By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Also, what legitimate lawyer would file a lemon lawsuit based on the basis of rattles and noises?
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."
My 2004 still has asymetrical steering effort -- falls into a turn to the left and fights a turn to the right. I pretty much despair of getting a fix at this stage, and the dealership and Acura are not willing to help any further, denying that the problem exists. Beside that, the car (6 speed) is a bit of a lump to drive compared to my previous unreliable but fun VW GTi (and compared to a TSX for that matter -- slower than the TL but a far more European feeling and "alive" drive). I wouldn't buy another.
I am curious why you are trashing the TL and on what data do you base your conclusion.
But I have some scratches on the rear wheel rim edge and a flat tire once and those happen.
About the audio system, thats not the main thing. The main thing is how you feel behind the steering wheel/ how it accelerates. Make a fast turn without making your body leaning to the other side. That is cool. (its not a maxima baby)
I am not "trashing" the TL. I am remarking on observing a great many negative comments about the car by a significant number of owners on multiple message boards (not just this one) against the backdrop of personally having test-driven a number of TL's, the majority of which had both rattles and a steering wheel which pulled to the right. Not exactly confidence-inspiring for a potential buyer. If yours is problem-free, consider yourself fortunate.
:P
BTW, check out al those bimmer rims: plenty of scratches too. Anytime the rim stands out from its tire, it's bound to happen. I have not heard of scratch free rims.
Luckily, all the reports of TL problems on Internet chat rooms/discussion boards are much more reliable than 60 Minutes. I had better sell my '05 (which admittedly does have the intermittent issue with the temp guage/presets). I mean, my TL accelerates rapidly, too...
Come on, how many TLs have been sold, how many owners post all over the 'net, how many report real problesm and how many are actually true??? William Hill anybody?
I'm sure a few cars have issues and that is a shame, but this is a great car. So far...!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I'll now how this tranny is doing in about 900 miles. keep the fingers crossed!!!
From reading some of these posts I get the impression that there are a number of TL owners who have not had problems with their TL's (yet) who are annoyed at hearing of or from those who do. Very amusing.
priggly, I don't know if people are "annoyed" per se, but I think they take issue with the fact that you seem to have formed a conclusion based on what you've read on "problems" forums.
If you really want to provide a good balance with positive accounts, I suggest that those with a problem-free TL to post their comments in Meet the Members.
JD Powers released their Consumer Reliability Ratings and Honda slipped all the way to the 12th spot.It was caused mainly by their Oddessey and Acura products.
This I think will definitly raise a red flag for potential Honda/Acura buyers.
I own a 03 TLS and the tranny went out at 29k, it was replaced within a week, I was a little bit frustrated and annoyed becaus I actually own the car and did not lease it.
Would I buy another Acura? Yes- the car has been superb otherwise.
Well, I was really only addressing priggley's concerns with damaged rims. But since you asked, are rattles and noises acceptable in a $35K car? Well, that depends. Are we talking about rattles like a bucket of nails, or the odd one here and there. I've got some random rattles and buzzes that come to go with the weather. Some I think are fixable, except I just haven't had the time to take it to the dealer. In my case, I would say it is acceptable because the car has so many other redeeming qualities and also because, you know what, I have friends and business associates who drive BMWs, MBs, Land Rovers, Porsches, etc, and they have rattles too! Some they have had fixed, and some they have to live with. So the TL is not the only car, at any price range, afflicted with this particular problem.
As to drivetrain, harmonic, hormonal, or any other kind of vibrations, pulling problem, tranny failures, no, I don't think those are acceptable in any car, whatever the price. Fortunately I have not experienced any of those on my TL.
If I as a potential TL buyer as part of my due diligence read online automobile forums to the effect that there are significant problems with the TL and then I test drive a number of different TL's and actually encounter some of these problems for myself over the space of a relatively short introduction to the car, just what am I supposed to think?
Am I supposed to think that I have a reasonable chance that the car I buy will be suitably problem-free to justify my buying it or that I may join the unhappy ranks of those buyers who have bought themselves a problem and regret the decision to buy a TL in the first place?
Yes, I have formed a conclusion. I have concluded, based on reading large numbers of posts of dissatisfied owners reporting significant numbers of problems with their TL's, both major and minor, and based on actually having experienced some of these problems on several test drives of different TL cars, that the quality of Acura is slipping. And if the JD Powers Consumer Reliability Ratings as reported in today's WSJ Personal Journal Section is accurate, so have a great many others.
JD Powers released their Consumer Reliability Ratings and Honda slipped all the way to the 12th spot.It was caused mainly by their Oddessey and Acura products.
This I think will definitly raise a red flag for potential Honda/Acura buyers.
It already has for this potential buyer.
Another due diligence :
1. How do you know that those complaints are for real?
2. If one were a car salesman for another car industry, will one get the benefit by detering people from buying the TL knowing that TL outsells BMW/G35/ES?
3. If one worked for a warranty company and one need to make more sales, what should one do?
4. If most TLs have these problems, why so many people defending it? why they sell more than others in its class? Why people keep voting TL as the Consumers most wanted car? Becuz TL has more problems?
5. Would it bring the used TL less expensive, if one keep trashing the car, so one can afford it? maybe?
6. one have been defending his car(not a TL) eversince the TL was first introduced. But the TL keeps bothering him (one got tired by people asking "Comparing your car with the new TL" or the TL gets more attention than his car), what do you think one should do? He needs something to justify his decision!
7. People come to the forum to get solutions but one came to a P&S forum and wrote "I dont come for solutions, I just need to say my TL has a lot of problems, I wont buy acura again. Majority of TL are junk " Done and dissappears! no previous post or other info.
The question is Does one own a TL?
8. What do you mean by the "Majority of unhappy TL owners"? one who has a lot of usernames or one who posts the same thing over and over and over again? How do you determine the "Majority"? If I may ask?
Does this "one" really exist? :confuse:
Thank you
It's a shame because it is otherwise a really nice car overall-maybe best bang for your buck out there. Maybe I'll wait for the '06 model and hopefully Acura can fix these problems by then!
Mine rattles too! I thought I was alone.
Pity though as otherwise this is a gorgeous car for the money....especially in black with tinted windows!
You're correct, the word is definitely getting out. The TL is a feature-rich car with a lot of attributes (especially that superb sound system) but the build quality is obviously flawed. As you point out, this IS a fatal flaw.
How about those stupid pockets on the front door? I think those are also a source of occassional rattles. :mad: Same temporary fix -- give them a couple of slams.
What I will probably do when I have some extra time is to try strategic placement of a couple of those self-adhesive felt pads.
I too, had thought the problem may be ambient temperature-related, but have since discounted that theory. It may be engine temperature-related. What I have found is that if you drive the car hard and/or frequently in a period of time (ie. lots of running around town in a day), then as time goes on, the car seems to sag in performance. Maybe, as you have suggested, it is the electronic brain of the car slowing things down to maintain mechanical health. The fact that the car almost always seems to run best first thing in the morning lends credence to this theory. But there are days when, for no particular reason, the car just seems more sluggish. The electronic brain mis-firing? I dunno. :confuse:
I do think it has something to do with the electronics, since so much of the car's mechanical functions are controlled by computer(s). Are there any electronic engineers our there who could comment?
Just a note: Take a look at the Infiniti and Lexus forums. They have have similar complaints. Even worse they have auto transmission complaints. I kind of have to agree that the TL problems listed on this site are the minority and most seem to be minor. A few squeaks and rattles in a second year production car is very normal.