Buyer Research

2011 Acura TSX — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,500–$11,500. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 5 Acura TSX years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Forty-five complaints is a small record, but its shape is unmistakable: forty percent of it is the electric power steering module, and that share climbs again on the 2012 and 2013. Our 2010 page has far fewer steering filings, which may be a real difference or may be that fewer 2010 owners were still filing by the time the failures started — we would not lean on it either way. Everything else here is the Takata passenger airbag and a brake pedal that goes hard when it is properly cold. This is a well-built, pleasant car with one expensive known weak point. Price the steering module into your offer and it is a sound buy.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 45 owner complaints for the 2011 Acura TSX, and 7 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 40% of them are about one thing — steering. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

7 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2011 Acura TSX

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Electric power steering module fails and the wheel goes heavy while drivingHigh — wallet impact

The EPS module quits, a check power steering warning appears, and the wheel becomes very hard to turn — owners here report it happening in moving traffic, at a stop light, and once with the wheel locking. Sometimes it resets after switching the car off and on, which is how people talk themselves into ignoring it. Acura never recalled it. Owners quote $1,300 to $1,700 at a dealer; independents fitting a rebuilt module charge less. Ask the seller directly whether the steering warning has ever appeared, and check the dash lights all extinguish after start-up.

Repair cost (estimate): $900–$1,800

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (18).

Takata passenger airbag inflator across seven overlapping campaignsHigh — wallet impact

Seven campaigns cover this car, all of them the front passenger inflator: 16V346, 17V030, 18V042, 18V661 and 19V502 expand the population over time, while 17V545 and 19V378 exist to catch inflators that were fitted incorrectly during earlier repairs. That last part matters, because a car repaired once may still be open. Owners here describe being told not to carry front-seat passengers for six months while parts were unavailable. The work costs nothing. Check the VIN on NHTSA's site rather than taking the seller's word.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (11); 7 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Brake pedal goes solid below freezing and the car will not stop normallyHigh — wallet impact

Owners describe backing out normally at 7 degrees, then reaching a stop sign at 30 mph to find the pedal feels like a brick underfoot. It returns to normal once the car warms through, and it repeats every cold day. One owner had the fluid replaced and bled repeatedly with no change, which points away from the hydraulics and towards the vacuum supply to the booster. There is no recall and Acura told owners it was normal. If you live north of a freezing line, arrange to test the car first thing on a cold morning.

Repair cost: Not yet priced — a safety matter first, a repair bill second

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (7).

ABS and stability control modulator failure gives a long, soft pedalHigh — wallet impact

A separate brake fault appears in this record: the ABS and VSA warning lights come and go, and in one 2024 filing the pedal suddenly went to the floor without stopping the car. A dealer quoted one owner $2,900 for the modulator unit alone. Independent shops and rebuilt units bring it down substantially, but it is still a four-figure repair on a car worth five figures at best. Any intermittent ABS or VSA light on this car should be diagnosed before purchase, not written off as a wheel sensor.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,900 — about 31% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (7).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Check power steering message, or a wheel that takes real effort at parking speed
✗ABS or VSA warning lights that appear and disappear on their own
✗Brake pedal that stays hard for the first several stops on a cold morning
✗Dashboard SRS light lit, or a passenger airbag off indicator that stays on with someone seated
✗A steering wheel that feels heavier one direction than the other

Good Signs

✓An EPS module replaced, with the part and labour written on the invoice
✓All seven airbag campaigns showing closed on the VIN lookup
✓ABS and VSA lights that go out together a few seconds after start-up and stay out on the drive
✓Brake fluid flushed within the last three years with a dated receipt
✓Full Acura dealer service history through the first six years