AutoUtility currently tracks 62 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2020 Acura TLX. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 19 complaints (30.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 4 filings cite a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 62 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (19 reports • 30.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Fuel & Propulsion System (17), Electrical System (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2020 Acura TLX
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #23V751000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:HARD PARTS INTERNAL/MECHANICAL
Fuel & Propulsion System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V215000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
- Campaign #23V858000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Acura TLX
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Acura TLX
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"- The engine system failed and it is available for inspection -While driving on the highway at normal traffic speed, my vehicle suddenly developed a loud knocking noise and the check engine light lit up. Within moments, the engine lost power and became inoperable, leaving me unable to continue..."
"The cars Emission Systems and Parking Brake lights come on, and the dealer can not diagnose this issue properly. I have taken it in 4 times, and it continues to happen. I fear the parking brake coming on while driving."
"Airbags (SRS)"
"Transmission harsh and delayed gear engagement, sometimes it won’t shift unless it’s done manually, few times it didn’t shift even though I shifted manually, I had to increase engine speed to about 5000 RPM so it shifts, transmission goes into neutral when trying to to accelerate while it’s in..."
"PE 25008 The engine knock started on 12/22/25. Motorcars Acura recommended get a case number & have the 2020 TLX towed in for a diagnostic. Online case # XXX Towed to Motorcars on 12/23/25. Talked to Michelle with customer relations & she was going to call Motorcars for info. Motorcars, without my..."
Complaint History for Acura TLX
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Acura TLX | 341 | 12 | 6 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Acura TLX | 110 | 5 | 3 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Acura TLX | 70 | 2 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Acura TLX | 93 | 3 | 4 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Acura TLX | 91 | 7 | 6 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Acura TLX Current Page | 62 | 4 | 5 | Current |
| 2021 Acura TLX | 66 | 3 | 4 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Acura TLX | 25 | 0 | 3 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Acura TLX | 10 | 0 | 3 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Acura TLX | 5 | 0 | 1 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Acura TLX | 4 | 0 | 1 | View 2025 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2020 Acura TLX
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 30 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Engine failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in the following vehicles: Model Years (MY) 2018-2020 Acura TLX, MY2016-2020 Acura MDX, MY2016-2020 Honda Pilot, MY2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and MY2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline. The subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a Recall Query (RQ24013). It was determined that these engine failures are outside the scop...
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
On June 3, 2022, the Oï¬ce of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several ï¬eld reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traï¬c light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine wit...
Engine failure
On November 8, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query RQ24013 to assess the scope of Honda recall 23V-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23V-751. In November 2023, Honda recalled 248,999 various Model Year (MY)2016â2020 Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a cranksh...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.