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Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

5648 messages,  Last post on Dec 19, 2012 at 2:45 PM

You are in the Acura TL Forum.

What is this discussion about? Acura TL, Electrical, Engine, Sedan

Messages Page 528 of 566

#5266 of 5648 Air conditioner didnt work, then randomly did for 20 min yesterday. Why? by clubhabel

May 30, 2009 (3:17 pm)

My 1996 Acura TL Air Conditioner didnt work, freon was full, and I was driving with the fan on when all of a sudden, cold air came out. The clutch on the compressor engaged when I ran a hot wire from the battery to it and the A/C worked perfect. I gotta have some electrical issue, but what? Someone said a relay maybe but what is it and where do I find it? The fuses look good. Also, I have about 5 lights lit up on my dash including the SRS, TCS, Brake, Check engine, and one other. The brake and TCS light go on and off at random. Any ideas why?

#5267 of 5648 Re: Air conditioner didnt work, then randomly did for 20 min yesterday. Why? [clubhabel] by clubhabel

May 31, 2009 (1:46 pm)

Replying to: clubhabel (May 30, 2009 3:17 pm)
I've reset all of my lights, except for the check engine light. Any ideas on how to reset it?
 
My a/c still doesnt work. I think the relays are attached to the drivers side of the radiator and I do see about 5 plugs/relays(?), but which is the compressor clutch?

#5268 of 5648 Re: Air conditioner didnt work, then randomly did for 20 min yesterday. Why? [clubhabel] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

May 31, 2009 (1:49 pm)

Replying to: clubhabel (May 30, 2009 3:17 pm)
I'd have your alternator LOAD tested before I did anything else.
 
I think your AC system has a by-pass pressure switch which will shut the compressor down if it senses that you are too low on refrigerant. So I'd check your refrig level before tearing into anything else.

#5269 of 5648 Best Battery Story Yet (Long) by pkwykid1

Jun 03, 2009 (8:54 am)

Picked up '09 TL SH/AWD w/Tech last Thursday evening. Hated to give up my '01 A6 2.7T with all the sport options but was approaching 100k and 8 1/2 years - spent $1600 on new tires and 100k service. Came back from a 600 mile college grad weekend to find that my 4 camshaft seals were starting to leak oil- estimate another $2600 (with new front brakes and rotors as well) because entire engine had to be disassembled over a 16 hour job. So I'd be $4100 into a car worth maybe $6k and it's still be 8 1/2 years old with 100k.
 
Anyway, we promptly broke in the TL by taking it up to Boston last weekend for a wedding. Very happy with car and performance although even though I'm a certifiable car nut, I found Tech pkge and instrumentation and driver choice settings to be somewhat daunting, but pretty much got everything just right.
 
The car's a beautiful Grigio/Umber combo that's adds a little conservative touch to the Transformer meets the Cylon look. Anyway, here's the good part. I leave the house at 7:45 AM yesterday and the car is COMPLETELY DEAD as in D-E-D dead!
 
Roadside service called and here in 25 minutes, called dealership who said "bring it in immediately" will give you a loaner and DON"T TURN IT OFF!
 
Diagnosis - Bad battery (411 miles) and I'm thinking, there's too much shizz connected to this thing, I hope they have a big honking amperage output with the new one. I'm usually used to replacing a battery every 4 years or so on all my cars - but after 411 miles? Things that make you go Ummmmhhh!
 
The really good news out of this was the speed of roadside service, the excellent service received from Acura of Westchester ( last purchase there was an '86 Legend) and most importantly, all the settings including Homelink and Bluetooth were preserved

#5271 of 5648 General TL Maintenance Questions... by slskogen

Jun 10, 2009 (9:18 am)

Looking to purchase a TL later this year--previously owned/certified. I have some general questions and am hoping that some of you might be able to answer them...
 
What's it cost for an oil change? Do you use synthetic or regular?
 
What's your average mpg-- city/hwy?
 
Regular or Supreme gas? If Supreme, why?
 
Thanks in advance!
 
SS

#5272 of 5648 Re: General TL Maintenance Questions... [slskogen] by camon

Jun 11, 2009 (7:44 am)

Replying to: slskogen (Jun 10, 2009 9:18 am)
1. OIL CHANGE
I do it myself using Mobile 1 synthetic. Costs about $35 including filter. I don't know what a dealer charges, but with synthetic it's going to be above that, maybe around $60? (just a guess).
 
2. MILEAGE.
Pure interstate highway I get around 28mpg.
Pure city I get around 22 mpg
Average combined for me 24-25 mpg
 
3. SUPREME GAS.
Yes, it's required by Acura since it's a high performance engine. While you can put in regular in a emergency, Acura does not recommend it for continuous driving.
Other owners may use a lesser grade and they can give you their experience.
 
4. OTHER
I'd search this forum for a dead battery/starting problem if I were you, especially if you get a TL with a navigation system.
 
Hope this helps.

#5273 of 5648 Re: General TL Maintenance Questions... [camon] by bodble2

Jun 11, 2009 (4:51 pm)

Replying to: camon (Jun 11, 2009 7:44 am)
You get 22mpg (and those are US gallons too) in pure city? Wow! Lucky guy. You must live in a pretty wide-open city. For me, in pure, stop and go city driving, I'd be lucky to get 18 mpg with Imperial gallons, which translates to approx. 14.5 mpg with US gallons.

#5274 of 5648 Re: General TL Maintenance Questions... [bodble2] by camon

Jun 12, 2009 (6:00 am)

Replying to: bodble2 (Jun 11, 2009 4:51 pm)
To get those few miles per gallon I assume you must:
be driving in a fairly cold climate, not use synthetic oil, use the power of you engine to its fullest (can't argue with that) and have Michelin tires.
 
In the winter my mileage can drop substantially. Also, I noticed that switching from Bridgestone tires to Michelin dropped my mpg by 2-3 mpg with Michelin!!
 
On one particularly long all-interstate highway trip with absolutely no traffic, I actually hit 30mph on a nice warm summer's day with very low humidity. My friend with an 08 Acura gets in the low 20's combined.

#5275 of 5648 Re: General TL Maintenance Questions... [camon] by bodble2

Jun 12, 2009 (2:11 pm)

Replying to: camon (Jun 12, 2009 6:00 am)
Well, it is a colder, wetter climate, but we're not talking Arctic!
 
My tires are Turanzas, I don't use synthetic. I think what contributes to my low mpg is that my commutes are very short (5 miles or less), with lots of stop and go.
 
On the highway it is a different story. I can easily get 32+ mpg on the highway. So I've concluded that the TL is just a gas hog in the city.

Messages Page 528 of 566

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