2019 Acura ILX

Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.

Fuel economy
28 mpgcombined; city 24, highway 34; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$14,370U.S. average; Ohio $13,540 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA overall safety rating
5 starslowest across the versions NHTSA tested
Recall campaigns
5over its history; check a VIN for open ones
Owner complaints
36filed with NHTSA; not adjusted for sales

Problems owners report

Owners have filed 36 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 ILX. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.

Complaints by part of the car
PartComplaintsCrashesFiresInjuries
Fuel system, gasoline13000
Service brakes9000
Service brakes, hydraulic4000
Engine3100
Forward collision avoidance3001
Fuel/propulsion system3000
Unknown or other3000
Electrical system2000
Lane departure2000
Air bags1000
Wheels1100

Complaints by model year

Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.

  1. 201366
  2. 201430
  3. 201519
  4. 201652
  5. 201720
  6. 201823
  7. 201936
  8. 202010
  9. 202111
  10. 20223

Every ILX year side by side

Recalls

NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the 2019 ILX over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components

NHTSA campaign 25V859000 · reported Dec 11, 2025 · 70,658 vehicles potentially affected

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016-2020 Acura ILX vehicles. Contaminated brake fluid may cause a seal inside the brake master cylinder to deform, which can cause an internal brake fluid leak and reduce brake function.

Risk: Reduced brake function can extend the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 4, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is RN5. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning December 17, 2025. The information in your report suggests that Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) may have been aware of this issue more than five business days before filing a report with NHTSA. Please be reminded that under Federal law, this agency is to be notified of all safety defect and/or noncompliance decisions within five business days. 49 CFR 573.6 Significant civil penalties can be assessed for this violation.

NHTSA's record and documents

Fuel system, gasoline: delivery

NHTSA campaign 23V858000 · reported Dec 18, 2023 · 2,490,460 vehicles potentially affected

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

NHTSA's record and documents

Fuel system, gasoline: delivery

NHTSA campaign 21V215000 · reported Mar 25, 2021 · 624,552 vehicles potentially affected

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.

NHTSA's record and documents

Power train: driveline

NHTSA campaign 19V424000 · reported Jun 6, 2019 · 49,898 vehicles potentially affected

Acura (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Acura ILX vehicles. Excessive grease may prevent the set-ring on the half shaft from fully engaging, allowing the driveshaft to separate from the half shaft.

Risk: A separated driveshaft can cause the vehicle to have a loss of drive or allow the vehicle to move even while in Park, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy: Acura will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and, as necessary, replace the driveshaft and half shaft, free of charge. The recall began August 1, 2019. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is G54.

NHTSA's record and documents

Fuel system, gasoline: storage

NHTSA campaign 19V052000 · reported Jan 24, 2019 · 4,455 vehicles potentially affected

Acura (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Acura ILX vehicles. The vehicles may have a deformed fuel tank, raising the height of the fuel pump and allowing the fuel level float to stick, possibly causing the fuel gauge to display an inaccurate fuel level.

Risk: If the fuel gauge displays that the vehicle has more gas than it actually does, the vehicle may run out of gas and stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Acura will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is H3U, Z3T.

NHTSA's record and documents

Service bulletins and investigations

Carmakers sent NHTSA 83 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2019 ILX, the latest on Jun 4, 2024. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.

The parts they mention most: exterior lighting (26), suspension (15), steering (11), equipment (10), service brakes (10).

NHTSA defect investigations

Opening an investigation isn't a finding of a defect. Outcomes are as NHTSA's summary states them. A recall is shown as an investigation's outcome only where NHTSA's summary names it; other recalls NHTSA's file lists with it are marked as listed, not caused.

InvestigationPartOpenedStatus
Preliminary evaluation PE25015
Loss of braking force
Service brakes, hydraulicOct 23, 2025Closed May 21, 2026
NHTSA's summary names recall 25V859000
NHTSA's record and documents

Maintenance

Oil

The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2019 ILX.

Oil change near you: Jiffy Lube · Take 5

Specs

EPA class: compact cars. EPA greenhouse gas score: 6 out of 10. Each version EPA tested:

VersionEngineTransmissionFuelCity / hwy / comb
ILX
Front-Wheel Drive
2.4 L, 4 cylAutomatic (AM-S8)Premium Gasoline24 / 34 / 28

Sources and dates

Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data