Top Safety Pick +

2015 Acura TLX

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention

Crashworthiness

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

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system	Superior
Optional system	Basic

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Optional lane departure warning
Optional lane departure 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 2015 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Acura TLX 3.5L 4-door

The Acura TLX was introduced in the 2015 model year. It is a replacement for the discontinued Acura TL and TSX models.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

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 reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion of the door hinge pillar and instrument panel contributed to a significant risk of injury to the left lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1442
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	17
Footrest (cm)	8
Left toepan (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	8
Upper dash (cm)	10
Lower instrument panel (cm)	9

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1442
Head
HIC-15	136
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	15
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	19
Femur (kN)
Left	3.2
Right	0.7
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	1
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	1.10
Right	0.53
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	4.0
Right	2.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	105
Right	58

About the small overlap front test

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.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
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

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
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

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
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

About the original moderate overlap front test

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.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
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

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.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
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

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
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

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

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

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,598 lbs
Peak force	20,412 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.67

About the roof strength test

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

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

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

Optional Collision Mitigation Braking System

Package name

Optional Advance Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2015-17 models

Superior

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

System details

Optional Forward Collision Warning

Package name

Optional Technology Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2015-17 models

Basic

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
Autobrake not available.

About the original front crash prevention test