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Anyone who is driving the TLX at this point has heard of the transmission issue that is causing Acura to issue a stop sale and eventually a recall. At the same time as Acura is dealing with this issue, Honda is in the midst of a debacle to do with Takata airbags that have killed 2 people and caused serious injuries to 30 others. At a time when Acura is finally getting its legs again with the success of the TLX, Honda/Acura needs to be careful to not let these issues undermine the progress that has been made.
The transmission issue has people thinking their car is in park when it is actually not. Obviously this could lead to some pretty bad situations. The good news about this issue is that it seems to have been caught early before anyone has been hurt. That's what a recall should do. The thing is, Honda has been accused of under-reporting safety data to the NHTSA regarding faulty Takata airbags in their vehicles. If they are lying and under-reporting one thing, why wouldn't they do the same in another instance?
Acura has finally seen some success with sedan sales with the TLX. The transmission issue alone won't kill that progress, but as a part of a wider pattern it could hamper sales for Honda generally. It is a critical time for Honda right now. They can show that they are able to identify and remedy issues quickly and effectively, or they could prove that they are in capable of such feats. Furthermore, any attempt to lie or cover up the whole truth will only tarnish the brand's reputation.
As Car and Driver puts it:
Here's hoping that Honda does the right thing and takes care of these issues properly instead of messing things up and going back on all the progress the company has made.Vexing quality and safety issues—the airbag recall, the problems at the Fit factory in Mexico, etc.—have the potential to undermine this progress. A swift resolution to the Takata and TLX transmission issues and a systemic change to prevent similar issues from slipping through the cracks will do a lot to sustain the momentum that the company is struggling to maintain.