2023 Acura TLX Problems: 8 Known Issues

On the 2023-2025 Acura TLX, late second-generation TLX vehicles were built with the fuel filler neck improperly welded to the fuel tank. The defective weld can allow fuel to leak from the tank assembly, and a fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source is a fire risk. Honda recalled affected 2023-2025 Acura TLX under 24V950000 with a full fuel tank assembly replacement as the remedy. Because the leak originates at the filler neck joint, owners typically smell raw fuel around the right rear of the car or see wetness or staining near the filler area, most noticeably after filling the tank completely.

On the 2015-2023 Acura TLX, the Denso in-tank low-pressure fuel pump module used across the first-generation TLX fails, causing hesitation, hard starting and complete engine stall - often at speed or mid-turn. Two distinct defect mechanisms were recalled: particulates in fuel adhering to internal pump components and degrading pump output (19V060000, covering 2015-2019 TLX with the 3.5L V6), and a pump impeller that absorbs fuel, deforms and binds against the pump housing (21V215000 for 2019-2020, expanded by 23V858000 to 2013-2023 Honda/Acura vehicles including TLX). Owners report repeated stalls even after one recall repair, and a documented cascade in which a failed low-pressure pump is replaced but the high-pressure pump fails soon after because dealers replace only one component - producing P0087 low fuel rail pressure. Recall parts availability has been a recurring complaint, with owners waiting months.

On the 2021-2025 Acura TLX, second-generation TLX models were built with the brake pedal pivot pin not secured properly. The pin can migrate, letting the pedal shift out of its correct position on the pedal bracket. When that happens the driver's input no longer translates properly to the master cylinder and braking can be prevented or badly reduced. Honda recalled 2021-2025 Acura TLX alongside 2023-2025 Acura MDX and 2023-2025 Honda Pilot under 25V391000, with owner letters mailed July 29, 2025 - a campaign covering roughly a quarter-million vehicles. Independent of the recall, NHTSA complaints on UB5 cars describe a sticky or inconsistent brake pedal and pedal-feel changes that dealers initially dismissed as 'working as designed' before the recall issued.

On the 2021-2025 Acura TLX 3.0L V6 Turbo, the 2021–2025 TLX Type S and Type S PMC use a fixed front Brembo brake system whose performance-oriented pad compound can squeal during light braking and wear unevenly if pad-retaining hardware or contact points corrode. This does not apply to the A-Spec brake system.

On the 2021-2024 Acura TLX, on the second-generation (UB5) TLX with SH-AWD, the splined interface between the 10-speed transmission output and the power transfer unit (transfer case) strips or shears. Owners describe a loud pop, bang or clunk from underneath, after which the car silently reverts to front-wheel drive - critically, with NO dashboard warning light and no stored DTC, so the driver often does not know AWD is gone until the car oversteers in a corner or in rain. Many cases are preceded by a fluid leak from the transmission-to-differential seal or brown sludge in the fluid. NHTSA opened defect petition DP26001 on March 6, 2026 specifically covering loss of all-wheel drive in 2021-2023 Acura TLX due to transmission-to-PTU spline failure. Complaint mileages span roughly 8,000 to 100,000 miles, including many inside the factory warranty. Owners report the replacement PTU is already on its third revision (part 29000-5YK-070) with no TSB issued, and that parts sit on national backorder for weeks. Documented repair costs range from about $5,000 to $19,000 because the transmission usually has to be replaced along with the transfer case. This is a UB5 SH-AWD failure - it is not the first-generation SH-AWD rear drive unit.

On the 2021-2025 Acura TLX, a February 2025 Acura investigation concerned adaptive-damper warnings on US-market 2021–2023 TLX Advance and 2021–2025 Type S vehicles. It lists rear stroke-sensor upper- and lower-limit faults. The parts-collection request expired in February 2025 and is not a recall or a current repair authorization. A-Spec is not included in this documented equipment scope.

On the 2018-2023 Acura TLX, the front passenger seat weight sensor that feeds the occupant classification system cracks and short circuits. Two separate campaigns cover TLX: 24V064000 (2020-2021 TLX, sensor cracks so the system fails to suppress the passenger airbag as intended) and the later, broader 26V332000 (2018-2021 and 2023 TLX, cracked sensor short-circuiting such that airbags can deploy unintentionally). Both failure modes are unsafe in opposite directions - an airbag that fires when it should be suppressed, or fires when it should not. Owners commonly notice the passenger airbag OFF indicator behaving erratically or staying lit with an adult in the seat. Complaint filings for 2021 note the replacement sensors were unavailable for seven months or more with no ETA from the manufacturer.

On the 2021-2025 Acura TLX 2.0L turbocharged I4, the base second-generation TLX uses a 2.0L turbocharged four with a front-mounted air-to-air intercooler. In humid, rainy or cold-and-damp conditions, water vapor condenses inside the intercooler and charge piping, pools, and is then slugged into the intake on a throttle transition. The result is a sudden multi-cylinder misfire, a stumble or hard bucking under acceleration, and in many cases a drop into limp mode with reduced power until the ignition is cycled. NHTSA complaints on the 2021 TLX describe 'turbo intercooler water vapor accumulation causing misfires and limp-mode activation during humid/rainy conditions' and sudden power loss during acceleration. This is specific to the turbocharged four - the Type S 3.0T uses a different charge-air layout, and the first-generation naturally aspirated engines have no intercooler at all.