Older Acura TLs

ptchow

In Edmunds' First Drives review, it says: "...and if you opt for the navigation system, you'll be able to watch regular DVDs when the vehicle is in park." I haven't seen this in any other articles. Can anyone confirm?

stlgasman

That was an error.

bodble2

Would've been nice though

klunkman

How do you know that's an error?

ztiger93

gigi, seems to me i read somewhere that the TL will have a full-size spare, although i may be confusing it with something i read on the TSX. either way, i seem to remember being surprised. i'll look around when i have time, or maybe someone else will know for sure. you'd think, though, that if they did it for one they'd do it for the other, too (especially the larger one). i agree with you, and i put a full-size in my CL when i bought new rims. i can deal with the trunk floor sticking up two inches in return for the safety.

jchan2

they're expensive for a Pikachu looking car. If I want a Pikachu, then I'd order some Pokemon videos, not a Lexus ES330!!

bodble2

Looks like an SC430 back end attached to an ES300 front!

jchan2

looks marginal at best. The view from the side gives the luxury look but the back gives that SC430 bar o' soap look and the front looks like a ES330 grille has come out of the PokeBall too late for perfection.

ruski

all of a sudden looks like a Hyundai.

ruski

the taillights look like Mitsu. But they also look like they were influenced by the Civic taillights. I did some Photoshop editing here:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/afyodoro/lst?.dir=/Misc&.src- - =ph&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/&.view=t

jchan2

Does anybody think that the TL could win a comparison test? The TSX already won a comparison test by Automobile. It was titled the $30,000 personality test. Get as close to $30K as possible but can't go over.

b4z

I think it is fair to say than Hondas/Acura's are engineered to a higher level than a Nissan/Infiniti or even a Toyota.

Nissans are wrought with torque steer and not enough suspension travel.
Toyotas are boring.

carguy58

I like the 03 exterior better than the 04.

On Toyota their styling has just gotten worse with the current generation of cars with the exception of the Celica and RAV4. The new 4 Runner I don't like that. The 97-02 4 Runner was the best looking SUv exterior wise ever. The 00+ Avalon is very bland. The 98-99 Avalon was a beautiful looking car. The Camry has grown too much and has lost its sleekness. The 03 Corolla is not styled right. The 04 Solara is overstyled in my opinion. I saw one on the road and I think it looks too gimmicky. I'm 23 years old and I don't like gimmicky looking cars. I like classy ala 1999-2000 Mazda Millenia.

On Acura styling Acura maybe bland but the styling just lasts forever. I felt like the on the current generation TL between the 01 model year and 02 model year TL Honda made some great changes to make the TL a sporty looking sedan with the bigger grille, bigger headlights, and cleaned up the tailights a bit.

jchan2

Yes, I believe that they're engineered to a higher level than Toyota and Nissan/Infiniti.
Nissan/Infiniti: Torque Steer
Toyota: BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Honda products are less expensive than the Nissan/Infiniti/Toyota competition.

carguy58

Nissan products are a little lower priced than their Honda competitors but Honda's have better interiors. Its just something Honda has over Nissan that I can't point out.

As for Toyota yeah the styling isn't there I don't know if it will ever will be. Toyota is capable of styling good products: 02+ IS 300, Supra, 00-02 Celica, 01+ RAV4, late 80's Corolla Sport, the 99-03 RX 300. Toyota plays it safe with the Camry. The only thing is Toyota is bland how come the 92 Camry looks so good and its going into its 12th birthday? I guess its one of those where the styling has held up extremely well. Can't say the same for some other Toyota products that have come out over the years.

s852

Sometimes Nissan products are cheaper, but they get more expensive when you add options because Honda has more standard features.
If you add options needed for an Altima to have all the features of an Accord EXV6, it actually costs more and not just a few dollars more. A fully loaded 2003 Altima 3.5 SE can surpass the price of a 2003 TL. You can equip an Altima to cost less than an Accord if you are willing to give up a lot of things that are standard on the Accord.

jchan2

Lotsa equipment at a lower price than Nissan or Toyota.

varmint

"Lotsa equipment at a lower price"

Simplifying the content makes it easier to manufacture them. The more complicated the assembly line, the more it costs to assemble the car.

jchan2

The reason why it's less expensive to buy a Honda is because they have no options besides Color, NAV, A-Spec (TL), and Tires (TL) or Type S models. So, It makes it easier for Honda to build what the buyer wants. Unlike Toyota, Honda has a dealer trade network. Say, I want a 03' MDX base in Midnight Blue. My dealer doesn't have one. So, they search the lower 48 for a MDX that is my color and my trim. They find it, they trade for it, and they earn my business. You can't do this with Toyota.

soulunder

This may have already been stated elsewhere, but when will dealerships have the new 04 TL in stock?

gregjohn77

The new 04 TL will be in stock at dealerships on Oct. 6th. This is in accordance with what I've read.

maxhonda99

jchan2,

Toyota dealers can trade with other dealers to. All dealers have access to other dealers inventory.

king_george

I heard some time back that the new 04 TL had evidence of having sonar adaptive cruise control...this sounds like an amazing feature for acura to add to the TL but has anyone heard confirmation weather they're putting that in the new TL?

kedar2

What I've read and seen on the new TL does'nt seem like a major upgrade from the old TLS ,I seen it when it was at the car show in NYC and it didn't give me a buzz of excitment.I Have a 2002 TLS now and seeing the change to the next gen. is'nt hurting me O,k maybe a little, . I just have to suck it up when one drives pass me.It's not like having a vigor and watching the TL enter the market ( I know they had a bigger gap of time,but it still hurts them) I'm not going to start all over again with car payments and taking a lost on the down payment for just a little improvement

pjg00000

I am thinking about buying a 2003 TL and I like the car, but when I read about all the transmission problems I get concerned. So concerned I am considering not buying an Acura as a result.

Does anyone know if the 2003 model still have transmission problems?

Somebody told me they fixed the problem on cars made after June 2002. Does any body know if that is true?

Has anyone with a 2003 TL had transmission problems?

pjg00000

I am thinking about buying a 2004 or 2003 TL and I like the car, but when I read about all the transmission problems I get concerned. So concerned I am considering not buying an Acura as a result.

Does anyone know if the 2003 model still have transmission problems? How about the 2004?

Somebody told me they fixed the problem on 2003 cars made after June 2002. Does any body know if that is true?

Has anyone with a 2003 TL had transmission problems?

robertsmx

Transmission issue affects some 2003 models, not all. If your car was manufactured beyond the date identified in the extended warranty coverage (your dealership should be able to help you out), it should be clean.

kernick

About the only people who can answer that question on the '04's are the Honda engineers. And what do you think their answer would be?

If your state has good lemon laws, and with the Acura warranty covering the transmission for quite a while, why would you worry? I haven't read the posts in that topic, but what percentage are they saying have had trouble? 1% or less?

If I were buying a new one though, I'd take a good hard look at getting the manual trans. Should be a lot of fun; as long as you don't have a lot of numper-to-bumper traffic.

uncledavid

The new TL does not have adaptive cruise control.

It also does not have the same transmission as the earlier version.

jchan2

My friend who bought a MDX said that the Toyota dealer could only chose color on incoming inventory, the dealer said they couldn't trade with other dealers; just pick out color on imcoming inventory. The TL should have a better transmission- if you get a lemon, just follow your state lemon laws.

cooldad24

I found the new TL looks similar to the current one except fromt he side view. It's too bland to feel excite about. At least Toyota is trying add some spice on the exterior. Look at the Honda new accord: it's the worst looking main stream car to my eyes for years. And Acura as well as Nissan/Infinite save the cost by using plenty of the hard plastc. It looks cheap and prone to have fitting problem in long term. The new TL finally throw away those cheap plastic and use higher quality materials and better interior design to rich up the cabin. Unfortunately, the price goes up also. It jumps up from 32k of TLS to 33.5k. It's still relatively cheap compare to Lexus or BMW. But refinement is still behind. Disagree? Go check the leather and floormat as example, the Acura is not the real leather until the new one according to Honda. And at last, Acura finally equipe their line up with stability control but most experts claimed not as good as it in Volvo, Lexus or BMW from road testing. It's mystry why Acura use the same size of Disc break of the 2003 regular (225 hp) for the 270hp with auto? Breaking is one the weakest point of the current TL and Acura not even try to improve it? Don't get me wrong, I love the TL. I think it's the best car you can buy under $30k (or 28K for the regular one), then. It's hard to spend $6k more just for better power and nicer interior with same weakness left by previous generation. And I am sure they will address it in the refresh model which will not happen in 2 years. I will wait til then to buy.

kedar2

The materials used in all cars can not be real leather,let's just say it's better looking plastic that looks like leather and as for the cabin it ranks high I mean take a look at the G35 ,now thats cheap anyway I think your right about the new TL when it comes to the breaks its just not good enough. Other componets such as the glass windows, tire size, transmission, more interior space better engine with a new look outside makes it a must have for new buyers under 34k as for the type s version that will come out later (2 years) I think the TL can not really get much impoved what they should do is including the matainace and getting better loans from the bank because it's not the car its the banks and the money hungry insurance companies that slow down the sales so acura you should get better in those departments.I could have paided off my car with the money the insuranice people get, doing what mercedes do such as a laser key cut that might help.car compayies should talk to them or we as buyers should say enough is enough give us a better deal or we will not but another carand what will you do mr. bank and mr. insuranice we are in a crisis and they are not giving in one bit

jchan2

What do you expect for $33K? The ES330 starts at $32,250, just $750 less than the TL. And see what it doesn't have that the TL does. A lot more, considering that you pay only $750 over a ES330. Better brakes are fixed with the A-Spec edition- it'll cost you $3,000. A 330i doesn't even come close equipment wise.

ruski

is it a totally new tranny?

varmint

I think it's fair to say that we can poke holes in any of the near luxury car lines if we single out details. Sure the ES330 has real leather... when will it get real performance? As shown by the many comparison threads here at Edmunds, we can go on like that for a long time.

dulnev

What are you two clowns talking about? "Not real leather"??? Where do you come up with this stuff?

fdefulvio

I was wondering the same thing. I'll agree that the leather in the Accord is not of the best quality, but I don't think you can call it leather if it's not the real thing. The quality of the Accord's leather was the deal breaker for me, and convinced me to go with the Acura.

billyperks

All I know is- the leather in my TLS is real.

varmint

Dunno about the TL-S, but the base TL comes with leather seating surfaces. The parts that we sit on are leather, however, the sides and backs of the chairs are faux leather.

I think this is a smart way to cut costs. As long as it's comfortable and looks good, I don't care. I'm not sure if it was used on the 2004 design.

s852

The leather on the Accord is "ok." It is all relative. Look at the leather in an Impala or Gran Am and compare it to the Accord and the Accord's interior looks like a Lexus in comparison.
I did not see the 2003 TL's leather as being that amazing in comparison to the Accord.

varmint

I had the flaking issue with a set of aftermarket seats I bought. Had them replaced with a new pair (same distributor) and the problem has not returned. That's a risk you take when you deal with natural/organic materials.

jchan2

As long as it is comfy and won't look beat up after one year, I'm fine.

ruski

great... a tranny from a four-banger installed in a much more powerful 6-cyl car. just great.

merc1

Almost all cars have just leather seating surfaces, only a few wrap the entire seat in real leather. Mercedes does, as does Saab and Jaguar, when you specify full leather on their cars. None of the Japanese cars (except the high-end LS430) wrap the entire seat in leather, especially Honda/Acura.

M

billyperks

I think you are correct.

bodble2

on Audis too.

carguy58

I think the price of over 30K for the 04 TL has to do with standard goodies like the hand's free phone and stuff like that.

As for Honda they have good cloth seats but I would go with an Acura if I wanted leather rather than the Honda. I sat in an 01 Accord Coupe and I didn't like the leather. Wound up buying an 02 Cl(base) because I didn't like the Accord Coupe in leather. Also liked the Cl's exterior better than the Accord Coupe's at that time too.

As far as Honda's exterior styling I think they are trying to appeal too more Domestic Big 3 buyers so thats the reason for the 03 Accord and 04 TL's styling. I think Honda realizes they are going to lose some buyers that have been loyal to Honda for 20 years but I guess Honda wants a bigger piece of the pie(more market share.) Honda's styling has gone from indusrial to more generic in the last few years in my opinion but Honda has always had criticism from Domestic Big 3 loyalists: "Bland styling" through the 80's and 90's.

varmint

I think "bland" is simply the word du jour for some folks. They'll call a car bland, then in the next sentence they'll list several design cues that are "weird". As I've written in other threads...

"What is that word you keep using? I do no think it means what you think it means."

bodble2

Acura.ca site has been updated with '04 TL information. No prices yet though. Looking forward to the VIP intro at my dealer on Oct. 13th.

jchan2

You mean Saab wraps the whole seat in Leather on a $25,995 9-3 Linear but Lexus does not wrap the whole seat on a Lexus GS430 stickering at $50,000? If leather were the only thing on buyer's minds, then everybody would have parked a 9-3, Audi, Mercedes, 9-5 in the driveway. Not that it's bad, but then all the Cavalier repair workers would be out of work!