Older Acura TLs

wisngamecock · February 2005

I personally find DRLs annoying. You may reference data that says they're safer, but I still can't stand them. Would argue for a ban on driving with a cell phone stuck on your ear way instead of mandating DRLs.

aaargh · February 2005

I came from a car with DRLs (and liked them). The problem is now I keep forgetting to turn my lights on on my TL. Between remembering they don't turn on automatically AND the dash being lit all the time (not just when the lights are on), I have forgotten several times.

This is an issue for me.

ljwalters1 · February 2005

I enjoyed your response, Highender, though it's certainly nicer when they go on automatically. It'd also be nice if the nighttime lights were automatic.

Still, keep in mind (especially you, aaargh) that since the TL allows the lights to automatically turn off, you can keep them on all the time without worrying about battery-drain. The only negative I've seen is that the navigation system display switches based on the lighting setting. You can override this manually, but I think the whole point of this group of complaints is that it's nice when the car does obvious things automatically.

igiban · February 2005

My ES has DRL but I hardly use it. I find it annoying to see cars behind me with lights on under the bright sunlight so I don't do that to others either. I just turn it to auto when it's kind of dark and let ES decides it, much like I turn the lights one on TL, just that I decide over it. Not a big deal. An over-rated feature to me. There're cars made with lights on all the time period. Overkill IMO.

rsetlur · February 2005

The thing about DRLs is they come at lower intensity with it quite bright outside.
So, it completely different from having the ability to switch on the headlights manually.

Also, if you drive in texas, morons..., I mean drivers, don't want to put their lights on when it is dawn, dusk or in blinding rain.
They seem to forget that other drivers need to see your car. I find it improves visibility and should be conisdered basic luxury circa 2005.

Hopefully, the joe mobile with the cell will be able to see my car a wee bit earlier.

I think our neighbors to the North got this one right and early too. Isn't it a law in Canada?

rsetlur · February 2005

After testdriving the TL auto w nav.

Top 10 tweaks / minor additions would make the
2006 edition my perfect car:

1. Change the torque curve so there is more at low rpm.
2. Add DRLs
3. Intelligent key ala G35.
4. mp3 capability to the stereo.
5. compass.
6. More features in the trip computer.
(come on, isn't this a Techno Lux or Toys Lacking or whatever the TL stands for

7. TPMS.
8. Add more commands to the voice commands.
9. Sync contacts with phone. via bluetooth
10. No price increase!

highender · February 2005

thanks ....

It would be nice, I agree....

I traded in a 2000 Hyundai XG300 , which has auto on nighttime lights....to get the TL...

believe me, the TL is much better, even without the auto on lights...

giovanni1 · February 2005

I think they should upgrade the interior materials, at least the switches/buttons as they feel very cheap. Now I know Acura has to cost some costs to keep the TL affordable but Lexus is able to do this in the ES.

bodble2 · February 2005

I don't see anything wrong with the switches and buttons. Maybe better-quality leather seats.

habitat1 · February 2005

Be careful when you use the ES330 as a comparison to the Acura TL. A friend of mine bought his 70 year old mother mother one (after her Camry was totaled in a deer collision) and I took a ride in it. Of course, I told her I thought is was very nice, and the interior certainly is. But, other than being quieter, it was indistiguishable from the Camry in terms of handling and performance. I thought the 2005 was supposed to be an improvement, but it seems every Lexus vehicle leads its category in "boring to drive".

I think the TL, for a $33k price, is a nice quality package. Lexus clearly has made interior finishes their priority. Acura seems to value engineering and performance over the "beautiful Buick" approach of Lexus. I hope they stay the course.

giovanni1 · February 2005

Trust me not comparing the ES to TL in terms of ride/handling etc, just craftsmanship of the interior materials and IMHO I think Acura cut costs on the switches. Every time I use the homelink switch in my Gf's TL I feel like it's going to break. Don't get me wrong, I think the TL is a great car for the money and has lots of techno goodies but I don't like the cheapness feel of the swithces/buttons. Again that is my perception and others are quite happy with them, I'm just not.

armand · February 2005

Coming out of an Audi A6 I find the switches and button just fine - the leather could be better as someone else said.

golfnut5 · February 2005

Coming out of a Cadillac CTS to an 2005 TL, everything in the TL looks better to me except maybe the leather seats. The TL is $7,000 to $9,000 less.

priggly · February 2005

Anyone know what the 0-60 mph acceleration time is for the car with the 5-speed automatic transmission?

Thanks.

cartalk · February 2005

MSN Autos has the following (0-60; 1/4 mile; 1/4 mile speed; braking):

Acura 3.2 TL - V6 3.2L (270 hp) 5A (Sportshift) + ABS
6.66 15.16 97.60 No data

Acura 3.2 TL Dynamic - V6 3.2L. (270 hp) - 6M + ABS
6.74 14.98 97.70 114

giovanni1 · February 2005

This is from Motor Trend.

Issue Date: 5/04
0-60: 6.3 seconds
1/4 Mile: 14.8/94.4
Braking 60-0: 128 ft

laurasdada · February 2005

I took a quick road trip to what I like to call The Happiest Place on Earth (a Connecticut casino) and thought I'd report in. Objective thoughts: According to the Trip Computer, I drove 180 miles, averaged 54mph and 27 mpg. The trip was about 80/20 highway/local driving. When on I95, I cruised pretty steadily at 80mph, the mpg was rising as I drove the highway miles.

Subjective thoughts: a very smooth and quiet ride. What little wind noise there was was easily overcome with the FM/XM/CD music I listened to. Great power, passing was a breeze, made a CTS look silly (actually, imho, CTS looks silly to begin with). No vibration at any speed and all the controls/switchgear felt of high quality! The leather's ok, too...

A friend bought his wife an ES330 last year. As his Acura Legend is heading towards 200,000 miles (!) they decided to check out the TL. He's decided to try to put 250k miles on the Legend, she desperately wants to trade in her ES on the TL!

igiban · February 2005

Well I don't know if there's a perfect car in this price range. You got to give and take for a $30K car.

Lexus's forte has been posh/comfortable interior and high grade of materials used in it. Any car in this class will compared as a lesser in this regard to ES. I think TL stacks up well against any other brand tho.

What you miss in interior in TL from ES can be made up from a much stronger engine and better handling in TL over ES. Ok it's kind of apple and orange, but you have to decide what you value the most. A combo of both would be nice, but there's a good reason why they call it entry luxo: You need to choose your 'entry point'.

ljwalters1 · February 2005

I agree with your trip computer and torque statements, but I think the switches are all fine. In fact, I'm glad they're more understated, not made to stand out with fancy lights and metal. I think they look classy and work fine.

With the computer, I'd like to see the mpg/mph and that stuff without having to hit the extra "enter" button each time, and I'd like the car to always show the outside temperature.

I don't understand why you list a "compass" when your car has a navigation system. Look in the upper-left-hand-corner of the nav screen. There's the compass!

What is TPMS? And with the bluetooth, you can do voice-dialing, right? I think what your asking is a little much...

cardly · February 2005

I'm about to replace the factory tires on my 04 Acura TL, and I want to go plus one in size. When I did this on my 90 legend I went from a 215 to a 225 and kept the same number (40)on the sidewall height, without problems. It gave the car setup a nice beefier look. Now on my 04 TL, I want to go from a 235/45R17 to a 245/45R17, but the store guys are saying it will be too tall and will rub. They want to go 245/40R17. I think I'd like the taller tire, but I'm not sure if it really will interfere with the wheel well. Anybody have any experience on changing tire sizes on the 04 Acura TL ?

kyfdx · February 2005

245/40-17 is going to be too short..

255/40-17 would match much better, but you might have rubbing issues with width, and they may not fit on your stock wheels..

And this is called "plus zero"..

"plus one" is when you go up in wheel diameter, to 18".

I wouldn't do either one... I'd just look for better tires in the stock size..

regards,
kyfdx

cartalk · February 2005

The 245/45/R17 size is the Plus Zero option. Plus One options are:

225/45/R18
235/40/R18
245/40/R18

ed_scott0013 · February 2005

TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System

ljwalters1 · March 2005

Hmmm...yes, it'd be nice if the TL had it, but I wouldn't say it's something a car in this class "should" have. If you can't tell by looking at the tires, you can tell b/c you'll spin your tires more than usual.

bodble2 · March 2005

The Mini, which is much less expensive, comes standard with TPMS, so no reason why the TL couldn't. Actually I would find TPMS (as well as oil level monitor) very useful. There's been many times when I've looked at the tires on my TL and thought the pressure was way down, but the gauge would show that it's bang on, or just a pound or less under.

kyfdx · March 2005

Most cars that have TPMS standard, have runflat tires.. Which is the main reason for the option.. To let you know that you have a flat..

regards,
kyfdx

needacar3 · March 2005

Auto reliablity has always played an important part of my new-car purchase decision -- that's why I've purchased mostly Toyota's or Honda's.

Well, I'm again looking for a car & REALLY liked the Acura TL except for one issue: seat comfort. I have some back problems, & for me, the TL seats were awful. (The Accord seat is just fine!) So I have been playing around with various seat pads to find a way make the TL seats work for me. But I just learned something about the TL that has eliminated it for me -- a new reliability report.

While last year the overall expected TL reliability, as published in Consumer Reports, was "Very good", it has now been downgraded to "Average".

Too bad. The TL looks like a great car, but run-of-the-mill average reliablity is not what I'm looking for -- or what I would have expected from Honda Motor Co.

aaargh · March 2005

You would expect a first year car (2004) to have lower reliabiity versus the 2003 model. I would put money that the 2005 will have better reliability numbers.

Several issues found in the 2004 model have been addressed, so make sure you consider the 2005 model, not the 2004 one.

BTW, I own an '04 and have had zero issues. That's not to say I won't, but so far it has been a great experience.

habitat1 · March 2005

My Acura dealership suggested replacing the standard 235/45R17 tires with a 245/45R17 and assured me the nominal additional height will not cause any rubbing.

In case you haven't noticed, at 8" wide, the TL's rims are very wide for the size of tire. By comparison, the MDX only has 6.5" wide wheels for 235 width tires and the RL has 8" rims for 245 width tires.

The service manager suggested the 245 width tires will help protect the sides of the rims, which are now very vulnerable to scraping on curbs, because they stick out from the sidewall of the tire.

liferules · March 2005

I wouldn't let average reliability turn me against a car. Remember, overall reliability of autos in the 21st century is very good. And average doesn't mean "lemon". It is still fine if you really like the car.

bmwdoug · March 2005

For those of you who purchased a new TL, what accessories if any did you purchase? Anyone go for 18" chrome wheels, or the side molding, etc....? What do you consider essential? Or, are the Accessories not needed.

wisngamecock · March 2005

Agreed. I've seen that info. In fact CR has several illustrations of reliability by year and you see it consistently improves in subsequent years after a re-design. One more point, take a look at the detailed reliability by category. You'll notice that reliability is high in virtually all categories. Suggests to me the overall difference between average and 'above average' in this segment may be quite small. If there was a significant trouble spot, CR wouldn't be recommending the TL. But, you'll see they do continue to recommend.

brianla · March 2005

I agree. If they do it for Canadians they can do it for us just as easily.

BTW running lights were worth $20 per year on my insurance for an 2004 TL in Louisiana. I tried to tell the lady "I promise to turn on the lights" but it did no good.

igiban · March 2005

Is Motorola V600 still not TL-friendly, despite it's a BT phone?

I was given options of BT phones like Mot's V600, or SE's T610 or T630. Wonder which one works better on TL and also in general as well?

boiko · March 2005

Yikes...I'm a big fan of the Acura TL...

...but, I just saw the new Lexus IS. You guy's have to check it out.!

I have lots of links, but everytime I post one in the past, I get in trouble. Take my word, you have to check it out.

-mike-

pat · March 2005

Any questions about what type of links are not okay to post will likely be answered by the Rules of the Road (link above). Take a look and if you have further questions, feel free drop me an email - pat AT edmunds.com.

boiko · March 2005

Exactly....most of the sites now displaying information about the just announced Lexus IS contain message boards/forums.. But in the time it will take me to find a non-competing site, I'm sure someone will find pictures/info...and post them. If not, them later this week I'll look around for an "allowed" link...

"Town Hall does not allow links to, or promotions of automotive sites that host or contain message boards, forums or chats. We think Town Hall is the best place on the internet to discuss vehicles." -mike-

golfnut5 · March 2005

Lexus IS has 215 HP versus TL 270 HP. Lexus IS mileage rating is 18/24 city/highway. You can have it.

giovanni1 · March 2005

Don't get so caught up in numbers, just cause one is higher doesn't make it faster, lots of other variables come into play such as weight, drive-train losses, gearing etc. Take the Lotus Elise for instance which has roughly 194 HP and will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds.

lobito17 · March 2005

I've owned a 2004 TL for one year (still LOVING it), and only this weekend upgraded to a BT phone (Nokia 6230). I have successfully paired the phone and entered various numbers into the TL's phonebook. I have placed successful calls and am extremely pleased with how well the system works.

A couple of questions:

1. How can I handle automated menus and passwords? For example, if I want to check my voicemail, I need to call in, navigate a menu, enter a password, and navigate more menus. On my cellphone itself, I am able to automate this process by inserting "pauses" and "waits" into the programmed number (i.e., I have programmed the number, followed by a "wait", followed by my password and the "pound sign"). What are my options with the HandsFree system in the TL? Can I do this?

2. Is there a way to initiate a call on the cell phone and then switch it over to the HandsFree, or do I have to initiate the call through the HF first? This would be useful when I have a number that is not programmed into the HF, and thus have to dial it manually.

All help, including reference to other info sources, is appreciated.

habitat1 · March 2005

The Lotus Elise weighs under 2,000 lbs, not exactly compatible with the Acura TL or Lexus IS. If, in fact, the new IS only has 215 hp, it will probably not be competitive with the TL in terms of performance.

The more interesting comparison I would do today if I were buying again would be between the new BMW 3-series with larger dimensions and 255 horsepower. BMW's horses are the largest in the business and the only thing that kept me from a 330i last year was the tight interior space.

giovanni1 · March 2005

That wasn't my point, I wasn't comparing the two cars, my point was just cause one car has a higher HP number than another, does not make it faster or a better car. Like I said before there are a number of other variables that have to be considered to be able to accurately estimate a cars straight line acceleration compared to another. Too many people make the mistake of getting caught up in the numbers game, the lotus is only one instance and one of the big variables there is weight. A current 330i with ZHP has less HP than the TL yet is just as quick.

I'm sure you didn't mean this literally "BMW's horses are the largest in the business" but
there is no difference between BWM's HP, Acura's HP or any other manufacturers for that point, it is strictly a unit of measure.

golfnut5 · March 2005

giovanni1, I understand what you are saying, but any car in the same class as the TL and only 215 HP will not keep up with 270 HP.

golfnut5 · March 2005

CR recently rated the best 2005 vehicles in 9 categories. The Acura TL brought home the trophy in the Upscale Sedan category. The Lexus LS 430 won the Luxury Sedan category. Check it out.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7120084/

pat · March 2005

Google is your friend. :-)

It is my experience that all of the articles copied and pasted into posts on other boards (that people have linked here because they didn't read the terms to which they agreed when they joined our community) can be found that way. I just copy the whole first paragraph, or the first couple of sentences and paste it directly into the Google search box and every single time I have found the original source.

It is also my impression that many other message boards either don't care about copyright issues or are very slow to find them, but that is not what we need to be discussing here ...

Questions? Email me!

webby1 · March 2005

"North Americans, despite a need for more fuel conscious vehicles, will most likely only get Lexus' new 3.0-litre powerplant, producing a healthy 245-horsepower and 230 lb-ft of torque, which should be enough to challenge the new 255-horsepower BMW 3-Series, the 268-horsepower Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Infiniti's upgraded 277-horsepower G35. "

bodble2 · March 2005

BMW horses are more muscular, especially compared to the scrawny ones from Japan. ie. BMW's always seem to perform better than their specs would lead you to believe. Whereas for the most part, it's the reverse for many Japanese models (their cars, not women!)

For example, I think a few of the TL's 270 horses are MIA.

giovanni1 · March 2005

Maybe if your talking actual Horses as in the animal, but Horsepower is Horsepower irregardless of Japan, German, Italy etc.

The TL probably has 270 hp, however how much of that is actually being transfered to the ground is whole other ballgame.

akirby · March 2005

HP is HP, but torque is torque. BMW's engines are tuned for low end torque. The TL's engine is tuned for high end HP. Low end torque will get you off the line quicker. BMWs are also geared for 0-60 performance so they can outperform a car with higher hp ratings. It's all in the tuning.

highender · March 2005

Hi bodble:

I agree....it all in the torque and hp....

for fast acceleration work, you need most hp and torque at low end...

for higher top speed, you need more hp at higher end of revs.....

it is in the tuning...

now, a question for you all...what is the top speed of the TL ? I think it has the aerodynamics to go 165 mph.... !!

Older Acura TLs

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