Other models as the same as mine have been recalled.”
Steering · filed May 17, 2024
“I first reported this on July 7, 2023 under NHTSA ID#11530893. My wife was driving when the Continental tire size 225/50/R17 suddenly blew out at approximately 70 MPH. Immediately pulled to shoulder of highway. This was a very tense moment at speed running on the rim to get immediately off the road. Fortunately there…”
Tires · filed Oct 12, 2023
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
36 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2013 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 2013 Acura TSX 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 2013 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 69,735 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.