MarcoTLX

Hey everyone recently bought a new 2019 TLX A-Spec AWD about 2 months ago. And yesterday evening on my way home from work the engine just took a crap on me and seized up in the middle of an intersection. (talk about embarrassing) The car shifted into N and just shut off would not turn back on. Even the tow man couldn’t get the car to turn on with a battery jumper so it isn’t the battery.

however shortly before the engine seized I heard a ticking sound from the engine when I would accelerate and when I let off the throttle the sound would go away. It sounded weird and I planned to take it into my local Acura dealer the very next morning but the engine I guess had other plans. So It’s currently at the dealer and they have to run diagnostics and see what happened.

I only have 61.7k miles on the car. Plus I bought an extended warranty with the car so this should all be fixed under warranty. Anyone may have an idea what the issue was?

18TLXAspec

Sorry to hear about your situation! So that "ticking" sound may have been a damaged bearing, could have been a valve too, which subsequently failed and in the process likely caused other damage resulting in the engine seizing up. Hopefully it wasn't a valve as that would be an indicator of the engine RPMs above the red line. I had a similar situation happen at about 38k where a bearing failed and took out a connecting rod. You're within the original manufacturers power-train warranty so they should repair it under warranty, unless they determine it to be attributable to RPMs above the red line. I'd put my money it being a bearing as there seems to have been a number of folks having that issue. In either case it may take some time for parts, so hopefully they put you in a free loaner.

MarcoTLX

It shouldn’t be RPMs above redline I know this car has a manual mode but I never really used it. Have I driven the car spiritedly? Yes In sport mode but the ECU and Transmission never allowed the car to rev over the redline infact it would shift slightly earlier than the redline. I just want my car fixed and back in my possession cause I’m gonna be without my car yet again and I really enjoy driving my TLX despite the issues I have had with this one so far. I already had it in service 2 months ago when I bought it because the door lock actuator was malfunctioning. And now this.

my dealer put me in an ILX A-Spec loaner so that’s cool I suppose. I’ll report back when service calls me today or tomorrow to tell me what actually happened with the engine.

dezymond

Most like it threw a bearing. Hope you still under warranty.

MarcoTLX

Yes I am and this morning I called my Finance Manager whom I worked with when I bought the car to confirm my extended warranty coverage which I do have the premier coverage that covers powertrain, climate control, engine cooling, engine electrical and a slew of other things. All covered up to 100k miles

18TLXAspec

Yeah, I fall more under the "despite every effort, somehow my kid made us late again" sort of spirited driver. TBCH, I recently had bearing damage reoccur and I get the feeling that for one reason or another it may not mix well with this engine. I got it repaired and I'm taking it easy. For now it seems the mileage is much improved from what I was previously getting, even when taking it easy.

ethlar

Going through the same right now, 2015 sh-awd, 57k miles. Noticed the knocking and called the dealer, took 2 weeks to get an appointment, and another 2 to get acura out to look at it but theyre replacing the engine. Apparently had 3 cylinders with bad bearings and enough metal shavings throughout from it that they're not risking reusing the heads. Fortunately the i bought it CPO so it still just barely had powertrain warranty on it.

Acura TL Builder

Have you guys seen the bearings that are used for J series engines? I had my Acura dealer reship bearings from different dealerships three times, because all the green/green bearings they had had manufactureres defects.. ALL the green/green(most common bearing) bearings had severe damage on them from the factory. There were deep gashes in the bearings while they were still in the package. This is what Acura sells to repairhouses to rebuilt J series engines.

Acura then decided to scrap all green/green bearings nationwide and order new batches.

Seems the issue was "manufactured".

DouglasM

Well at least you have the extended warranty. Your engine should definitely be covered under that.

buildingroof

That is terrible news, glad you have a Warranty, it sounds like a manufacturing problem as I've seen several 2018 and 2019 with the problem and a couple of 2015 and 2016 models (how wide spread is anyone's guess) . What happened to the Honda/Acura reliability?
I have a 2015 TLX Advance with almost 100K miles and I could not be happier with it (plan on keeping it for another 10 years), I also have an exclusionary extended warranty that is good through 9/25 and covered for 60K miles or 145K total miles on the odometer. I only drive 5K - 7K miles per yr. Good luck and keep us updated. What do you think of the 2018 Toyota Camry XSE V6 301 HP? I know it would be a downgrade in quality if I ever decide to trade in my TLX.

MarcoTLX

yes many others on other Acura forums came forward telling me they had exact same engine failure on V6 TLXs of the 2018s, 2020s, and even a 2015 Model years.

So far the only update I have is they told me they are still
trying to diagnose my car :/

As for the Toyota Camry? I don’t think of it lol I would never consider it cause I would consider a Lexus IS350 before ever looking at a Camry. However I don’t want to leave Acura since I truly believe in their product and it’s reliability as my previous 2016 TLX V6 never gave me ANY engine issues. So replacement engine is what needs to happen next for my current TLX

Chrisdg19006

Better luck than me, my friend. My 2016 SH-AWD Advance started acting up at 110,000. First sign of trouble was engine stalling out when the idle stop system was attempting to restart the engine. Then a few weeks later strange noises I’ve never heard, then shortly thereafter one day at highway speeds the check engine light started flashing and the car went to limp home mode. Dealer replaced the engine, warranty was long expired.

Only reason I’m still driving it is the new engine came with a 3 year warranty, so I feel like the car owes me something for my $6,500 investment.

But definitely my last Honda/Acura product. Going with Lexus next.

619rcr

$6500? seems pretty absurd since J series are pretty easy to rebuild / replace. dealer prices i guess.

Acura probably should install magnetic drain plugs to help identify signs of bearing failure.

what oil change intervals are you guys with engine failures using?

MarcoTLX

Honestly I wouldn't know about oil change intervals that was done on this car except for what was on the carfax as I barely owned this car for 2 months and only got to drive it for 1 month before the engine did what it did. However according to the car fax the previous owner was getting regular oil changes as per the maintenance minder.

Got some updates as far as my TLX, the service techs did indeed find the issue to be a spun bearing in the short block which I already knew thanks to you all at AcuraZine
So the verdict is im getting the engine replaced under the factory powertrain warranty however the shortblock is still on national backorder which lets me know that this bearing failure issue is affecting alot of the V6 AWD TLXs not just mine.... and the fact that Acura/Honda Motor Co won't put a TSB/Recall on it is unsettling...
So I will be spending a bit more time without my new-to-me car as they're ordering/shipping a brand new shortblock from a California Acura/Honda store to replace my engine with and they told me I should only be spending just 1 more week without my car possibly.

I'm happy that it happened early and got caught under warranty but in the same token I also am sitting here thinking "whos to say this won't happen again?" So I am really considering if I should ask the dealership to buy back the car and unwind the deal on "goodwill" and let me buy something else from them more than likely a new TLX, or go next door to their Lexus store. Really love Acura but this situation has aggravated me.

619rcr

Good the dealer is covering it under warranty. But, yeah doesn't speak favorably to Acura that there is a backorder of blocks. Ordered a new 2003 block about 3 months ago for my project J35. Arrived within a week.

Only had 18 aspec v6 fwd about 7 months. Picked up from a bmw dealer with just under 50k, now at 52k. According to the oil minder, oil was at 100% when we got it. Had cheap generic filter and oil didn't appear like it was just changed. By 52k, it looked pretty dirty so went ahead and changed it.

My theory is that cars last longer on severe maintenance schedule vs the normal. For example I use 3k oil chg intervals. 03 CL Type S motor had about 240k when replaced recently for a 3.5, clean internally, no oil consumption issues and no major cylinder wall wear. 07 TL Type S was also treated to 3k intervals when I had it, sold with about 163k no mechanical issues. Plan to do the same with TLX.

MarcoTLX

Wanted to update this thread and let everyone know I received my TLX back the other day, with a brand new J35 V6 Engine so far I only have put 325 miles on the engine so far going to work and just daily driving it. So far everything seems good the car drives better than before it went in. So I’m happy to have my TLX back and it’s time to continue with adding accessories and some modifications.

Getting a muffler delete this weekend to really open up the sound of the J35

dmski

Had exact same thing happen to me on my 18 Aspec. Acura/Honda def messed up and it's very troubling. A lot of people will get burned when this issue creeps up out of warranty. My Type S is likely the last Acura for me. Will not keep it after the warranty runs out. Honda is having a lot issues with their 1.5T engines as well. They're not blowing up but many other problems are reported. Sadly Toyota/Lexus is the only JDM brand left with good reliability.

MarcoTLX

yeah and you really hate to see it… Acura/Honda is supposed to be the JDM company that has fun sporty driving dynamics which is why I like my Acura over Lexus which is more luxury than sport in my opinion.

i just hope most people who encounter the V6 Engine seizure problem are double covered with a good extended powertrain warranty

dezymond

I don't think this issue is as common as we all think since we are all part of a forum and possibly groups that are TLX enthusiasts, we make up a very very small percentage of overall sales, and the bad tend to get magnified. That being said, I have heard of at least two people out of warranty getting this replaced under good will from Acura.

altair47

I hope the engine has been destroyed and you get brand new engines from Acura for free! Good luck!

18TLXAspec

Well, it's hard to say how widespread it may be and we likely won't know unless a recall is issued, but I would suggest it's widespread enough that Acura isn't denying covering the cost of these repairs, or challenging these failures, as it has in the past.

dezymond

I agree. It just hasn't gotten to the level where they're voluntarily replacing transmissions as they did with the 2015 V6. Poor choice with the ZF9 Honda...

jsalemi

My 2018 acura did this as well at 40K engine replaced under warranty. Last week the new engine at 60K seized up again!!!! out of warranty. I am extremly dissapointed. I also heard that there is a 6 month backlog on these engines, (proabably all the failures) I hope Acura does a recall. I spent 40K on this car and this is a disaster.

18TLXAspec

Oh that stinks! I have mine fail at 38k and 66k, but fortunately the 2nd was still under the 70k power train warranty. I'm guessing your out of warranty due to the years cap?

ethlar

When mine went, the dealer told me that i had an additional 3 years coverage on the engine if it happened again, how long ago did they put your last engine in?

Tony Howard

my 2017 MDX needs a new motor right now due to the same issue. In fact there is a recall on several hundred thousand right now on certain 2016-2020 Acura MDX’s, TLX’s, Honda Pilots, Ridgelines and I think Odyssey’s. Somehow it doesn’t cover mine. I had regular oil changes at 5,000 miles.I’ll never buy another Acura. Just replaced a u-joint go out before this $1,200. With as many issues as they have with faulty bearings I am pretty upset that they say mine isn’t part of the recall. The car is out of warranty but still only 6 years old and I never got it close to redline once. On top of that you have to run 93 octane in our MDX. It may never happen to me again if I bought another one but I’m not going to find out.

18TLXAspec

When you say it doesn't apply to yours, did you recently run your VIN through the recall search? I would double check just in case:

NHTSA Safety Issues & Recalls

Recall Details For Acura

mvl

They also say they will reimburse anyone who previously had to pay for this repair, and the TLX is the longest impacted model going back to 2014.

So hopefully many who posted on this thread earlier can get money back from this.

noclutch

Knock on wood, but my 2015 with 95k seems fine and previous UOAs were good. Problem is, this recall might affect perceived resale value… just about the time I was pondering a change. 🤦🏻‍♂️

18TLXAspec

Yeah, tell me about it! I planned on trading mine in for my ITS and this dropped just before hand...so the best my dealer could offer me was wholesale auction value due to the stop sale. If Acura had delivered my ITS or made parts/tools available to address this recall sooner I likely could have gotten more on trade.

MarcoTLX

exactly why when my engine/bearings seized up last year in 2022 I made plans at that moment to go trade it in. And January 2023 rolled around I traded up to a TLX Type-S, let that V6 A-Spec be someone else’s problem

though I do miss having the Modern Steel w/ Red Interior color scheme sometimes