Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

laurasdada

Remember that this is the Problems and Solutions board, so if you only read here you would think the TL is problem prone. Which I don't believe to be true. Having said that, my temp guage and radio presets went away again yesterday...! Fourth time in the 3 months I've had my '05. Today, OK. Oh, yeah. And yesterday was the end of my free XM trial. Oh, well.

My mpg has been pretty good, 21-23mpg in mixed commute driving. I find the TL to be quite airtight and quiet, very little road/wind noise. But, then again, I'm coming from a Chrysler...!

tedescm1

:confuse: What is vibrating? Is it the drive train or the tires?

If it's the drive train, then tires will not resolve your problem.

I also have the vibration and was thinking of changing to a non-Bridgestone tire.
What difference did you notice when you changed tires. Was it worth the cost of changing tires?

Tx

igiban

"I have 05 TL thats getting pretty good milage avg 23 in city and hiway"

What's your MPH on trip computer when you get 23 MPG?

bodble2

Well, I figure mine must be airtight due to the absence of wind noise even at highway speeds. However, when the doors are shut hard, it doesn't have that solid "thunk". But those may be 2 different and separate issues. But I still partly blame the extra-strong door springs.

golfnut5

I am getting 32/mpg on the highway. I checked my mileage twice (manually) during recent long trip. I have had no problems with my 2005 TL which I purchased in Dec. 2004.

rambo303

I've been reading all the messages regaurding Gas Mileage and my stomach is turning! My 05' TL/ Navi (1,200 miles on it) has been averaging 13 MPG! I estimate that I get around 225 miles per full tank (I could probably squeeze out more but I never let the needle hit Empty). I take it easy on the gas never passing 3000 RPM (but usually around 2000-2500 RPM) and I take it easy on the brakes. Does meaningless idling hurt my MPG? Or what are the chances that it could be an electronic mistake? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions you could save me $25.00 a week.

laurasdada

At idle, you are getting 0 mpg. This will certainly hurt your average! How long do you let it idle? I've read that if you're going to be sationary for more than 30 secondes (not including stop signs/lights of course, but say waiting for someone to "run in and out of a store"), shut the car down.

I do find my '05 TL gas guage to be somewhat pessimistic: more gas than indicated. My low fuel light came on tonight and when I filled up it "only" took 13.5 gallons, leaving approx. 3.5 gallons. Averaged just under 24mpg for this tankfull, mostly commuting miles. I think the trip computer froze on avg. mph 31, avg mpg 23 so my calc was simply miles divided by gallons.

qwalls

I do probably 80% highway most of the time and average about 25/26 mpg. Straight highway is around 30/31 mpg, and straight city around 17/18 mpg. It's an automatic with about 2500 miles. I can't complain..it's better than my '94 Legend.

ckk1

Hey sadtlowner1,

any word on the whining noise in your 2005 TL? I'm taking mine in next week to get looked at.

thanks

bodble2

I don't think there is anything wrong with your car. If I do pure city driving, that's roughly my MPG too. As lauradada said, extended idling sucks.

crazy88

hi Rambo303,

I have concerns about mpg for my 05 TL (with 1,000 miles on it) as well. but your mpg is just ridiculous. I push close 300 miles for a full tank with 75% highway and 25% local. I calculator it to be about 20 mpg for my driving. This is still not close to what the sticker indicates. I'm not sure idling will make that much difference unless you let it idle for an extended duration all the time. I don't really know what to do in this situation either..i'm thinking about calling the dealer but they probably going to say it's normal. but I think you should call the dealer.

good luck.

crazy88

hi bodle2,

I know how you feel about door slaming. I find that some of my friends close the door too hard but they don't realize it. But i don't want to be rude and tell them b/c I don't want them to think that I'm too 'babying' the car. But you're right, I can't stand it either.

ed31cincy

When someone slams the door on my car (quite a peeve of mine) I usually make the comment: "Hey if you slam it a little harder, you can get the airbag to deploy!!" It is said with humor and gets the point across.

I have a 2004 and I get 21-23 mpg city. On the highway, I get 31 mpg at 65-70 mph, but it drops to 29 mpg when I drive 75 mph.

rambo303

I just would like to take time and acknowledge all who shared some insight with my issues. I deeply appreciate it. I live and work with people who believe that cars are just to go from point 'A' to 'B' regardless of look and performance. I'm happy to have found this forum where everyone cares about their car from bumper to bumper. Thanx!

mikeg2

I have an 05 w/6sp and at 1000miles have had no problems and am thrilled with the car.Ride is a bit stiff and I like it.XM sounds great.My last car was a 90 535 which had great handling and I used at drivers schools at Summit Pt Raceway.Unfortunately reliability wore me down as the car aged.I love the TL but find it hard to accelerate from a standstill due to steering pull in 1st and 2nd.Above these gears things are smooth and straight.I've owned 3 prior Hondas with less HP incl a CRX and the pull was not a problem.Does anyone have advice or a reference source for high performance driving tips with a high HP FWD?I also need some advice on high speed cornering.

sano

The temp guage thing is tied to one of the six computers. I've had it reset by the dealer three times. It's relatively simple, kind of like rebooting a computer, but the radio settings get wiped out. My dealer is unaware of what causes it, maybe even corporate Acura can't figure it out, but it occurs to many TL owners apparently.

I let my XM radio subscription expire and, what a surprise, they sent me a post card in a couple of months with a special offer if I resigned up. It was $7 per month for three months, so I did that. Now they are raising their standard rate to $13 per month.

igiban

"I have a 2004 and I get 21-23 mpg city."

Nice city it must be, with few lights and traffic?

I seem to have found a formula between MPH and MPG where MPH-X=MPG, and X is about from 6 to 8 on mixed driving when the MPH is around 30 or so. Anyone concurs?

mrwilson

I bought used Olds Cutlass for a second car. When I would get up to higher speeds I would here what sounded like a whistle or air coming into the car for the windshield or the fire wall. I would have bet the farm that is was a hole or leak in one of these two places. After searching for months and putting up with that @^*!$*% noise I finally figured out it was coming from a lose chrome trim piece above the windshield. When I calked it down with silicone the noise stopped.

ed31cincy

"Nice city it must be, with few lights and traffic?"

Igi: I drive a mix in the city. On my way to work, it is about 4 miles stop and go, then 6 miles highway. From work to home, I take a different route, about 10 miles, all stop and go. I was taught how to drive during the "Gas Crisis" of 1974, when I learned the saying, "Drive like you have an egg between your shoe and the accelerator pedal". Believe me, I REALLY like to mash that pedal sometimes, but on a day to day basis, I baby the accelerator pedal. (Especially now, with premium at $2.55 per gallon.)

igiban

What's your MPH when you get 21-23 in city? Well I know baby the pedal will help MPG and all that, but it can be a bit hard on TL, esp. if you want to increase FPG (fun per gallon) sometimes. Of course, those #'s on gas pump can also serve to remind us of refraining from having too much fun on TL nowadays.

ed31cincy

I drive around 35-40 mph in the city. The trip computer will show avg speed to be 23-25 mph which accounts for the idling time. The only way I know this is when I drive in the city after filling the tank and zeroing the trip computer. I have reset the trip computer prior to my long distance (2 hour) highway trips and have logged 32 mpg. But again, that is with brief hammering of the pedal as I merge onto the highway, and cruising at 68-72 mph.

I giggle like a teenager every time I enter a highway. This car is a blast to drive. XM has enough choices that I never get drowsy anymore on the highway, and the DVD-Audio is the clearest sound I've ever heard. It rivals the sound in an IMAX theater.

laurasdada

Ed: Ditto here re: "The Egg" theory! I still remember sitting in gas lines to receive a maximum of 6 gallons... Ah, the days of Chevettes, Citations and Pintos. A few of the foundations that built our strong domestic auto industry!

My commute is about 8 miles stop/go local street then 12 miles highway. If I'm lucky I'll average 30-40mph on I95. I've been getting 21-23mpg on this route.

Thanks, sano. Rebooting the car has reset the temp guage each time. I'll bring it up with the dealer next visit. My XM, too, just expired. Unlikely I'll renew. I have other things to do with the $150/year XM wants (e.g. buy CDs or DVD-As!!!).

igiban

21-23 mpg on 23-25 mph is pretty darn good, which I've never seen on my <2K miles 05 TL. Maybe I'd really try an egg....... Come to think of it, my wife drives a car more like that and I was wondering how come she always gets better mpg than I do.......

ed31cincy

Yesterday was one of those gorgeous spring days. I removed the TL rubber floor mats and put the carpeted ones back in. I conditioned the leather, cleaned the interior, then washed and waxed. I then went for the curving back roads in my area. I guess that I probably averaged 16-18 mpg. I was using the manual mode and having a great time. So like you said earlier, I was down on the mpg, but way up on the fun-per-gallon.

As far as your gas mileage versus your wife's, do you use the manual shift much? When I bought my TL in August 04, my salesman said that there is no way we are going to get better mileage by using the manual mode because of the way the computer is programmed to shift in fully automatic mode.

rufust

I have experienced same problem w/ my 2005 TL. A few times, w/ no apparent pattern, I would turn car on and all radio presets were gone; I would turn car off and then on, and presets were back. A few days ago, turned car on and presets and outside temperature reading were gone - also lost connection with XM radio (could not receive any channels other than the preview channel); this did not respond to turning car off and on or to passage of some time (with the exception of the XM radio: presets did not come back but I could tune in and receive stations manually after a few hours). The navigation system continued to function fine throughout all this. The one thing I had done differently w/rt this last time was to hook up cell phone (non-bluetooth) to in-car power cord before I engaged ignition.

I called Acura dealer. He asked me whether I used a cell phone in the car? He said I could remove the connections to the car's battery, touch them together for two minutes, put them back, turn car back on, code in the radio, and presets and outside temperature would return. I tried it and it worked (the only differences from what he had suggested were (i) connections not long enough to bring them together - touched both to metal strip that holds the battery in place although I do not know if had to do anything other than to disconnect the battery; and (ii) had to code in the navigation system but not the battery.

The good news is that I now have presets and outside temperature reading back. The bad news is that I do not intend to do this on a regular basis. It seems Honda has to design in a filter to the Acura TL ignition/electronics system(s) to block something emanating from cell phone/charging system - if they have not already done so.

sadtlowner1

Hi ckk1,
Got my 05' TL back from the dealership after 4 days in the shop. The tranny is just fine(replace w/new)....hope I won't experience anything like what your TL is going through! I've only put 250 miles on since the replacement. I find myself turning off the sound system and fan just to make sure that annoying whine is not there! Lets hope we don't hear of any other TL owners experiencing this problem.

Good luck with the regional service manager...hope they resolve your tranny. Does your state have a "lemon law". One more strike for Acura in my state could justify a full refund(including interest) or replacement.

BTW my loaner was 04 TSX auto and I'm sure glad I stepped up to the TL...

sadtlowner1

jd2005tl

Toook my 2005 in last week for the inop temp readout (second time) and resulting dead battery. They called the Acura tech line and were told to install a new "updated unit" Audio/HVAC/Navigation Display module (part number 1-39051-SEP-A43ZA Module ASSY DISPLAY). We'll see if this fixes it!

Dealer claimed that this is the first time they dealt with this kind of problem; I told them to look at Edmunds.com.

ckk1

sadtlowner1

Glad to hear your whining has gone away. They put a new tranny in mine and it came back after another 1000 miles. Let me know if yours stays quiet.

vaughn4

I have a sunroof rattle over bumps usually only when the sunroof is in tilt mode. Sounds like something tapping on something else. Any suggestions on how to eliminate? Otherwise, the car has been awesome. It has been pretty solid, awesome power, and pretty good fuel economy - plus the looks of the car! By the way, it drives smooth as silk with no vibrations and it does have the Turanza tires. Also, no whinning w/ 1200 miles on it. The A/C is very powerful, it cools the cabin off quickly. It's already been pretty toasty here in Florida :shades:

zenscape

I just got my TL almost two months ago. I got this problem and I am wondering if any of you have this similar problem. When going down hill without stepping on the brake at 5-10MPH, the car makes a clucking noise. Similarly when stepping on the brake during this scenario, it makes a louder clucking noise and the brake pedal vibrates. After I drive down the hill, the problem goes away.

Also when I park my car at a parking spot for around a couple of hours, I reverse my car out of the parking spot and start driving 5-10MPH. The clucking noise comes up during this time. After I drive into the road, the noise goes away.
It seems it only makes this noise when I park my car for a while and reverse to pull out and start driving.

Have anyone encounter is problem? Is this normal or is this a defect on the brake or rotor? Please tell me how I can resolve this problem. Thank you for reading and I appreciate your feedback.

aaargh

It sounds like you are describing the ABS self test the car does when the brakes are cold. However, this happens no matter what the grade (downhill or not).

I park in a parking garage and it does it every morning. It is completely normal.

How long does the sound last? If it's the ABS test, it should only be a second or so.

zenscape

Yep. It happens to my car every morning. It lasts about about a second or so. So this is normal? Pheew. I am glad you replied my message. For a second, I thought my car is a lemon. I took to the dealer and they came up with ludicrous explanations such as the tires are out of round and stuffs like that. They refused to take out the wheels to check for rotor and brake defects. They said this is normal. It is so annoying though. By the way, what year is your TL?

Thank you for your reply and I appreciate your feedback.

aaargh

Mine is an '04.

You might want to search this forum using the search term "ABS Test". It will return previous discussions on this topic.

You would think Acura dealerships would know about this sound and tell you it's 'normal'. Of course they say driveline vibrations are 'normal', but in this case the ABS test sound is the common definition of normal, not Acura's. :mad:

igiban

No I rarely use manual on day to day driving and if I do it's not gonna be to beat auto's mpg, which I don't think I can anyway. My wife simply treats gas pedal more gently than I do and that's why she drives ES most of the time while I have TL. It suits better that way.

carnaught

Acura dealer's are trained to say, "this is normal" (LOL).

semez

Cant figure this one out 05TL Lost XM/AM/FM station settings. Also lost AC digital settings. I did nothing turned car off and ... All settings returned to their original positions after I re started it about 25 minutes later. The only difference was that my wife used her cell phone during that time. Dont know if her cell phone had something to do with it or not. Its not a bluetooth phone. Any ideas?? Go figure!!

billyperks

With 27,000 miles on my 03 TL Type "S" the tranny went out on me this morning on the I95.
I left the car in a commuters parking lot and took the Metro North in to work.
I called my dealership and they told me to call Roadside Assistance for them to pick the car up.
They also advised that I should rent a car and Acura would reimburse the Rental Company.

I should have listened to wife and leased the car.

I personally was satisfied with the car but I dont think I would buy another Honda product.

firstfaz

has anyone out there had this experience - I am having my 1999 TL in for 90,000 service and they told me that the exhaust gas recirculation is a problem. They have to remove the intake cover and drill a hole to make it larger for the air flow so carbon build-up will not be as great. The car is at an Acura dealer. Why do they have to do this and why wasn't it done originally on the car. I only use supreme gas. The cost for this is $449. Help anyone.

johnnyxt

Just purchased 05 Tl with Navi. The built date is March 2005. The car has 600 miles on it. The car has developed an annoying vibration that can be felt through the steering wheel and gas pedal. The vibration does not cause the steering wheel to shimmy. However, I have notice over the past week that the vibration has gotten worse. The vibration noticeable at most speeds. Does this sound like the vibration problems that some people have experienced? If so I thought this was supposed to be fixed with the 05&#146;s. Is there any fix for this?

qbrozen

This sounds extremely odd. My take on it is, if they need to change the design of the vehicle (in this case, drilling for something that was not in the original design of the car), then this needs to be treated as a recall and, therefore, costs you nothing. personally, i'd be on the phone with acura corporate, first to find out if this is for real, and, if it is, insisting it be done for free since it is obviously a design defect.

old_guy

Just purchased a new 2005 TL (16 miles on the speedometer). I drove the car home from the dealer, about 70 miles, and didn't notice anything wrong. The next day while driving around town, I noticed a rumbling sound when braking from 35-40 mph. Returned to the dealer and the service advisor said it was probably caused by rust on the rotors. The car spent several months on the lot after initial prep work. Winter in Ohio ....aaaaggghh!

The fix was to be re-surfacing the rotors, which they did. However, the rear rotors were warped beyond re-surfacing. New rotors are on order.

My question is should the brake pads be replaced on the re-surfaced rotors as well as on the new rotors? Or with less than 300 miles, does it make any difference?

Thanks

bhelsdon

Hello, the brake pads do not need to be replaced with so few miles on them. I think that the bigger question is why are the rear rotors warped so badly. You should ask them to check the traction control to make sure it is working properly. Usually rotors get warped from being over heated and it is unusual for the rear rotors to suffer from that with so few miles on them.

rambo303

For the last two or three weeks I've been noticing Hard Starts on my 05' TL/ Navi / automatic (1300K miles) I usually feel it after the car has been off for more than three hours. Maybe, I'm being too cautious or sensitive but, its painful to feel the car rattle when I start the engine. I wonder if the cool temps are too blame or what.

My second observation is the delay I've noticed when shifting gears. I can count 'one mississipi, two mississipi' before the gear shifts. In addition, when I shift gears its also hard. Specifically when I shift into drive, the gear seems to fall "hard" and makes a "thunk" sound. Should I be worried about any of this? Should I go into the dealership?

Thanks!

bodble2

I think the "thunk" or a "clunk" sound when shifting into P or into Drive, is normal.

pack14

I've had this problem on my 2005 for the past several months. At this point in time, your removing the negative cable seems to be the only way to cure, at least temporarily, the problem. I have read that one can also remove and then replace fuse number 7. The fuse is found on the inside of the car near the left foot rest. I have found it easier to remove the battery cable. Actually, I don't even remove the cable anymore, just loosening the cable seems to fix the problem at least temporarily and doing this doesn't lose your radio and heater settings.

I have discussed this problem with my dealer. They ran tests and got strange error codes. They have replaced the Outdoor Temperature Sensor, but that didn't help.

One thing I have found is that if you just leave the reading not showing any temperature and don't drive the car; eventually it will run your battery down. Rumor has it that the computer that controls most of the display functions has gone into an error loop that continues to run even if the ignition is off. Some people have suggested that a bad battery is the culprit, other conversations have suggested the Navigation Unit is bad and needed replacement, but I am reading that th same problem is showing up on cars without Navigation installed. The most popular theory is that there exists a software error and until an update is issued by Accura, we'll just have to live with it.

semez

Thanks for the information. I dont have a navi system and it hasnt happend since she used her cell phone. If I do nothing and the battery runs down thats Acuras problem. I didnt notice if the outside temp was working at the time. The A/C temp readout inside the car was what I was referring to...

pack14

I do believe with the Automatic you will get the Michelin Pilots. Great Tire! Much better than the Bridgestones, although I found that I did get some "flatspotting," if the car sat too long - like overnight. But the flatspotting was much worse with the Bridgestones.

old_guy

Hi, Thanks for the info. I'll follow-up on your suggestion when I take the car in for the new rotors.

jd55

I too am looking to get an '05 TL. The lease on my '02 ES300 is up soon. I've had no problems with the ES300, but I find the ride boring!! I test drove an '05 RL and '05 TL. I found the TL more involving, although the RL was quite nice. After reading the posts on this forum, I'm still getting the TL, but I will lease it. I found a pretty good 27 month lease deal. That way I should be getting out of the lease by the time the new TL comes out.

jd55

Does anyone know where I can download the 2005 TL's owners manual?

Thanks!