1999 Acura TL Problems: 5 Known Issues

On the 1999-2000 Acura TL, nHTSA recall campaign 05V025000 covers 1999 and 2000 Acura TL sedans among the vehicles affected. On these cars the interlock operation of the ignition switch may not function properly, so it is possible to turn the ignition key to the "OFF" position and pull the key out even though the transmission has not been shifted into Park. Normally the interlock blocks that, and many TL owners rely on the key coming out as their cue that the car is safely parked. NHTSA lists 486,659 units affected, but that figure is campaign-wide across every Honda and Acura model included — it is not a count of TLs. The safety concern is a rollaway: if the driver removes the key without shifting to Park and also does not set the parking brake, the TL can roll and a crash could occur.

On the 1999 Acura TL, nHTSA recall 03V423000 covers the 1999 Acura TL, along with other Honda and Acura passenger cars and minivans, for excessive wear inside the ignition switch. As the cylinder body wears, the key-to-park interlock stops doing its job on the TL, so the driver can turn the key to "OFF" and pull it out even though the shifter is still in a drive gear rather than Park. The campaign covers 563,861 vehicles in total across every model included in the recall. The safety concern is what happens after the driver walks away: with the transmission not in Park and the parking brake not set, the TL can roll away on its own and cause a crash.

On the 1999 Acura TL, the 1999 Acura TL is covered by NHTSA recall campaign 02V120000, which addresses degradation of the electrical contacts inside the ignition switch. Every time the TL is started, high electrical current passes through the switch, and over time that current wears the contacts down. Once the contacts are worn, the engine can stall without warning while the car is being driven. NHTSA lists roughly 1,000,000 units for the campaign as a whole — that figure covers all of the Honda and Acura sedans, coupes, hatchbacks and SUVs included in the recall, not the TL alone.

On the 1999-2000 Acura TL, acura 3.2TL sedans from the 1999 and 2000 model years are recalled under NHTSA campaign 20V026000. The driver frontal airbag in these cars uses a Non-Azide Driver airbag Inflator (NADI), a type that uses no phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant — meaning this recall is not the same as the PSAN inflator recalls on later Honda and Acura models; NHTSA lists no PSAN inflator recall for the 1999-2000 TL. A manufacturing defect allows the NADI inflator to absorb moisture. If the driver airbag deploys in a crash, a moisture-affected inflator may rupture, propelling metal fragments into the cabin at the driver or other occupants; alternatively, the airbag cushion may underinflate and not protect the driver as intended. Either way, the risk of serious injury or death goes up. Honda's filing covers 1,439,841 vehicles campaign-wide across all the Honda, Acura and Isuzu models involved.

On the 1999 Acura TL 3.2L V6 J32A1, 1999 was the launch year of the 2nd-gen TL with the 3.2L J32A V6 and a 4-speed automatic (the 5-speed automatic arrived for 2000). This transmission family turned into one of the worst Acura defects of the early 2000s — torque converter failure, 3rd-gear clutch pack burn-up, blocked oil passages from debris, and complete failure became common. American Honda extended the transmission and torque converter warranties in 2003 (per TSB 02-027, which lists the 1999 TL). The first-generation (1996-1998) TL uses the older 4-speed automatic which is generally reliable; the 1999 TL's 4-speed is covered by the same bulletin as the later 5-speed. Every 1999 TL is a 2nd-gen car with the 4-speed automatic; there was no 1st-gen 1999 carryover.