Problems · NHTSA complaints

2005 Acura RL problems

Owners filed 125 complaints about the 2005 Acura RL with NHTSA between Dec 2004 and Apr 2025. The most-cited component is exterior lighting (49).

Complaints
125
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Exterior lighting49
  2. Air bags36
  3. Electrical system18
  4. Structure7
  5. Service brakes, hydraulic7
  6. Vehicle speed control4
  7. Power train3
  8. Suspension3
  9. Equipment3
  10. Electronic stability control (esc)2
  11. Fuel system, gasoline2
  12. Seat belts2
  13. Engine2
  14. Steering2

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20041
20058
20066
20072
20081
20099
201015
20119
20126
20138
201411
20158
201631
20172
20181
20192
20202
20211
20220
20231
20240
20251

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Exterior lighting

49 reports1 crash
“CHECK AIRBAG SYSTEM LIGHT ON. CONNECTION TO HEADLIGHT DEFECTIVE, HEADLIGHT TURNS ON AND OFF RANDOMLY LIKE WHEN GOING OVER A BUMP, BUT TURNS BACK ON IF YOU TURN LIGHT OFF THEN ON AGAIN.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 25, 2020Exterior lighting, Air bagsODI 11301852

Air bags

36 reports1 crash7 related recalls
“I bought the car there was no airbag light on it I was driving down my road and it just randomly turned on been on ever since. Sunnyside Acura Told me that the frontal driver side airbag was replaced in 2016, Then they told me that it would not be under recall because they pretty much said they had already fixed it but the problem had occurred. They said it was done it 2016 the air bag should last the life of the vehicle. I was doing some research on Kelley Blue Book I had noticed that there is a campaign number and it sounds exactly like they issue that I was occurring that Acura told me and charged me $189 for diagnosis and told be about 2K to replace airbag . The campaign number is 19V501000 and it says August 12th 2019 is when the recall stated but Acura is showing not results and it is a safety issue so I would assume that it would be free of charge because of the safety issue not being my fault and having no history of car crashes and maintenance back to 2005 was done. .”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 26, 2025Air bagsODI 11656922

Electrical system

18 reports1 fire
“Small electric fire in driver side door panel melted all the way through outside door handle . After this happened to me I looked through forums and this seems to be a common issue with this car and there has been no recall for this issue . Very unsafe”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 29, 2021Electrical systemFire reportedODI 11430934

Structure

7 reports
“MY VEHICLE'S DASHBOARD GLOVE BOX IS DEFECTIVE. I BELIEVE THIS HAPPENS TO MANY VEHICLES WHICH NO ONE BOTHERS TO REPORT. MY GLOVE BOX, WHEN IT'S HOT OR THE SUN IS OUT, THE EXTERNAL LEATHER OR MATERIAL THAT IT IS MADE OF, SOFTENS AND DETERIORATED LIKE IT'S MELTED PLASTIC. ANY CONTACT THE LEATHER HAS WITH ANYTHING, THE LEATHER IS DAMAGED EASILY AND INDENTED VERY BADLY WHERE IT'S UNABLE TO REPAIR BESIDES TAKING IT TO A PROFESSIONAL. I'VE NOTICED MANY OTHER VEHICLES WITH THIS ISSUE, AND IT SEEMS TO BE A DEFECT I. THE VEHICLE WHICH IS OVERLOOKED TO BE RECALLED. I'VE HAD MY SUNSHADE JUST TEMPORARILY LEFT TO LAY AGAINST THE GLOVE BOX IN THE SUN FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES, AND THE LEATHER ON THE GLOVE BOX WAS INDENTED AND TORN FROM THE LIGHTWEIGHT SUNSHADE. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 4, 2020StructureODI 11327339

Service brakes, hydraulic

7 reports1 crash2 related recalls
“DEFECT INVESTIGATION EA13002 HAS 1 RELATED RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 13V092000 MY CAR WAS NOT EXPERIENCING ANY PROBLEMS AT THE TIME OF THIS RECALL BUT I DID TAKE IT IN TO HAVE THE SERVICE COMPLETED IN JUNE 2013. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO MY CAR STARTED ACTING EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT. WHILE DRIVING ANYWHERE FROM 45-50 MPH, THE BRAKES WILL ENGAGE ON THEIR OWN, JERKING THE CAR TO THE SIDE AND THE VSA WARNING LIGHT AS WELL AS THE SH-AWD DRIVE LIGHT WILL COME ON IN THE CAR. THIS HAPPENS ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, AT LEAST EVERY 3 DAYS, SOMETIMES EVERY DAY. APPARENTLY THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS BECAUSE THE RECALL FIX HAS NOT PREVENTED THIS FROM CONTINUING TO HAPPEN. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE LOCAL ACURA DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS AND WAS TOLD THE YAW RATE SENSOR IS GIVING POOR INFORMATION TO THE ECU AND STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM AND I AM SUPPOSED TO PAY $1050.00 TO HAVE A NEW YAW RATE SENSOR INSTALLED. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING FOR THIS WHEN IT IS A DEFECT AND CAN CAUSE INJURY TO ME OR OTHER PASSENGERS ON THE ROAD. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 26, 2014Service brakes, hydraulic, Electronic stability control (esc), Traction control systemODI 10606234

Vehicle speed control

4 reports1 crash
“UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SLOW DOWN. WHEN SHIFTED TO N DURING AN EVENT, TACHOMETER READS 6000 RPM. THROTTLE PEDAL AND AREA ARE CLEAR, NO CODES.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 21, 2019Vehicle speed controlODI 11281621
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.