AutoUtility currently tracks 66 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Acura TLX. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 25 complaints (37.9% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 3 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 66 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Powertrain & Transmission (25 reports • 37.9% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Brakes & Traction Control (10), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (9)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 3 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2021 Acura TLX
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Powertrain & Transmission
Brakes & Traction Control
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #25V391000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Electrical System
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #26V332000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
- Campaign #24V064000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Acura TLX
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Transmission and transfer case failure. Noticed a very small amount of fluid leaking and took to dealership. Dealer informed me that I was "lucky" to have noticed and that the transfer case spline failure had occurred. Notified that the problem could lead to sudden loss of all wheel drive and loss..."
"I'm losing power than normal all of a sudden. When I step on the gas after light hits green in sport and sport plus mode my car losses traction even when traction control is on, and I hear a loud clunck sound. After the the loud clunck sound the car losses RPM while driving I step off the gas and..."
"I took this vehicle to get serviced in the summer of 2025. I recently joined an Acura Type S (2021+) group on Facebook and learned that the issue is quite prevalent. I had to have the transmission and transfer case replaced due to transmission issues and traction issues"
"On July 7th 2026 I was driving home, came to a stop light at normal speed, when the light turned green I took off at normal speed and I heard a huge cluck / bang from underneath the car and it bogged and didn’t want to move. I then stepped on the gas because of the Car behind me getting to close..."
"Transmission splines went out and transfer case has also failed which is only sending power to front wheels"
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 | 62 | 4 | 5 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Acura TLX Current Page | 66 | 3 | 4 | Current |
| 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 2021 Acura TLX
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 34 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION,EQUIPMENT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
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...
All wheel drive allegation
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a Petition dated January 9, 2026, requesting an investigation into the loss of the optional all-wheel drive capability in model year (MY) 2021-2023 Acura TLX and MY 2022-2023 Acura MDX vehicles. The Petition alleges failures in the interfacing splines between the front wheel drive transaxle and the rear wheel drive power take off unit. Failure of these splines prevents the tra...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
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