Older Acura TLs

vickib2 · March 2006

I just called my local Acura store, and they tell me that the Roadside Assistance IS still good! Yea! So, I'm trying to decide if I should get the jump and then head for the dealer and have my battery checked and a new one installed.

Vicki

pat · March 2006

Hi Vicki,

Let's just keep this conversation in one discussion, okay? Here's a link where anyone who would like to contribute can continue: vickib2, "Acura TL Owners: Care & Maintenance" #260, 1 Mar 2006 6:53 am

See ya there - let us know what happens!

dap2006 · March 2006

I concur! I've had my '06 TL since Oct 05 (pre-ordered, first one in Tucson) and I've loved it from the start - zero problems and lots of fun. Happy motoring! :shades:

aaron_mi · March 2006

Well, I'm not sure I am 'complaining' that the car absorbed all the damage and not me. : )

I am just surprised really that it ended up being totalled. The amount of visible damage to the front did not make me think the car would be anywhere close to totaled. The front bumper, headlamps, and hood were heavily damaged, but the damage ended just behind the headights. However, because of the 'crumpliness' of the car, the engine and drive train shifted causing big dollars in damage. Also the insurance guy said the minute you have airbag deployments you are at $5k and up just for the bags.

I was just making an observation that cars are more 'disposable' nowadays due to unibody construction, lots of (non-repairable) aluminum up front, and crumple zones. I don't want to sound old, but cars used to be made out of steel and more steel.

I kinda feel that if I still had my 2001 Mercedes E55 AMG that the damage would have been less extensive. The sheet metal on it was pretty heavy. My TL though is much more high tech, much better mileage, and pretty quick; just not as fun to drive (granted my E55 cost me more than double my TL when I bought it back in 2001).

As far as my speed, the speedlimit was 45 which I was either at or under when I started braking. The road was wet, and with ABS there were no skid marks to measure speed. So I am estimating 30mph-ish at impact.

By the way, my insurance company has been very good to me. Since the car is only 2 months old, they are buying me the exact same car along with my dealer add ons (protection package, mats, locks, rear wing spoiler, moonroof deflector) and all I have to pay is my $500 deductible.

2006 TL w/Navi and all those accessories for $34,000 plus tax including all other fees. (I got a great deal through Acura of Troy, Michigan via their internet sales. Used the Edmunds prices forum for best price advice)

My insurance company is Liberty Mutual, this is my first accident claim in 7 years with them. Hopefully my rates don't go up!

aaron_mi · March 2006

"Male, post-secondary education, middle management or professional, upper-middle class."

Hey, that's me!

By the way, most Acura TL drivers that I've seen on the road have been male.

I'm conscious of that because I bought a 1994 Ford Probe GT back in 94 which I thought was a stylin' sports car. Until I noticed that 90% of drivers were women! Now that I think of it, it was sort of 'phallic' looking and the name itself a little suggestive. Wasn't the most masculine vehicle to be seen in.

The TL is the exact opposite - wedgelike, nice lines, aggressive looking grill. Great car!

aaron_mi · March 2006

My TL has no power after being totalled and I cannot eject my CD's from the changer. Hooking up a jump box, or new battery does not help. Fuses seem to be okay.

Does anyone know how to get them out without power or if there is a bypass to power up the radio long enough to eject?

They are taking my car away tomorrow and I have 6 CDs in there I want!

Thanks

liferules · March 2006

Well you're luckier than I was. I was in an accident less than 4 months into my new car and it WASN'T totalled. Instead, it was in the shop for over 3 months. It came back in very good condition, but I certainly would have preferred a new one. I've been told that insurance companies are very reluctant to total cars less than 1 year out, as it is a no-win situation for them, but cheaper to fix than replace in most circumstances...

And, YES, your rates will most certainly go up. But there's nothing you can do about that...its part of the no-win insurance game. They'll get their pound of flesh...

Glad you're OK...

bhelsdon · March 2006

when you hook up the jumper box or the new battery, is there any power to the inside of the car. Does the radio do anything? I was just thinking that maybe the radio won't work because it needs the security code put in first.

taxesquire · March 2006

My wife was crunched between 2 trucks in her Sienna minivan, and the crumple zones actually helped prevent the car from being totalled. Apparently, the crumple zones made the front end and back end removable from the main passenger compartment, and since the engine wasn't damaged, it wasn't totalled.

Frankly, I wish it were totalled - it took 'em 6 mos to finish the work - it's still not done, but we have the car back and it's only minor stuff remaining. Still, I'd rather have the cash to buy a new vehicle.

aaron_mi · March 2006

Nope, no power to anything at all inside the cabin or anywhere else on the car for that matter.

habitat1 · March 2006

Glad to hear that your O.K.

Last May, just as I started to go through an intersection, a red light runner went full speed (40 mph) through the intersection from my left and clean-shaved the front off my TL. Bumper, grill, etc. were gone and the headlamp glass was broken. But not a single metal panel was touched. My damages were $3,000 (headlamps alone were $900). The dealer body shop manager said that if I had gone 6-8 more inches into the intersection before being hit, the car would have been totaled. That's about $4,000 an inch I saved by braking in time.

Speaking of which, as I understand your description, the truck you hit was stopped, you were going 45+/- when you saw it and hit the brakes, but you only slowed to 30+/- at impact? How close were you before you saw it? The brakes in my TL 6-speed seem very good, but I've never activated the ABS. Do you think your brakes/tires worked well? I don't know what the stopping distance from 45 would be in a TL on a wet road, but it sure doesn't sound like you slowed much before impact.

P.S. On your Liberty Mutual insurance, two suggestions: (1) Hopefully you won't have any other accidents, but if you do, don't report any that are your fault under about $2,500. Pay for the damages out of pocket - it will be much cheaper than being kicked over to the high risk category fro 5-7 years. (2) Don't buy another E55 anytime soon.

twmark · March 2006

I noticed that my 2006 TL has virtually no brake dust. My old BMW has a ton of annoying brake dust.

mikefm58 · March 2006

On the last brake job for my '99 CRV, they used the new ceramic pads......no dust whatsoever. Maybe Acura used that???

dhsieh9 · March 2006

I change my 2000 TL around every 3000 miles. One thing I noticed is that after around 2000 miles, the oil on TL becomes much thicker and dirtier than my other 2 Japanese cars, Lexcus RX300 & Infiniti G35. I use mostly Castro 10-30 oil. Recently I tried Castro synthetic oil but the result is the same. I wonder if this is the same for other Acura owners. If so, I suspect if this an indication of early wear of TL engine. Otherwise, the engine wouldn't so dirty. Also, I can't imagine why any TL owners would change their oil beyond 3000 miles ineterval given the quality of engine oil quality after 3000 miles.

bodble2 · March 2006

My experience with Honda V6's (including current TL) has been the opposite -- the oil stays very clean throughout the change interval. And oil level stays near top mark too. It's almost become superfluous to check the oil! :shades:

bodble2 · March 2006

My wife totalled her Accord last year 'cause she rolled it. The tow truck driver commented that anytime a car is rolled it automatically becomes a write-off. We actually lucked out from the whole ordeal. Not only was my wife not seriously injured, but, with replacement cost insurance, they reimbursed us @ MSRP, not what our negotiated purchase price was. (Although I suspect the reason for that may have been because we had a trade-in for the Accord, so the deal sheet was written up with the full MSRP on the Accord, and an inflated trade-in value).

dhsieh9 · March 2006

May I ask what is the year of your Honda V6 and TL?

bodble2 · March 2006

We had a 2002 Accord V6, and currently has a '04 TL.

glenn386 · March 2006

I just picked up my tl last week, and so far the wife loves it. We bought the non-navi, non performance tire model.

I live in the snow belt, but we have had a weird winter, with little snow. I had really no chance to test drive the car in a 6-8 inch snow before buying. I know obviously that the tl with the traction control won't be close to the Audi quattro in snow performance but, should I expect that the tl (with traction control)will far out perform other front wheel drives. Or, should I expect only marginal snow performance?

Regardless, if the car turns out to be a dud in bad snow (3 or 4 bad snow days average per year), buying the tl was a great choice.

Can anyone help me out with their snow experiences.

dhsieh9 · March 2006

Your'04 TL is a new model with new engine. Howeever, your '02 Accord V6 should share similar engine with my '00 TL engine. When you change your oil & filters on TL, which brand do you use?

laurasdada · March 2006

Hi, Glenn:

The TL is probably not a dud in the snow. The Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires, however, are POOR IN THE SNOW! I'm in the Boston area, this is my second winter on the ELs and you really must be aware of these tires when snow driving. Actually, the new Consumer Report Auto issue also points this out in their (otherwise excellent!) review of the TL. I'm a life long New Englander/skier/snow driver and these are the poorest tires in the snow I've experienced. The ABS and TC have engaged with greater frequency in snow with these tires than I've experienced before.

If you have no traction, traction contol will not help...

I've not been stranded, nor in an accident. When these tires have run their course, I'll be replacing them with another model.

Other than that, TL is fab!

Good luck, enjoy the TL!

xrunner2 · March 2006

Regardless, if the car turns out to be a dud in bad snow (3 or 4 bad snow days average per year), buying the tl was a great choice.

Can anyone help me out with their snow experiences.

See message 7732.

glenn386 · March 2006

thanks for the response.

Maybe I didn't properly phrase my question. I wasn't asking how a front wheel car compares in snow to rear wheel drive cars. I have driven in snow my whole life. But I have yet to drive the TL in snow.

I am aware that a fwd car will perform differently based on factors such as vehicle weight, tire size, tire style/make, and horse power actually delivered to the wheels.

I was really asking (in deeper snow)how this combination of 260 hp, 3500 lbs-split 60/40, traction control and oem Michelin tires works on the TL, in comparison to the other FWD cars that you may have driven.

bodble2 · March 2006

"When you change your oil & filters on TL, which brand do you use?"

Sorry, I honestly couldn't tell you. It would be whatever brand the dealer uses. I only know it is 5W20 oil.

ggesq · March 2006

I own an 05 TL with which I am very, very satisfied with. I bought the car brand new at the price point I wanted to pay. Recently, I am beginning to lose faith in the "service" Acura offers its customers. A few hundred posts ago, in the "Prices Paid" forum, I posted my horrible purchasing experience with the dealer I ended up buying from. Although they had the lowest price, I disliked the way they handled the transaction. Not so much the salesperson, because I thought he did a great job, but the management at that particular dealership. ( I live in Florida, by the way.)
I bought the vehicle from a dealer in South Florida, but I live in Tampa so I get my car serviced in town since it is my local dealership. I can swallow waiting a few minutes waiting in the service bay for someone to come talk to me and I will go even farther and say that I can tolerate the service advisor shrugging off my questions in regards to some issues other owners are experiencing like dash fading and rattles in some TL's. However, today's behavior and attitude from the service individuals at my local dealership really did me in.
On Monday, I called the dealer to set up an appointment to install a factory deck lid spoiler and was quoted a certain price. After arriving at the dealership and waiting 20 minutes for someone to talk to me, I sit down with one of the service advisors and tell him my name and what I was there for. He quotes me a price for the installation and I tell him that he might be incorrect because I was quoted a price almost half the price he was quoting me for the labor. He said he had to go check on something and walked away. He comes back 10 minutes later and maintains that he cannot do it at the price that was quoted to me over the phone. Holding in my emotional response, I calmy got my keys and drove away very disappointed.
Now that 2 dealers have ( the one I purchased from and the one that services my TL) really scored a grade of F as far as service is concerned, I am really beginning to wonder about the way Acura services its customers. Maybe it's a fluke, an unlikely coincidence, maybe its the part of the country I am in, maybe it's me? At any rate, I now have swore to myself to stay away from 2 dealers in Florida and will have to drive a little farther to get my car serviced. I sincerely hope that these are isolated incidents because I may run out of dealerships to go to. :mad:

liferules · March 2006

ggesq,

That's too bad. I suggest you contact Acura or Honda Motor Corp and send a letter voicing your displeasure and experiences with those 2 dealerships. I think if more of the customers complain when they are treated poorly, those dealerships will receive unwanted attention from Corporate headquaters... maybe I'm naive but it may make some difference over the long haul...

goodegg · March 2006

I don't think the name 'Acura' in front of the service department's door means much at all. Not sure what makes these people tick. That definitely don't think long term about the customers and don't put themselves in other's shoes and posit what would they want to happen in that situation.

I got a moth (somehow - probably from the factory) inside the high mount brake light compartment. I didn't want to start prying off the cover so I stopped by an Acura dealer. The service guy comes out and says "I have no idea how to get that out of there". Oh really. So what exactly do you do know here at the service department? So I leave and call another dealer and he says " well its not a warranty issue, but you can bring it in and we might be able to get to it". A little better - but bring the car in so they can pull the cover off, eject the moth, put it back on, and hand me a $55 bill?

I was thinking, put me on hold, take 40 seconds and pull up the schematic in the system, figure out which end or side to pry up to open the thing, and then tell me in about 20 words or less how to do it.

Do they really want me in there clogging up the service area for a frickin moth? I love the car but the Acura service guys are no different than the rest of the bunch.

Whatever. The moth's still in there.

taxesquire · March 2006

I'm a Tampa guy too - sorry to hear about your experience. I've had OK exp at the Acura place on Florida Ave. They once misquoted me the price of an oil change, but gave it to me for that price anyway. I agree about waiting to get spoken with. Most times I leave my car their and head inside to speak with someone. They're always friendly. Still, I use another place for non-warranty stuff.

ggesq · March 2006

Tax,

Glad to hear your experiences there are ok and that they honored the price quoted to you. Equally glad to hear that the "waiting" issue at that dealership is real and I am not blowing things out of proportion. Since it was a Saturday, quite possibly not as many service employees were working might have had a hand in it but even on normal Monday-Friday business hours, I still wait outside before heading on in.
At any rate, would you mind advising as to which place you go to for your non-warranty service? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

taxesquire · March 2006

If you're in South Tampa, I would strongly recommend Bill's Family Garage. He's been very honest with me and came highly recommended. Bill's shop is on the corner of Westshore and Euclid.

Now that I'm in Carrollwood I use the local Allied Tire & Services. It's a chain, but I've gotten to know a few people there and trust them - I'll tell you the story if you're interested. They are located on Dale Mabry just south of Fletcher.

I was told I can't list their phone numbers, so I guess your options are to look them up in the phone book or, at least with Allied, Im sure they have a website. I guess you could also post your e-mail address, but I assume you won't want to do that. If you do post it, though, I'll respond.

day9 · March 2006

I am interesting in buying a 99 TL with 83K miles on it. Is there any common problem for this particular model? Thanks.

pat · March 2006

Posting email addresses is a really not-good idea. People can make their addresses available to other logged-in Forums members with a setting in your Community Profile (link on the left). That protects them from the evil webcrawlers.

bodble2 · March 2006

I've often wondered about this: Couldn't evil webcrawlers register as members, and thus gain access to everyone's email address? :confuse: Or are these evil people usually too lazy to register? :P

pat · March 2006

Web-crawlers are entirely automated with different goals. Google has web-crawlers to feed its search returns. These are good-witch web-crawlers.

Spammers have web-crawlers to collect email addresses. These are evil-witch webcrawlers. :P

An automated tool cannot join and then be able to see email addresses. A live person could do that, but it would hardly be worth the trouble. Spammers deal in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of emails. It would be way too time-consuming to go through individual profiles when the reality is that there are so many email addresses posted in plain view all over the web and all that have to do is run a program to collect them. Unfortunately for the posters. :sick:

bodble2 · March 2006

Thanks for the crash-course. Now back to regular programming...

taxesquire · March 2006

OK - don't post your address. If you post that you've made your address available, I'll e-mail you #s.

ezracer · March 2006

Has anyone painted the black, polymer splash guards to match their body color ? What were the results ?

Acura should do this from the git-go. Many cars have color matched splash guards. The Maxima has them and that car costs $3000-$5000 less than a TL!

ggesq · March 2006

taxesquire,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into both places and let "my fingers do the walking."

On a different but related note, I ended up going to Regal Acura in Lakeland to get my spoiler installed. I was greeted almost immediately, individuals there were very professional and courteous and I ended up paying ten dollars less than what I was quoted over the phone.
It was a bit of a hike though from South Tampa. If you need an accessory installed, try them out. Hope this helps. Again, thanks for your helpful info.

goodegg · March 2006

I love the TL spoiler. I imagine its color coordinated. How much did you pay for the entire job?

glenn386 · March 2006

I posted a couple of weeks ago asking how the TL should handle snow. We finally got pelted with an 11" and a 6" snow fall this this week, and I was pleased with how the TL handled it. Others have told me that the Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires are just plain horrible in snow. I was lucky (blind luck) that my new TL came with Michelin MXM4's that are actually very snow worthy. I am sure it doesn't hold a candle to quattro, but it didn't expect it to.

The MXm4's should have a longer tread life (40-45K?) than the Turanza's 25K that others had gotten. I would like to know of the tread life others have gotten with the MXM4's.

The salesman told me that they have no say over what tires come on any car, but if you make a it condition of a sale to have the Michelins over the Bridgestones, I would guess that they would swap them out (rims and all) with a different car that they have in stock.

handling is great with the michelin's, but I don't run many slalom courses these days.

ggesq · March 2006

leadfoot6,

I bought the lip spoiler off of ebay for a grand total of $66.00. It was a genuine Honda spoiler with a Honda part #. It was painted already from the factory to match my car (Abyss). I got it installed for $50.00 making the grand total for parts and labor- $116.00. I believe I got a pretty good deal considering the dealer wanting about $350.00 part/labor when I purchased the car. Hope this info helps.
Do you have a spoiler on yours? If so, which one?

bartalk3 · March 2006

What tires you get with the TL is not a random thing. The TL with NAV comes with the Michelins; the TLs without NAV have the Bridgestones. Am I right?

goodegg · March 2006

I was looking at the wing spoiler, but I think I like the lip spoiler better. Less obvious.

Does the lip spoiler applied with adhesive only? It seems like you could install it yourself.

glenn386 · March 2006

My TL is non navi with michelins

if I got a rare bird, or if the dealer switched them out with a navi unit ...then I was just lucky.

You could be totally right about the mich/nav and bridgestone/non navi, It wouldn't be the first time a salesman told me something that wasn't right. I am just happy I have the michelins, what ever the reason.

thanks

ggesq · March 2006

Yes, it is applied with adhesive but you also have to drill two holes and there is a trunk support lever that also has to be placed on the inside of the trunk. If you were so inclined, I would imagine that you could install it yourself without much hassle.

jrourke · March 2006

I asked about the tires when I was looking at the dealer too. Salesman told me all TLs came with the Bridegstone EL42s, however they did offer a dealership upgrade that put Michelins on. I spot checked a couple of cars and they all had Bridgestones, but I neglected to note if they were nav or not since my interest is without nav.

jrourke · March 2006

Thoughts on if a good or bad idea to consider a remote start option since it's not a factory install? Local dealer contracts out to a company offering packages from $400 to $800 from a basic remote start to a combo alarm. Low end disables the car remote unlock and does something with embedding the valet key and using a new fob. Higher end packages are more sophisticated, but replace the factory fobs with the remote start ones which will unlock the doors.

I would like a remote start, but it seems pricey to get a decent system and I don't know how I feel about whatever electrical things they do to use the replacement fobs. Never had this in a car before so I suppose I wouldn't miss it.

Thanks

bodble2 · March 2006

I would stay away from anything aftermarket, especially low-end stuff. My guess is Honda should have their own remote-start accessory for the TL before too long, since they have one for the Civic already.

jrourke · March 2006

Fog lights on the TL are kind of strange being integrated up with the regular headlights. Doesn't look like they do this on the TSX & RL. I don't drive with my fogs on as a general rule, but use them a few times a year in real fog or heavy snow where they actually do make a difference which surprised me the first time I used them. I always assumed they were effective because they were low to the ground. SInce that's not the case in the TL, I was wondering if they were really functional as fog lights or just gave a cosmetic effect?

Thanks

crmann · March 2006

I have 700 miles and have been getting 15-16 mpg in suburban driving. Short highway trips, but no traffic jams. Has anyone else experienced anything close to this?

Older Acura TLs

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