1997 Acura TL problems
NHTSA has received 29 complaints about the 1997 Acura TL, and 28% of them involve electrical system. Next are cruise control (14%) and transmission (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 29 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 91% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Acura TL with enough data (15 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Brakes: driving approximately 35MPH, slowed down to 10MPH to make a right turn and there were no brakes. Pushed pedal to the floor and brakes did not catch , ran into the side of another car, resulting in a collision/injuries and vehicle wa stotalled. This is an intermittent problem which always happens when at low speed.
Was driving at 5 MPH or less noticed an odor of burned wire. Making a right to pull into parking space when consumer saw smoke coming from steering column. Vehicle suddenly accelerated, causing the consumer to hit front of a building that was located at least 12 feet away, and lost control. Dealer cannot determine problem.
Digital A/C display stopped functioning. Dealer said component cost would be @ $1,600.00 (85% value of car). Offered no alternative (after-market, used part). Coincided with dash lights going out, indicated gear position (nuetral, reverse, drive, etc).
Automatic transmission keeps popping when changing gears. Brought back for service when under warranty. Transmission fluid was flushed. Problem went away for a month. After a month problem would arise again. This has been going on since purchase of vehicle. I friend was the same model, has the same problem.