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EnginePart report

2003 Acura TL Engine Problems

Complaints
8about this part
Share
2%of 391 total for the year
Median mileage
161,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the engine of the 2003 Acura TL, 2% of the 391 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 161,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“'tamara recall' before taking off the car had trouble going into gear. Once the car was in motion it began to have a hard shift then once I gained speed of 45 on the highway it wouldn't accelerate any more it actually started to slow down so I pulled off the road I put the car in park and heard a fast clicking noise turned the car off turned it back on tried put it in gear and it wouldn't move”

NHTSA complaint #11080166, filed 2018-03, 215,000 miles

“Upon driving on a freeway going around 50 MPH my transmission suddenly pulled my car to a quick slowing down motion as if being moved from gear down to first or second. Luckily, there were no vehicles behind me as I was in a far right line. It is an older vehicle however it is a recurring issue it appears as there was a recall on it already before. …”

NHTSA complaint #10554790, filed 2013-12, 161,200 miles

“My daughter died in a accident on november 7, 2013 in the Acura TL 2003. She had been telling me that it felt like the ignition was sticking and would speed up. I would check with my local mechanic and he told me acuras are known to idle high. I believe that her car problem was the cause of the accident and the police could not give me a reason for the accident. She was 19 and a senior in high school and was a good child.”

NHTSA complaint #10595989, filed 2014-06, 120,000 miles

“I was pulling off the interstate and came to a red light on a hill right before haywood road. I had to stop because the light was red and when the light turned green I pulled onto haywood road and the car went through 1st gear, 2nd gear and right before it went into 3rd it slipped out of gear and just revved to around 4000 RPM. When the car went into 3rd and started sipping I had a pile of cars that bunched on my behind. I had two guys in a truck scream and yell obscene gestures.”

NHTSA complaint #10585022, filed 2014-04, 130,000 miles

“My car's check engine light and tcs light came on. Had my car scanned at my local obii service center and recieved code p1676. Still experiencing same problem after, I then took my car to the local honda dealership service center to get a verification of this code and saw a flyer for recalls. I review the information, (I own an Acura, honda was unable to provide the recall repair service) and found that recalls pertaining to the code generated from the initial scan for when the check engine light came on pertained to the code. …”

NHTSA complaint #10903082, filed 2016-09, 202,134 miles

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
201416%
201323%
20121814%
2011315%
201023%
200925%
2008108%
200732%
2006104%
200562%
200461%
200382%
200262%
200111%
200062%
199953%
199614%

Other parts of the 2003 Acura TL

Transmission and drivetrain
246 complaints
Air bags
50 complaints
Vehicle speed control
20 complaints
Other or unknown
18 complaints
Electrical system
15 complaints
Body and structure
15 complaints
Engine cooling
14 complaints
Suspension
14 complaints
Exterior lighting
10 complaints
Tires
10 complaints
Brakes
9 complaints
Equipment
8 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2003 Acura TL

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology