Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

danny1878

I do believe some of the postings about complaints are genuine, like Bodble2's. Well the car is in its first year production eventhough mine has been rattle-free.

But I also believe some are not, a true car owner doesn't just register as member and make a single post of complaints and that's it, no follow up no history of purchase/previous postings. Some even has no idea of what kind of car, he/she is discrediting. Well TL does outsell many brands and the most consumer wanted.(Tall puppy syndrome)

I am not going to suggest anything (I maybe working for acura, one might say lol), just use your common sense and a more thorough inspection before buying a car. Do not hesitate to test/try/push/pull any part of the car (careful, dont break any) that might cause a rattle/squeak. I didnt do any inspection back then myself but luck was on my side.

Anyway problem may/can occur to any brand, chrysler, BMW, Pontiac, Infiniti, Lexus etc. you name it.

flipper6

I agree that it is probably not prudent to try to fix all rattles. I had a rattle with the rear deck that appeared to be the sub woofer. I could replicate the problem by tapping with my fingers next to the sub woofer. When I first showed the service rep the problem, I was told that they checked other TL's and they all made the same noise. The next visit I had more success when I showed the technician the problem. They ordered a new rear deck and now the rattle is fixed.

I also have a rattle in the dash but I don't think I would want the dash replaced.

We have 10,000 mile on the six speed with nav and it is primarily my wife's car. We both still enjoy driving the car even with some of the annoyances that have been noted.

miata007

If it's just rattles, I don't think it is a big deal. I am more worry about vibrations and transmission(heard a lot in the old TL) issues.

Appreciate you guys comment!

baleagha

I love my 04 TL with the exception of some minor problems. The rear view mirror does not give me as much vision as my last Acura. I also have problems with changing lanes safely because I feel the door post is in the way when I glance left. I never trust door mirrors alone when changing lanes.
Another problem which I discovered--even following a couple of test drives--was that my right leg was unfomfortable leaning on the console (I'm 6'2"). I WOULD buy the car again though, as it's a real treasure chest of great features.

danny1878

Even if its just rattles, you should be worried. That's why people should make a thorough inspection on every little thing before they make a purchase.

Check all legitimate complaint especially on websites like NHTSA. You can look for complaints such as transmission failure etc.

Eventhough my car doesnt vibrate, but I have some experiences with my old Honda Civic 87 with bigger wheels and low profile tires. It did improve it's handling but also its very easy to make the car vibrate. If you overinflate them, you would find annoying vibration especially with front tires. My remedy was to reduce the pressure on them then its okay. Hope this help!

surfgeb

I bought a Jabra A210 to attempt to connect my non-Bluetooth phone to the Hands Free Link. I couldn't get the HFL to read the phone (or vice-versa).

Any experience out there on this set up?

sujeet13

Dear All,

I bought my TL04 three months ago and yesterday when I was driving a stone hit on my windshield glass and now I have a spider crack on my new TL. I do have a 500$ deductible glass coverage on my TL but the crack is not big enough that my insurance will cover it. Does anyone have any better suggestions of how I can fix this up? Does anyone know of any glues that I can use to avoid the crack getting bigger or any other solutions to this issue?

Thanks,
Sujeet.

about2buy

Check at an auto supply store. They sell a kit that contains a plastic resin that you inject into the crack and it becomes virtually invisible. Check the package though to make sure that product will fill the kind of crack you have. Usually these filler kits are used for what are called "bulls eye" chip. The fact that you call it a spider leads me to believe that it beyond just a chip and may spread as you hit some bumps and place stress on the windshield.

ricko

belshaw, I am still negotiating with Acura and I have them down to 1,144.00, which is down from their original offer of 2144.00. It just makes me so mad they want back their product up and every time I drive this car and go above 50mph it vibrates. They tell me that Honda Motor is saying it is just the nature of the car and they are just trying to put me in an '05 as a good will offer. They had problems with this vibration from day one, they didn't have a sign in the window of car saying our TL's vibrate and it's just the nature of the car, we screwed the design up but if you buy it it's your problem. So I have really had it with them and I will be out of this car one way or another, if I get no further satisfaction from them we have arbitration through BBB in KY which is binding on them but not the consumer. I will never have another Acura product. Good luck. ricko

ricko

miata007, I would make sure 05 does not have the vibration problem above 50MPH, drive it and make sure, I have an 04 and there is still no fix for it and I am trying to get out of the car but Acura is making it very difficult. They want me to pay usage fees and sales tax for their mistake, if I were you I would find a different car.

ricko

sadtlowner, I am trying to get out of the 04 into an 05 but they are wanting me to pay usage fees and get this sales tax on the 05 they have offered me. I am not buying a new car, they are suppose to be replacing the 04 lemon I bought. I have had it with them and I will be out of this car one way or another, I would suggest that you stay on them, keep writing on this forum and any others, local paper and talk shows. We need to hold Acura responsible for this mess and you would think they would be alot more sensitive to us the customer, but I have concluded they don't care. Good luck, ricko

vin3

Bought my 2004 tl in Oct. have 3700 miles have the same problem. This I feel is a design flaw. Does your rattle or vibration start at 1500rpm at about 50mph and last up through 60mph? I noticed that if I manually shifted and got at about 55mph then shifted into 5th gear that the problem is not as pronounced. I am not at all pleased with the car and its vibrations and have gotten the same official reply as you. I am going straight to the lemon law. Good Luck!!!

vin3

Have same problem starts at 1500rpm and about50mph and goes up thru 60mph. According to Acura Service Dept. they are working on the problem. The 2005 is out and they still have not fixed the problem or know how to fix it. I am going to use the lemon law.

bodble2

It's funny that you mentioned the lane-change issue because that is exactly how I feel. Changing lane used to be instinctive. Now I'm so conscious about it that I'm almost doing a double check, which ironically, actually makes the manouvre more unsafe. But if I just do a quick glance over my shoulder, the thick C pillar, along with the rear headrests and high rear deck, really affects line of vision. It's especially bad at night. Maybe I should try raising the seat to sit up higher.

newacurabuy

The manual says to put premium 91 octane in the car. Do y'all really think that 89 octane will be harmful or decrease preformance that much? I was told that as long as I was consistant with the octane grade, then the car would be fine. Agree or disagree?

qwalls

If you adjust your side mirrors out more so you don't see the side of your car in the mirror, it helps a lot and eliminates the blind spot. If someone is coming up behind you in the passing lane, you should see them go from your rear-view mirrot to your left mirror with just a slight overlap. A lot of people have trouble adjusting to using the mirrors like this, but it's much more efficiant.

bodble2

Thanks, I'll try the adjustment. But lane change to the right is equally bad, if not worse.

qwalls

The same thing works on the right side.

revras

Just leased this car... one thing I did not notice during my test drive. I cannot adjust the seat to get my knees lower than my hips/ butt area. I am six feet tall, one hundred and eight five pounds.. so a normal frame I think. This particular issue is giving me a pain.. in the back.. any suggestions??? HELP

tlgirl

I haven't set this up, but would like to. I did some poking around on jabra's support site and it looks like your pin might need to be "0000". Is that the pin you used when trying to pair?

I would be interested to know if this works.

surfgeb

i'll try it. The hard part is that the instructions on the HFL seem to refer to Bluetooth functions on the phone which of course don't exist on a non-Bluetooth phone

sujeet13

Hey about2buy,

Thanks a lot!

the other good thing was that my insurance company also said that they would cover it and send me to a glass company and now it looks great, cannot even see where it had cracked and it also gave me a state inspection guarantee for life!

-S.

jim17

nicko, picked up my 05 two weeks ago. Have a vibration problem. Its not as pronounce after
two returns for tire balancing. I don't believe its the car but the Bridgestone's they are using
as OEM. I'll bet if I put on another brand such
as Michelin which was the OEM tire up until O3
the vibration problem would go away but I am not going to do it with my nickel. Problem with the 04's has been a flat spot on the tire. If it is a suspension problem than Acura better come up with a fix very fast or they will be getting bushels of lemons.

shelly

Please let me know how you make out . I am going to change all my tires to Michelins Pilot Sport since acura is now shipping all 2005 models with Michelins on them dealer is trying to order them for me. It will probably cost me some money I just hope it solves the problem. Acura Customer service seem not to care at all but states they have had several complaints I am going to try and file a complaint with NHTSA. sjs

shelly

bodble2

So you mean there is no problem?

shelly

Anyone having vibration problems such as flat spotting etc with Brigestone Turanza EL42 tires.

Complain to dealer
Call acura National file a complaint
Go to website NHTSA file a complaint

Maybe Acura will get wise and admit there is a problem with the 2004 tl tires since they no longer put them on the 2005 with NAV.

shelly

There are severe vibration problems I dont know if Acura changed suspension in 2005 but they did change to Michelins on 2005 with Nav saw them yesterday in showroom

bodble2

I appreciate your reply, but I was just trying to be funny 'cause you had inadvertently left your previous post blank, with just the title filled in.

brew99

I have not experienced any "severe" vibration problems with my '04TL - that's not to say that some people have. The OEM Bridgestone tires are not great tires but after 15,000 kms I would rate them as adequate. Yes, there is some flatspotting and no they are not the best performing tire on the market but not something that I would lose any sleep over.

revras

is it possible to disable the recycle switch on the drivers seat so you can get constant hi heat versus a constant recycling between high and less than high heat?

bodble2

Do you really want constant high heat. You'll end up with some really toasty buns!

cdost1

Have been giving serious consideration to getting a 2005 TL. I look at the price and options and it looks almost too good to be true vs the other cars I am considering. (A BMW 325xi and an Infiniti G35x). I will definitely retest drive the TL and make sure I get it up to highway speed.

Thanks

brew99

I don't think you will have any problem getting it up to highway speed! Enjoy!

cheddarmuff

I am looking at picking up a set of winter tires and wheels (combo), anyone have any buying experiences they want to relate? I was looking at the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 (215/55HR16 downsized). Anyone have any good/bad experience with these or the Blizzak's?? Thanks.

BTW...seems like Tire Rack has the best price $930 total..

armand

Today i put ContiWinter Contacts on my "04 TL and guess what - it rides better then the Bridgestone OEM's and maybe quieter. I never would have guessed that!! The place I bought them from (who I have been dealing with for 15 years and trust - Mavis tires)tells me they are at least as good as the Bizzaks and considerably cheaper. I haven't tried them in the snow or for cornering so I can't talk to that.

bodble2

If they ride better and quieter than the OEM's, would you just leave them on all year round? Or do they give up something in terms of handling?

armand

I don't have enough experience to judge their handling but I won't leave them on all year because snows wear much faster then all season tires.

revras

well I am used to having the option of low, medium and high heat settings.. with the way the TL heat control works you can never really have high heat for more than a moment at a time so I would like to be able to defeat this mechanism. any suggestions?

igiban

TL heated seats control got only ON/OFF but no HI/LOW? That may be just fine. My ES has HI/LOW but usually I turn it to LOW in few minutes because it gets very warm in HI.

What's the time interval between TL's 'internal' HI/LOW cycles?

pilotguy1

The TL seats do have high/low and off. I just got mine yesterday, but I haven't had much time to test them out yet.

cheddarmuff

Thanks Armand...I figure most tires will ride smoother than the stones...the flatspotting has gotten worse as the temperature has dropped.

I think I am going to pull the trigger on the snow tires...

vin3

Shelly ,
Just had my 04 in to the shop, they realigned the motor mounts, balanced the tires [bridgestones] and adjusted the transmission cellinoid. The vibrations or I call it more of a shudder improved about 60%. Will have to try the new tires next. I will talk to my dealer in regards to an exchange. Let me know how you do.
        vin

pilotguy1

I have a question for anyone who has recently purchased an 05 TL. I just got mine yesterday and today I checked my DVD navigation disk in the trunk and it said 2003 on it. I am wondering if any other 05 TL owners have the same disk or does yours say 2005. I am thinking someone may have pulled a fast switch on me at the dealers. Also did your keys come with a "key number tag" card that you can use when you are needing a new key made. It said I should have one in the owners manual but my salesman told me that they don't come with the cars anymore. Giving my salesmans' track record for poor service I'm thinking they just either lost it or threw it away. Can someone with a new 05 TL please let me know because I think I might have to talk to Acura corporate on this.

cole

I've got a non-bluetooth phone also. If you got that adapter to work, that's something I'll look in to.

tcl

I have my 05 about a month now. The key does come with a tag with number and bar code on it. My car delivered with 4 miles on it.

pilotguy1

I just talked to Acura customer service today and they told me that they don't come with them anymore. Either they stopped shipping them in the last month since you got yours, or I once again am being misinformed by Acura. Do you think the key tag is important enough to pursue this, or do you think you can easily get a key made from your vin number? I guess no matter what I should call Acura customer service once more and talk to someone else, maybe they might have another answer for me.

igiban

for a duplicate on a machine out there, or it's to be made by a dealer with an ID?

sam447

It has a computer chip in the key and is required to have it programmed and cut by a dealer.

sam447

I took my TL 05 (which I traded in my 04 for) to the dealer because there was an oil leak. It appears to be some type of wide spread problem?!?! My service guys said they had to call some Acura Tech Line and report the problem. He said that they are waiting to see if a factory rep is coming out to look at the car.

They told me they are not allowed to repair it until this factory rep shows up or decides that he doesn't need to see it.

Anybody else have any similar problems or an oil leak with the TL 05?