How many miles will a 2002 Acura TL last?
Half of the 213 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Acura TL that list mileage came after 64,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 144,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 333 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 213 complaints on the 2002 Acura TL that list mileage, the middle half came between 34,000 and 104,000 miles; 57 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 18 (8%) after 150,000 and 4 (2%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2002 TL last?
The 213 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 260,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 34,000 miles, half at or under 64,500, three quarters at or under 103,500 and nine in ten at or under 145,000; 57 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 18 (8%) after 150,000 and 4 (2%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 TL wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 34,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 64,500 miles |
| 75th percentile | 103,500 miles |
| 90th percentile | 145,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 260,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 57 (27%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 18 (8%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 4 (2%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 2,109 NHTSA owner complaints on the Acura TL that list mileage came after 84,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will an Acura TL last? →
Common problems with the 2002 TL
NHTSA's file holds 333 owner complaints on the 2002 Acura TL. Owners named the powertrain most often: 224 complaints, and half of the 148 that list a mileage came after 52,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 224 | 148 | 52,740 |
| Air Bags | 42 | 28 | 99,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 15 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 13 | 7 | 22,000 |
| Electrical System | 12 | 9 | 157,672 |
Of the 333 complaints, 25 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 12 report an injury (17 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 TL a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad TL: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 333 complaints, the 2002 ranks 4th of the 19 Acura TL model years from 1996 to 2014 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2004 (551). The fewest: the 2014 (17).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 TL | 26 | 11 | 68,100 |
| 1997 TL | 23 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1998 TL | 20 | 13 | 77,500 |
| 1999 TL | 157 | 83 | 112,000 |
| 2000 TL | 249 | 147 | 110,400 |
| 2001 TL | 148 | 84 | 81,500 |
| 2002 (this page) | 333 | 213 | 64,500 |
| 2003 TL | 391 | 305 | 75,900 |
| 2004 TL | 551 | 400 | 90,000 |
| 2005 TL | 388 | 275 | 91,000 |
| 2006 TL | 247 | 200 | 88,000 |
| 2007 TL | 124 | 100 | 78,000 |
| 2008 TL | 124 | 91 | 76,589 |
| 2009 TL | 42 | 23 | 50,075 |
| 2010 TL | 64 | 29 | 62,830 |
| 2011 TL | 20 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2012 TL | 130 | 81 | 55,000 |
| 2013 TL | 62 | 35 | 69,503 |
| 2014 TL | 17 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
2002 Acura TL recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Acura TL. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 19V499000 | Jun 27, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 19V182000 | Mar 6, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 15V320000 | May 28, 2015 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 04V176000 | Apr 15, 2004 | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION |
| 01V166002 | Aug 14, 2001 | SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2002 TL lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2002 TL.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 120 of the 333 complaints on the 2002 Acura TL give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: TL. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: TL.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2002 Acura TL questions
How many miles will a 2002 Acura TL last?
Half of the 213 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2002 Acura TL that list mileage came after 64,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 144,000 miles. Of the 213 complaints on the 2002 Acura TL that list mileage, the middle half came between 34,000 and 104,000 miles; 57 (27%) came after 100,000 miles, 18 (8%) after 150,000 and 4 (2%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2002 TL that never had one.
What are the most common 2002 Acura TL problems?
NHTSA's file holds 333 owner complaints on the 2002 Acura TL. Owners named the powertrain most often: 224 complaints, and half of the 148 that list a mileage came after 52,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 333 complaints, 25 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 12 report an injury (17 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2002 Acura TL a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad TL: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 333 complaints, the 2002 ranks 4th of the 19 Acura TL model years from 1996 to 2014 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2004 (551). The fewest: the 2014 (17).
How many recalls does the 2002 Acura TL have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 2002 Acura TL. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2002 Acura TL before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2002 Acura TL.