Trying Too Hard - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

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Trying Too Hard - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

In its quest to be clever, cool and innovative, the 2015 Acura TLX fails in one particular ergonomic fashion.

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craigo7

Honda/Acura has slipped incredibly over the past few years. Boring drives, bad user interfaces and basic build quality issues. Not sure what happened to the company culture. I feel like Mazda is taking the place Honda once occupied.

schen72

I never understood why people complained so much about buttons on Honda/Acura. I own a 2006 RL and a 2008 RDX, both of which have a lot of buttons and share the same basic infotainment setup. The buttons don't bother me at all because they are actually logically laid out. Once you drive the car for a few days, you memorize where everything is. I don't like the idea of touchscreens either. Fingerprints drive me crazy.

schen72

craigo7 said:

Honda/Acura has slipped incredibly over the past few years. Boring drives, bad user interfaces and basic build quality issues. Not sure what happened to the company culture. I feel like Mazda is taking the place Honda once occupied.

I haven't noticed any build quality issues. My RL, RDX, and TL are all driving strong and nothing major has ever failed. Acura may be a little boring compared to the Germans, but reliability is really important to me as I don't sell cars -- I buy cars and drive them until they fall apart.

miata52

It's why I'll never buy an Acura.

craigo7

schen72 said:

craigo7 said:

Honda/Acura has slipped incredibly over the past few years. Boring drives, bad user interfaces and basic build quality issues. Not sure what happened to the company culture. I feel like Mazda is taking the place Honda once occupied.

I haven't noticed any build quality issues. My RL, RDX, and TL are all driving strong and nothing major has ever failed. Acura may be a little boring compared to the Germans, but reliability is really important to me as I don't sell cars -- I buy cars and drive them until they fall apart.

My folks have an RLX and it's a bucket of problems. Recalls for basic things like the suspension incorrectly put together, headlight material delaminating and seatbelt issues. The ride is crash-y when its not numb and the collision braking system has been known to activate at incorrect times.

expensivehobby

My last Acura was a 2005 TL, bought with 4,000 miles on the odo. It had so many appealing qualities but accumulated so many rattles in the span of 20,000 nothing-unusual miles that I got rid of it. The other problem, and maybe the real reason I got rid of it, was a feeling on my part that the brakes were weak. I know, should have tested it more when I bought it but at the time it simply did not occur to me that the brakes would be so confidence-draining. It's a shame, I bought the Acura for the sole purpose of driving it for a long time.

I do agree that if you had two of the same brand you could probably learn the interface but I don't think that many people actually do.

subytrojan

Frio for President 2016!

allthingshonda

I don't think owners complained about the buttons; it was the journalists that complained about the buttons. When you own the car the placement of the buttons and their functions become second nature. The transmission's electronic interface is required by ZF, the manufacturer. The design of the transmission does not have any way for a mechanical shifter to be attached to it. Every car from Acura to Jeep that use a ZF transmission use an electronic interface. The Honda designed and engineered 8 speed DSG in the 4 cylinder version uses a traditional shifter. The push button interface was chosen over the Chrysler knob and the Audi/BMW electronic lever. To me all of them are silly and only the knob design uses less space on the console.

arcticbluetsx

I have a 2007 TSX with 105,000 trouble free miles.
I do agree with ExpensiveHobby in that the brakes are weak. I'm not sure why Honda insists on putting weak/small brakes on their cars. It's my least favorite part of the car.

dmersman

I traded in a 2012 BMW 550i for a certified 2012 RL. The BMW had about $15K worth of warranty work (replaced two turbos, the fuel injectors, the alternator, and a few other things) and was getting close to going off warranty. The RL isn't an exciting car, though in Acura's version of sport mode the engine feels pretty decent, but it has held up well so far and is a lot cheaper to maintain. As dull as the RL might be it has been a solid car and at this point that's more important to me than anything. Interesting, though...I haven't noticed weak brakes on my Acura. And I've, um, tested them a few times. As much as I love BMW, and the 550 was my second, I'd mostly likely get another Acura when the RL dies.