Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

ronaries10

I have same issue Rob is describing on my 2005 TL automatic. I have to press fob multiple times 3-5 to get a chirp.
ron

ronaries10

Take a look at the survey data in Tire Rack, as well as this forum. In general, people strongly dislike the Turanza stock tire, both in summer and in snow.

I wish I had purchased the summer tire with the car, and then in Nov. bought rims and Blizzak winter tires. It costs more but there's a lot of peace of mind. As it is, I still have Turanza's, but I did buy the winter Blizzak lm-22 tires for added safety.
(I'm in Ohio and travel the state in winter occasionally.)
So, if you are less confident in snow, consider winter tires - Tirerack.com is a great resource for info.

everfeb

Hi all. I just discovered my wife's '99 3.2 has literally no "floor heat" on the driver's side (I rarely drive it in winter and she's never complained). Would anyone know if there was ever a TSB on this "issue"? Or if there is anything I might look for? I'm 200 miles one way from dealer so can't just pop in to have it looked at. There is heat to passenger "floor" and all other settings work OK. Thanks for any help.
BTW..only 32,000 miles, still in great shape except for the mags, runs great.
Oh yes, my TL is 4sp ATX. Is this a problematic transmission. So far we've noticed nothing unusual except it sort of clings and clangs when shifting from P>R first shift of the day. Dealer said this was normal. Thanks
everfeb

camon

1.HEAT. Can't give you a definitive answer on the driver's side floor heat except to say take a flashlight and look for the exit port on the driver's side to feel with your hand to check if any heat is coming out with the fan on hi. I've noticed that many newer cars, including our 00 & 05 TL's, don't put out much heat volume on the driver's side. It seems adequate however, compared to my 98 Mit Diamante which totally froze the driver's feet and legs on cold days.

2. AT. Regarding the AT, our 00TL transmission failed completely at 94,000 miles. ACURA has extended the warranty to 100,000 miles on most TL AT's, and they put in a new one at no charge, gave us a loaner car while doing the work, and paid for the tow bill to bring it to the dealer. Now that was what I call service.

dan4125

I had the same problem with my 03 TL right after I had it in for a recall to check the transmission which I was told it was fine. About 2 weeks later I would pull out and on a slight grade feel as though I wa riding over small rumble strips ,the same sensation you are describing . I took the car in and was given a loaner and they had the car for 2 weeks and ultimately put in a new tranny and solved the problem, I found an interesting comment from one of the salesman that Acura could not keep up with production of transmissions and they subcontracted out to General Motors to build them and it seems that these are the ones they are having problems with. None of the vehicles built in Japan have had any problems,

camon

I find it interesting you had the problem right after bringing it in for the recall. Same here. It was less than 4 weeks after bringing it in for the recall that our transmission failed. It was fine until then. They installed some kind of AT fluid injector kit to comply with the recall. Then came the sudden failure.

everfeb

Thanks "camon"...when I turn the fan on very highest setting there is some, not much air flow to driver's feet.
On about MIDDLE fan setting there is basically nothing. This is probably where I had it set when I noticed no floor heat while on the highway the other day. The passenger side blows probably twice as much air to floor as driver side. Even on middle fan there is nice air flow to passenger. Suppose that's the way it's designed because everything around the exit ports looks fine.

I think up here they gave us 7 years (I'm going to double check) so I'm soon running out of ATX warrantee. If it was 100,000 miles up here and we've put 5333 miles on per year for 6 years we'd still have 100,000 - 32000 = 68000/
5333 = 12.75 years of warrantee left LOL.

Your 2000 had the 4 spd ATX? Did you drive it hard...we kind of baby ours. I've not followed the transmission failure "issue". Did the ones that failed generally fail after a lot of miles on them (like yours) or is it indiscriminate, happen any time?

Thanks for your help. Appreciate it.
everfeb

everfeb

In Canada, the warrantee on the tranny is 7 years or 160,000km (99,000 miles)...whichever comes FIRST so I've got about 3 months of warrantee left.
Should I be driving 'er hard just to see if anything happens?
everfeb

usn_tl

sushi96720
I got an 06 TL and the anti-pinch work! I tried putting two fingers and it rolled back down without any pain. Did this about 10X, no prob.
Get yours check at the nearest Acura dealer.

camon

I don't know how long the transmission failures take to surface, or whether it's a matter of babying it or not. I'd say I am a middle of the road driver (don't baby it but don't race with it either..just normal use with a few good passing downshifts here and there).

After the problem surfaced (bucking when trying to shift) it didn't take long to completely fail. Barely got it to limp home. It was like riding a bucking bronco. It could'nt find a gear it liked. It kept trying to shift, up down up down, which is perhaps what the others describe as the "driving over a washboard" effect.

What I find interesting is that it worked fine until the recall service was performed. I don't remember if it's got 4 or 5 speeds (wife has the car at work) but I believe 5.

bhelsdon

Please let me start by saying that I love my 04 TL. With that said:
My TL has 45K on it and just recently developed a strange noise in the head liner area just over the right ear of the passenger. It sounds like a small popping sound, almost like velcro starting to pull apart. It makes this sound every time I hit a bump.

Second: a noise seems to be coming from under the cup holders. This sound is a faint metal to metal jingling that seems to occur at 70 mph and up. The faster I go the more I can hear it. I pulled everything out of my center compartments and it still makes this noise.

Lastly, on certain songs the sub-woofer rattles either the back dash or something back there. I don't normally play the radio that loud and all my tone settings are right in the middle. I just find it to be a little annoying that when I feel the urge the crank up the volume on such a Superb sound system it sounds like there is a blown speaker in the rear of the car.

If anybody has had any of these annoyances and has been able to repair them with out going to Acura I would really appreciate any input. If I have to I will take it to the dealer, but it is such a hassle to drop it off and hope there is a loaner available. It would make life a whole lot easier if they would let me take the tech for a ride and point out my concerns. YES I know, NOBODY gets to talk to the tech ( the first time in)

Thanks
Brian

uhuh1

My issue is that I wonder navigation on '03 TL Type-S does tell me what to do like 'making' left turn at 0.3mile ahead with its voice. Does this model have function of helping me with its own voice?

I just visited a dealershop to but a used '03 TL Type-S with Navigation/Onstar. But a salesperson told me that Navigation system of this model doesn't tell me how to get to a place with its voice. It is so weird. If it can't let me know the direction with its voice, I can't understand that why it is called navigation system. She told me that I can just refer to the point where I stands and I can refer to the direction with my eyes. I think there was some misunderstanding between her and me. Can you let me know? Thank you.

al57

Just bought,but will not pick up until next week..Does anyone know engine oil type recommended 5W30 or synthetic?and tire pressure monitoring system,looks like there is a different type of valve stem,is this the case and any problems when swapping tires?? must valve be replaced like when swapping normally..could have asked salesperson..but thats a waste of time

bhelsdon

The oil is 5w-20 and it is not synthetic. You can use synthetic oil if you prefer, but Honda does not require it. The valve stems are actually pressure sensors. They are not anything like a normal valve stem. Behind the nut you see on the valve stem is a little remote transmitter. You do not replace them when you change tires. The tire shop needs to be extra careful not to break them when dismounting the tire. Those sensors are pretty pricey $60 to $100 each.

dm25

I had a TL Type S '03 until I traded it for an '06. The '03 does have some voice guidance.

After you choose a destination it says usually by voice and on screen to "Proceed to the highlighted route." This takes you to the first significant street from the starting point. Once in route a voice will tell you when to make the next maneuver. It comes on depending on time and distance to the next maneuver, more in advance on the freeway. The screen will insert a trapezoid figure of a stack of bars which disappear one by one as you get to the next maneuver. They first appear about 1000 ft from the maneuver. You can also get voice guidance at any time if there is any available by pressing the voice button.

I like the voice guidance on the '06 much better becasue it is more helpful, e.g., " Take the next right turn" Or, in some cases, "Take the second right." It doesn't use the disappearing trapezoid which needa close monitoring especially the last 200 ft. or so since it has a very high closing rate which may let you miss a street in complicated situations.

The '03 Nav is good, the '06 is just better, more voice interaction, faster automatic recalculation of route, etc.

onac

My knob has the same exact issue also. I am going to go to the dealer and look at some of the other MT knob and have them swap it out if the others feel better. If not I am going to search ebay.

zeak

Does anyone know if the version updates ever have major improvements to the navagation system or are they just to update data base.

I assume one will come out in Feb.

Tks

al57

as previously posted,purchased car on 12/30/05 but thru Honda Financing,credit app went in this monday morning,what is turnaround time for approval,as long as deal was written to get special low financing, can they hold until after special financing is done,BUT WHY WOULD THEY??

In addition,the brochure states the car has auto off headlghts under exterior features,i thought i"ve seen that as a compliant the car does not have this needed item,DOES IT OR NOT, and is there a separate sunglass holder or are they considering the front door storage compartment as the sunglass holder

upstatedoc

Headlights go off when you lock the car, never tested it otherwise. There is a small rubber thing in the front door storage compartment that they consider a holder, glasses rattle around in it though.

laurasdada

Hello, Al:

I've got an '05. You can program the headlights to stay on for a length of time (15, 30, 60 seconds)after shut-down through the on-board personalization program, it's simple. TL does not have auto-ON headlights, I think that is the (minor) complaint. Each front door pocket has a removeable glasses holder, I'd prefer in the headliner as on the evil wife's RX300.

Not sure about the credit app. When I bought my TL after Xmas '04, I financed through American Honda (2.9% WooHoo!) and it was approved while I waited...

goodegg

Honda financing is automated based on your credit score. Do you know your score? Pretty sure minimum Trans Union (their preferred credit repository) credit score for Honda is 725.

stano49

I upgraded the DVD database in November. No, it does not have any improvements to the operating system, just updated locations, which still aren't all that current. $200 for a minor update, I'll wait before doing that again.

uhuh1

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and helping me for buying a car. I appreciate much. Have a nice day, dm25!!

everfeb

Thanks "camon"
Yes the '00-'03 TL has 5spd ATX. The '99 4spd.
On another forum it appears the '99 tranny is standing up quite well. A poll done there showed 92% of '99's still had original tranny which is not bad for 7 year old car.
So I'm not going to worry about mine. My warrantee expires in a couple of months so not much I can do anyway except change tranny fluid on a yearly basis and hope for the best. To date I've had NO problems with mine.

Many posters with '00-'03 also wrote they had failures after the recall service was done. Some fix eh!!!
Tranny for these years very poor compared to '99 from the looks of things.

Thanks again
everfeb

goodfellawzguy

I was hoping nhtlowner and golfnut5 could shed some light on their whining sound. My 05 TL (10k miles) has developed a whistle like sound at 2100 RPM. Its not too bad during acceleration as it only whistles for the split second that the RPMs are at 2100. However, when driving at 80 down the highway, the RPMs stay at 2100 RPMs and the whistle stays constant.

Are you two having similar problems? If so, have you heard any answers?

bquadagno

Hi All!!! New here on the forum, and also just purchased a 05 TL with Navigation, Love the car of course. Bought a Certified TL with 18,000 miles for 28,300 here in Massachusetts. Really love the car.
I just now noticed my outside temp sensor stopped working. It does not read the outside temp anymore? Just --- for temp. Does anyone have any suggestions? Probably dealer?? I looked for the sensor which is supposed to be front bumper but i have not found it.
Bob

upstatedoc

I believe that problem has lead to some dead batteries. My 05 tl w/nav had a recall, you should contact the dealer. Acura replaced a part in the navigation system even though I wasn't having the "---" problem.

dm25

Glad to help. Hope you Enjoy your car.

goodegg

The 06 TL manual says use premium fuel at 91 octane. Premium around here is 93 octane. The mid-grade is 89. Anybody use the 89? I know its not much more money to go to 93, but 93 seems like overkill.

laxcoach

need to replace my tires and have read many good things about the kumho asx. my local guy also mentioned the toyo proxes 4 all season ultra high performance. has anyone driven on the toyo's or have any input? thanks.

armand

I put a set of ContiExtremes on the car and like them a lot.

carnaught

My car knocks on 89 octane. They don't sell 91 octane.

laurasdada

Hi, Bob:

My '05 TL had the same issue. In fact, I think it is not an uncommon occurance. The dealer, under warranty, just has to replace the defective control unit. Acura of Boston did that at my first service and it has been fine since. There is rumored potential for a dead battery if the car isn't run for a while with the sensor reading ---, so I'd have it repaired when convenient.

Great car, btw!

laurasdada

Hello:

I believe that Sunoco stations sell 91 octane, in addition to 87, 89 and 93. Where I live, there is one station that is lower priced than all others about 95% of the time. They sell 93 for less than the Sunoco station''s 91, so I buy the 93 there. This has oft been discussed, with the general consenus being that 89 is OK every so often but if you plan to keep your $30k+ TL for a while, feed it the required 91+.

laxcoach

thanks...and the one tire he told me to stay away from...the contiextremes! go figure!! i'll put a set of bicycle spares on!!!! glad you like your conti's!

goodegg

Yea - I will of course go with the 93 octane, even with gas prices heading back up. First tank of gas blown thru and with 80% around town miles averaged 21.5 mpg. The avg. mpg in the display showed 21.4. Shoot - the 4 cyl Accord I just traded out of averaged around 24 city.

As a sidebar, I had an 02 Accord with 60K miles, a cracked windshield, multiple door dings, scratches on the hood and bumpers and the dealer gave me over the 'excellent' KBB valuation for that car. They've probably already resold it!

tlresearcher

I have an '05 TL (6 MT). Since day one, I feel that shifting into the 3rd gear is abnormal. Typically when I downshift it does not get engaged completely and when I try not to force it in, sometimes the shifter kicks back into neutral. This unsual shifting issue happens only about once out of every 10 or 15 shifts so it is very difficult to prove it to the service guy. It has only 8500 miles but this problem has been there since day 1 (brand new). It almost seems like some manufacturing issue that prevents it from smoothly sliding over like all other gears. Has anyone faced similar issue or has a solution?
Thanks!

armand

Take a look at their very high rating on Tire Rack.

bartalk3

Still working my way through the gadgets on my new TL. When I put the climate control on auto in this hot weather, it seems to go into recirculation mode. Most other cars with climate control eventually switch over to fresh air automatically when the car cools down. Mine seems to stay on recirculate until I change it manually. Is this the way it's supposed to work?

bquadagno

Hey Laura, Thx. for the feedback... Your in Boston area??
Let's stay in touch..

tlgal

Hi Gang

After getting great advice and assistance from this forum (Thank YOU very much!), I purchased a new '06 TL at the end of November. I've been very happy with the car so far. Tonight I had a friend drive my car and she noticed that the steering wheel was warm.(specifically the areas around the volume/channel changers on the left side and near the cruise control buttons on the right side) I remember I noticed the warmth right off the bat, but after driving it for a few months I've grown accustomed to it. Is this normal? Should I have the dealer take a look at it?

Your help, as always, is appreciated!

bhelsdon

I believe that you are just feeling the heat from the light bulbs that light those buttons. Warm is normal, Hot is not normal.

bodble2

Yes, mine is warm in those areas too. I just use them as finger-warmers!! :P

BTW, congrats on the new car!

tlgal

Thanks bhelsdon and bodble2! It's just warm, not hot around the buttons, so I guess I'll take it as a value-added extra! I appreciate your confirmations...

carhunter2

I am ready to lease this weekend, driven them both, scoured the specs, read the reviews positive and negative...and I am back to a "coin-toss".
I need to know if someone has owned both or owns both, and can give me a "gut" reaction.

autodriven

Hello:

I have replaced my OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL42 on my 2006 TL with Toyo Proxes 4s. They are fabulous tires at 1/2 the cost of Michelins. They have a very nice tread pattern. I also had a 2004 TL (where all the tire problems started) and switched them out on that car too with the Toyo Proxes.

They are quiet, great performing tires. I bought mine at http://www.edgeracing.com/Contact. They have the best price or you can goto Tire Merchants, they will order these tires at the same price if you bring in the internet price to them.

You will love the tires (like I do) and they look cool doing so. Here is one more website: http://www.ronjonwheels.com/index.html

I bought me a set of 18 custom rims, to go with my 245/45/18 Toyo Proxes. My car is the grey one on RonJon's website. These rims were made only for Acura/Honda cars. No wobble in these rims/tires. Finally, Toyo Tires have been the #1 rated quality tire in Japan for the last 8 years; better then Michelins. I'm completely happy with my set of Toyos.

carnaught

Drive 'em both. No question that the A4 is miles ahead, much more solid feeling and more fun to drive. The TL is a better value and will hold up better mechanically and resale-wise. Since you're leasing the latter is not a factor.

laxcoach

autodriven...thanks for the input. just so happens i got the toyo proxes 4 about an hour ago! it cost me $129 per tire, including installation. with tax it came to $574. i think the price was pretty reasonable and the location was very convenient. i've driven 3 miles on them, hardly enough to warrant an opinion!! i'll keep checking in and throw my two cents in. this board was very helpful, thanks to all!!!!

armand

Had a "98 A4 and now have a '04 TL. Reliability much better in the TL as are all of the electronics. But still loved the german handling of the A4.

bodble2

Since you're leasing, go for the German.