2004 Acura TSX

The 2004 Acura TSX represents the launch year of this generation and, according to the federal data, it recorded the highest complaint volume of the entire series at 142 complaints—more than double the next highest year (2012 at 132). This is accompanied by 69 TSBs (technical service bulletins), the most in any single year. The complaint trend across the generation follows a distinctive arc: after the launch-year spike, complaints dropped sharply to 22–51 from 2005–2008, then rose again to 91 in 2009 (coinciding with a recall increase to 6), peaked a second time in 2012 at 132 with the first NHTSA investigation, and finally declined to just 7 by 2014. The 2004 model's top complaint areas were seats (22), air bags (19), and engine/cooling (15), with 9 crash-related complaints and 2 fire complaints recorded. While 2004 benefits from being the first model year with the newest components, the data shows it carries the highest complaint burden and the highest TSB frequency, suggesting early-production growing pains. The significant decline in complaints by 2007–2008 indicates the vehicle stabilized after the initial launch issues. Given the high complaint volume in 2004 relative to later years, buyers may find better reliability by selecting a 2007–2008 example when the model had matured, though any TSX from this generation shows no fire or crash complaint volumes that stand out as anomalous.