Acura TL Tires and Wheels

newcarman

Good day. Regarding the Acura TL, ive heard in the past by the message board that the tires arent too great with regard to traction in the snow , is that true??

What type of stock tires do they use?? Are they still using the Bridgestones?? If so Are those tires not too great???

Thank you.

laurasdada

'05 TL with Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires. Very poor in the snow. Traction electronics, snow driving experience, common sense and luck have gotten me through two Boston area winters without incident! If the TL was to be the family ski car, I'd get snows in a heartbeat (probably should anyway...). I plan to replace 'em with better snow rated all-season's this fall.

Great car!

dmarcus48

far as I know, the non-navi tl's come with the bridgestone's. The navi ones come with Michellin's, same ones I had on my Volvo S80, they were decent in the snow. I don't know why there's the difference between navi and non-navi tires, doesn't make sense.

bartalk3

That's right. The TL without NAVI has the Bridgestone tires; the TL with NAVI has the Michelins. That's just how they're equipped.

I don't imagine either one is particularly good in snow. They are wide (235) performance tires, not meant for snow. Even though it's a front drive car, I'd use snow tires in the winter if you often drive in snow.

ct_driver1

Hi,

Any experiences with snow/sleet/ice using the stock all-weather tires? CT can be an extremely unforgiving state during the winter months.

animalsrush

The stock tires are real bad in wet weather IMO. We had some rains last week in midwest and the car was slipping like carzy. I am thinking of changing tires soon..

aaargh

That all depends on whether you have the Bridgestones or Michelins (both are stock). If it's the Bridgestones, look out. They perform poorly in the snow IMHO. Check out tirerack.com for ratings and reviews.

I don't know how the Michelins are.

laurasdada

Hi CT_Driver1:

Former Southern CT resident here, now south of Boston. As previously stated, the Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires are very poor in the snow. Combo of wide footprint and just not a good snow-tire. Two winters have made me look forward to replacing them when their time comes.

I've never gotten stuck (although getting out of my mildly steep driveway sometimes has taken a bit of time) and no accidents or near accidents but that is because I am always aware of the (lack of) snow grip of the Bridgestones. The traction control helps unless, of course, there is no traction! Not to mention ABS, snow driving experience and luck...

Good luck, stay alert and keep your distnace in the white stuff!

dwarfl0rd

I had the stock Michelins on my '05 Navi. They were great tires for summer, but in rain or snow....forget it. Because I have kids I had to put on all-seasons. I didnt lose anything in the handling department and they handle much better in the rain. I can't speak for the stock bridgestones though. If you have the michelins and live in a "snowy" climate, change 'em out or get a seperate set of rims and tires.

bartalk3

Dwarfl0rd: What all-season tires did you get? Is the ride as rough as with the standard Michelins?

alana106

I have a 2006 W Nav that came with the Michelin's. My previous car was a Deville, and I was having a tough time adjusting to the comparative stiff ride of the TL. After doing some research on these forums, I replaced the Michelins at 2k miles with a set of Toyo Proxe 4 all season tires. I am much happier with my car now. It rides smoother, and seems to handle just as well, though I can't say that I push the handling to the limits as others might. I haven't had the car in winter weather to comment, but didn't notice the Michelins as being noticeably bad in the rain.
Alan

bartalk3

The Toyo tires do give you a smoother, softer ride? Not as firm? Quite a switch from a Deville to a TL. What did you pay for the Toyos?

alana106

It really was quite a change from the Deville, and I'm still not sure if I'll be keeping the TL as long as I normally would. I'm 55, and my old body may push me back to a softer riding car at some point, but the Toyos definitely made the car livable (softer riding) for now.
Shop around if you do decide to go for the Toyos. I received price quotes of over $700 down to $564. I ran the $564 price by the dealer I went with, and he came up with $587 including tax lifetime balance and road hazard. This shop was more convenient, and also had Saturday hours, which was a must for me at the time.
Good Luck

bartalk3

I notice the Toyo tires you recommended are Z rated--what speed are Z tires rated for--excess of 180mph or something? Hard to imagine Z rated tires would be softer riding, but if that's your experience, so be it.

dwarfl0rd

Bar:
I got the Goodyear Traction T/A
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Traction+T- %2FA+H&partnum=345HR7TTA&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=3&speed_ratin- g=HR&speed_rating=VR&speed_rating=ZR&speed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&minSpeedRat- ing=V

These are junk. I saw the reviews and ratings and found them to be the best. Real world = very very loud, very firm ride, and they also flat spot, even overnight. They handle better than the Michelins and are less expensive, but thats all the pros. I cant wait till they get replaced.

armand

I put Continental Extremes on my 04 and are very please with them including their bad weather traction. See their Tire Rack rating.

alana106

Bartalk3
I will agree that you might not expect a better ride out of the Toyos, but I read several good reports on another forum before deciding to give them a try. The sidewall also felt plenty stiff when I examined them prior to the installation. The Proof came during the ride home. It was also confirmed by my wife, who had previously asked that we take our Van (Odyssey) when going out due to the rough ride of the TL. My friend, who rides with me frequently, also noticed the difference, prior to us getting out of my subdivision.

xrunner2

We have an 04 TL with original equipment Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires. These tires will need replacement soon and I am thinking of Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Anybody with 04-06 TL put these tires on their car? Has anyone considered these tires but chose other brand/models? A new set of either summer or all-season is ok for us since we have a set of Dunlop winters mounted on an extra set of wheels.

Thanks in advance.

bartalk3

Ok, I'll take your word for it. I'll give 'em a try when I need new tires.

larry23455

The tire dealer I use recommeded I replace my OEM tires with BFGoodrich g-Force Sport. I was considering Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z which are over $200 each. The BFGoodrich's are less than half that. Reviews on the internet are excellent. Any thoughts or comments? Thanks.

z71bill

Michelin bought the automotive tire business from BF Goodrich back in 1986/1987 - Uniroyal and Goodrich had already combined their tire operations - so when Michelin bought Goodrich they also got the Uniroyal brand.

I am not 100% sure - its been quit a few years ago - But I think Michelin kept most of the USA BF manufacturing plants and produces some Michelin branded products in them. I seem to recall reading about how hard it was (at first) for the plants to manufacture products that were up to Michelin's standards.

Eventually they were able to work the issues out and the higher standards required to produce michelin has carried over and made the BF /Uniroyal products better.

bmw325xi

I am thinking of buying a TL but happened upon this forum. Are you serious that the tires that come with the TL are not adequate in the snow/rain? I live in the NE and this is important to me. I am looking at used 2004 TLs.

cassiri

I have had it with sliding around in the wet weather on my Michelin HMXM4's. They are $230 tires that came stock but they are terrible. They slide straight when turning in the wet and don't have very good dry traction either. I put 8,000 miles on them and have given up. Discount Tire gave me $50 per tire for them in trade. We will see if the Goodyear's live up to the hype in Car and Driver and on the Discount Tire website reviews.

bethnicole

Having major plroblems finding a multi-spoke chrome/black chrome wheels for my 06TL 6spd. The 6spd needs a 40mm offset?? We have tried 3 different wheels and no luck. I love the new black chrome wheels offered by Acura right now that have 18 spokes but wanted to find something that was a little different. Has anyone ran into this problem? If so what was your solution?

trojans4me

In a couple of message boards, I read there was a recall of some sort for original equipment Turanza Tires for wearing too fast. I barely have 20,000 miles on my 04 TL, and the back tires already need to be replaced... I was looking into replacing them and stumbled on these forums. Can anyone give me any details about recalls on these tires and/or have any suggestions with what tires to replace them with? The Turanza tires are terrible.

habitat1

I had the optional high performance Bridgestone Potenzas on my 04 TL 6-speed and replaced them at 19,000 miles. The Tourenzas appear to have been universally disliked, but I am not aware of any broad based recalls.

As for replacements, you might want to call Tire Rack and have them give you their recommendations.

z71bill

If you read the reviews on tire rack on the Bridgestone EL42 they are for the most part very good. You even have several people saying - I don't know that all the problem is with the TL owners - but these tires are great!

I do not know this for a fact - its just a guess - but I do know that sometimes a tire company will cut a special deal with a car manufacturer to provide a specific tire - brand and name (GoodYear RS-A for example) that is already being sold as a replacement - but make the tire cheaper. Maybe use a less expensive compound - or reduce the number or type of belts - or even reduce the SIZE. Not all GoodYear RS-A 205 50 17's are the same size - or have the same ratings. The tires that came stock on my Mazda3 for example were a couple pounds lighter that the same RS-A tire in the same size that went on the BMW 3 series. Mazda cut a few $ off the tire price - but still got the "same tire" that is on the BMW.

I think some of the issue with the EL42 is due to Bridgestone (with Acura's approval) making a cheaper tire for the TL.

70,000 cars a year * 4 tires * $5 a tire savings = $1,400,000. It all adds up.

wai

You have a good point.
You can imagine even a premium luxury car will try to cut their cost by giving a cheap tire, other lower priced cars will come with what.??? junk tire.
Thats why I dumped my RSA tire with only 12,000 miles which is only slight worn but ride like a rock and install aftermarket tires.

xrunner2

I think some of the issue with the EL42 is due to Bridgestone (with Acura's approval) making a cheaper tire for the TL.

Interesting that replacement EL42 is about $180. High end Michelin or Bridgestone cost just a little more.

Have an 04 TL that will need new tires soon. It has EL42's on it now. I recall reading Acura literature back in 04 that Acura engineers worked with Bridgestone engineering to design a tire (EL42) specifically for the TL. Acura wanted their certain attributes for ride, handling, quiet, rain and tread life. Is this not so with other car makers that might contract with a tire company to produce a tire specifically for a certain model?

Thinking of getting Bridgestone LS-H, LS-V or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.

trojans4me

So I went to get my car serviced at Santa Monica Acura after noticing that my 2 rear tires were wearing pretty prematurely (at about 20K miles). Well, they informed me that a "Service Bulletin" was issued sometime in Feb. about this same problem... apparently, it is an issue on ALL 2004 TLs and some 05's with the Bridgestone Turanza EL42s. Well, they told me that since I've driven over 20K miles, they would only take care of 25% of the cost of new replacement tires, and I would have to eat 75%. They would do a tire alignment under the warranty and install bump stops (whatever that is) to correct the problem. They told me that the entire 75% would be about $750.
Well, upon doing some research, I read on the service bulletin that the replacement tires needed to be purchased from Tire Rack. I went on the TireRack.com, and found out that the tire was selling for $179 each ($716 for set of 4). After getting everything done, the dealer told me that I owed about $785 for everything... that's when I whipped out the prices from the TireRack web page. I told them that 75% of $716 is in fact $537. The service advisor took the printed pages, and disappeared for about 10-15 minutes to "talk to his supervisor". He came back and told me that the dealership sold the tires for $225 each, and that's why they quoted me that price. However, since I brought him this information, he was going to charge me the TireRack.com rate. For about 2 minutes research on the internet and printing out quoted prices from TireRack, I saved myself over $200. DO YOUR RESEARCH PEOPLE!!! These dealerships make enough money...no need to just hand yours over so freely. Also, check the web to find out what other "Service Bulletins" Acura issues to their dealerships. Whatever problems you may have with your car, Acura doesn't seem so willing to let you know about them.
Cheers!

pat

I read on the service bulletin that the replacement tires needed to be purchased from Tire Rack.

Huh?

trojans4me

If you look on the specifics of this certain service bulletin, it says that the replacement tires the dealer replaces on this service needs to be from the Tire Rack.

buyer777

I scratched up my rim, any product that can help?
What do you use to clean and polish the rims?
Thx

roydi

Hi
Just signed up with this chat room. I just got an education about tires for acura from this site. I just recently purchased a used 04 acura with/40,000 miles. I replaced the tires with goodyear 235/45R17 high performance (Corvette tires) I even replaced the original wheels for chrome, factory spec. wheels and the car rides great. After reading all about the problems with tires for acura, was curious if you had any experience or comments on this size tire. The dealer recommended this tire, and after reading your comments and that of others, I'm wondering if I should be concerned.

xrunner2

I just recently purchased a used 04 acura with/40,000 miles. I replaced the tires with goodyear 235/45R17 high performance (Corvette tires) I even replaced the original wheels for chrome, factory spec. wheels and the car rides great.

Which Good Years do you have? What did you do with original wheels? Did your car have Bridgestone EL42's?

tlhater

I own a 2005 Acura TL. It came with porrly designed tire that wore out completely after 17,000 miles. I spoke with Acura custoemr server, a Joseph, in Torrance California, and he told me they refuse to honor any committments on the car and tires and if I wanted new tires they would pay only half. It is unbeleivable to me that an expensive car like this came with poorly designed tires. To me this is a defect and they should cover them. I have already written to the New York State Attorneys General office and intend on suing them in small claims court to recover the money. Everyone reading this should post their complaints to the Better Business Bureau of California and their own state. That's what I'm doing.

kennyg8

While I empathize with your plight, I don't believe you will get anywhere with your claim. As you know, Acura discloses the type of tire it uses on the TL, and you can perform a research as to whether the tire is suitable to you or find out the comments of TL owners with respect to the tire.

Generally speaking, the AG or BBB deals with claims that involve fraud or deceptive business practices. If the information is fully disclosed to the public, I doubt if the AG or BBB will take any action.

You may be unhappy with the tire, and it may hurt Acura's future business if customers no longer like its product. But Acura owes you no legal duty, nor does the dealer or tire manufacturer, unless you can prove (with expert witness) that the tire is inherently defective and unsafe. I believe you have a very very high hurdle to overcome. IMHO, you should consider yourself lucky if the dealer or Acura offered tp pay half the cost of you new tires.

Good luck!

tlhater

Thanks for your input. I have a very good lawyer that feels that in small claim court, and with the fact that I've brought my car in several times this year for service, and with the fact that the bulletin has been out since February, there is negligence involved. Someone should have told me about this long ago. I have also received information back from several agencies that I am not alone in my plight. I've sent an email to my friend who is an editor for a large newspaper in NY hoping that they will cover this case.

As I am not a car mechanic, Acura has a responsbility to their customers to deliver a product that is free from defects and doesn't require me to research the various parts that were supposedly put together by expert.

Anyway my intent is to recover all applicable fees, including attorney and court costs. I will post back on this web site with the results and if positive give everyone here how it was done.

One results is I will NEVER get another Acura so they've already lost a customer.

z71bill

So you put 17,000 miles on the tires and the dealer said they would pay 1/2 the cost to replace?

Seems like an OK deal to me - how many miles did you expect to get out of the original tires? More than 34,000?

In my experience getting a lawyer involved in a petty problem like this is just not worth it. I mean really - even if the tires are $200 each /$800 for a set you are talking about $400. This is a classic example of - even if you win you still lose. I am surprised a reputable attorney would even mess with a case like this - his advise to you should have been take the deal its not worth our time. Or

Maybe make a phone call to Acura customer service - see if they will pay the whole cost - try another dealer - all better options -

ggesq

I agree with you. If Acura is offering to pay half of the cost of a tire used for 17k miles seems like a fair offer.

Going through litigation for something like this seems a little petty IMHO---now if the car had problems like tedescm's then I can agree

Finally, I don't understand why he would hate the TL/Acura for a tire issue. People driving the IS, G 35, 3er and the TL all have issues with tires wearing out quicker because of its low profile and performance oriented nature.

I agree that tires wearing out at 17k is not normal but Acura offered to pay 1/2 so what's the deal?

These are real litigious times I guess. :confuse:

tlhater

I hate it because I paid a lot of money for a car that supposedly had enough engineering thought put into it that the tires wouldn't wear prematurely. I have owned cars since the late seventies and I have never had to replace tires before 35K miles.

The point of this is that Acura knowingly put a car out on the market that had an incorrect toe for the tires that were specified. Second, why didn't Acura service tell me about this bullentin many months ago when it came out -- Maybe if the toe was adjusted sooner, the tires would still be usable.

You would think they learned a lesson years ago when the same thing was happening on the NSX.

Besides the fact that their customer service was useless. Let me ask this question. Why would Acura pay anything for tires that they do not guarantee unless there was something else wrong? In fact, wrong factory adjustments led to the premature wear. That's why they decided to chip-in. Why should I pay a dime if they delivered a mis-adjusted car?

ggesq

In post #36 you wrote- "It is unbeleivable to me that an expensive car like this came with poorly designed tires. To me this is a defect and they should cover them."

and now your saying "In fact, wrong factory adjustments led to the premature wear. " & "Why should I pay a dime if they delivered a mis-adjusted car? "

So which one is it? Poor tire design or wrong factory adjustments or both?

"Second, why didn't Acura service tell me about this bullentin many months ago when it came out -- Maybe if the toe was adjusted sooner, the tires would still be usable."

It was a TSB not a recall so if owners had problems like yourself then they would offer to pay back to the consumer a portion for replacement. Which in fact is what they did.

"Why would Acura pay anything for tires that they do not guarantee unless there was something else wrong? "
One possible explanation- because of the TSB and they recognized that some of the tires were experiencing premature wear?
Second possible explanation- maybe because they are trying to do the right thing and make some sort of accomodation for your inconvenience?

tlhater

As I said before, I'm not a mechanic but have owned cars for 30+ years. I really don't know what caused the problem and really don't care. The car is from Acura. Tires should last more than 17000 miles. Anything else is meaningless.

Your suggestion that Acura is trying to do the right thing demonstrates that some people will believe anything. In fact, they are doing this so there won't be a class action lawsuit which will cost them millions of dollars. Its a hedge or rather a bluff. They will try this not as an accomodation or because they're nice guys, they are running a business and if they had to replace all tires they would post a loss.

ggesq

"I really don't know what caused the problem and really don't care. The car is from Acura. "

Well if you are planning on initiating litigation you and/or your counsel should start caring because the burden of proof will be with you- the plaintiff.

"Your suggestion that Acura is trying to do the right thing demonstrates that some people will believe anything. "

Your posts on this forum demonstrate that some people (1) will sue deep pockets for anything they can get and (2) some people have too much time on their hands and don't see the big picture.

Premium luxury manufacturers have a corporate responsibility to their consumers to make a wrong into a right and Acura is no different.

Good luck w/ your suit and let us know how it turns out

z71bill

I hope you get what you want from Acura - but IMO going the legal route for $400 is not worth it. Did you even try and talk with Acura customer service?

17,000 miles for new tires is on the low end - but I doubt many people are getting 50,000 miles out of a tire with a 260 tread wear rating. I got 18,000 out of my last set of GoodYear RSA (same 260 rating).

Did you rotate them? When did you first notice they were wearing out fast? When did you first notify Acura that the tires were wearing out fast?

Are you going after Acura or the dealership - don't forget to name Bridgestone as a co-conspirator!

kennyg8

Tlhater, I think your thought is to sue in small claims court and hope that Acura will not waste time and money to retain local counsel to defend a tiny claim and agree to pay for the entire cost of the new tires (plus court costs).

This strategy may be plausible if Acura caves, but what if it doesn't. Acura may well hire local defense counsel and give you more headaches. Do you know if you need to arbitrate first? What if Acura counters that you fail to join an indispensible party, Bridgestone, and your claim must be thrown out? Did you or your counsel think carefully through all the legal issues and solutions? Have you read the owner's manual and limited guaranty?

As others have mentioned, it does not appear worthwhile to go to court over a $400 claim, which may be less than a day's salary. As they also advised, it is better speaking or writing to Acura corporate (CEO) and explain your situation in a tactful yet forceful manner, and hope that your well rehearsed speech or written letter will convince Acura to do as you hope it will do. Litigation should be the last resort unless the other side is bargaining in bad faith. Remember this -- all judges advocate and promote consensual settlements, and they do not look favorably upon someone whom they perceive to be greedy or unreasonable.

Good luck to you whatever you decide should be your proper and well reasoned course of action!

wai

Do you think the manufacturer will stock your TL with a very high quality premium tire with good handling and performance for a long time? The tires are equipped just to get your car to the dealership and for you to drive home safely in a comfortably way. Its upto the owner to replace what they want. My stock Goodyear RSA is replaced at 12,000 miles and it is a crap. So you already got more than your dollar worth for 17,000 miles out of a crap.

z71bill

I agree the RS-A is not a good tire - the ride was harsh the wet traction was poor - I will say that the dry performance was pretty good - but like I have posted on another thread -

If Goodyear offered to GIVE ME a set of RS-A tires for FREE I would say no thanks.

It did feel good replacing the Goodyear tires - almost as good as a 17,000 mile crap!

wai

Your can get a set of almost brand new RSA or Bridgestone crap stock tires at lower than half price from those tires installing shops as many car owners trade them in as soon as they drive away from the dealership.

z71bill

I have driven from the car dealership straight to Discount Tire and traded in the stock tires for something better a few times. They gave me $50-75 trade in per tire - not great - but better than a sharp stick in the eye!

The Bridgestone tires that came with the TL are not that bad - since some TL's had a vibration problem I did not want to replace them until I was sure my car did not have this issue. It would have given Acura an excuse to say - ITS the TIRES you put on - not the car.

We only have about 2,000 miles on the car - so its still early - but handling/ride/traction seem acceptable.

If I can get 15-20K out of them I will be happy -

wai

Thats very good deal, I think you can get at least 19,000 miles if the treadwear of your replacement is >160. Once I got 19,000 miles from Bridgestone S02 with a rating of 160.