Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

sadpanda

I cannot believe how disappointing this car is. Have had mine 9 days (600 miles) and
there are already 3-4 problems. I was originally looking at sedans in the $26-28K
range so going big with the TL w/ nav was a big deal for me. I wanted to ensure
that I wouldn't have buyer's remorse. Well I blew that one! I desperately wish I
could go back and not buy this car. I was reading about the guy who said he sold his
back to the dealer and took a $1000 hit in the process. I would love to hear more
about that because I'm ready to do the same. Dropping down $35K for a semi-luxury
car from a brand with a great reputation for quality, and then finding out in
less than two weeks that this car already has more problem than my previous two (92
GMC Sonoma and 00 Mustang GT) did COMBINED in TWO YEARS is just a sock in the
stomach. I am shocked.

Some of the issues have been mentioned by others but here are my complaints after
nine days of ownership:

* Rolling down passenger window to wipe off early morning moisture doesn't work.
No squeegy effect.
* Closing driver door with window halfway down results in horrendous rattling.
How embarrasing! Will the window be able to survive more than a year? This noise
can only get worse over time....
* Engine/catalytic converter stinks after my 50-60 minute commute. (Only have 600
miles on the car so maybe this will go away.... maybe not...)
* After using the windshield defroster in the morning, I get a little too warm
and shut it off. Warm air (as in 80+ degrees) continues to seep in through the
vents until I break a sweat. Turning the climate control back on and setting the temp
to 63 works, but not right away. For some unfathomable reason, it takes 5 minutes
for the climate control to to get from this 80 degree leftover temp from the
defroster down to 63 and start pumping out cold air. Once it does, turning off the
climate control results in 63 degree air seeping through the vents. GRRRR!!!!!!

I could conceivably try to get all of these things fixed, but I have zero faith
in that being successful. The more time I have to spend being jerked around by the
dealership the more likely I am to have an ulcer or aneurysm. No thanks!

/end rant

So yeah, I would LOVE to hear from anyone who has sold an Acura or any other car
back to the dealership very soon after purchase. Just wondering how the whole
process works in terms of taxes, what the dealership is willing to do in these
situations, how much money should I expect to lose in the process. Basically any
advice you can give me is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Let's crack open a beer or six to learning lessons the hard way. Cheers!

stickyman

Boy, I hope you or a family member doesn't own a gun.....I would sit down with the General Manager at the dealership that you purchased the :lemon: from and see what kind of deal you can work out. Maybe, you can trade for something on his Used Car lot....or, maybe they will work another deal with you. Contact the dealer and see if they are willing to work with you. Good Luck and stay away from anything that is sharp

tedescm1

Perhaps you should bring that sharp utensil to the dealership and make them an offer they can’t refuse...

Good Luck and let us know how you make out?

I tried to do the trade in thing but they wanted to take me for about 5K.

I ‘m now in the process of suing Acura.

Car salesman don't have poor reputations for nothing...

The lemon law should also compensate for aggravation.

igiban

I doubt my 05 has any of those you mentioned but none of them seems like a safety issue, so to claim your TL a lemon you've to let Acura try to fix it for at least 3-4 times first I think. Why don't you give them a chance. Some dealer's service is pretty good.

wculbert1

Mine works fine except thst it does not pick up the signal on the 1st call. I always have to dial a number, hang up, and dial again. Other, works great.

BTW, really sorry if you are a "ugafan" Go Clemson!

wculbert1

Anybody know if these things can be copied like a normal DVD? Also, are they interchangable between TL and other models?
Thanks!

snicker

My 2002 Acura TL downshifts roughly. If you are driving and take your foot off the gas, the car "lurches" as it downshifts. It does not happen all the time, but frequently and is very noticeable. I took the car to the dealership, the service manager drove it for 10 minutes, came back and said the transmission was bad. I just got the car back and notice no difference. Has anyone else noticed this problem? Is this just they way the car is?

stickyman

Did they replace the transmission or just tinker with it? If it was replaced, I would have it replaced again. The answer to your question is NO :mad: The transmission should shift with very little feel and that feel should be smooth as a baby's.......Good luck with the dealer

sadpanda

Taking the car in for service tomorrow afternoon. When describing the driver's side window issue to the woman on the phone, she replied "oh yeah, mine does that."

Anyway, I'll reply back with a status update when I get the car back.

vaughn4

Ditto! New windshield scratches appear all the time on my 05 TL. Had the same issue with my 03 TL-S. Glass is very prone to scratches! Very unsightly too! No vibrations or rattles but the Turanzas are not the best tires. When they wear out Michellins will replace them :surprise:

tommy5

I took a new 05 TL manual for a test drive yesterday and I also noticed it pulling to the left when cruising at normal speeds on a flat road. I believe a series of these must have come from the plant mis aligned or something but I am not certain if that is the actual problem or not. Anyone else experinecing this problem with the 04/05 manual TL's? Does this occur on the automatic TL as well?

sadpanda

Just got a call from Acura. In regards to the climate control continuing to pump out air even after I turn it off, he said press the recirculate button to turn that off. For the driver's side window making a noise like a plastic ruler smacking a desk when it's part way down and you shut the door, he assured me that they checked other TLs on the lot and they all do that. That doesn't mean it's working correctly! That means they're all broken! I didn't actually say that.... yet. They hadn't checked the passenger window's alignment for the rubber making contact against the glass but I reminded him and they're doing that now.

Unga.

theskro

I just bought an 05 TL manual and it pulls slightly to the left. I think the steering wheel was not fully centered at the factory. I'm taking it in for service next week to get corrected. Other than that I've had no issues... very happy with the 05 TL.

theskro

Anyone tried Kumho ECSTA ASX tires on the 05 TL? The Bridgestone's are terrible....

jdritz

I agree. I bought the Motorola V710 this week (on May 3rd) and it is outstanding. The phone book on the phone itself is entirely stupid, but the bluetooth is one of the better additions that technology has made to the world

priggly

I test drove three different TL's with automatic transmissions and ALL three pulled to the right! I thought the car might be exquisitely sensitive to road crown or something but now I suspect there is a generalized problem with the suspension geometry and/or alignment. Combined with the rattle and vibration issues so well documented on multiple boards, I am reluctant to buy a TL.

bodble2

Did all 3 pull to the right, or drifted?

Drifting may indeed be due to road crown. You can test it out by driving it in a big mall parking lot where there should be no road crown.

wculbert1

I agree that the Bridgestones are terrible, but I don't think you want Kumho on an Acura. Do you buy your clothes at K-mart?
Try thy Michelin XH MXM4s. You will be very pleased as these are now standard on most new TLs

minsnow

Does anyone know if for CD Audio the SACD standard gives the same quality as DVD Audio in the Acura TL (there seems to be more choices in SACD than in DVD audio at the stores like Best Buy) ?
Thanks

calhon

The TL's system does not support SACD. It will only play the regular CD layer of a hybrid SACD disc.

revras

I would stay reluctant. This car is not a 35K luxury auto.. It is a 35k auto w a nice engine, great stereo and tons of neat doo dads that don't really add up to luxury on the road, witness the pulling, rattles, well documented vibration problems and generally rough ride on uneven surfaces.

laurasdada

Oh, yeah. The TL is horrible. Edmunds, Consumer Reports, Car and Driver, Road and Track, et.al. are all wrong. Not to mention the 99% of owners who have no rattles, vibrations or pulling.

For those that do have legitimate problems, I do empathize. Especially since the TL is such a fine car! No line of auto will be 100% perfect, choosing an Acura/Honda, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti etc. just increases the likelihood of NOT getting a lemon. But it's no guarantee. So, do your own DD and decide.

Remember, not all owners of any make post on Edmunds and if you only read the "Problems and Solutions" threads you will sample from a biased pool. Not to mention you shouldn't trust everything you read on the 'net...

'05 TL with the inconsistent (and annoying, but certainly not show-stopping) Temp/Memory settings gremlin. Yet I still recommend the TL. No rattles, vibrations or rough ride. Well, compared to a Buick or Avalon, maybe a rougher ride!

Disclaimer: Only had the TL 4 months/4000 miles so YMMV.

carnaught

"...not to mention the 99% of owners who have no rattles, vibrations or pulling."

Source please.

(Growl, I guess I'm one of the 1%.)

laurasdada

As I wrote, don't trust everything you read on the 'net.

I'm sure it's more like 97.982%...

bodble2

Nah, that's way off. It's got to be closer to 97.342% :P

jdritz

Ah, bullcrap. I know a guy at Honda R&D...they are aware of the problem, they can clean it with some solvents and it will go away. There is no TSB, but they can fix it.

tedescm1

And another....that falls into the 1%

BE VERY RELUCTANT ......the quality is just not up to traditional acura standards. The people at acura decided to cash in on their soon to be tarnished good name!

I'll never buy another honda

tedescm1

Thank you for the information...

I did take it back to the dealer. They looked at the dash and said it was normal!

So what can i say to that.... :lemon:

armand

I just replaced the original Bridgestones with Continental ContiExtremeContacts. The ride is noticeably better and there is less road noise. Handling is about the same. It hasn't rained since I bought them but I would expect wet weather traction to improve.

danny1878

1% of TL owners is about 1300 car owners? Need more than 1 thousand unhappy owners to make up that number.

TL is Edmunds' Consumer most wanted car for 2 years in a row, They still sell more than ES, G35, and all BMW 3series. :P

April sales figure (entry-level luxury)
TL 7,206 units (sedan) (72 new :lemon: sold?)
ES 5,597 units
G35 3,275 units (sedan)

TSX 3,329 units
G35 Coupe 2,556 units

330i 820 units
330 coupe 327 units
330xi 507 units -- Total for BMW 330 : 1,654 unit

325i 2,504 units
325xi 394 units
325 coupe 424 units - Total for BMW 325 : 3,322 units
All BMW 3 series (sedan and coupe) is less than 5,000 units

Owner of TL'04 w/o nav or problem :shades:

maldorf

Hey danny 1878, if you look at sales figures as being a good indicator of quality and customer satisfaction, the Ford F 150 beats the acura TL hands down. I bet if you looked at most american cars in that price range, most of them would outsell the TL.

billyperks

Please list the American Cars in the TL's price range that out sells the TL.

danny1878

Cheeseburger outsell Acura TL too, maybe you're right. :P

Sorry that Edmunds named TL the Consumer most wanted vehicle 2005, maybe it should be Mcdonald instead of TL. :surprise:

carnaught

Up until now my rattle and vibration prone '04 TL had great electronics. Today when using my Bluetooth phone the screen "froze" on the telephone mode and refused to go to the Audio screen. I turned off my phone but this screen persisted. When I turned back on the phone, "no phones were recognized" but the phone screen remained. Anyone else have this problem?

bodble2

Actually I didn't even know there is a "phone screen". Do you have the Navi version?

acuradude

I have a '99 TL that has the driver side low beam light out. That's the High Intensity (HID) light. When I investigated the fix, I gathered there are aftermarket options that may not be as good (imitation, not OEM). Also, it may not be the bulb at all. It could be an "ignitor" and/or a "ballast" as well. What are the chances? Should I go buy a "HID capsule" bulb replacement on the internet ~ $125 or more or do I take it 50 miles away and make a day of the Acura dealership doing this (for a lot more money I'm sure).

Any advise welcome!

carnaught

Yes, the phone screen appears on my Nav. screen. For now, the problem has fixed itself.

bavaria1

If you are referring to a clunk-ing sound, I do know that sound. It seems to occur only after the car has sat all night.. and seems to happen maybe 15 - 25 feet after putting the car in drive for the first time in the morning... I HAVE noticed that...

bavaria1

This happened to me too. Right after i had the car in for service i lost the seat preset memories. At the same time I lost the wishield washer pump and the auto dimming rear-view mirror. I took it back and they replaced a fuse, according to my local dealer.. Seem like completely unrelated systems to me, but they all work now.

Are those other things not working for you as well?

bodble2

I'll have to look for that next time. I've always just looked at the phone info appearing in one of the instrumentation pods.

carnaught

Click the "audio" button on the far right while using the phone. I think that brings it up instead of the map.

igiban

For me just the radio memory lost twice. They came back a few starts later on its own. It's not happend for a while but I still don't know why/how it happened.

bodble2

Apparently not all DVD-A discs are created equal. I bought one recently which the TL keeps spitting out. No error message or anything. It just would not accept it. The disc specifies that it is 24-Bit, if that means anything.

hammer4995

Have filed a suit in Los Angeles with a Lemon Law Lawyer here. The car is pathetic. My main complaints are the rattles and noises which are driving me nuts. Have never had such a bad car ever!!!

aaargh

Hammer4995:

I notice you also have a lemon :lemon: 2006 GS 300 (link to post). I'm curious, which is worse, your TL or the GS 300?

Just wondering.

laurasdada

Hmmm. Wonder if hammer4995 and "William Hill" are related...

aaargh

I was wondering the exact same thing... :confuse:

keifs

I have read all the problems associated with the stock Bridgestones and am in the process of shopping for new treads.
Mine are toast just after 14,000 miles.
Went to the Tire Rack and they are heavily promoting the Avon Tech M550 A/S. Scored tops on survey.
Seem to be a great deal, however they seem to be only available at the Tire Rack.
Has anyone logged some miles on the Avon's. I can't find a third party rating of the tires.

ckk1

The dealership is working with me. We have put the 3rd new tranny in a few weeks ago. The last 2 had the noise come back after about 1200 miles. If this one does it we will go after returning the car or as a last resort i will have them swap the tranny with the loaner TL we had. It wasn't nearly as load as ours.

ck

bhelsdon

Wow, i got 30,000 out of my Bridgestones. I strongly recommend getting Michelins. I put the Michelin Xgth4 on mine and it rides smoother and quieter than ever before. I actually went down one speed rating to an H rated tire so that they would last a little longer. H rated tires are still speed tested to 130mph.