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Problems · NHTSA complaints

1997 Acura SLX problems

Owners filed 11 complaints about the 1997 Acura SLX with NHTSA between Oct 1997 and Oct 2008. The most-cited component is air bags (4).

Full 1997 SLX research
Complaints
11
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags4
  2. Exterior lighting1
  3. Suspension1
  4. Seats1
  5. Power train1
  6. Vehicle speed control1
  7. Steering1
  8. Electrical system1
  9. Visibility1
  10. Engine and engine cooling1
  11. Other / unknown1

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 10, 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
19971
19982
19992
20003
20010
20021
20031
20040
20050
20060
20070
20081

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

Air bags

4 reports2 crashes
“WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES, THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *NLM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 9, 2003Air bagsODI 10002418
Get this fixed

Exterior lighting

1 report
“I HAVE THE 1997 ACURA SLX. I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE HEADLIGHTS COMING ON WHENEVER IT GETS COLD OUTSIDE. WHEN THE TEMP IS 30 DEGREES OR LOWER THE HEADLIGHTS COME ON BY THEMSELVES. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO SEE WHAT CAUSES THIS BUT NO ONE CAN CORRECT THE PROBLEM OR EVEN KNOWS WHAT CAUSES THE LIGHTS TO COME ON. AS A RESULT OF LIGHTS COMING ON IT RUNS DOWN THE BATTERY. I HAVE HAD THE CABLE WIRES REPLACED I HAVE PURCHASED NEW BATTERIES AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD CAUSE THIS PROBLEM? *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 27, 2008Exterior lightingODI 10246866
Get this fixed

Suspension

1 report1 crash1 related recall
“VEHICLE LOST ALL CONTROL RESULTING IN COLLISION DUE TO POSSIBLE RECALL RELATED FAILURE OF THE BALL JOINTS (99V-069), NO DEPLOYMENT OF BOTH FRONTAL AIR BAGS DURING COLLISION AND THE HEAD REST FAILED, THE BOTTOM POSTS THAT SUPPORT THE HEAD RESTS, SPLIT THE HEAD OF THE DRIVER THROUGH THE PADDING MATERIAL. *MJS”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 10, 2000Suspension, Air bags, SeatsCrash reportedODI 552941
Recall: SuspensionGet this fixed

Seats

1 report1 crash
Get this fixed

Power train

1 report
“NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 19, 2000Power trainODI 724220
Get this fixed

Vehicle speed control

1 report
“VEHICLE DEACCELERATES 65 MPH UNTIL 0. YH”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 28, 1999Vehicle speed controlODI 548783
Get this fixed
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

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