Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

carteach

If you use the trip computer, it tells you how many miles you have left before you'll run out of gas. I had this on my last Saab. I've never taken it to be exact, but I know with my Saab I got down as low as 35 miles.

bodble2

That's cutting it pretty close! :P

bodble2

Except I don't particularly have a high degree of confidence in trip computers. I find the mpg calculation to be inaccurate. The calculation in our Mini, especially, never seems to vary. I can get stuck idling in traffic for 1/2 hour, or zip along in the suburbs at semi-highway speed for an hour, and the calculation stays the same!

carteach

No agree totally. I've had the same experience. BUT, I do think it gives you a ballpark figure.

I have a very old Subaru. The gas gauge was toast early in its life. I've learned, OK the hard way, that I can't go over 300 miles without filling it. So I always reset my trip odometer to zero when I fill it up.

Interestingly enough, when I fill my Acura the gauge that tells how many miles I can go usually says something in the 300s. I don't remember the exact figure. When I'd fill up my 2002 Saab, it always said I had 400 something to go. I'm pretty sure they had the same size gas tank. I have no idea why.

booyahcramer

I'll go 40-50 miles past the yellow indicator light and then still only put in 15 gallons. With a 17.1 gal tank I'd say the light is WAY too premature.

richey02hg

what year is your TL that tell you how many miles you have left? does it have a nav system?

i have a 2007 non navi and my trip computer just displays my average mpg, my average speed, the distance i've gone, and the time i have been driving since i reset it

am i missing something? or is this a feature the TL had on previous models?

but this tank, i'll push it past the 300 mile point i'll ask the dealer if they can do anything about it when I take it in for its first oil change in april or may

cecilt1

I'll run mine past the zero miles to go till empty all the time. Usually, I will go 50 miles past when the dash hits 0 miles to empty if I am on the highway and getting 30+ miles per gallon. My experience says that the light will come on and you will have over 4 gallons of gas remaining. When the miles reach zero you still have over 2 gallons remaining. I can't stand filling up when I am not on "E" and the Acura guage is WAAAYY to conservative for me. Even when runnning it 50 miles past the zero I get less than 16 gallons into the tank. Coming from a BMW that was spot on this is one of the biggest annoyances of this otherwise great car.

richey02hg

i still dont understand where you areseeing this "miles until empty." is this feature removed from the 2007's? is it only on ones with nav systems? (i have a non navi)

when i go to the trip computer screen my list is:

average mpg
avergage mph
distance
time

thanks for all the responses though. considering i went from a 1998 chevy s 10 (my first car) to this. I must say I love my new TL!

laurasdada

The next screen, after the "Trip Computer" screen shows the mile until empty...

richey02hg

is this only when the low fuel light is on?

right now (low fuel light is not on) it goes from trip computer to tire pressure monitoring system

laurasdada

No. Once you have the Trip Computer screen, just push the lower computer button (I forget what it's called, looks like. But I think it has + or - for back or forward) and that invokes the DTE screen. Having said that, I do not have a TPMS so your's may be different. The Owner's Manual should tell you all you need to know...

richey02hg

thank you, i found it. I always assumed that pushing down would just bring me to the previous menu. Thanks again for your help

carteach

I've never had a low fuel indicator. But today when I had about 1/8 of a tank, I stopped to get gas. I only needed 12+ gallons. In addition, my miles left indicator said I only had 42 miles. So that's definitely off.

cecilt1

Neither the guage, light or Miles to empty is off. Dealer will not make any adjustments. It is just one of those stupid things Acura did that we have to live with or just figure out, if you are like me, how to get the most out of a tank so you do not feel like you are filling up all the time. Rule of thumb is you have 4- 4 1/2 gallons left when the light comes on and 2 - 2 1/2 gallons left when the MTE read zero. If you are cruising at getting 30mpg figure you can go at least 60 miles past when the MTE hit zero. I have done this several times with no problem and have never put past 16.5 gallons in the tank on first fuel shut off.

starman98

Anyone know how to Mod a 2007 ket to work on a 2006 TL? I see them online for $28 so its not much to spend for a much better looking key.

anyone know what all is involved?

nnnnnpatel

what website did you see the key mod?

Nick

ggesq

It's on acurazine.com. Do a search on that website. Plenty of info on that mod and many others e.g. Navi hack, upgraded tails, etc..

automophile

Don't get me wrong, I love my Acura TL, but I find that the hands-free link is another half-baked feature on the car. After working with my Nokia 2165 for months, it suddenly quit. The phone is recognized, and will dial, but no voice. A trip to the dealer taught me that the system is only guaranteed to work with the very small handfull of APPROVED phones. Otherwise, it may not work at all, work partly or may quit after some time. There are hardly phones from the last century on the approved list, and you can see that nearly all of them work only PARTLY with the sytem! You can check this for yourself at www.handsfreelink.com.

I am FURIOUS about this. My company develops electronic products, including wireless, and it is clear that the Acura engineers didn't do a very good job designing the system to make it meet all the Bluetooth compatibility requirements. I can go out and buy ANY $20 hands free headset or 3rd party handfree kit and it will work immediately with ANY Bluetooth phone I may have - but NOT this $35K car unit! Thanks ACURA.

SO - if your phone is not working properly with the car, check the list - it is probably not on it. This is a BIG oversight on the part of Acura engineering.

FYI one of the other half-baked features is the so-called "surround sound" system. It ONLTY works with DTS audio DVDs, so it has no effect on your CDs and the XM stereo. The algorithm to convert 2-channel stereo to surround is included FREE with the DTS license, but Acura decided NOT to install it. Why? Who knows. I only know that I am not going to replace all my CDs with DVDs, so the feature is as USELESS as the handsfree system.

Just a heads-up. :mad:

bodble2

Since we're on the subject of half-baked features, I find the voice command a bit moody or finicky. Sometimes it's slow to react and/or responds with a totally unrelated action! For example, you ask for air-cond, and it responds by trying to play a CD (even when there is no CD in the player!)

frisconick

When I bought my TL, the dealer told me what phone to buy (what works the best) and he told me about the DVD. Your dealer should have told you these things. :surprise:

starman98

thats for the link I searched on the forums and it looks like a big hassle and very expensive to get 2 remotes for a 2006 TL. I averaged for memory 1 and 2 total its gonna run be about $400.

My old keys work fine I will just keep them.

bodble2

My dealer didn't tell me either one of those.

The other issue with the DVD-A is that there selection of titles available on DVD-A is still so limited as to render the benefit of having DVD-A superfluous. :sick:

frisconick

The other issue with the DVD-A is that there selection of titles available on DVD-A is still so limited as to render the benefit of having DVD-A superfluous

That is changing rapidly.

lb55

Hey newowner14, I too have an annoying front passenger door rattle or vibration. You're right, it doesn't matter if the road is bumpy or smooth. And it's definitely not the glove box. It started out to be minor and then graduated to major when my passenger closed the door a little too hard. Something has come undone in there and I just got it back from the dealer but they couldn't find anything wrong. I guess they won't take the door apart unless they know what they're looking for. Within three miles of the dealership on the way home it refused to act up, then it "sang" to me the rest of the way. Sure wish someone on this board had found a solution to this. Sounds a little like a spray paint can with a metal ball in it. Not quite that loose, but you get my drift. It's driving me nuts.

scottm123

Has anyone else received a Class-Action Lawsuit notification regarding the accuracy of the Odometers in 2002-2006 Honda & Acura models?
The lawsuit is against Honda/Acura as well as the manufacturer of the odometers.

If the plaintif wins, all 02-06 owners will receive a 5% milage extension to their existing warranty.

I got my notice 2 nights ago. I have not noticed any discrepancy in milage on my 06 MDX, but I haven't exactly tested it either.

bodble2

OK, that might explain the poor (calculated) mpg for my TL! :mad:

nnnnnpatel

I can't seem to get past 26 mpg. I wonder if this is the problem too?

nick

bodble2

26 mpg?! Try 16 mpg in the city!

z71bill

Don't want to add insult to injury - but you are thinking of this backwards.

The error is - the odometer is reading more miles then you are actually driving -

The impact on calculated MPG would be to OVERSTATE it.

If you drive 1,000 actual miles and use 40 gallons of gas you have 25 MPG

But if your odometer says you went 1,050 miles you would calculate 26.25 MPG.

nnnnnpatel

Where can I findout more about this lawsuit

np

pat

This lawsuit? Honda /Acura Odometer Class Action Suit

brew99

Does anyone have any recommendations for Orlando area acura service/maintenance?

I have recently moved to the area and know nothing of the local acura dealers. I have an '04 TL and it needs some service and minor warranty work done. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

bodble2

"...the odometer is reading more miles then you are actually driving -"

:sick:

frisconick

I get 30 highway and a little over most of the time, and I don't use the computer to calculate my mpg.

animalsrush

I had the same problem and it took me about 3 months to nail it down. The sound u say is not really from the door but from sear sensor( passenger side also on mine). It does sound like the click noise u get. I could never simulate it to the dealer and i thought it was the door also. To really see if it is the sensor, hold the passenger seat forward when you drive with no passenger and see if the noise goes away. if it does go away tell them it is the sensor. It is about $180 but warranty covers it . This may help isolate the problem or may not but it is worth the shot. It drove me nuts

z71bill

Its not just the computer that is off - it is the odometer reading - it reads high -

I think the difference is small (1-2%) so if your odometer says 300 miles you only really traveled 295+/-.

The reason this case is even moving forward is because of lawyers wanting a piece of a class action. Plus a few owners think that over the warranty period - 50,000 miles they are being "cheated" out of 1,000 miles of coverage.

Which is correct - if your car breaks down after you hit 50K but before 51K miles.

bodble2

In that case, then I would think it is a baseless lawsuit. Sometimes putting on snowtires can cause a 1 - 2% margin of error in your odometer.

samirpsamirp

update on this one..dealer replaced the whole power steering system & it ran nice for few months & then it started again.

Took it again to the dealer. He again repalced the whole steering system.

couple of months, all of a sudden the battery just died.

Took it again to the dealer, whined & complained for long that why would I have to come to a dealer thrice within the year of purchase. the lady consoled us with a truck story of hers (bad apples to start but good long time runner)

Since then its running okay.

Cusotmer service at the dealerships has been superb but law of probability just fails me - why my cutie suffers thrice within the same year. So occasionaly i still ponder whether or not I should write to acura.

by the way, i just love the way the acura TL handles..sweet..i always used to think...cars are cars - a mechanical instrument to take you from one place to other. No Sire..not any more..some are just better

nnnnnpatel

I just brought 2006 TL and I was wonder where I can find shop manual for this car. I don't want the the chilton, or hayes. I want the original that the Acura uses. By the way any idea on how much it costs?

thanks
nick

carteach

My '06 TL is only two months old. Yesterday I chipped the paint on the edge of my door. :mad: The chip is probably a good 1/2 inch long. I try to keep my cars in pristine condition;so a flaw this early on is upsetting. I'd like some thoughts as to my options and the costs.

Thanks for your input.

bryncerdd

Responding to Carteach: I offer my sympathies about chipped paint. I also have a 2006 TL and find the paint to be less durable than on earlier models. I have two (!!!! ouch, and other things) scratches under the driver's door handle from, presumably, long fingernails (not mine) or perhaps keys. I will try touch-up paint, but that rarely works satisfactorily with metallic paint. I console myself by attributing such things to the "patina of a useful article." Call it rationalization.

Bryncerdd

nnnnnpatel

I use to own 87 integra that had silver metalica paint and was very durable. I believe that the later models use to use 7 step process to bond the paint on the car. I am also an owner of 2006 TL and have no chips but I am concerned that the paint is of not same quality. Maybe it is because of pollution/enviromental concerns they don't product such kind of car paint. Correct me if I'm wrong here.

nick

rvator4

I have a 2000 TL that I bought new and it has 58K miles on it. It has never been on a bad road, but the hood is chipped terribly. I recently wrote Acura and told them the paint was soft and they should pay to have it repaired. As you would expect, they ruled it was all normal wear and tear. I am very disappointed in Acura paint and it may cause me to buy another brand of car. I have never had a car that the paint chipped so easily.

carteach

Since the car is so new, would touch-up paint be the best option? Is there any process a paint shop could use to blend things in since the paint hasn't faded?

nnnnnpatel

unless done professionally, it won't be perfect. The older paints use to goes though some baking process I think and theirfore were more durable. It might cost about $100, but will be a professional job if you take it to a reputable dealer. The other option would be to put a bra on it.

nick

mikeq

greetings! if anyone is interested in an 2004 TL(located in NJ), please drop me a message. thanks.

bodble2

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but....

The manual says if someone tries to break into your TL, the alarm will go off, and continues for 2 minutes, and then it would reset itself. What exactly does that mean? The horn will stop blaring and the system will go back to an armed state, ready to go off again if there is another intrusion? But I would think the system would only reset itself if the intruder took the trouble to close the door(s), trunk, etc. If he runs off and left even 1 door open, I don't imagine the system can reset itself. Can anyone confirm this?

z71bill

Windshield got hit while on the freeway - by what seemed like a very small rock - put a nice star about 1/2 the size of a dime in my windshield.

I told my wife - we should get it fixed right away before the crack growns - but within a mile it was already about a 1 foot long crack - right in front of the driver.

Anyone replace their windshield lately?

rvator4

I had mine replaced a couple years ago. I have the Nav so I insisted on the OEM part and the insurance company complied with my wish. No problems at all since. i don't think it cost a penny.

z71bill

I called a glass company - they gave me a price of $1,052 to replace the windshield. Last year when I had the windshield replaced in my truck it was a little over $300. But chevy truck windshields are fairly cheap. I expected between $5-600 - but think $1K is way too high.

The windshield alone was priced at $934!