CarComplaints.com Notes: The 1999-2003 Acura TL has a known & widespread defect with the transmission.

Honda fixed some vehicles with a recall in 2004 by changing the oil cooler return line. To settle a class action lawsuit in 2006, Honda extended the transmission warranty on some of these Acura TL's to 93 months / 109,000 miles.

Now these vehicles are past the warranty limit, so buyer beware.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
38,015 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1999 Acura TL engine problems

engine problem

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1999 Acura TL Owner Comments

problem #10

Mar 312014

TL

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Yes my 1999 Acura 3.2 TL has the tcs light staying on in the vehicle I went and had it plugged into a code checker and the read out was that the wheel speed sensor was bad but before that I was driving down the road( this is just one of 5 experiences I know of) when my car just died and it didn't want to crank back. It had never happened to me before I then began reading the owners manual and had to manually reset the cars computer ( I guess is what it is called) by pushing the shift lock in manually and pulling the car down into neutral and waiting about 5-15 seconds and placing it back up into park if the D4 indicator did not light up I then had to pull it back down into neutral while pressing the shift lock switch and then place it into D4 and back up into park most of the time it would reset its self and I could crank it in neutral but sometimes it would take me 2-3 minutes and now it seems to be getting longer and longer before it will reset itself this last time it took me approximately 10-15 minutes to reset the switch to were I could turn the ignition and the car would turn over and crank. I

- Hickory, NC, USA

problem #9

Oct 132014

TL 6-cyl

  • 163,900 miles
The vehicle jerk when you shift the gears would slip intermittently while in drive, reverse. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the transmission may go out, the tcc solenoid and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 164,000.

- Jacksonville , FL, USA

problem #8

Feb 022013

TL 6-cyl

  • 67,000 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Acura TL. The contact stated that the vehicle abnormally accelerated as she attempted to park in her garage. The contact applied immense pressure to the brakes but was unable to control the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a lawn mower, a compressor and then a wall. The vehicle was totaled. The contact sustained injuries to the hip area. The manufacturer was notified and a complaint was filed but no assistance was provided. The failure and current mileage was 67,000. The consumer stated with her foot on the brake pedal, she shifted into reverse, when suddenly there was a loud shrill noise, as the vehicle suddenly accelerated, knocking over a table and splintered the plexiglass. The vehicle continued to accelerate in reverse. The vehicle spun around and was headed toward a 350 foot steep driveway. She continued to brake and held onto to the steering wheel, while attempting to direct the vehicle to the left away from the steep driveway, when suddenly without changing gears, the vehicle proceeded to go forward and halted after plowing into the right door entrance and concrete base of the garage, which caused both air bags to deploy. Updated 02/28/13 the accident happened on private property, therefore a police report was not filed. Updated 03/19/13

- Easton, PA, USA

problem #7

Apr 032012

TL 6-cyl

  • 99,100 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving normally on city street when suddenly engine died & all electrical on console turned off. Car was diagnosed with faulty ignition switch. There had been a recall for this part. I've confirmed that my car was serviced by dealer under that recall & the ignition switch had been replaced some time ago; the replaced part failed. Incident placed my family in seriously dangerous situation--in middle of road/traffic without power or instruments & barely able to steer.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

problem #6

Oct 062004

TL 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,150 miles
While stopped, with foot on the brake pedal, I was waiting for my garage door to open. The garage door started to open and it was about half way up when my car suddenly accelerated. Thinking I would hit the garage door and have my head torn off I ducked towards the passenger seat as best I could. The car did hit the garage door a glancing blow off the windshield and the roof. The car continued to accelerate until it hit the rear wall of the garage. The air bags deployed and the car halted. Severe damage to the car, most likely to be totaled. Severe damage to my home. The car is a 1999 Acura 3.2tl. I suffered injury to my left wrist and left knee.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #5

Nov 072003

TL

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
1999 Acura TL accelerated on its own while executing a turn into a parking spot. My foot was not on the accelerator and it took hard braking to bring the car to a hard stop. The car sustained bumper scratches but was otherwise undamaged. The car parked in front of me, a large SUV had no dents or other damage. No police report was filed. I am taking the car into the dealer for checking tomorrow. This happened once before, also while turning into a parking spot. I did not report it at that time, thinking I must have been distracted somehow. This time I was absolutely sure the engine acted on its own presumably under the control of the computer.

- Mount Pleasant, SC, USA

problem #4

Apr 302002

(reported on)

TL

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Identical to item ODI id: 8003029. On March 05, 2002, I drove my car to several different places to take care of some errands. My last stop was at the seminole county circuit court in altamonte springs to apply for a passport. I parked my car in a parking spot. While I was moving the automatic transmission stick into the park position (with my foot on the brake pedal), my car suddenly accelerated, causing it to jump the curb in front of my car as seen in figure 1. I tried my best to control the car and not to hit other parked cars. Luckily, I managed to avoid all of the parked cars except one.

- Longwood, FL, USA

problem #3

Apr 302002

(reported on)

TL

  • miles
Identical to item ODI id: 8003029. On March 05, 2002, I drove my car to several different places to take care of some errands. My last stop was at the seminole county circuit court in altamonte springs to apply for a passport. I parked my car in a parking spot. While I was moving the automatic transmission stick into the park position (with my foot on the brake pedal), my car suddenly accelerated, causing it to jump the curb in front of my car as seen in figure 1. I tried my best to control the car and not to hit other parked cars. Luckily, I managed to avoid all of the parked cars except one.

- Longwood, FL, USA

problem #2

Jan 252002

(reported on)

TL

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While at a complete stop, consumers foot was firmly on the brake and without any warning vehicle surgeed foward and collided with another vehicle, consumer also stated the air bags did not deploy.

- Holland, PA, USA

problem #1

Jun 262001

TL

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving 5 mph in parking garage accelerator pedal suddenly went to floor, engine revved. Vehicle went about 10 yards, where it hit first vehicle, bounced off it, and ran into 3 parked vehicles. Damage to vehicle unknown at this time, driver of first vehicle had minor injuries. A police photographer stated there were strong indentations made by the tire on the concrete, air bag did not deploy in accident.

- Surprise, AZ, USA

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