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Acura TSXModel year report

2012 Acura TSX Problems

Compared with other Acura TSX years

More complaints than typical for this model

67/100 1.5× a typical year · 50 = typical

Nearby years with fewer complaints than typical and no open NHTSA investigation: 2011, 2013

Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated

Complaints
133filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
72,276miles, 106 complaints with mileage
Recalls
6campaigns on record
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA crash rating
—no overall rating published
EPA fuel economy
24 mpgcombined, 2.4L 4-cyl FWD · 21 city / 29 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2012 Acura TSX (complaints, recalls, investigations), NHTSA crash tests, EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often report a sudden loss of power steering assist, usually signaled by a "Check Power Steering System" warning, with repair quotes commonly around $1,000-$2,000 for the EPS module. Many describe it happening while driving, sometimes at highway speed, and frequently restarting the car restores assist temporarily. A smaller cluster of complaints covers brakes that feel soft or stiff in cold weather, and door locks or airbag warnings that appear with age.

  1. Steering

    Power steering assist cuts out suddenly

    • 98 complaints (74%)
    • median 74,000 mi at 6.8 yrs old (83 state mileage)
    • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • owner-quoted repair $1,450 (median of 26 quotes)
    • filed 2015–2026

    Owners describe the "Check Power Steering System" message appearing without warning, often while moving, followed by the wheel becoming very hard to turn. In many accounts switching the car off and back on restores assist temporarily, and it returns later. Dealers typically diagnosed the electric power steering (EPS) control unit or module as the cause and quoted replacement costs ranging from roughly $1,000 to $2,000. Most reports fall between about 50,000 and 110,000 miles, with many near 70,000-80,000 miles, on cars of six or more years.

    5 related service bulletins

    What to check: On a test drive, confirm the steering feels normal at low speed and that no power steering warning appears on start-up; ask whether the EPS control unit has been replaced. Service bulletins describe a warranty extension on the EPS control unit for this era of TSX, so ask the dealer whether it is still eligible.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “While I was driving, the power steering malfunctioned and I almost got into a car accident as I could not turn my car. I was lucky but my life could have been in serious danger because of Acura. This is not a very old car and does not have a lot of mileage. The car had to be towed to a mechanic and said it would cost $1850 to fix. Ridiculous.”

    NHTSA complaint #11322496, filed 2020-04, 135,000 miles

    “Was driving down the road right after coming off the highway and suddenly the power steering light came on and started blinking and beeping. I tried to turn into a side street as soon as possible and the power steering was definitely malfunctioning, making it very hard to turn. Good thing I wasnt still on the highway at the time or it could have been pretty dangerous.”

    NHTSA complaint #11156995, filed 2018-12, 156,504 miles
  2. Brakes

    Brake pedal soft or stiff in cold weather

    • 7 complaints (5%)
    • median 73,000 mi at 7.5 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
    • filed 2015–2022

    Owners report the brake pedal feeling spongy and sinking toward the floor, or feeling frozen and wooden in near-freezing weather so the car takes more force to stop. After several stops in a row the pedal is said to return to normal. Complaints describe dealers bleeding the system or finding no fault, and in some cases the ABS control module was suggested as a next step. Reported from around 66,000 to 109,000 miles, several specifically in cold or near-freezing conditions.

    5 related service bulletins

    What to check: Press the pedal firmly before and after the car has sat in cold weather; it should feel firm and not sink far. Ask whether the brake system has been flushed or bled recently and whether any check-valve work was done.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Power brake booster check valve sticks in cold weather negating power assistance. This came to my attention with seattle's recent cold spell (feb 2019). Check valve located within master tube assembly (46402-tl2-a11) which is on backorder across all states that experience winter weather. I've spoken to numerous dealers and scouring the internet, this is a common problem. Additionally, I contacted Acura twice and was told follow up would be immediate, with zero response to date.”

    NHTSA complaint #11187220, filed 2019-03, 45,000 miles

    “A car stop in front of me quickly so I push the brake hard to stop and I heard the ABS grinding, so everything fine, I continue driving then I want to stop on the stop sign and I found the brake pedal is not normal I have to push it completely down feels like no brakes I took it to Acura dealer and they flash the brake oil, and I told them what happened they said no air in the ABS or the system and its normal but if it happen again you need ABS control module the car mileage is 109000 and its all highway miles. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11378054, filed 2020-12, 109,000 miles

Buying note. These are aging cars with a well-documented pattern of power steering module failures, so budget for a possible repair and verify steering assist and the EPS warning on a test drive. Also confirm all airbag recalls were completed and inspect the brake pedal feel and engine oil level.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.

NHTSA recorded 133 consumer complaints for the 2012 Acura TSX. 106 of the complaints include a mileage, and 17% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 72,276 miles. Of all complaints, 4 involved a crash, 1 an injury, 1 a death, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns and 30 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 5 Acura TSX model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 67 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (more complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.

Which parts are reported most

Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.

Also reported: Seats (1), Suspension (1), Vehicle speed control (1), Wheels (1).

Example complaints

Steering: “Check power steering system alert flashes on when I was driving on highway during rush hours. I can barely make any turns when this happens. This is a huge safety hazard and puts my life as well as others at risk. Others with same year and model have posted about this online. My mileage is about 65k. This needs to be recalled.”

NHTSA complaint #11204641, filed 2019-04, 65,000 miles

Electrical system: “I had an accident in the snow and slid into the guardrail while turning. Not much body damage, but the steering completely locked. Was stuck in the road for 2 hours with the police having to block off around me. Had it towed to my mechanic. He could not do anything with it because he said it was electrical and could not clear the code that was coming up and needed to go the dealership.had to have it towed to the dealership. They are replacing the steering.”

NHTSA complaint #10945236, filed 2017-01, 76,000 miles

Brakes: “I lost power steering driving to work at interstate speeds a couple of weeks ago. I have been driving this route to work for many years and this experience startled me. This situation could have become fatal very quickly with a less experienced driver.the replacement cost is expensive and the eps module needed for repair is not easy to find. None of the local Acura dealers will work with me so my car is sitting in a storage yard while I try to figure out what to do. As a result, I am without a car to get to work everyday. …”

NHTSA complaint #11207869, filed 2019-05, 90,000 miles

Air bags: “The contact owns a 2012 Acura TSX. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the front driver’s side inflator had malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the dealer however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 81,915.”

NHTSA complaint #11539917, filed 2023-08, 81,915 miles

Mileage when problems were reported

17% of the 106 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 58,770 and 90,000 miles.

8%0–102%10–257%25–5037%50–7531%75–10012%100–1503%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (106 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 72,276 miles.

Complaints by year filed

Trend: falling. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

’14’16’1847’20’22’24’26
Complaints by year the complaint was filed with NHTSA. Red bars: the last 3 full calendar years used for the trend. The current year (2026) is partial.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2012 Acura TSX. Frontal results are shown driver / passenger; rollover shows the star rating and NHTSA's estimated risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

VersionOverallFrontalSideSide poleRollover
TSX · sedan FWDnot rated———5 · 9.9% risk
TSX V6 · sedan FWDnot rated———5 · 9.9% risk

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), nhtsa.gov/ratings.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2012 Acura TSX version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving).

VersionEngineTransmissionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yr
TSX FWD2.4L 4-cyl5-speed automatic223125$3,300
TSX FWD2.4L 4-cyl6-speed manual212924$3,400
TSX FWD3.5L 6-cyl5-speed automatic192822$3,750
TSX Wagon FWD2.4L 4-cyl5-speed automatic222924$3,400

Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.

Recalls and investigations

Recall details for the 2012 Acura TSX → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls

Technical service bulletins

TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 30 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 30 bulletins →

Other model years of the Acura TSX

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsCrash ★MPGScore (50 = typical)Trend
2014750,2863—24—Not enough data
20133369,7354—245 · FewerFalling
201213372,2766—2467 · MoreFalling
20114579,0007—2413 · FewerFalling
20106328,0767—2389 · MoreRising
20099123,0006—25100 · MoreFalling
20083463,0002—2322 · FewerRising
200722110,3002—23—Falling
20065089,0453—23Not compared (before 2008)Falling
200551102,9653—23Not compared (before 2008)Stable
200414262,0003—23Not compared (before 2008)Falling

All Acura TSX model years · Best and worst years by complaints

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2012 Acura TSX?

Owners of this model year most often report a sudden loss of power steering assist, usually signaled by a "Check Power Steering System" warning, with repair quotes commonly around $1,000-$2,000 for the EPS module. The issues reported most often: Power steering assist cuts out suddenly; Brake pedal soft or stiff in cold weather.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2012 Acura TSX have?

NHTSA recorded 133 consumer complaints for the 2012 Acura TSX as of Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2012 Acura TSX is reported most often?

Steering is named most often, in 100 complaints (75% of the total), followed by electrical system with 16.

Has the 2012 Acura TSX been recalled?

NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What gas mileage does the 2012 Acura TSX get?

The EPA rates the 2012 Acura TSX (TSX, 2.4L 4-cyl) at 24 mpg combined, 21 city and 29 highway, with an estimated annual fuel cost of $3,400 at 15,000 miles a year. Other engine and drive versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2012 Acura TSX reported?

Among the 106 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 72,276 miles and the middle half falls between 58,770 and 90,000 miles; 17% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Crash ratings are from NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).

Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.