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.

2.3

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,062 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.

2000 Acura TL miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2000 Acura TL Owner Comments

problem #8

Mar 162023

TL

  • miles

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

There is no known dealership near my location for the recall to be fixed.

- Grand Junction , CO, USA

problem #7

Feb 122020

TL 6-cyl

  • 113,000 miles
At the time of this text, the car is at an Acura service center. The interior has become soaked with water affecting the battery & possibly other components. The continuous problem, creating a damp & very wet interior, has caused mold to form everywhere inside the car, I am a severe asthmatic & this has been extremely detrimental to my health. I will be providing documentation as soon as I receive it.

- Lyman, SC, USA

problem #6

May 012018

TL 6-cyl

  • miles
When it rains my car is supposed to drain water out but, the drainage hose is not long enough so the water goes on my cars carpet, I tried to install a hose but it is not long enough, I couldn't find the right size hose, the water is damaging the floor of my car.

- New City, NY, USA

problem #5

Dec 012017

TL

  • 150,000 miles

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

Trasmission has had to be replaced twice. Airbag light has remained a problem since about a year after I purchased it.

- Crockett, TX, USA

problem #4

Apr 132004

TL

  • 121,500 miles
I have a problem in automatic transmission of my Acura TL 2000 that I bought 2years ago. When shifting from 2nd to 3rd sometimes it dont change the gear. It seems like slipped. Upon search I found out that this car was recalled for fixing this problem as it is manufacturing fault. But the owner didn't take it may be because it is registered in uae and Acura don't have much appearance here. I want to know if Acura can do something now at dealership of Honda in uae.

- Dubai, AK, USA

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problem #3

Oct 212014

TL 6-cyl

  • 144,000 miles
I recently purchased a pre-owned 2000 Acura TL over the summer and discovered that there was a notice to the owners of these vehicles in 2004 to have the 2nd gear of the transmission inspected for abnormalities due to lack of lubrication in all vehicles, and if abnormalities were discovered the transmission will be replaced, in all vehicles over 15000 miles. Upon reading this, and discovering my vehicle was not inspected, I made an appointment with an Acura dealer to have this issue investigated. When they looked at the transmission they were instructed to install a kit to improve the lubrication. They also informed me that because the previous owner had some work performed on the transmission, on a different part that Acura had problems with previously, that they would not inspect the 2nd gear for abnormalities, even though they found shavings in the transmission fluid. This decision to halt the inspection was made by Acura corporate despite pleas from the dealership service men, myself and family members. This vehicle has an increased chance of having a transmission lock up, potentially creating a car accident and has an increased potential of loss of life. The service I received from Acura corporate in the handling of this matter I feel was completely unsatisfactory, even though the dealership servicemen gave an excellent effort for great service.

- Macomb, IL, USA

problem #2

Sep 252001

TL

  • miles
Tthink twice and long before buying a 2000 Acura 3.2 TL.we are the second owners of this make/model/year. We and the original purchaser have experienced the following issues:on September 25th, 2001, at 20129 miles, the first owner took the automobile to an Acura service department because the SRS (supplemental restraint system) indicator light had come on.the shop replaced the 'opds unit' but provided no explanation as to why the warning indicator had come on. At 26467 miles, the original purchaser brought the car to the dealership because the brake indicator light had come on.brake fluid was added, but no reason for the light's illuminating was given.we purchased the vehicle with an odometer reading of 25807 miles.shortly thereafter, the SRS light came on and stayed on.at 26467 miles we brought the vehicle to an Acura dealer.shop personnel checked the SRS indicator and consequently ordered yet another 'opds' unit.while in the shop, the seal around the front windshield, which had puckered up, also was repaired.some three weeks later we returned to the dealership to have the opds unit replaced.no explanation was given for the problem.in the interim, the brake warning light had come on, and the brake reservior cap was changed as well.less than two months have passed:the SRS light is again constantly on.we are about to schedule an appointment to have this looked at, and also have the trunk light inspected, since it doesn't work.the trunk light problem is not due to a blown fuse or burned-out bulb; I checked that myself.having the SRS warning light come on, together with the dealer's inability to explain or rectify the situation, puts one in something of a quandry:is it a false warning, will the airbag(s) deploy in a crash? or is it an indication of a problem and will the airbag(s) not deploy when needed? the Acura 3.2 TL is not an inexpensive car, and one would expect it to require minimum attention while providing a high degree of reliability and safety. It doesn't.

- Spring Hill, FL, USA

problem #1

Oct 152000

TL 4WD

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle experiencing intermittent problem with engine check light coming on. Vehicle been in dealer shop on three occasions, and problem still reoccurring. Check the engine light comes on intermittently but goes away after driving for a while.

- Carol Stream, IL, USA

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