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I am a new member of the "Bluetooth handsfree link suddenly stops working" club. I have a 2005 TL. Dealer wants $950 to replace bluetooth unit. Can you email to me this Bulletin 05-020 and what ever else I could use to get dealer to repair/replace my unit for free, or for a much reduced price. It was the reason I bought this car, b/c I am always driving and stuck in traffic and need to make calls hands-free. Thank you very much. Jim
I was shocked on how many recalls on the 04 there are for various reasons
http://www.acuraworld.com/tsb/3gTL/b05-020.pdf
This should help as it did for me. Just remeber to mention the bulletin and print it out for them. Also,
"Out of warranty: Any repair performed after warranty
expiration may be eligible for goodwill consideration by
the District Parts and Service Manager or your Zone
Office. You must request consideration, and get a
decision, before starting work." As mentioned in this bulletin. This saved me $$$. Remember I as I mentione in my prevous post, I ended up paying $474 + Tax = $504. But it was worth it as it is now has a one year warranty.
Good Luck and stick to it!! I even called Johnson Controls who manifactured this HLF which also helped. I would give you their number but I no longer have it.
Thank you,
Shawn :mad:
(1) Cruise Control (on/off) button would not stay pushed in. That was just over 60k and Acura paid 90% of the cost to fix it since I was just over the warranty.
(2) At 50-60k I had to replace the starter. I have been told by Acura and every mechanic I have mentioned to this about, and they all say that should not happen, but I was the lucky one :-)
(3) TPMS (tire pressure) system issues. Looks like my sensors may be dead. I have a feeling it was from the last time I had tires put on that they were not careful and broke them. However I will find out this Sat what Acura what is going on and how much.
(4) Then there is the blue tooth issue which started not working last week. All of the buttons work, and the system acts like it is working and looking to pair with a blue tooth phone, but no phones will pick up the hands free all of a sudden.
Has anyone had success in ordering the part themselves as it seems like a very easy install? Or even better... can it be upgraded to also include phone book import and bluetooth audio??
Today the system would not respond at all. After numerous attempts, I tried to check for a blown fuse. None for the HFL were listed in the manual.
A bit later in the day I attempted to link with the bluetooth and it responded fine.
I am 5 days over the replacement part warranty. I will however contact the dealer next week to check for a possible short in the system.
I too am disappointed in this expensive electronic problem since this should be rock solid for the life of the vehicle.
If others have experienced this problem and have resolved it , I would appreciate hearing.
RHCB
RHCB
BE CAREFUL ABOUT AN ANCILLARY PROBLEM--Yesterday my car wouldn't start. I was told by the Acura dealer and the 3rd party repair facility that the broken units drain your battery. YOU HAVE NOT CHOICE BUT TO SHELL OUT THE $700-$800 -- same cost whether you have the navi or not. I asked if they could just disconnect it and the dealer said NO, they were not allowed to.
In my opinion, this is a recall item but will they recall something that is not a "safety" issue? If not, from what I've heard and what I've just read, this seems to be a class action issue.
I am going to write the top dogs at Honda America for all it is worth.
Please keep me posted for any kind of action suit...
Thx
Besides, if you go the class action route, be prepared to wait 2-3 years, then receive either a free fix for the problem, or a $500 off coupon toward your next Acura vehicle purchase. That's how these suits usually end for the consumer.
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I guess that I am lucky that mine lasted 6 Years; but I am disappointed that a vehicle in this price range would have such a significant issue with something so simple and have no resolution or recourse for their consumers.
Ironically, I just started looking at the 2012, but I am EXTREMELY hesitant to purchase another Acura because of the lack of accountability. I think I can funnel my next $45,000.00 to a manufacturer that is willing to be accountable for their vehicle in its entierty; especially when they know they pushed a defective product to market.
I would gladly sign a petition and follow up with legal recourse.
I encourage you all to call Acura Client relations at (800) 382-2238. I did and it paid off.
Be prepared to answer a bunch of seemingly irrelevant questions (they want to know if you are a "loyal" Acura client and will need your VIN. (I've owned at least 2 Hondas and 3 Acuras over my driving life.)
They are also going to ask if you have taken your car to a dealer and had any diagnostics done on the car. Have all your information ready.
I threw around the class action lawsuit at first, which was blown off by the rep I spoke with because the maker of the HFL (Johnsson (sp?) Controls) is the only manufacturer for all the handsfree products for almost all the cars out there.
After several discussions and a trip to the dealer, however, Acura paid for 80% of the cost of a new HFL (I just got the car back last Friday). FYI, I had to replace my second battery in 4 1/2 years (don't know if that's another issue with the car). The service rep at the dealer also told me (and I'm not sure why this is the case or if it's an accurate statement) that it's better if you pay a portion of the replacement because you get the full warranty.
It's certainly worth the time to make the call plus if they get enough of these calls maybe they'll do something preemptive to get these things fixed.
Good luck and keep us posted.
In the real world you gain people's trust and appreciation and keep it. In the manner you do business with them from Day1..
I was pretty annoyed when I was asked all those questions so I asked why the customer care rep why they were asking them. That's when I learned about loyalty factor.
For all you out there without the HFL, please call Acura. They need to hear form us. They really need to be innundated.
Good luck to you all.
I going to try to unplug the module this weekend to see if that helps. No way I am putting out the $$$ to Acura for a new module!
I see here that many TL owners have the same problem.
I called the Acura number and even though I have had only Acura Dealerships service the car for 5 years, they would not give me any of the concessions mentioned here.
They said it was an RL, not a TL, and they said my mileage was too high.
Any ideas? Where can you buy the part? I am ready to take it elsewhere for the service.
Paul
Also, something tells me that Acura is nuts if I they want me to pay $800.00 when I just paied them $700 for a dashboard because the passenger front dash cracked. Not to mention that I've seen this on already 4 differnet Acuras. I love my car, but I am no sure that Acura builds cars to last. :mad:
So now I am using a $20 headset made by GE. It looks like a telephone operator's headset, or perhaps a cheap computer gaming headset. It uses a WIRE to connect to my phone. The microphone is on a boom that sits in front of my mouth, and there is one earpiece - not one of those horrible earbuds, but rather a 1.5 inch disc covered in comfortable foam. My friends no longer complain about the voice quality, in fact they cannot even tell that I'm in a car.
Sometimes I will use a Motorola bluetooth speakerphone that I bought for $30. It's audio quality is far superior to the builtin Acura system, but not nearly as good as the wired headset.
With an Android phone I can easily voice dial, so I'm not missing much in terms of usability. Let's all tell Acura that we hate their handsfree system and will not buy another Acura unless we find it is dramatically improved. In the meantime, do your friends a favor and buy an old-fashioned wired headset.