"How reliable is the 1997 Acura Tl?"

"Based on 29 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Acura Tl has a median complaint mileage of 91000 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Acura Tl?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Acura Tl is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 29 total complaints filed."

1997 Acura Tl: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 29 complaints

Total Complaints

91,000mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

78,500 25th Percentile

91,000 Median Mileage

120,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

TIRES:SIDEWALL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WINDSHIELD WIPERS DO NOT CLEAR SNOW FROM WINDSHIELD, CAUSING LARGE BLIND SPOT ON DRIVER'S SIDE."

"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 HA..."

"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..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 complaints

Median: 101,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 5 VA: 5 NY: 4 CA: 4 PA: 2 IA: 2 NJ: 1 OH: 1 TN: 1 MO: 1

Who Files Complaints?

24.1%

Original Owners

75.9%

Second+ Owners

Acura Tl — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1996	33	114,000	SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT	8
1998	22	98,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE	4
1999	197	112,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	27
2000	322	113,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	30
2001	163	81,500	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	8
2002	403	73,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	38
2003	466	76,167	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	36
2004	766	90,000	STRUCTURE	17
2005	549	95,600	AIR BAGS	9
2006	342	90,000	AIR BAGS	13
2007	167	75,529	AIR BAGS	5
2008	181	88,000	AIR BAGS	6
2009	51	50,037	AIR BAGS	5
2010	75	60,000	AIR BAGS	7
2011	23	89,500	AIR BAGS	1
2012	162	48,000	AIR BAGS	4
2013	73	66,328	STEERING	1

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28