Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

hals120

I have 10,800 miles, and no discernible rattles. Of course I have high frequency hearing loss, so who knows. The only complaint I have is excessive brake dust in the front, but since I have the 6 speed and the brembos, it goes with the territory

My carpool still votes it the best vehicle of the 4 we commute in. Especially when I press the accelerator with intensity...

I don't regret the purchase in the least bit.

john19

Do you notice wind noise from the windows while driving on the highway. If I push on the door panel, the noise stops. I have told the dealer and they said that this occurs in all TL's. I wouldn't have expected this from an Acura.

chucko3

The TSB only applies to Accord 03 V6.
The problem is if contaminated the fuel regulator gets sticky. I don't know if the TL is using the same fuel filter as the Accord V6.

calwhiz

djlandkpl, thanks, I found the bullet point you were referring to in the quick start guide.

So do you experience this extended cranking yourself? The quick start guide simply says "It may take longer to start the engine at times . . .", it doesn't specify what is considered as the normal duration of this extended cranking.

If you experience the same "normal operation", as Acura defines it, can you tell me how long it generally takes you to start the car when extended cranking is required?

I found myself having to crank anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds at times to start the car. It is very annoying and does bother me a great deal.

danny1878

I have that problem several times (5 or 6 times in 9 months).

I think every TL has that problem (depends on your definition). Having said that its still difficult to recreate the problem (cuz usually it starts at the 2nd one), the engine has to be hot and the right composition of gas and air (in the combustion chamber) and position of the piston might be affecting the computer. Thats just my opinion.

igiban

My ES engine has Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle II (U-LEV II) too but I've never (15K miles now) experienced long (> 3 seconds) cranking time. This is concerning me a bit on my purchasing a TL. Funny this was not brought up until now.

danny1878

Mine's not over 2 seconds either. Usually the amount of time to turn on the engine is 2 seconds and after that you'd assume that the engine will start, but it didnt. It's not like you are expecting it to take longer than 2 secs, so the second one would be just 2 secs also (you dont want to keep cranking while the engine's on, do you?). And usually it starts, that's why I said its not easy to recreate the problem.

If it takes more than 3 secs, then you got a problem. Today I tried again (5 times), but no problem. Honestly I dont know whether its a problem or not.

igiban

And also how hot does it have to be to reproduce the symptom? Does it take an hour driving and then stop over to pump some gas (5 min idle). And then while engine still hot, it takes longer to start?

If it's within 3 seconds I'd not be concerned about it.

calwhiz

danny1878, well, you are definitely luckier than me. I have had my TL for just a bit over 6 months. And on average, this extended cranking problem has shown up every other week. I lost count already how many times I have seen it...

Just in the last two weeks alone, I have seen the problem 3 times, and each time, the cranking was over 5 seconds.

igiban, you should be concered about it when making a purchase decision. I can't tell you exactly how to reproduce the problem but for me, the car is always warm when the problem appears (not hot, it always works if you try to immediately re-start the engine after it drives for a while).

As you can see on this forum, some never see the problem, some do but not as bad as my TL. What really pisses me off is Acura's unwillingless to work with me on this problem...and that is precisely why you should be concerned. Not because the car has a potential problem, all cars do. I still love my TL. I just don't appreciate the attitude Acura corporate has been treating me with after I brought the problem to their attention.

igiban

Not cold or hot, but warm...? So it's more like sitting idle for say 30 min after a 30 min drive, and then start the engine again? If you restart right way or after it's really cooled down it'd be ok?

I've long found out that not all serivce dept. is created equal from any make. Try some other dealer's services!

stacyl1

We have a 2000 Acura TL that is just out of warranty (although it does have the warranty extension for the transmission). Tonight, I drove it around and everything was fine, but when I went to leave a store, I tried to shift out of park (it's an automatic transmission) and the car refused to shift. I had to use the shift lock release to get it out of park. The manual says that this indicates a "problem developing." Any idea what it might be? I ran one more errand afterwards and had the same problem -- needed to use the shift lock release to get it out of park.

danny1878

Honestly I dunno how to recreate the symptom. It just happens, unfortunately the second one always work.

I tried it again today but couldnt recreate that problem proly bcuz its a little cold nowadays. But I remember it did happen in summer time.

brew99

I have about 12,000 Kms on mine and no major squeaks or rattles to report.

calwhiz

[I've long found out that not all serivce dept. is created equal from any make. Try some other dealer's services!]

Yeah, only when the car is warm.

igiban, I wasn't talking about the dealer. The dealer was REALLY nice to me. It's the corporate. I called the corporate to confirm the problem. The guy I talked to knew nothing but just gave me whole bunch of BS.

He couldn't tell me whether it's a problem on the entire new line of Acura or just TL, or whether it happens on all 04/05 TLs. He told me if I was told it's normal then it must be normal.

I asked him if I can talk to the factory rep myself, he said no.

I then asked him, "so you just expect me to accept this as is?" He said, "well, no sir, but I am just saying it's normal". I asked him how it is normal to require 10 sec cranking to start the car, he simply said Acura considers it normal.

I finally asked him why there hasn't been a recall on it if so many users have complained, he then replied recalls are usually only for safety issues and my problem isn't one of them.

And he wouldn't give me his full name when I asked for it. I actually felt ok leaving the dealer but after talking to Acura corporate, I don't think I ever want to have anything to do with Acura anymore.

djlandkpl

Check to see if you have brake lights. The shift interlock may be tied to your brake light circuit.

igiban

What did your dealer's service say? They told you to contact corporate directly (not a good service then)? Corporate is too far away from the field to be helpful.

jjabbytaylor

I can't say I've noticed a whole lot of wind noise while driving my TL on the highway. It's certainly a lot quieter than my previous car, a Subaru WRX and is a little quieter than my wife's '04 MDX.

Sorry I can't be any more help.

Jeff

calwhiz

[What did your dealer's service say? They told you to contact corporate directly (not a good service then)? Corporate is too far away from the field to be helpful.]

Dealer simply said it's a known problem but there isn't any fix for it yet.

I wanted to call the coporate myself and see if they can confirm this "known" problem. But apparently the guy who answered the phone didn't know anything about the problem...

surfgeb

This will be my first winter with the TL. I live near Boston so I need snow tires for 5-10% of the winter while not wanting to lose handling on dry or just wet roads the rest of the time.

Does anyone have experience with the car and the OEM tires in the winter? I would hate to invest in 4 snows if I don't have to.

That said, information on what snow tires people did purchase would be helpful.

joanie

Do most people have side molding to protect against
dings? I do not have them and the first day I drove the car someone put a crease in the rear door.
Is anyone else having a problem with this?
Thanks

bodble2

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. However, side moulding may not have helped. Most TL's I've seen don't have moulding.

rsr152

Hi all,
I have a 2005 TL with 1000 miles on it.
(i) The transmission makes a 'knocking' noise when I shift from DRIVE to REVERSE (95% of the time). But:

(ii) The noise does not occur when I shift from 'P' to 'R'.

Its under warranty etc. but I would like to know if others are having any problems too.

It runs fine otherwise, except the much-discussed faint rattles from somewhere in the roof/ pillar area. Thanks

igiban

Would a side molding actually have prevented the creasing? It protects very little on the rear doors against other car's rear doors. If the crease was from a cart or ...., it's even less likely to prevent!

brew99

My experience from Feb onwards last year in Toronto was that the OEM Bridgestone's were adequate in light to moderate snowfall. We don't get a great deal of snow here so like you it's probably 5-10% of your actual winter driving. I think my next move will be to get an all-season performance tire that is rated as a good performer in snow once I get around to getting rid of the awful EL42's.

sadtlowner

Did you ever get anywhere with Acura? I have the exact same problem with my 04TL...the vibration. It's a very bad ride. Went through the tire thing. Finally, I called Acura Client Services and they said it was something to do with the torque converter causing an harmonic resonance issue. They are doing nothing about this and are saying that it is a "product charateristic of the car". This wasn't in brochures of features I saw. I don't know what to do. This isn't right!

calwhiz

"product characteristic of the car"? Funny, that's exactly what Acura told me when I complained about my car requiring extended cranking to start. Well, not exactly, I think the exact phrase was "normal characteristic of the car"...

Sounds like they use that line a lot.

casbay

In the manual (05) it says that it maybe slow to start and thats normal. The manual says this is part of the low emissions process in that it doesn't spew out a lot exhaust by burning a lot of fuel at ignition. I guess it's a more measured or less amount of fuel which makes it slower.

casbay

I think you just say "cancel"

jjtuan

Just curious..I have heard the same "thump" how do you know its normal? Did you speak to the dealer about it?
Thanks

TALK TO MY DEALER TODAY HE CONFIRM THAT IS NORMAL

bodble2

A knocking sound? or a "clunk" sound? I think it is normal to hear a clunk when you go from Drive to Reverse, and Reverse to Drive.

armand

As has been reported previously in this forum the ABS system engages making a mild thumping sound shortly after starting. My Audi does the same thing only louder.

exporta

Hi

I've looked at the 04 TL and since I own the last model 03/TLS series I prefer the look of the 2003 model. It's my personal taste of course but the higher back end on the 2004 TL doesn't appeal to me.

From some of the comercials on T.V. it looks like Acura is going back to the sleeker, sexier look it had going on in 02 and 03.

Whichever model you get I'm sure you'll like it. I find that it's really smooth and powerful on the highway.

igiban

"From some of the comercials on T.V. it looks like Acura is going back to the sleeker, sexier look it had going on in 02 and 03."

I hope not. Which model's commercial are you referring to? 03's TL is sexier/sleeker than 04's? Beauty is certainly one subjective stuff.

exporta

I had my trany recall done on my 03 TLS last month. I never noticed a problem before or after. I like to red-line it sometimes and it seems to be running just fine.

If you're more comfortable with a used model why don't you look this site over. I've found a few good buys through their service.
 
http://wwwcheapcarfinder.com/cgi-bin/auction-automobile-seized.ht- m

2001civiclx

Just curious, does the 2004 TL and the 2004 Accord V6 have the same automatic transmission, since the TL's 3.2 V6 looks very similar the the Accord 3.0?

bodble2

Well, the TL's tranny has the manual mode, so that's an obvious difference, and I imagine the ratios would be different, but I don't know whether they share the same basic architecture.

calwhiz

[In the manual (05) it says that it maybe slow to start and thats normal. The manual says this is part of the low emissions process in that it doesn't spew out a lot exhaust by burning a lot of fuel at ignition. I guess it's a more measured or less amount of fuel which makes it slower.]

casbay,

I am no car expert, but doesn't common sense dictact that the longer it takes to start the car, the more exhaust the car lets out at ignition?

Anyway, I contacted BBB so Acura now is finally willing to work with me. Now instead of simply telling me it's just "normal characteristic" of the car, they are arranging a more thorough check-up at a different dealership.

I find it appalling that they simply wouldn't do anything before I contacted BBB.

patrickmc

Lindi - I am now on my fourth transmissions. I have addressed all the recalls and had my 2002 TL Type S in for all the maintainance recommended by the dealer (at the dealer). I am dumbfunded. I have opened up a case with Acura and am awaiting their response. I just can't believe I am having these types of problem from this auto maker.

tdi_tan

I think it was narrowed down to the ATF being overworked and deteriorated. Cars like the Odessey have a ATF cooler, that keeps the ATF temperature in its optimum range.

Curious, does the dealer do a drain-refill or do they flush the transmission?

shelly

I agree I have only 2000 miles on tl 2004 spoke to acura rep they wont do a thing 2005 tl with NAV they changed tires to Michelins I dont know what we can do

ala1

I'm experiencing this same shimmying around 55mph. Have you resolved this issue?

danny1878

Pomp, I believe all transmission problems from previous model/earlier build is under warranty. Dont they replace/fix the transmission at no cost?

Btw I havent heard any transmission failure on the new model even with the earlier build (recalled).

Check this website, it might helps you feel better
http://www.daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.com

Usually every automaker will replace the unit with no cost.
330I 2004
NHTSA Action Number: DP04001
Summary:
MS. CLAIRE M. TIEDER OF RESTON, VA
requesting a defect investigation be conducted into delayed transmission engagement on model year 2004 BMW XI vehicles.
BMW'S response to NHTSA'S information request indicated that certain BMW 3-SERIES Vehicles equipped with the GM5 Transmission may exhibited
a forward 'PARK' TO 'DRIVE' engagement delay from 2 TO 30 seconds.
However, the condition can occur only during a vehicle "COLD START," after the vehicle has been at rest fro more than eight hours.
Drivers experiencing the delay have learned to take precautionary and compensatory measures.
BWM will replace affected transmissions exhibiting the delay, after the condition has been verified, with an IMPROVED UNIT.

G35 2004
NHTSA Complaint Number: 10047012
AT 260 MILE TRANSMISSION SLIP ON ACCELERATION CLICKING NOISE INSIDE DASH. *LA

danny1878

LEXUS ES330 2004
NTHSA Complaint Number: 10090711
04 LEXUS ES 330. While driving at speeds under 10 MPH (especially "ROLLING STOPS"), vehicle experiences at least 2-3 second lag between throttle actuation and engine/transmission response. This problem is particularly evident when pulling out into busy traffic. This is a serious safety concern that needs to be addressed by LEXUS. We took the car to dealer. They said ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL.

Caddilac CTS 2004
NTHSA complaint Number: 10056946
Summary:
Have a noise in rear-end when accelerating up to speeds. When letting up on accerlator noise quits, but as soon as I give it gas it hums( like) very loud. Have had two caddilac dealers check it and told not to worry about it nothing is wrong and that , THAT IS THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE 2004 CTS This is hard for me to believe since I have had 8 CADILLAC over the years and have never had a problem of this nature

Pontiac Grand Am Year: 2005
NTHSA Complaint Number: 10090096
Summary:
Vehicle accelerated upon parking near a stop with foot off accelerator and on brake pedal. Car jumped over parking bump and hit a vehicle.

Its better to get it recalled before an accident happened.
Well, quite lucky?

tedescm1

To Igiban,

I was given a Silver 04 TL that looked just like mine for one week while the dealer played with the tires and rattles.

I'm sorry to report that the loaner also had similar creaks and rattles and in equal quantities (perhaps more). I'm not sure, but the creaks and rattles may have something to do with the stiff suspension and 17 inch tires. 17-inch tires look good, but they provide a bumpy ride. They are also very expensive to replace.

This has been my experience.

I’ve had the car about one year and I’m slowly getting accustomed to the creaks and rattles but I would never buy another Honda.

carnaught

I agree with you about the creaks and rattles being due to the stiff suspension but also feel it is related to the materials used in certain locations. One example is the type of plastic and hallowness used in the center console storage area. I am still deciding whether to live with these on a 4 mos. old car or trying to have the dealer work on alleviating these. My reservation is that I think they may worsten things.

tedescm1

To Carnaught:

Funny you should say, "I think they may worsen things". When I returned my car for second and third time to resolve creaks and rattles, the service manager called me aside and said he was afraid of causing more problems and noises by taking everything apart. I agreed with him and of course I still have the problems.

On the other hand, if I let them fool with things, then I could have worse problems. I think Acura is a decent car but way overpriced. I should have bought a Gran Prix and saved 11K.

They screwed me once but ..Never again

belshaw

I would be interested to find out what happened to you as my husband is going through the same thing with Accura. They want to charge us 36cents per mile, my husband is a salesman so he puts on a lot of miles on his car, so we are looking at paying an extra $5k!!! Apparently it is written in the owners manual!!!

bodble2

I think it is highly possible they will make things worse. My TL's got its share of creaks and rattles. I do think some of it is due to the material used. I think they try to use light-weight material (such as the cheapish interior shade for the moonroof, which creaks). But personally I would NOT ask the dealer to try to fix creaks and rattles unless I can pinpoint exactly where it is coming from AND what causes it. You have to know, usually the dealer is not going to assign its most senior and best mechanic to fix rattles.

miata007

Hi,
I am currently shopping for a new TL and wondering if there are any problems or issues that would make me to re-consider this purchase? Are the vibrations still exist when doing 55 mph?
Creaks, rattles?

Thanks a bunch!

007

surfgeb

You have to remember that the postings here do not necessarily reflect the experience of the majority of owners but the minority who unfortunately have problems. Consumer Reports still named the '04 as #1 and my experience has been rattle-free.