2013 Acura TL - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2013 Acura TL has an overall safety rating of 4, with high scores in front crash, side crash, and rollover ratings. It also received a 5-star rating in the side pole crash test. Additionally, this car is equipped with standard electronic stability control, which helps enhance vehicle stability and prevent skidding. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

Despite its good safety ratings, the Acura TL has had a total of 60 complaints reported and has been subject to 3 recalls. It is worth noting that one investigation has been conducted regarding this model. Overall, while the Acura TL offers decent safety features and ratings, the number of complaints and recalls suggest there may be some areas for improvement in terms of durability and reliability.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

60

Recall Count

3

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2013 Acura TL 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2013 Acura TL 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2013 Acura TL 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2013 Acura TL 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2014 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 3 3

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2014 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 4 4
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 4 3 3
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 4
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 4
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 4 4
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 4 4

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2013 Score 2014 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 5 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2013 Acura TL

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"while crossing median ahead of oncoming traffic, electric power steering lost power, leaving me unable to steer to avoid collision. steering warning began to flash but gave no advance warning. i was not strong enough to steer the car. engine was running. car is available for inspection. honda dealer said they had never seen this problem. power steering is still inoperative and the dealer says no recalls for t his problem."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2023-01-08

Complaint:
"2013 acura tl steering got locked after check power steering system, this is very risky if i was on highway and would have happen during driving. such problems needs to be addressed by co asap as this is life threatening to driver including passengers in vehicle during problem. steering is locked and can't move in any direction."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-10-12

Complaint:
"in july 2020, with 82143 miles, my power steering completely stopped working."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-06-07

Complaint:
"i was driving home with my kids and the steering practically locked up, but i was still going about 50 mph. thankfully, we didn't get hit while i guided the car over to stop safely. the panel just told me to check the steering system... while i was trying not to get hit after losing all power to my steering with no warning while driving. had vehicle towed home, as it was nighttime. now i have to get it sent to someone who might tell me anything. this looks like a serious trend based off of what i've read on this sight. it's dangerous and i'm sure getting it fixed will be costly. this is a serious issue on many levels."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-09-10

Complaint:
"could had an accident i was on the freeway and all of a sudden the light on my car came on saying that the power steering had gone out at that time i realize that i could not control the car it was hard i had to get a feel for it to turn it so i could pull off to the side and then that's when i called aaa to come and tow the car because i could not steer it. my car has 75,000 miles only. that's a major part that was a very frightening experience"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-07-10

Complaint:
"i was driving my 2013 acura tl on the interstate when i got an 'electronic power steering ' error that resulted in my steering wheel required me to use all my strength to pull over to the emergency lane. the vehicle's steering became very heavy and was very hard to turn. i am fortunate that my wife was not driving, because she would not have had the strength to pull over to the emergency lane without power steering. acura should be ashamed of themselves to not have issued a recall for this issue."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2022-02-09

Complaint:
"while backing out of my garage the check "electronic power system" indicator light came on as i was backing into the street out of my driveway. as i entered the street the steering wheel locked and would not let me turn the wheel to complete turning to straighten the wheels to drive forward. i was literally stuck in the middle of the street and i live on the downside of a hill so cars can't see me until they top the hill, fortunately my husband was home and helped push the car back into the driveway. although not as scary as some of the incidents i have read about the eps module failing, i understand the fear they must have had with this happening on a busy highway or street. i now have to have my car towed to the nearest acura dealership which is 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic because i'm to afraid to drive on the freeway. the cost of repair that was quoted is astronomical, $420 labor, $780.06 for the part...not to mention the tow$$. really... acura/honda, you got to know this is a safty issue if there ever was one! what will it take...a grandmother (like me) driving her grand kids to daycare to lose control before you acknowledge this is a problem. nhtsa, please follow up!"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-03-09

Complaint:
"received diagnostic message to check power steering system. loss control of the vehicle because i could not turn the wheel on the vehicle which almost caused an accident. my mechanic indicated that this was a computer issue and recommended that i take it to the acura dealership for service."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-12-08

Complaint:
"eps light starts blinking and power steering fails intermittently. completely random when it decides to work and car is under 69000 miles. as an example i was taking a turn and it failed half way through the turn which almost caused a car accident."
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2020-12-08

Complaint:
"i was about to drive in to my garage when i felt my steering wheel had some resistance and hard to maneuver. the driver panel says "check power steering system!" as i parked the car in the garage, i turned off the car and turned it back on, warning message disappeared. power steering went back to normal. a week later, as i was driving the freeway, "check power steering system!" reappeared. there was some resistance on the power steering while i was driving. when i reached our driveway, i turned off the car and then turned it back on, but the warning message still appears on the drive panel. i went ahead and set-up appointment online at acura concord on june 23, 2020 at 0730 for service. *tr"
Components Involved: STEERING
Date of incident: 2021-10-06

Recalls for the 2013 Acura TL

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling specific 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2013-2016 ilx, 2013-2014 ilx hybrid, 2003-2006 mdx, 2007-2016 rdx, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 tl, 2010-2013 zdx and 2001-2007 and 2009 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. the affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode."
Consequence:
An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2019-03-06

Recall:
"honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2013 acura ilx, 2015 rdx, 2005-2010 and 2012 rl, 2009-2014 tl, 2010 and 2012 zdx, 2007-2011 cr-v, 2011-2013 and 2015 cr-z, 2009-2013 fit, 2013 fit ev, 2010-2011 and 2013 insight and 2007-2014 ridgeline vehicles. these vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling."
Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are S5B and W59.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2019-06-27

Recall:
"honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 honda cr-v, 2011-2015 cr-z, 2010-2014 fcx, and insight, 2009-2013 fit, 2013-2014 fit ev, 2007-2014 ridgeline, 2013-2016 acura ilx, 2013-2014 acura ilx hybrid, 2007-2016 rdx, 2005-2012 acura rl, 2009-2014 acura tl, and 2010-2013 acura zdx vehicles. the affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture."
Consequence:
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are JY0, JY1, and JY2.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2016-02-03

ACURA Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

ACURA ranks 25 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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