AI Damage2001 Acura TL: common problems
Owners of the 2001 Acura TL filed 149 complaints with NHTSA, most often about powertrain and air bags. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 149
- involving a crash
- 8
What fails most often
- 1 Powertrain 69% of all complaints
- 2 Air bags 10% of all complaints
- 3 Vehicle speed control 6% of all complaints
- 4 Visibility 5% of all complaints
- 5 Electrical system 3% of all complaints
- 6 Engine and cooling 3% of all complaints
- 7 Service brakes 3% of all complaints
- 8 Tires 2% of all complaints
- Powertrain: 103 complaints (69% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 15 complaints (10% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 9 complaints (6% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Visibility: 8 complaints (5% of all).
- Electrical system: 5 complaints (3% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 3.2 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- automatic, 5-speed
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 149 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | 103 | 2 | 0 |
| Air bags | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Visibility | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 2 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
During the crash the driver side front and curtain air bags did not deploy. The driver sustained severe injuries to the head, neck, upper body, left eye and neck vertebrae that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed and towed away. A police report was taken at the scene.
I drove my car out the garage into the common alley in reverse, once out the garage. When I was out of garage attempted to close the garage door with the genie , and the garage door wouldn't close .
15 mph where brakes locked up and car skidded for at least 15-20 feet) the front end of my car simply had a dented front end and grill and left (driver's side) headlight.
I have been involved in two car accidents where I was hit from behind and my airbags did not deploy. In the second accident my car was totaled.
About 20 feet on the airbags deployed, I was engulfed by smoke, lost control and hit the telephone pole in front of my neighvbor's house.
Transmission slips between 3 and 4. Doesn't do this all the time, however; many, many forums are full of 2001 acura tl's having transmission solenoid issues. We bought car used (163,000), many cars out there with the exact same issue which should have been addressed in the 2000's.
Interior rearview mirror (auto dimming) became impossible to see out of due to a defect that caused a liquid to leak and cloud the mirror. Had to replace it in order to see out the back. It occurred gradually over about a year. At first it was just the corner and eventually it covered the whole mirror.
The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle failed to shift from first to second gear as the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure and the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train).
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 2,649 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 7% most complained about).
On average one model year of the TL has 156 complaints (20 years in the data). This year has 149, about average.
What to check before buying
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
Other years of this model
- TL 199626 sources
- TL 199723 sources
- TL 199820 sources
- TL 1999157 sources
- TL 2000249 sources
- TL 2002333 sources
- TL 2003391 sources
- TL 2004551 sources
- TL 2005388 sources
- TL 2006247 sources
- TL 2007124 sources
- TL 2008124 sources
- TL 200942 sources
- TL 201064 sources
- TL 201120 sources
- TL 2012130 sources
- TL 201362 sources
- TL 201417 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2001 Acura TL?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: powertrain, air bags, vehicle speed control. Total complaints: 149. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: transmission slipping (21%), jerking, harsh shifts (10%), warning lights, check engine (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2001 Acura TL?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2001 Acura TL from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2001 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.