2008 Acura TL problems
NHTSA has received 181 complaints about the 2008 Acura TL, and 19% of them involve air bags. Next are steering (14%) and body & structure (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 181 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 88,000 miles 129 complaints with mileage
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%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 19 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 15 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 9 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 129 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 88,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (27 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Acura TL with enough data (41 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.
February 2020 going downhill at 30MPH on a curved road, and my wheel snaps to the right thanks to recalled ball joints!!!!!!!!! Hit the curb, snapped my rotor in half and the brake line. Lower control arm went thru my cradle. Spinning out of control with no steering and no freaking brakes at all. Out of nowhere! Totaled suspension all the way around. Only freakin airbag to go off was the passenger window airbag. Whole car was [xxx] because of manufactor issues! Sounds like acura should replace my freaking car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 acura tl. The contact stated the brakes made a loud squeaking noise while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure and the dealer advised that the noise was normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was found that the vehicle's rotors were not the correct size and caused brake pad to become misaligned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 acura tl. While the contact's granddaughter was driving, the air bag deployed without warning or an impact. The driver and front and rear passengers had ringing in their ears and saw flashing lights due to the air bag explosion. There were no injuries and medical attention was not received. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The contact was provided case number: 09727380.