Older Acura TLs

akirby

Not knowing anything specific about VSA but just going by your information:

If the button says VSA off then obviously the default is for VSA to be on. If this is stability control then that's usually the case. Hitting the button the first time turns VSA off and the yellow triangle is a reminder that the VSA is off.

igiban

Yes it's on unless the button is pressed. But my understanding is that even when it's on, it's not really kicked in (used) until the car senses it needs to do so (too much speed on slippery road or the likes). If you drive well-mannered you may very rare see VSA really in action. I do wonder when would one want to turn off VSA.

bodble2

will always default to ON everytime you start the car. You have to press the button to turn it off and the yellow triangle will remain on constant. When the yellow triangle light is flashing, that means slippage is detected & VSA has kicked in. Some people claim turning off VSA saves a bit of gas, but I've never bothered to test it.

igiban

Does it cost extra or it's part of the car purchase?

dulnev

The phone call is free. The service (towing, etc.) is not, I believe, except maybe for mechanical breakdown covered by warranty.

aciampi

"I do wonder when would one want to turn off VSA."

Whenever my hill is snowy or icy I always turn it off. The VSA when engaged will shut down the fuel pump and begin applying pressure to the breaks to slow you down to a point where you can regain controll. My driveway is a steep incline about 500Ft long in which I need as much speed and power as possible to get up.

tomsr1

I have been using 91 octane since my 2001 was new. Is there any negative to using the cheaper 87 octane besides less power and worse gas
mileage? Some believe,so I heard, that deposits
will build up in the combustion chambers if I do this.

hoyahenry

I've been researching the 04 Tl - drove one earlier this week. So far, I am very concerned about what I am reading about tires and build quality. Maybe I should just wait until 05.

Any thoughts?

msf2

I have no concerns about build quality but I will look into changing the tires. Delivery of my TL happens in three weeks. Don't know how this will fly but I may purchase other tires and ask the dealer to put them on before I drive off the lot.
I've been paying attention to the tire discussion too and although I wasn't unhappy with the ride during my 30 minute test drive I want to feel confident I'm getting the best ride possible.

akirby

Go back a few pages of posts and you'll see that octane was discussed ad nauseum. Bottom line is you won't save any money because of the worse fuel economy but should you need to run a tank of 87 it won't hurt anything.

carguy58

Thaere is first year bugs with every new bodystyle. I I think when Honda re-tools for production of 05 TL's the tire problem should be worked out.

danny1878

I have been looking for a new phone with bluetooth feature and I'm interested in Sony Ericsson T616 and P800. Both have bluetooth but what about voice dialing. Which unit that actually take care of that process, the phone or the TL. P800 seems doesnt have that voice dialing feature. Need advice from anyone. Thanks

dulnev

TL will do that.

danny1878

microrepair

Yes, rats !! I had read many thousands of these posts and had gotten to the point where I NEEDED to go look at the TL in person.. So today I stopped at a nearby dealership and sat in the TL to see what everyone was raving about. Yes, the interior is really nice, almost as nice as my 7 year old MB E-class. BUT, my head was about 3/8" from the headliner around the sunroof (or moonroof?); close enough so that the first bump in the road would definitely cause a neck or cranium problem for me. So, RATS... I had hoped this might be my new car within the next few months.. And the trunk was very large too! Just what I need for my 3-4,000 mile junkets.. Oh well, on to something else with more headroom or an OPTIONAL sunroof..!

grri03

You might want to take a second look at the TL headroom unless you are Yao Ming or something. Drive it first and get the seat where you will want it. I'm 6' 5" with 35" inseam (e.g. a long torso) and I love my '04 TL. I've had it for almost 2 months and no head bumps. I'll admit it isn't the best headroom ever but if it works for me, I think it will work for most.

nyshappy

I am 6'1 and i have to say that there is PLENTY of headroom...in fact, more headroom in this than my older model TL...
but if you think that trunk is huge, oh boy, then maybe this car isnt for you! lol
that trunk is MUCH smaller than older models, probably cause they wanted to make the interior bigger...but it sucks for someone that has to have huge boxes and things for work..

danny1878

FYI those phones dont have HFL profile to link with TL. I heard some people can install the profile but there is no prove about it.

I might wanna get T616 or T610.

microrepair

grri03:

I'm 6'3" with a 32" inseam.. If you do the math you'll see I have a 1" longer torso... When I tried out the TL for size, I even tilted the seat back further than I would like for a 2 hour drive never mind my 9 hour days when I travel around the countryside... Another inch of headroom would do it for me..

igiban

in $30K range has (more) comfortable room for a 6'5"? There's a good reason why Yao Ming got a Sequoia instead I guess.

flipper6

I am 6' 5" and have very good headroom and leg room in the TL. I have sat in many large SUV's and find most of them lacking in legroom. I suspect that the basketball players that buy large SUV's spend much money modifying them as they can well afford it. In the 60's it was easy to reposition a seat by loosening some bolts on the bottom of the seat but now the seats are welded to the body

lobito17

I'm 6'4, and it's all above the waist. I am completely comfortable in the TL. No head or leg issues whatsoever.

dtate99

Thought I might as well posture with the rest of you giants! I'm 6'3", but with a 34" inseam, I guess I'm a little more on the long-legged side. LOL

But I can comment that the headroom in my new '04 TL seems MUCH better that that in my '02 TL Type-S. In that car, my hair was constantly seeming to pick up static electricity from the headliner. Haven't had the first problem in the new one.

mobofe

just wondering, did you adjust the seat downwards all the way when you tested it out? i know my hair suffers from static as i positioned myself close to the ceiling - i just like that higher ride. however, when i want a pimping stretched out ride, those seat adjustments can really go low and very very far back. I would really suggest you give it one more go b/c it just doesn't sound right - granted, you'll have no passengers in the back at this rate but that's a problem endemic with cars in this sporty class.

danny1878

You have a MB 320E 1996 and the interior spec. are as below:
320E Front head room :37.6 in while TL 38.7 in
320E Shoulder room :56.3 in while TL 58.3 in
320E Front leg room :41.3 in while TL 42.8 in
320E Front hip room :54.9 in while TL 55.6 in

and you said TL doesnt give you more headroom while your MB 320E (which always demanding money for this and that) able to provide more headroom?

go figure

microrepair

Thanks for the info. I have a hard time understanding how the headroom space can be less on the E320.. I have almost 2" of space in my car and there was only 1/2" in the TL. Maybe the seat in my E320 is worn down; after all it is 7 years old..! I agree on the knee room and shoulder room being less than the TL. Hip room seemed fine on both..

This isn't the first time I've seen discrepancies in interior measurements. I think since each manufacturer does their own measuring, they don't all do it the same way, such as from the middle of the seat to the nearest part of the ceiling, etc.. Maybe some measure from the rear of the seat and others from the front of the seat..?? And maybe they don't all put the seat all the way back either..

I will try another TL at a different dealer because I otherwise really like the looks, the specs, the features, and the price of the TL.

habitat1

Just finished a test drive in the TL 6-speed w/ Nav. Very nice car. However, the car did not accelerate as smoothly as I would have expected. I wasn't flooring it, just accelerating moderately hard. Had plenty of power, but rather than a smooth application of power, it felt a like I was modulating the accelerator peddle - which I wasn't.

Had nothing to do with the clutch - it was fine. Almost like a drive by wire in which the wire wasn't matching my foot.

Any thoughts / comments?

neuronbob

I put together a comprehensive list of 40+ links to online reviews of the TL and the 2004 TL TV commercials on acura-tl.com originally for folks on that site, since I spend most of my online time there. I mostly lurk here at Edmunds, but because there are so many people here interested in browsing the TL as a potential purchase, I decided to mention it here. Hopefully Pat, our host here, won't mind as this link is simply to help folks get info.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=71071

Enjoying my 2004 TL!

paulg54

Has anyone changed out any or all the TL's speakers. If so, what are you finding works the best with the standard head unit?

brew99

Well, I picked up my brand new TL auto/non-nav today from the dealer and overall I am quite pleased and very impressed. I ended up taking a half day off to be able to get enough time to pick up the car in daylight and do some driving on some favourite roads with less traffic. Here are the things that I really like: the engine has a nice little growl in idle, DVD-A discs sound awesome, very smooth engine acceleration and feel (although I have not pushed it very hard yet), generally very quiet, for the most part a functional and very, very cool interior. On the downside - not very much - some harshness over bumps or rough roads which I attribute to the tires, two storage compartments on the base of the dash in front of the AT shifter don't seem very functional and I know I'll curse the non-folding rear seat some day. Overall a fantastic vehicle. Can't wait to go to work tomorrow - never thought I'd say that......

dtate99

"two storage compartments on the base of the dash in front of the AT shifter don't seem very functional"

You'll find that CD jewel cases fit nicely into the one, while items like a cell phone fit nicely into the other. Problem is, they're both a little hard to get into when the transmission is in Park.

danny1878

I definitely know that feeling. Have fun!

paulg54

Yes, congrats on the new TL. What color did you buy? I know the feeling well from 3 Saturdays ago when I picked my TL up and drove back from Atlanta to MS. I wanted to stop and play with all the features this car has, but I had to get home. Registered 31.8 mpg for the 400 miles at 65/70 mph.

Enjoy your new car.

automophile

Congrats! I have now had mine for 3 months, and I still look for reasons to got out and drive it! What a delight and a bargain!

Take your time and break it in carefully for as long as you can stand it - I went 1000 miles under 2500-3000 rpm - and it will pay off in the long run.

brew99

I ended up with the Abyss Blue Pearl with ebony interior. Thanks for the tips above and definitely am trying to limit rev's during the initial period - although it ain't easy!! Does anyone know how to determine your build date or build number from the VIN#??

bodble2

Isn't the build date stated somewhat on a label on the door jamb?

wculbert

Have had mine 10 days now and have the following comments/questions:

Comments:
The tires are terrible-flatspotting and general rough ride
The stereo is impressive, but I already have a bad speaker and amnot impressed with the high end capacity
Voice comands on Navi syste are nice, but hard ( so far) to remember
Excellent ride and lots of turned heads
Great engine
Again, the tires are the biggest disapointment

Questions:
Anybody else had problems with the speaker quality?
Does the Navi coe with time or will I eventually just go to the manual controls?
Who is using the bluetooth phone conection? I'm with Verizon ( not compatible) but thinking of switching to Cingular

All in all a great car!

rodeodawg

before driving. This weekend, I was putting change into the little change holder in my new *3 day old* 04 black TL and bumped into some truck's trailer hitch. My beautiful bumper has a hole in it now.

tedescm1

Back in the day…. they actually made bumpers that were designed to be bumped.

Why can't they make bumpers that are meant to be used? Today’s bumpers lose their paint as soon as they are touched. Does not make any sense unless you own a body shop!

kennyg5

Then -- made of steel; now -- made of styrofoam.

carguy58

If you back out of a parking spot and accidentally hit somebody's bumper the 5 mph bumpers come in handy. If you hit somebody at like 20 mph youre kinda messed up.

igiban

look nicer but, they don't really like to be bumped, and they sure don't like those little rocks jumping on them.

s852

The use of parking assist should become more common. Too many people like to park by feel.

bodble2

Did Edmunds change their setup and the sign-in procedures, or am I being punished for posting something they don't like?! What's this "My Edmunds" thing?

dtate99

Bodble2, see the top of this page. It explains the implementation of the new registration system.

kahunah

The coin holder can be relocated from the centre console to the inside of the driver (or passenger) door storage bin for easier access. This feature will help you keep your eyes on the road!

igiban

What kind of ave. MPG does your TL get on mixed highway and local with premuim?

On coin holder on door bin Kahunah, do you mean that slot meant originally for sunglasses?

dulnev

There are two notches at the front of the driver door pocket where you can place the coin holder. BUT, the coins will fall out quite often in this position. I have relocated mine back to the center console after a week.

dulnev

I'm getting a consistent 18mpg per full tank in 80% city 20% highway driving. My mileage in pure city or stop-and-go highway driving has been as low as 15 mpg.

adman17

On the front bumper below the passenger side headlights there is a small circle, which must be a cover of some sort. Can anybody tell me what this is? Does it cover the GPS sensor? The outside thermometer? Something else? Thanks.