Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

igiban

seem to be the mian complaints for new TL. Are these all related to weather/temp that the colder the worse? Any people in warm places (like CA, FL...) have the same problems still?

sftroy

Keithl:

My TL has a VIN ending in the 500's . . . purchased it in Nov 03. I'm one of the lucky ones who has vibrations at freeway speeds after the car has been parked all day.

Here is the tire info:

Bridgestone Turanza EL42
DU9581
DOT OB611 PVC 3603
U10R
P235/45R17 93W M+S
EL42SZ

My dealer on Saturday stated that Acura is aware of the issue but has not determined if/when/how they or Bridgestone will replace the tires or decide tell me to pound sand now that they have my $30K+ . . . . They will be giving me an update by the end of the week. Hopefully Acura will do the right thing . . .

sftroy

sftroy

igiban -

I'm in the SF Bay area and have experienced flatspotting on my TL during the winter. I've been out of the country for the past few weeks during our warm weather spell, so I have not been able to determine if it is temperature related. My dealer on Sat. stated that other customers have complained about the same issue.

sftroy

mdhauke

I purchased these Mats online and am attempting to install them. Pretty simple huh? Well you would think that except for the driver floor mat there are two hooks under the seat your supposed to attach the mat to. For the life of me I wasn’t able to get the hooks in the holes of the all season floor mats after a half hour of trying. Is there a special trick or something I am missing here? Any help would be appreciated.

kahunah

mdhauke, don't bother with the hooks. There is a trick to installing them but the real problem is when you're trying to empty the mat of dirt and debris. If the hooks are fastened, this task becomes impossible and you will end up with dirt and debris all over your carpet. It happened to me...once. Trust me, don't use the hooks! It would have been so much easier, if Acura had just used a peg design instead of a hook design for the driver's mat.

mdhauke

The mats are pretty heavy and with the rough bottom it has it feels like it won't move any way. Never thought of all the trouble it would be to unhook and hook them up again after cleaning. Thanks for the advice, unhooked they will stay!

hoyahenry

Seems like an appropriately placed 90 degree vertical cut after the elbow would convert the hook to a post design. I think a sharp pair of dikes would do the job since it felt like plastic, but I need to look again.

An incision in the mat from the hole to the edge would also work, possibly at a slight angle to prevent straight forward slippage, allowing the mat to make a turning slide out without dumping the entire contents.

I just did my first shake out over the weekend, but the post reminded me that the de- and re- installation was involved and somewhat annoying.

keithl

Well the back deck ratlle is back. And of course the tire vibrations are still there. Hear from Acura today, and their answer is they will get me new EL42 tires of the new design, I begged for anything but those but no dice. I told them to order them. I am debating if I might just buy new tires give Acura the old EL42s back and then see if anyone wants a set of the new ones for around $200 + shipping. As for the door squeak, some pushing and shifting seems to have cured it for now, and the panel gets pulled Friday to tinit the windows, so maybe the reinstall will cure it for good. The back deck seems to be as bad or worse and I see were they jammed stuff up under the back deck where it meets the window. Problem is I don't think that is where the sound is coming from. If I gently push near the sub grill the vibration goes away. Maybe some foam rubber padding under the deck in that area! We'll see. And while these are not huge issues, Acura's attidtude sucks so this will be my first and last Acura. The dealer is doing everything he can, but Acura Customer Relations is a JOKE! Their summed up answer: Yes we know the tires are a problem, we are working on it, suffer until we have a fix! What BS!

dtate99

I remember seeing one of your earlier posts indicating you bought from Acura Carland, which is where I got mine. I have reported the tire problems, and my customer service rep called me today, too, and let me know that me and 2 others were discussed and replacement tires were being sent. He didn't know what brand (although I requested the Falkens) but it sounds like we are all three going to get the replacement tires. Perhaps you are one of the two others.

sftroy

What steps did you go thru to get the replacement tires? I've discussed the problem with my dealer on Sat. and they were going to meet with the Acura Svc Rep this week. I should have their initial response tomorrow. Did you contact Acura's Customer Svc as well as work thru the problem with the dealer? Any suggestions are appreciated.

dtate99

I didn't do anything special other than ask my service rep politely each time I spoke with him whether or not any recall had yet been issued. I just asked him to let me know when he learned anything, which is what he did. I assume your situation is similar, so my advice is simply to wait until tomorrow and see what your dealer decides to do.

keithl

The quickest way to get them ordered is to call Acura Customer Service as well as getting the dealer to escalate. Honda's strict position now is you will only get EL42 replacements, I have been fighting with them all week, offering to pay difference or even just give me a credit. They will not budge. I called Honda Corporate and they say the Case Manager word is final. They know that some early people got other brands, but that is before they had the new EL42. I told them to send them, but I will not be happy and will never buy another Acura. They are very inflexible and no customer service skills. Acura Carland has been great through all this, but they have to live within the guidelines. Unfortunately no one can tell me how long before the tires will show up.

I did meet with the Service Manager and Sales person and told them it is not their fault, but I would never buy another Acura. Also told them that one of my friends that was looking at a TSX I have swayed away and to look at Infiniti.

The said thing is Acura really has no customer service attitude. It boils down to this, call Acura and you get American Honda, call Infiniti and sure they are owned by Nissan, but there is an entire division of people for Infiniti with a different frame of mind when it comes to Customer Service.

And before those of you that think I am being petty jump in and flame me, sure all cars can have problems, but I have owned 11 cars over 18 years and now of them had this many annoying issues. Squeaks and rattles are still popping up as fast as they can squelch them. And when you buy a "near luxury" car part of what you are buying is the customer service, which at Acura, oh wait excuse me, HONDA, is non-existent and I am treated as if I bought their Civic or their lawn mower!

Please forgive me Infiniti for leaving, I will be back.....

igiban

Since this is not something that's easily found during a typical test drive I'd like to know would most of you still buy the car had you known full well what you do now on the tire problem, assuming Acura will not do anything and that you have to pay youself to get it replaced?

bodble2

Well, as I have mentioned before, I've had the same EL42 on our Accord for the past couple of years. They're not the greatest in terms of traction (especially wet traction) but I never noticed any flatspotting symptoms.

pmf13

I don't know if this is a factor of the antenna integrated into the windsheild, but I find that FM radio reception on my TL is not nearly as good as it was on my Maxima with a standard retractable antenna. Anybody else find the same thing and are there any solutiuons (aside from play more CDs)?

keithl

You will nto likely feel it on a test drive and with the weather warming up in most part of the US you may never even see much of it after a few more weeks until it gets cold again or maybe if you leave your car parked for a week. Had I known more about it before buying I would have still bought if I could have negotiated a better price and build new tires into the purchase. With Acura's current poor attitude and customer service it will be irrelevant as this is my first and last Acura or any Honda product. Some times it is NOT if they fix the problem or how they fix it, but HOW they treat you during the problem!!

keithl

From what I have seen of them on the Accords they are narrower and taller, so while it may flat spt it has a taller side wall to absorb it and round it out easier. The TL EL42s are a bit shorter and wider.

kahunah

FM radio reception on my '04 TL is just fine (Toronto area). Actually, it's slightly better than my '00 TL but that too has a windsheild antenna.

pmf13

I'm just north of Toronto kahunah and find that reception of my favourite jazz station is poor.

kahunah

91.1 Jazz FM (my fav too) is a publicly funded station and their transmitter is just not as powerful as some of the other stations. Their signal will fade quicker, the further north you go. Next time, as you drive up the 404 or 400, compare the signal strengths of the jazz station and nearby 92.5 Jack FM (another fav).

radar51

I just got approval today to have my tires replaced. I got my TL back in October and placed my first call to Acura Customer Svc within two weeks. I followed up in late Dec and early Jan and was told a decision would be made in Feb. I called back March 1st and was told that dealer had to verify the tires were the issue causing the vibrations. They did that today and the had to have the District Mgr approve the new tires - which will still be the EL42's but with a different belt structure.

sftroy

Thanks all for your tire advice. Armed with the knowledge that several of you had similar problems and were given new tires helps my case - much appreciated.

Keithl: unfortunately, I'm all too familiar with Honda/Acura's Corporate's POOR customer service. I've owned three Honda Accords but my last '03EX V6 Coupe was plagued with rattles, bad window trim, warped rotors and a transmission that had a noticeable noise that Honda recognized only as a "normal" characteristic of my model year's transmission (yeah right, just look at complaints on the Accord problem page) After multiple dealer visits and test drives with 20 year old techs and the Honda DSR, Honda Cust Svc told me to live with it. Well, I almost died the day after I picked up my car when the tranny jumped into first gear on the freeway . . . of course a REFERB tranny was quickly installed in my new Accord but NO ONE from Honda Corporate EVER followed up with me - Not even Pat E. at Honda Cust Svc after I left her a message stating what had happened. (I also registered a complaint on the NTSB's web site - not that it helped, but at least I felt good doing it!!) With my fingers crossed, I traded in my Honda that I no longer wanted to drive on the new TL. I'm happy to say that there is only one rattle (dash on driver's side at the A pillar) and the tire problem. I dread having to deal with Acura/Honda Cust Svc over the tire issue . . . wish me luck!

sftroy

If you like the feel of your steering wheel vibrating as you drive on the freeway, then you can live with the problem. It is annoying . . . sort of like listening to a co-worker whistle or clip finger nails in the office!

pmf13

then why did I get much better (completely static free) reception of the same station here in Thornhill in my Maxima? I'm not talking about driving up the 400 to Barrie. I'm just across the Metro boundary and have trouble getting good reception.

keithl

Pardon me for asking, but why the heck did you buy another Honda product? If a company does nto value my business I do not return. I owned 4 Toyotas and they they had a A/C recall snafu and I fell through the crack, that and another lack of service made me switch and never look back. If Honda does not value my business, and it is very obvious they do not, then this is the last Honda product, I don't care how nice a model they come out with tin the future. Honda will never change their attitude if they can get away with treating their customers like this and they still buy. I wish you luck, but this will be my last Honda/Acura!

pster

I am being offered the new 2004 TL (no nav, no summer tires, etc.) just the basic Auto for $32,200. Is this a reasonable price? A good price?

danny1878

I am happy with my TL no matter what and I believe the majority who own this brand agree.

Some people can have tough luck for the rest of their life and it does happen. I dont care if its true or not but people who really own the car know that. I owned 3 hondas since 87 and I know it.

I bet this month's sales would be more than 7k unit.

tedescm1

OCT -
I was one of the first people to purchase a new 04 TL. I bought mine in Oct. Since then I have gone back to the dealer three different times and complained about the tires and the rattles.

I still have the tires and I still have the rattles.

What really pisses me off is the attitude of the dealer and the company. The dealer and the company insist that there is no problem either with the tires or the rattles. According to them, the car is near perfect, and I’m the only one complaining. Apparently, they do use this web - site.

NOV
My dealer has informed me that there is no way to fix the glove box. Yet, others on this site have stated that their dealer has fixed the glove box.

DEC
My dealer says there is no problem with the tires, yet others on this site have reported that their tires have been exchanged!

Who is telling the truth? It seems some dealers are better than others.

March of 2004... I was contacted by the company the other day (5 months after my intial complaint) and they have given my case to a case manager. The case manager wants me to take the car into the dealer for the fourth time to examime my tires and hear the rattles...Suddenly there really is a PROBLEM! All this time they have been telling me that there was no problem!

The acura customer service department stinks...

The Acura 04 tl is really a nice car but it's not worth $30K+. Buy an Accord and save your money.

I'll keep this thing (TL)long enough to pay it off and then unload it

Ask me if I’ll but another acura product!

bodble2

I believe Honda corporate wouldn't know customer service even if it came up and bit them on their collective fat asses. I went thru a buy-back arbitration with Honda and now I know how ugly their attitude is. On the other hand, I've had very good to excellent experiences with Honda/Acura service departments. And I think that's the interaction that counts more than the one with the suits sitting in corporate headoffice.

qbrozen

The acura customer service department stinks...

sounds to me like your dealership stinks, not Acura. There is a big difference.

tedescm1

You have a point...if the dealer had taken action 5 months ago or at least acknowledged the fact that there was a problem, I would probably have a very different opinion of the dealer and company.

As stated, their attitude really pissed me off…I expected more of what is supposed to be Honda's luxury division.

kahunah

Just had one of my 17" wheels refinished (nicked it on a curb). Took it to Carcone's Auto Recycling located just north of Toronto, in Aurora. They did a beautiful job and it only cost $100 Canadian. Rim looks brand new. Carcone's also ships North America wide.

http://www.carcone.com/

armand

I have had my TL for 3 weeks now with none of the problems I see mentioned. Mine was built in Feb. and maybe the factory has worked out the problems.

I love the car and hope it is a trouble free as my last Acura which was great. My last car was an Audi A^ which was a good car but far from trouble free.

qbrozen

yeah, a bad dealer can really hurt a manufacturers name. I wish manufacturers would get a clue and start coming down on their bad dealers more.

But, if you can, I suggest switching service departments. I wasn't happy with our Honda dealer's service department, so we actually started taking our Pilot to an Acura dealer. Its been SO MUCH better.

good luck.

micked

I called Acura customer service a while ago to inquire about the flatspotting, never mentioning that it was happening to me. Since they asked my VIN they knew my car and where I bought it. This was in Feb. The other day I got a call from the service manager telling me a set of new tires came in with my name on them. He asked me what kind of problem I was having. After sayind "no problem" he said he has to send the tires back. Also, they are the same Turunza <sp?> tires, just an improved model, so no big loss to me. So, I've read some people are having challanges with getting new tires, and here I am with no tire problems, only INQUIRED about it, and I almost had new tires.

Go figure!

Eddie G

bodble2

I admire your honesty, but if it were me, I don't think I would have turned down the "gift" from Honda.

igiban

really improved, as far as FlatS. goes?

boneyardjelly

I got my TL on 2-10-04 and this is the first chance I've had (because of weather) to put a nice coat of polish on it. So far, I've found at least five problems with the paint finish. 1) on the front bumper, at the forward edge of the driver's wheel well, there's a plastic edge that looks like it was formed in the mold. The edge is very ragged; the passenger side has the same edge, but it's silky smooth. 2) At three spots on the car: roof, left and right rear quarter panel that have a paint "pimple". I don't know what else to call it, but it is a tiny blemish where the paint surface has been broken... as if they painted over a piece of grit. 3) at two places on the rear bumper - left side, there are small dime-sized blemishes where the plastic seems to be roughed up... it's painted over, but it looks like two small warts.

Has anyone else gone over their paint and found these kinds of blemishes? How do you think the dealership will respond? I'm thinking that they ought to be able to fix it without anyone ever knowing the blemishes ever existed.

Other than that, I have no other complaints... tires are fine and I have no rattles at all.

hoyahenry

Well, I did the same thing this weekend - wash and wax. While putting the wax on, I had the paint chip right off on the driver door, right on the flat where the edge of the panel meets the window trim. It's nearly a perfect half circle about the size of pen cap. I was running along that top edge and on the driver side rear pax door, there is a black piece of something about the size of a pin head baked into the finish.

That's all I found, but it was close to dusk when I worked on it.

I also have the Redondo Red color, and I can tell you that the running board panels below the doors are close but not the same color - or won't be in a year or two for sure.

smithdrgs

just about to buy a TL -don't bother with the editorials.
just talked to "chuck at bridgstone at tech support, friendly, said there has been a change to the tires. he could not say when it was made exactly. i asked him for the week/year code when the change was made. he knew what i was getting at, but did not have that info. (he didnot, but someone there should)
has anyone else talked with bridgstone or Acura regarding "new" tires. the new belts? they should be able to say when the change was made. some one has this info, and to which VINs it corresponds to. do we need a congressional investigation? although those seem to be less fruitful. i believe tires have a code which shows the number of week of the year and the year itself . ie: 1504. ( ithink this is how it goes). well, any info would me helpful.

kahunah

...are covered under warranty, so have it checked out by the dealer. I don't have any paint issues with my TL but I once had a '92 Accord that had the entire front (fenders, bumper and hood) repainted under warranty because of an unusual amount of paint chipping that had occurred.

jjabbytaylor

All,

Here are a couple of things I found by accident that I don't remember reading about in the manual.

If they are already in there, my apologies in advance.

1) If you press the button corresponding to the current CD or DVD playing, it will pause playback. For instance, if you are playing disc 3, pressing the 3 button will pause playback.

2) Pressing the + or - seek button down (for more than one second) will start a fast forward or reverse search, respectively, of the current track being played

I wonder what other cool features are hiding in the radio / nav system

Jeff

keithl

boneyardjelly,

I have one "pimple" in the seam/valley of back bumper, I am not going to do anything unless it splinters off as the dealer will surely mess things up trying to fix it.

hoyahenry

as the dealer will surely mess things up trying to fix it.

The sad, succinct truth - no matter what brand of car one selects.

This is why I haven't mentioned the scratch I found on the no-navi environmental display that I have. I didn't notice that the protective plastic was still on the display. When I took it off a couple of days after delivery, there was a nice pair of scratches like a cat had first crack at it.

There's only one way to fix that that I know of and I am not going to let the dealer touch it, even if they would believe me that it was there at delivery.

dtate99

"... but it is a tiny blemish where the paint surface has been broken... as if they painted over a piece of grit"

I'm just curious, was it an instant grit or the old-fashioned kind?

kahunah

"as the dealer will surely mess things up trying to fix it"

Most dealerships don't do their own paint and body work. They usually send the cars out to an affiliated paint and body repair centre.

inky4

The wide variety of treatment by Acura to TL customers regarding tires is amazing. I bought new falken tires on my own and solved my problems a month ago. Hence the tires were at fault.
Funny how that worked. Acura would not do anything for me. I have purchased new 16 Honda and Acura cars in 14 years for my household. That added up to $450,000 of product. I currently own MDX and TL and they tell me too bad. That said said the EL 42 tires were not that bad but not something for a $33k car--coldweather flatspotting was nasty and some little vibrations.
The Falken 512 is a consumer reports top pick, It is quiet, fuel efficient, and good looking. Most of all 4 of them were $396 delivered to my house!

wcollins

I spent most of this morning reading ALL of the post regarding maintenance, tire and customer service problems with the TL. I am a current Jag S-Type owner looking to trade to a TL or the upcoming RL that will be shown in April at the auto show. It's funny, I see owners of the TL is having similar problems that I am having, especially as it relates to corporate customer service and with the dealerships. A lot of song and dance and little resolution. It makes me believe no auto manufacturer is immune to problems especially during the first run. I have numerous problems with my car (new engine, 2 trannys, heat and A/C to name a few, plus 158 days of down time). I always thought Acura would be the way to go for trouble free motoring. I owned an NSX before selling it, and was sad to this day that I sold it. It was bullet proof in performance and reliability. My only complaint was tires ever 10,000 miles and $105 oil changes. I will continue to monitor before I leap into an Acura purchase. Denial by the manufacturer seem to be the biggest turnoff to consumers and myself. Good luck all, and thanks for the info.

inky4

Hey, while I enjoy complaining and ruffling up feathers like the rest I have never ever had one day out of service for any of my Honda/Acuras in 14 years. Not one day. Yes a recal here and there as well as routine maintenance but no gooly this car sucks.
You are right about first year production, I would say after 6 months biggest bugs are worked out in todays responsive assembly line.
Only a Lexus can really be trusted immediately and even then a few SNAFUS.
I would not hesitate to buy another TL but maybe wait next time for 6 months of production.

bodble2

They've got their share of first-year problems too just from what I've read in the ES330, GX470 & Rx330 threads. Some fairly serious issues with the GX470 too.