Acura runs Honda's SRS unit and Honda's two-part code format, so 32-9x reads the same on a TL as on an Accord. Two things separate an Acura scan: how many circuits the car has, and which supplier built the unit, because the index prints a different table per supplier.
Acura calls the airbag computer the SRS unit, the same part family Honda uses, with its own safing sensor inside the housing. Acura's manuals index the codes by SRS unit supplier, a TRW table and a separate table for the other unit fitted to the same model, so the first job is working out which unit is in the car before reading anything off a chart.
The service rules are Honda's. Ignition off, battery disconnected, a wait before you touch the system, and no bumping the unit while it can still fire. Model coverage is on our Acura airbag service page.
The format is a component number, a dash, a failure number, then a trailing character that identifies the SRS unit manufacturer and means nothing for diagnosis. The failure digit is consistent: 1 is open or increased resistance, 3 is short to another wire, 8 is short to power, 9 is short to ground. So 31-1x, 31-3x, 31-8x and 31-9x are four ways one driver side airbag circuit can fail.
Where an Acura pulls ahead is sensor count. The index carries left and right side impact sensors labeled first and second, four rather than two, each with its own no-signal and internal-failure entry. On a TL that is 43 and 44 for the first pair, 45 and 46 for the second. Add the OPDS unit, weight sensors, buckle switches and seat position sensor and far more of the table is live than on a base car.
One trap is worth knowing. The component numbers moved between generations. A 2004 TL index maps 51-1x to an open driver's seat belt buckle switch, while later Honda-family indexes use the 51 through 58 block for internal failure of the SRS unit and move the buckle switches to 61 and 62. Match the index to the model year or you will read the wrong answer with confidence.
Codes with a link have their own page. Crash data clears with a module reset; hardware and circuit faults need the part fixed or replaced first.
| Code | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 11-1X | Open or increased resistance in the driver's airbag first inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 11-3X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the driver's airbag first inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 11-AX | Short to power in the driver's airbag second inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 11-BX | Short to ground in the driver's airbag second inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 12-4X | Open or increased resistance in the front passenger's airbag second inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 12-6X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the front passenger's airbag second inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 12-8X | Short to power in the front passenger's airbag first inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 21-8X | Short to power in the driver's seat belt tensioner. | Circuit fault |
| 21-9X | Short to ground in the driver's seat belt tensioner. | Circuit fault |
| 22-1X | Open or increased resistance in the front passenger's seat belt tensioner. | Circuit fault |
| 22-9X | Short to ground in the front passenger's seat belt tensioner. | Circuit fault |
| 31-3X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the driver's side airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 31-8X | Short to power in the driver's side airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 32-3X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the front passenger's side airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 32-9X | Short to ground in the front passenger's side airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 33-8X | Short to power in the left side curtain airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 34-1X | Open or increased resistance in the right side curtain airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 34-3X | Short to another wire or decreased resistance in the right side curtain airbag inflator. | Circuit fault |
| 41-2X | Internal failure of the left front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| 42-2X | Internal failure of the right front impact sensor. | Hardware fault |
| 43-1X | No signal from the left side impact sensor, first. | Circuit fault |
| 43-2X | Internal failure of the left side impact sensor, first. | Hardware fault |
| 44-1X | No signal from the right side impact sensor, first. | Circuit fault |
| 45-2X | Internal failure of the left side impact sensor, second. | Hardware fault |
| 46-1X | No signal from the right side impact sensor, second. | Circuit fault |
| 46-2X | Internal failure of the right side impact sensor, second. | Hardware fault |
| 51-1X | Open in the driver's seat belt buckle switch on TL-generation indexes. | Circuit fault |
| 53-2X | Internal failure of the SRS unit. | Hardware fault |
| 54-4X | Internal failure of the SRS unit, same block as 53-2x. | Hardware fault |
| FX-11 | Airbags and/or tensioners deployment recorded, the Honda-family locked deployment record. | Crash data |
| B0016 | Passenger deployment loop. | crash |
Acura SRS codes read through the HDS at the data link connector. No generic OBD2 reader reaches the SRS unit, and these codes never translate into the B-code format most scanners speak. Before replacing an SRS unit on a sensor code, check the unit's software version with the HDS and update it if it is not current, which settles some faults without a part.
OPDS initialization is the procedure that catches people out. It is required whenever a seat-back cover, seat-back cushion, or the OPDS unit is replaced, run from the HDS under SRS, then Misc Test, then Adjustments, then OPDS INIT. The conditions are exact: passenger seat dry, seat-back normal, nothing on the seat, ignition off, service check connector not shorted, driver's belt unbuckled. If it fails several times, Acura's instruction is to replace the OPDS sensor and retry, then the OPDS unit.
Internal failure of the SRS unit is not one code on an Acura, it is a block. The TL index sends 53-2x, 53-4x, 54-2x, 54-4x and 54-6x to the same page, all meaning the unit itself. A shop reading those as five separate problems will chase circuits that are fine.
The seat-back is the other repeat. The OPDS sensor lives inside the front passenger seat-back, so seat covers, aftermarket upholstery, and anything that changes how that seat-back reads will light the side airbag cutoff indicator with no part having failed. Acura's own note is that the indicator coming on for a small occupant leaning into the deployment path, or a bag on the seat, is the system working.
The format and most numbers are shared, because Acura uses the same SRS unit family. The differences are content and generation. Acura models carry more sensors, notably first and second side impact sensors on both sides, and the numbering shifted between generations, so a 2004 index and a later one disagree on what 51 means.
Acura indexes the codes by SRS unit supplier. The same model can leave the factory with a unit from one manufacturer or another, and each gets its own table. Establish which unit is in the car before you read a code off a chart.
No. The TL index sends 53-2x, 53-4x, 54-2x, 54-4x and 54-6x to the same troubleshooting page, all meaning internal failure of the SRS unit. Treat that block as one finding about the unit rather than several separate circuit faults.
Often not. The OPDS sensor in the passenger seat-back turns the side airbag off when an object is in the seat or when a small occupant is leaning into the deployment path, and the indicator is telling you that. If it stays on with the seat clear and an adult upright, look at the 85 and 86 code groups for the ODS unit and OPDS sensors.
Keep reading:
Crash data clears with a reset of your own module. A hardware fault needs the part. Either way, call and we will confirm.
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