-June 2024 Special Lease Deals-
2024 Chevy Blazer EV lease from Bayway Auto Group Click here
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee lease from Mark Dodge Click here
2025 Ram 1500 Factory Order Discounts from Mark Dodge Click here
2024 Chevy Blazer EV lease from Bayway Auto Group Click here
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee lease from Mark Dodge Click here
2025 Ram 1500 Factory Order Discounts from Mark Dodge Click here
Options
Acura TL 2006+
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I went to lunch in my co workers 2004 Toyota 4Runner and it took forever to get cold in that cabin.
I have been in the in the CA Central Valley (HOT) and the TL AC is not very strong. My 96 Camry had a much more powerful AC, I would turn it off in about 10 minutes, the TL AC is on constantly. Oh well, nuff said.
One time the A/C setting was turned off accidentally on my 1996 Toyota Avalon XL and it blew out hot air until i realized i turned it off. But it works fine now. So it may be the same issue on your TL. If it blows out hot air, you should turn on the A/C mode.
My TL's glove box wont stay closed. When driving, it would fly open and it doesnt seem as good as my Avalon. Does anyone else have the same problem and any solutions?
Actually...I believe what you need to do is to adjust slightly either the 'catch' bracket or whatever you have that locks the glove compartment. All you need is a screwdriver.
The benefit of the '06 is that the rattles, vibrations, etc. will be further refined out of the car, not to mention the fact that torque steer of which some have complained will be significantly lessened.
I hope Acura does another CL type. The TL is a bit boxy. And the Accord coupe is a bit too small. The Infiniti G35 coupe sits real low too. Tough for a 6'1" 225 lb guy to get in and out of 6 times a day.
BTW....on the TSX board...there is an insistance that premium fuel is needed.
That "adjustment" will result in a lower level of performance and worse mpg. You either pay the higher octane amount or pay with more frequent refills and a less enjoyale ride. Your decision.
What any mechanic will tell you is that putting premium gas in a car made for regular will not improve performance.
Technically, premium has min oct rating of 92. The TL technically requires 91 (that's what I recall seeing on my gas tank). Maybe the deal is that gas with a MINIMUM octane rating of 89 is likely to be close enough to 91, whereas 87 would never get high enough.
Any thoughts?
We are having a hot wave in the west, and the AC is just plain weak. I just turned in a 96 Camry that blasted me with cold air for a whole less money than the TL's AC, yeah, damned straight I am fussy.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
1mpg / 22 mixed mpg = 4.55% lost mpg
$2.95 for premium x 4.55% = 13.4 cents.
BTW...have you ever tried to use regular? If so...what type of mpg difference did you get?
Premium in Tampa is $2.60/gal, so that'd mean that as long as the mid-grade was 11 cents cheaper, it'd work out, right?
The reason I might be interested in the mid-grade, 89 octane is that (theoretically) it's possible you would not lose any mpgs. Our Acuras recommend 91 Octane. Premium is 92 - more than enough. 89 is too low, but gas labelled as 89 Octane isn't 89 Octane, it's gas whose MINIMUM OCTANE LEVEL is 89. That means it is guaranteed not to be lower than 89, but the "ave octane level" would be higher. Could be 89.4 - could be 91.
In general, does anyone know the relationship between "minimum octane ratings" and "average octane levels"?
1mpg / 22 mixed mpg = 4.55% lost mpg
$2.95 for premium x 4.55% = 13.4 cents.
What that means is a decrease of 4.55% mpg with mid-grade requires that the alternate fuel source to be 13.4 cents cheaper than premium to break-even fiscally....as you will be consuming 4.55% more fuel. What it doesn't account for is performance (hp) or for improved gas detergents (for instance, regular and midgrade Shell has 2 times the EPA standards....premium has 5 times standards)
Let me know if that makes sense...believe I have calculated apples to apples.
So...if it does make sense...in Tampa.... $2.60/gal x 4.55% = 11.83 cents is the required hurdle rate of where mid-grade has to be cheaper than premium.
As for your question regarding minimum octane...well...I'll let others touch on that...then I will pipe in later.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
#55 of 56 Regular v. Premium by jrynn Aug 15, 2005 (7:26 pm)
Bookmark | Reply | E-mail Msg
Lainey -- Your link wasn't working when I tried it, but here's another from the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080501595.html?sub=A- - - R
Here are a few very brief excerpts:
*****
Automotive experts say using regular gas in most vehicles does no damage and makes no discernible difference in performance. Cars made in the past 15 years have such highly refined computer controls that the engine will adjust to the grade of octane in the gasoline, even in cars sold as requiring premium gasoline. Some drivers -- in some cars under some driving conditions -- may notice a drop in horsepower, but for most people behind the wheel, it wouldn't be enough to notice, the experts say.
"It's not going to hurt anything," said Peter Gregori, service manager for EuroMotorcars, a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Bethesda. In fact, Gregori has been using regular gas in one of his own Mercedes cars for two years, and "it's perfect," he said -- even though Mercedes-Benz says owners should use only premium.
"I get better mileage with the regular than I do with the high-test, in this particular model that I have," Gregori said. Among cars that come in for service, Gregori said, he can't tell which have been sipping premium.
However....I am play devil's advocate...when I indeed use premium. As I wrote above...it doesn't pencil out that there is any savings if there is a decrease in the mpg. Look at my lousy math I did yesterday...in a post about 5 up.
I guess that is true for a person that doesn't know much about cars or doesn't pay attention to things like acceleration and mpg. Whether or not people notice the difference or not, their car is not performing up to its best with lower-grade gasoline and is most likely using more gas per mile than it would on the correct grade. I guess at lot of this depends on the type of car who's low-grade gasoline you're buying. If you're buying from someone other than Mobil,BP, Shell, Exxon I think you're only fooling yourself by getting cheaper, low-grade gasoline from a no-name outfit. Just my experience.
M
I definitely would stick to the major brands...that seems to make a huge difference. In one of my past cars...filled it with Costco brand. Gas was $0.10 cheaper...but gave the savings back by getting 2mpg less.
As for what is the 'correct grade'....who knows if mid-grade of 89 octane would work and whether it is close enough to the recommended octane of 91. I did pencil out the savings in a few posts back from another person...and it shows it did not pencil out with a 1MPG change. Even if it did...it would be immaterial savings.
If the fuel has a low octane, and the engine has a high compression ratio, then the fuel will combust BEFORE the cylinder reaches its highest point (ie BEFORE the spark plug ignites), due to the pressue in the cylinder at that position, thus causing less fuel efficiency, and eventual long term damge due to the exhaust in that cylinder being forced out of valves that are not yet opened.
Putting high octane fuel into a low compression engine that has low mileage has little to no effect.
But engines these days have detonation sensors, oxygen sensors, throttle sensors and more. All of these sensors relay information to the computer, and the computer adjusts the air/fuel mixture and the timing to keep the engines from detonating. However, when one sensor goes bad, we are back to an engine with too much squeeze for the quality of the fuel that's available.
In a well used car, cooling systems, old sensors, and engine deposits will cause the low octane fuel to combust sooner than it should, thus causing the valves to "ping". Ping is caused by the explosion happening before the valves are open, and you hear the explosion hitting the valve. Simply using higher octane fuel will reduce the pinging. This works for my 1990 Accord which has 270,000 miles on it. Honda's seem to have a greater tendancy to ping as they age, and often people think something is wrong with engine, when in fact this is a common occurance.
Alright...if all of you feel the gas price pinch...here is way to mitigate. I have been using gas rebate credit cards. The Discover Gas Rebate card gets a 5% rebate ($0.15 savings on $3/gal..savings of some $75/year) and the Chase Perfect Card gives 3% or $0.09 per $3/gal). Others I have seen is AAA credit card...but it has a really quirky structure where somehow the rebate is capped by other purchases.
To me, this still begs the question, if the TL recommends 91 Octain, and mid-grade MINIMUM OCTAINE is 89, how far below 91 is the AVERAGE OCTANE? In other words, will using mid-grade gas give you an average octane of 90 or 91?
That's a moot point. The octane rating is what the oil companies' quality control department has determined that they can certify. I highly doubt its much higher than the certified octane rating, since then the oil company would be losing money, and they're greedy enough to make sure that doesn't happen.
Anyway, isn't the topic of this forum supposed to be about the 2006 Acura TL, and not about OCTANE????!?!?!?
Taxesquire has a valid point. Besides...it would behoove the oil companies to keep monkeying to get it to just pass the threshold. They would be better off keeping a margin of safety. It isn't like adding and controlling the exact amount of sugar in a cake mix.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Share your vehicle reviews
It would be very interesting to know where Seven-Eleven, Jewel, Costo etc. get their gasoline from. I would swear that Citco 'gasoline' is nothing but funny smelling water, but an engine will run on it.
M