10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
80,449 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2005 Acura RL electrical problems

electrical problem

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2005 Acura RL Owner Comments

problem #17

Aug 292021

RL

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Small electric fire in driver side door panel melted all the way through outside door handle. After this happened to me I looked through forums and this seems to be a common issue with this car and there has been no recall for this issue. Very unsafe

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #16

Jan 072017

RL

  • 250,000 miles
Door handle started smoking and will not let start gps display screen does not work clock display does not work vsa light is on all the time car was stationary burnt outside door handle.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

problem #15

May 132016

RL

  • 161,000 miles
My headlights flicker a lot while driving at night. They go out sometimes one at a time, driver's side headlight or passenger side headlight. Sometimes they both go off and I am required to turn the headlights off and back on using the switch. This is very dangerous and the afs light comes on every so often. This needs to be fixed immediately. I read from several forums that a lot of Acura owners for years 2005 and 2006 experienced this same issue that I am going through. I need Acura to resolve this issue. Is there a recall for this? please have someone contact me asap!

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #14

May 012014

RL

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine running but no acceleration. Shut off and restart enabled 3 days of driving with no further issues. Shop declared, "... loose battery cable." (seems not likely) incident was on us 3-lane highway in traffic with speeds posted at 65 mph updated 01/31/17

- Severn, MD, USA

problem #13

Jul 152014

RL

  • 174,000 miles
Headlights intermittently flicker and shut off, seemingly regardless of vehicle speed or driving conditions. At times, the right passenger side light shuts off. Less frequently, the left driver side or both lights shut off. Also, of late, the active front lighting indicator ("afs") turns on, seemingly at random, and whether or not afs is on or off.

- Eden Prairie, MN, USA

problem #12

Mar 062015

RL 6-cyl

  • 25,790 miles
When trying to use keyless access system when locking the 2005 Acura Rl I press the button on the door handle to lock the doors but it is not locking the car. The remote is in my pocket. The keyless access does let me unlock the door with the pull on the driver door handle. The problem is when trying to lock the vehicle with the driver door handle it will not lock the car. So now I have to just use the keyfob to lock the car with pressing the lock button on the remote. I have read and done all required to do what the manual says but it is still not working. I have just read a service bulletin saying that there is a problem with the door handles that weather like rain or moisture has gotten inside and damaged the door handle sensors.

- Greenville, NC, USA

problem #11

Feb 282014

RL 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving, or stationery, driver headlight flickers and shuts off, followed by the passenger light. The only way to regain headlight function, lights must be turned off and back on constantly.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #10

Nov 062013

RL 6-cyl

  • 136,100 miles
I was driving at about 30 mph on rufe snow in North richland hill, tx about 2:00pm, when my engine suddenly stopped. All electrical was shut down. Traffic was approaching me from behind and I was afraid of being hit from behind. I was unable to open my doors, lower windows or even put the emergency flashers on. I was trapped. I called 911 and reported my situation. However, just before the police arrived, a man walked over to my vehicle and tried to open the door from the outside without success. I pulled the hood switch and he was able to move the wire on the battery which was loose and the electronic and all began to function. I called Acura Corp. And the macchurhill dealership and asked if there was a manual method of escaping such a situation. They could not give that suggestion.

- North Richland Hills, TX, USA

problem #9

Jun 202013

RL 6-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
Hid headlights go out intermittently and flicker all the time. When I check on line, it seems like this is a very big problem with this model vehicle. Many other people are having the same problem with this model and the dealers are trying to charge astronomical prices to fix this safety item.

- Frisco, TX, USA

problem #8

Aug 312009

RL 6-cyl

  • 64,000 miles
There is an intermittent safety issue with the active headlights on the Acura Rl vehicle. Occasionally, the headlights will shut themselves off during operation at night. Sometimes it's just one and sometimes it's both. This is an issue that has been brought to the dealers attention. They cannot find anything wrong so they just suggest changing out all of the active components at the owners expense. I do not feel this should be paid for by the owner as this is a long running vehicle safety issue which should be cleared up by the Honda corporation.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

problem #7

Feb 032011

RL 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We have a 2005 Acura Rl. During driving, the entire power drops. Without electricity to all components, the power steering goes, the engine stops, all lights on the dash board off. After a few seconds to a minute, the power comes back. But the car will be showing all kinds of error messages. The transmission will be at a wrong gear. Acura dealer service can reproduce the problem but for over one month, they cannot fix it because they do not know what is wrong. The driver at he dealership who experienced the problem was so scared and the dealer told us the car is extremely dangerous to drive.

- Clarksville, MD, USA

problem #6

Mar 162011

RL

  • 52,000 miles
Headlight flicker on / off. Sometime completely shutoff, but will turn back on after turn off and on the headlight. This issue is repeatable for over a few weeks.

- 01460, MA, USA

problem #5

Aug 232010

RL

  • 57,000 miles
Headlights have been flickering here and there, getting worse and worse. Now the drivers side headlight goes out and comes back on occasionally.

- Brownstown, MI, USA

problem #4

Jun 042010

RL

  • 52,000 miles
2005 Acura Rl active front headlighting I first complained about the problem to my dealer, and nothing was done. During driving at night the drivers head light flickers and goes off completely I live in Tennessee so I drive on mountain roads alot, to get the light back on to work properly I have to actually stop in the middle of the road, or pull over safely and turn off the headlights then back on again, this happens when going around curves, as well as over rough pavement I have researched online and this is a problem that occurs with this system and there has not been a positive fix as of yet please advise.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #3

Nov 222009

RL

  • 48,000 miles
1) filling gas tank - repeat shut off at filling station immediately following incidence at filling station the nest day the following occurred to my vehicle: 2) remote keyless entry failure 3) navigation system failure 4) no heat or air conditioning $ 700 charge at dealer for them to replace: Passenger side outer door handle for traced short to handle causing blown fuse which was (above listed ) resolved problems 2-4. $ 1700+ charge at dealer for them to replace fuel tank - problem unknown. Could there be a condition similar to mustang fuel tank problem in 2005,2006 & 2007 models? condition may be due to the fuel tank vapor venting system inside the fuel tank, a heat-induced fuel vapor lock, or other gasoline fuel fill interruption situations.

- Ham Lake, MN, USA

problem #2

Jul 312009

RL

  • 62,750 miles
My headlight on my Acura Rl are intermittent and going out every so often, more often then not. The problem just started to happen. It happens all the time off and on. The problem is with the light ballast and it will run you from $500 to $1200 to repair.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #1

Dec 152004

RL

  • miles
2005 Acura Rl broke down within 10 miles of dealership immediately after purchase. Vehicle has electrical problems. On each breakdown, the sh-AWD and vsa warning light illuminated at the same time. The navigation screen which controlled all of the electrical system totally failed. The yar rate sensor under the center dash was defective.

- Arlington Heights, IL, USA

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