The 2001 Acura RL has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 901,731 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS20V0270002020-01-17875,966 affected
Defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2001-2002 Acura 3.2CL, 2000-2003 Acura 3.5RL, 2000-2001 Acura 3.2TL, Honda CR-V and Honda Odyssey, 2001-2002 Acura MDX and 2000 Accord Coupe, Accord Sedan, Civic Coupe, and Civic Sedan vehicles. These vehicles may have received a replacement driver frontal air…
Consequence
In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag cushion may not properly protect the occupant. These scenarios increase the risk of serious injury or death.
Remedy
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bags in the vehicles, replacing the driver frontal air bag inflator with an inflator of a different design, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact American Honda's Customer Support & Campaign Center at…
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, DURING THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, OIL WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL ASSEMBLY TO PREVENT RUST. THIS OIL CAN LEAK INTO THE BRAKE STOP SWITCH AND CONTAMINATE THE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS.
Consequence
EVENTUALLY, THE BRAKE LIGHTS WILL NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED, WHICH INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL CLEAN ANY EXCESS OIL FROM THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY AND REPLACE THE STOP SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 16, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
5
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
2
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT
2
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
1
STEERING
1
1fires
Total complaints12
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I received a safety recall letter in the mail in march 2020. When I called the acura dealer in charlotte they told me that the part would be there in july, called in july they said august called in september and they said that the part is still not there”
“I called acura to see if the type air bag inflator in my car used ammonium nitrate. My car is not on the recalled list but given the nature of the problem I was going to replace, at least the driver's side, if the inflator was using the unstable propellant. Acura would not provide me any…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2001 acura rl. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, smoke started to emit from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering pump was leaking onto the catalytic converter or the engine. As a result, the…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2001 acura 3.5rl. The contact stated that the rear driver side tire became flat. The contact replaced the tire with the spare and within a couple of miles, the abs warning light was illuminated. The contact then experienced a loss of braking power and the rear wheels were…”
“The srs (supplemental restraint system) light came on and I took the vehicle to the dealer. They found an error code 15-1 and they reset the light but said they did not find anything wrong with the srs system. I found another complaint (#10251604) and have the same question why this is not…”
“2001 acura rl. Srs light is on. Dealer checked and found problem with opds unit and sensor and replaced. After replacement, re-initialized the system but the srs stays on. Now, turn out that the srs control unit is bad. Dealer said it will cost approx $2000 to replace the srs control unit. Why srs…”
“2001 acura 3.5 rl srs light elluminates opds sensor or module are replaceable under warranty but opds brain or unit is not covered and this is the part that is causing the srs light to elluminate. Dealer says it is faulty and can not be replaced free. So now I have no air bags in the event of an…”
“Transmission on this model failing across the nation, acura not acknowledging. *ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2001 Acura RL as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.