2014 Acura ILX — Should You Buy One?
Typical asking price: $8,000–$12,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.
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Kestrel Take
A 29-complaint record is thin, and 20 of those 29 are the same complaint: Takata airbag recall notices with no parts to fix them, filed in 2016. Strip those out and nine people wrote in about a 2014 ILX in twelve years — two of them about an engine-bay fire while parked and running, which is the one thing in this file we cannot wave away. The car underneath is the same 2.0L/five-speed, 2.4L manual or Civic-derived Hybrid as the 2013, with a fuel-tank recall added. A thin record is not a reliability rating; it means few people filed. Check the five recalls on the VIN, smell the engine bay after a hot idle, and price it like the Civic it is.
What we checked
Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25
NHTSA holds 29 owner complaints for the 2014 Acura ILX, and 5 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. 69% of them are about one thing — airbags. 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.
5 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 2014 Acura ILX
Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.
Recalls 16V061 and 19V182 both cover the 2014 ILX's driver-side Takata inflator, which can rupture in a crash and send metal fragments into the cabin. The fix is a free inflator, but almost every one of the 20 airbag complaints is an owner in 2016 who got the notice and was told parts were months away — some leases ended before the part arrived. So a 2014 that was traded in during that stretch may have slipped through. Run the VIN on NHTSA's recall page before the test drive; if either campaign is open, have the dealer do it before you take delivery, not after.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under airbags (20); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Six complaints between the ENGINE and ELECTRICAL clusters, and two of them are fires: one car caught fire at a headlight while idling in a parking lot, another sent sparks from under the hood and was engulfed within a minute of the passenger smelling smoke. Two reports in 29 is not a pattern we can name a part for — but it is two more fires than the 2013 has, and one of them points at the headlight area that recall 14V323 exists for. The rest are cars that needed the start button pressed several times, with a battery replaced and the fault back six months later — on a Honda of this era that is usually a weak battery, a corroded ground strap, or the starter relay. At the car: idle it hot for ten minutes with the headlights on, then open the hood and smell for hot plastic; then shut it off and restart it five times.
Repair cost (estimate): $150–$700 for starter, relay or ground repairs
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (3), electrics and electronics (3).
Recall 19V052 covers every 2014–2019 ILX: the fuel tank can be misshapen so the pump sits high and the level float sticks, and the gauge shows more fuel than is there. The failure mode is running dry on the highway with no warning, which is a stall in traffic. Dealers inspect the tank and replace it free where needed. Only two owners filed a fuel-system complaint, but this is a whole-run recall, so the question is simply whether it was done. Confirm on the VIN, and on the test drive note whether the gauge moves at all over twenty miles.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (2); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 20V770 applies to 2013–2015 ILXs with the six-speed manual that were ever registered in a road-salt state. The driveshaft coating wears, the shaft rusts, and a broken shaft means sudden loss of drive or a rollaway if the car was left in gear without the parking brake. Free inspection and replacement. Automatics are not included, so on a 2.0L this is a non-issue; on a 2.4L manual from the Northeast or Midwest, ask for the recall paperwork and check both shafts for scaling rust near the boots.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $300–$700 per driveshaft otherwise
Source: 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Recall 14V323 covers 2014 ILXs built May 2, 2013 to May 31, 2014: heat around the low-beam bulb degrades the housing, dropping light output and, in the words of the recall, creating excessive heat around the bulb. Headlight assemblies were replaced free. Two owners filed lighting complaints and one of the fires above began at a headlight, so this is worth a minute: with the low beams on for five minutes, look for milky lenses and feel the bulb cap for heat that seems out of proportion.
Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $400–$900 per aftermarket assembly
Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the lights (2); 5 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.
Walk-Away Red Flags
- ✗Either Takata campaign (16V061 or 19V182) open on the NHTSA VIN lookup
- ✗Hot-plastic or electrical smell under the hood after a ten-minute idle with the lights on
- ✗Start button that needs more than one press to crank
- ✗Fuel gauge that has not moved after a twenty-mile drive
- ✗Milky low-beam lenses on a car built before June 2014
Good Signs
- ✓All five recalls shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
- ✓Driver inflator replaced with a dealer invoice, and the fuel tank inspected under 19V052
- ✓A single-press start five times in a row, hot and cold
- ✓Headlight assemblies replaced under 14V323, lenses clear
- ✓Battery and starter tested at a shop within the last year, with the printout
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Known issues on this page are based on documented owner reports, NHTSA complaints, class-action records, and manufacturer technical service bulletins. Individual vehicles vary. A pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic is always worth doing.
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