Avoid: 2006, 2005, 2000 (lowest Year Scores on complaints per year on the road, crash reports and recalls)
Best: 2012 (few owner reports)
13 model years of NHTSA owner complaints and recalls · How we grade
Across 17 model years, the Acura RL has 483 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 76 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are air bags and electrical system. 2005 drew the most complaints (125), 2012 the fewest (1).
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for Acura RL vehicles (US, public record). Typical used asking price $5,890–$9,995.
Complaint volume by model year. Raw NHTSA totals, not adjusted for sales volume or time on the road, so older and higher-selling years accumulate more. Every year links to its full breakdown.
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2010 | 9 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2008 | 13 |
| 2007 | 20 |
| 2006 | 32 |
| 2005 | 125 |
| 2004 | 11 |
| 2003 | 14 |
| 2002 | 59 |
| 2001 | 25 |
| 2000 | 70 |
| 1999 | 38 |
| 1998 | 11 |
| 1997 | 20 |
| 1996 | 24 |
Highest: 2005 (125 complaints). Lowest: 2012 (1).
Owners regard the RL as a comfortable, quiet, well-built luxury sedan with a strong V6 and a notably refined cabin, and several long-term owners report trouble-free runs past 200,000 miles.
Owner insights cover all generations of the RL. Individual model years are broken down above.
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