2019 Acura TLX

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

2019 Acura TLX 4-door sedan
2017 Acura TLX shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Standard lane departure warning & prevention

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2017-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2017 Acura TLX 2.4L 4-door

The Acura TLX was introduced in the 2015 model year as a replacement for the discontinued Acura TL and TSX models. Beginning with 2017 models, the front door hinge pillar was reinforced to limit intrusion of the front wheel to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but rolled to the left because the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

The dummy's head contacted the frontal airbag but rolled partway around the left side, allowing the head to move toward the gap in coverage between the frontal and side curtain airbags.

Although intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, forces on the dummy's legs were high enough to indicate a significant risk of injury to the left lower leg and a moderate risk to the left foot and right lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1631
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 4
Footrest (cm) 6
Left toepan (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 3
Upper dash (cm) 3
Lower instrument panel (cm) 3

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1631
Head
HIC-15 250
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 23
Femur (kN)
Left 1.6
Right 2.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.15
Right 0.91
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 4.4
Right 5.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 184
Right 74

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Acura TLX 3.5L Technology 4-door

The Acura TLX was introduced in the 2015 model year. It is a replacement for the discontinued Acura TL and TSX models. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Honda as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1405
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 7
Right (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -3
Rearward (cm) 1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1405
Head
HIC-15 229
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 36
Maximum Nij 0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.8
Femur force - right (kN) 0.8
Knee displacement - left (mm) 2
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.37
Maximum tibia index - right 0.33
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.3
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 43

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Acura TLX Advance 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Acura TLX was introduced in the 2015 model year. It is a replacement for the discontinued Acura TL and TSX models. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Honda as part of side crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1408
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -19.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1408
Head HIC-15 348
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.7
Compression (kN) 0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 38
Lateral force (kN) 1.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 36
Average deflection (mm) 26
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 5.00
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.39
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.3
Combined force (kN) 1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 109
A-P moment (Nm) 54

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1408
Head HIC-15 177
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.1
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 23
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 32
Average deflection (mm) 26
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.81
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.45
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.4
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.8
Combined force (kN) 1.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 16
A-P moment (Nm) 119

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Acura TLX 3.5L Advance 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight3,598 lbs
Peak force20,412 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio5.67

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 34
Distance below top of head (mm) 32
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.4
Head contact time (ms) 60
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 455

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

  • All trims
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right curve, fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves, and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and all 4 curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • All trims
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 97.3 m None
Straightaway left edge 52.3 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 66.3 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 48.4 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 52.9 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 47.0 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 154.9 m
Straightaway left edge 122.0 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 73.1 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 64.4 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 55.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 50.9 m

How headlights are evaluated

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Collision Mitigation Braking System

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018-20 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

How front crash prevention is evaluated

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2016-20 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim3.5L
Seat type leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim3.5L
Seat type leather
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 40
Clearance angle (degrees) 63
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 40
Clearance angle (degrees) 66
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH
Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH
Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 40
Clearance angle (degrees) 58
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 40
Clearance angle (degrees) 60
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH
Not measured

How child seat anchors are evaluated