The 2005 Acura RL is a midsize car that came with a 3.5L 6-cyl engine. At 21 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Midsize Cars |
|---|---|
| Engines | 3.5L 6-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic (S5) |
| Drive | 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Premium Gasoline |
| Fuel economy | 16 city / 24 highway / 19 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $4,350 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 468 grams per mile |
| Versions tested by EPA | 1 configuration |
| Age | 21 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 11 safety recalls covering the 2005 Acura RL. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013 Acura ILX, 2015 RDX, 2005-2010 and 2012 RL, 2009-2014 TL, 2010 and 2012 ZDX, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2011-2013 and 2015 CR-Z, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013 Fit EV, 2010-2011 and 2013 Insight and 2007-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with…
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida…
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii…
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2011-2015 CR-Z, 2010-2014 FCX, and Insight, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013-2014 Fit EV, 2007-2014 Ridgeline, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid, 2007-2016 RDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, and 2010-2013 Acura ZDX vehicles. The affected…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic, 2003-2004 Civic CNG and Element, 2002-2005 CR-V, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Accord, Pilot, Civic Hybrid, and Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in California, and equipped with…
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 Pilot vehicles manufactured July 29, 2004, through August 29, 2005; model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 16, 2004, through September 22, 2005; and model year 2005 Acura RL vehicles manufactured March 1, 2004, through June 29, 2005. An electrical capacitor may have…
Risk: Sudden inadvertent braking, especially without illumination of the brake lights, may increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005-2007 odyssey and Acura RL vehicles. Brake fluid containing polymers is used that acts as a lubricant for certain brake system components. If replacement brake fluid is used that does not contain such polymers, or that contains only small amounts, a part of the rubber seal located at the rear…
Risk: A leak of brake fluid could lead to a change in brake pedal feel and overtime a degradation in braking performance increasing the risk of a crash.
On certain passenger vehicles, prolonged high under-hood temperatures may cause the power steering hose to deteriorate prematurely causing the hose to crack and leak power steering fluid.
Risk: Power steering fluid leaking onto a hot catalytic converter will generate smoke and possibly lead to an under-hood fire.
On certain vehicles, a coil wire inside the fuel pump relay may break, causing the fuel pump to lose power. If the fuel pump becomes inoperative, the engine may not start.
Risk: If the fuel pump loses power while driving, the engine could stall without warning, and a crash could occur.
Owners have filed 125 complaints about the 2005 Acura RL with NHTSA. 4 reports involved a crash and 1 report involved a fire. Owners reported 2 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2005 Acura RL.
| Version | Overall | Frontal crash | Side crash | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Dr | Not rated | — | — | ★★★★★ | 9.7% |
Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP). Ratings from different model years or rating systems aren't directly comparable.
Manufacturers have filed 132 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2005 Acura RL. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Driver's Airbag Inflator for 2013-14 ILX Hybrid and Other Listed Years and Models.
Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in rollover of internal chip memory. The rollover occ
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warra
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 3 defect investigations covering the 2005 Acura RL.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were
Vehicle Stability Assist Malfunction
On March 14, 2013, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Honda) submitted a Defect Information Report to NHTSA identifying a defect in the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system in approximately 183,576 model year (MY) 2005 Honda Pilot, Acura RL and MY 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles (NHTSA Recall No 13V-092).The population and
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. Its parts make up much of its value. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2005 RLs that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 11 recalls for the 2005 Acura RL; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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