"How reliable is the 2005 Acura Rl?"

"Based on 152 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Acura Rl has a median complaint mileage of 73000 miles. The most common issue is Exterior Lighting."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Acura Rl?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Acura Rl is Exterior Lighting, accounting for a significant portion of the 152 total complaints filed."

2005 Acura Rl: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 152 complaints

152

Total Complaints

73,000mi

Median Mileage

Exterior Lighting

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

48,000 25th Percentile

73,000 Median Mileage

125,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Exterior Lighting

Air Bags

Electrical System

Headlights

Body

Unknown Or Other

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

Vehicle Speed Control

Power Train

Engine

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2005 ACURA RL BROKE DOWN WITHIN 10 MILES OF DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASE. VEHICLE HAS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. *BF ON EACH BREAKDOWN, THE SH-AWD AND VSA WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AT THE SAME TIME. THE NAVIGATION SCREEN WHICH CONTROLLED ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TOTALLY FAILED. THE YAR R..."

"AFTER INFORMING THE ACURA SERVICE CENTER ABOUT 3 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT THAT THE BRAKES WERE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, AND BEING REASSURED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES, I REAR-ENDED ANOTHER CAR ON APRIL 5 BECAUSE THE BRAKES FAILED AGAIN. ACURA REFUSED T..."

"AT LOW SPEEDS ON ROUGH STREETS, ALL 4 WHEEL SUSPENSIONS MAKE A VERY METALLIC NOISE. I HAVE BEEN LEAD TO BELEIVE THAT IT IS DUE TO MIS MANUFACTURED BRAKE COMPONENTS. ONE DEALER DID "BEND" THE BRAKE "CLIPS" AND THE NOISE SUBSIDED FOR ABOUT 1000 MILES, BUT THE PROBLEM IS BACK AND THE DEALERS ARE SAYI..."

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.

Exterior Lighting 42 complaints

25th: 56,250 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 119,500 mi

Air Bags 36 complaints

25th: 127,000 mi Median: 136,000 mi 75th: 180,250 mi

Electrical System 18 complaints

25th: 53,250 mi Median: 67,000 mi 75th: 133,325 mi

Headlights 7 complaints

25th: 60 mi Median: 2,894 mi 75th: 85,000 mi

Body 5 complaints

25th: 36,000 mi Median: 50,000 mi 75th: 145,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 21 MD: 13 GA: 10 FL: 9 PA: 9 NY: 8 NJ: 7 MN: 6 MA: 6 IL: 5

Who Files Complaints?

7.9%

Original Owners

92.1%

Second+ Owners

Acura Rl — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1996	26	144,000	Power Window Devices And Controls	2
1997	24	145,000	Lower Ball Joint	2
1999	26	81,395	Air Bags	0
2000	79	77,000	Air Bags	6
2002	54	81,000	Air Bags	1
2006	39	48,000	Air Bags	3
2007	23	34,750	Air Bags	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