2004 Acura TL: ABS light or ABS activating

6 of the 551 complaints about the 2004 Acura TL describe ABS light or ABS activating.

owner complaints: 6
of this car's complaints: 1%
typical mileage: 74,760
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 7 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

ABS light or ABS activating by model year

2008
2
2006
5
2005
2
2004
6
2003
1
2001
2
2000
2
1999
1
1997
1
1996
1

What owners say

Filed Nov 13, 2015 · Brakes · 116,220 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 acura tl. The contact stated that while turning the vehicle on, the vsa warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was turned off and restarted; however, the vsa warning indicator remained illuminated followed by the illumination of the ABS warning indicator. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the vsa module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,220.

Filed Nov 12, 2015 · Brakes · 116,000 miles · FL

Vsa/ABS module failure. Abs, vsa and brake lights come on dash board. Told potential issue could be brakes could lock up so needs to be fixed.

Filed Nov 25, 2014 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 74,760 miles · NC

I was driving at about 45-50 MPH when the brakes suddenly came on very hard without me touching the brake peddle and the car slowed very rapidly (in a straight line) almost to a stop. The brakes were then released as suddenly as they had been applied before the car came to a complete stop. The pulses from the antilock braking system (ABS) during the braking period indicated the brakes were being applied rather than a problem with the automatic transmission. I pulled off the road to check that the transmission was still functional and that no unusual fault lights were being displayed on the dash. Since everything appeared normal I resumed my journey only to have the same spontaneous braking phenomenon occur five or six times over the next 2-3 miles. Fortunately I was close to an acura dealer so I drove the car at 40 MPH with emergency flashers on to the acura dealer (about 3 miles away). Driving the car at 40 MPH did not prompt a recurrence of these spontaneous braking episodes over this distance. The acura dealer diagnosed a faulty accelerator position sensor and replaced the sensor assembly. There has been no recurrence of these spontaneous braking episodes over the 39 miles I have driven the car since the accelerator position sensor was replaced. I consider this spontaneous braking problem with my 2004 acura tl as extremely serious. Had a bus, truck, large SUV or pick up truck been following closely behind me when these braking episodes occurred I think it quite likely a serious and fatal accident could have happened.

Filed May 6, 2014 · Brakes · 25,000 miles · NJ

I had to slam on my brakes today to avoid hitting a car. The ABS kicked in like it should and I heard the clicking of it going on and off. I stopped in time but noticed when I step on my brake now, it goes about half way down before they start to engage. Ii did a search and found the following tsb 07-041. This is a safety issue! Honda is recalled the odyssey vehicles for the same issue. It is a known issue in 2004 through 2006 acura tl and no action is being taken. This is the second instance at 64000 miles. The first instance was at 25,792 miles (03/10/08) and acura replaced the vsa modulator. Various online blogs report others having the same issue.

Filed Oct 28, 2009 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 48,567 miles · CA

2004 acura tl at has soft and spongy brakes. Braking seems useless under hard-braking conditions. It all started when I had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting road debris, ABS went into action and the car stopped in a dime, however, a few days after the event, I noticed the brakes getting spongy and soft. I went to get my brake pads and rotor changed along with a brake fluid change. It worked fine for a week but then it went back to soft and spongy. I had a situation where I had to brake hard for a beautiful l.a commuter who cut me off and there was almost to pressure whatsoever on the brakes, no ABS, no tire screeching, it just glided to a stop. I knew something was wrong. I took it to the dealer and they found out it was the vsa modulator, which was injecting air into the brake lines ever so often. Apparently it happened when the ABS kicked in, they said it would have faulted the vsa system. The part was replace under warranty, but that's because I purchased an extended one from acura. I afraid there are other tls with the same issues having to pay close to 2000 dollars for parts that are so critical and yet defective.

Filed May 1, 2004 · Driver assistance, Tires · VA

Traveling on the interstate, the car lost traction and began to fish tail down the road as left and right front tires lost grip with the road intermittently back and forth. There was some very minor puddling in the ruts on the highway and it was raining lightly on and off. The onboard vehicle stability systems (ABS, vsc) did not activate. The vehicle speed was within speed limits and consistent with other vehicle speeds on the highway at the time. The vehicle is equipped with bridgestone turanza el42 tires.