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Sedans Acura TL Acura TL 2009 -
1532 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 11:05 AM
You are in the Acura TL Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: dvsutton (Oct 20, 2008 11:04 pm) 
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Replying to: gundersen (Oct 21, 2008 3:02 pm) |
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My personal experience with the TL is hot and cold. I have had my '06 TL for almost 3 years now, and it has had zero mechanical problems through 50K miles. I have had the routine maintenance performed, put new tires on at 40K, and paid for gas. That's it. There are significant positives - looks nice, great highway mileage (usually 30-32 MPG), very comfortable, good size for me (6'2 185, with a wife and 2 little girls). However, there are significant negatives, too, which I hope the '09 TL will address. 1. bad understeer and plowing into corners 2. torque steer 3. wheel spin with even moderate acceleration from a stop 4. squealing wheels any time a corner is driven anything but lightly 5. about the slowest car in its class Most of these problems will hopefully be addressed by the stronger engine and SH-AWD system. I don't race my car, but sometimes I like to hit the back roads a little harder when I'm driving by myself. If the '09 TL can fix these problems and retain the parts of the previous generation that I like (mileage, comfort), I may have a good choice here. I also really like all the tech stuff Acura has added to the mix. Although it's not my favorite, I don't mind the styling, and it would be kind of cool to have a car no one else has and most people haven't even seen yet. The increased size is fine with me as long as the handling characteristics aren't lost. The interior is first-rate, truly outstanding. I'm also strongly considering the new G37x sedan (when it arrives) - this is probably the frontrunner right now. I'd love to get an IS-F or CTS-V, but I need the AWD (or at least FWD). The IS250 has a joke for a powertrain, and the CTS AWD isn't what I'm looking for. Plus, do they all have a wood-accented steering wheel? I thought I'd like the Maxima, but it seems like the sucker's version of the G sedan. I drove an MKS - maybe when I'm 50. The 335xi is a real winner, except I can't stand the plain jane interior. It seems a little arrogant to ignore interior asthetics and ergonomics, plus it seems everyone and their mother-in-law has a BMW these days. What else is there? Mercedes doesn't have anything I'd like - maybe if they put an AWD setup in their AMG's. I haven't looked at Saab or Volvo much, but I'm skeptical about their lineups. The XF is cool, but also only RWD. What about Audi S4 - it's not bad, but isn't there a new model for '10? And with a smaller engine now? How about the 300C AWD - I haven't researched that much. GS350 AWD - again with the wood steering wheel? That might seem like a trivial point, but it's really a deal-breaker for me - those are cold and slick in the winter, and I don't like to drive with gloves on. The last 2 cars I've bought were the TL and the '03 G35 (back when I could live with RWD). It looks like those are the top 2 choices again.
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Replying to: fornov (Oct 21, 2008 6:57 pm) |
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Replying to: kennyg8 (Oct 21, 2008 5:12 pm) SAY WHAT? I would love for you to come into the waiting room I am currently sitting in. As I write this on my lap top in a uncomfortable chair in the Honda dealership in northern California, surrounded by thirty or more "customers, seven who are in their for transmission problems on Odysseys, Pilots, MDX's, and Ridgelines like me. Tell them that the quality on Honda products are better than the most. I did a quick survey of how many of us are going to buy another Honda/Acura product. The results were 3 out of about 27 would buy another. One persons brother was a salesman here. So I didn't count him. We all want to know why we are paying extra for garbage Honda's? |
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Replying to: laurasdada (Oct 21, 2008 8:59 am) ^^ X2 to that...you know, Subaru did change the design of their homely shnoz on the B9 Tribeca only after 1 or 2 MY because of customer complaints. Maybe if enough people complained we could get a reversal.  Or better yet, why don't some of the more creative folks (of which I am not) on this forum sketch some ideas?
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Replying to: upstatedoc (Oct 22, 2008 7:57 am) I would count on that happening anytime soon. Honda is notoriously stubborn, or slow to react, or both. They haven't changed the equally controversial front end on the CR-V, and it took them, what, 3 years, to change the ugly rear end on the last generation Accord sedan! 
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Replying to: dvsutton (Oct 22, 2008 6:43 am) I think you've worn out your anti-Honda/Acura bantor - and potentially your credibility in the process. Over the course of your last dozen posts, about half of them contained a "As I write this on my lap top in a uncomfortable chair in the Honda dealership"... It's not my place to question the claim of having had two transmission failures in 18k miles. Nor all of the other problems you listed. Or even question your poll-taking skills with "30 or more" customers in the service waiting room. Rather here's what I would suggest to ease your pain: (1) Have your wife get her own vehicle serviced and repaired and let her sit in the uncomfortable waiting room chair herself. Maybe she did absolutely nothing wrong in the way she drove the Odyssey to cause the failures, but in the slim chance she did, it might help her connect the dots. Worked well for a buddy of mine who's wife had been going through a set of BMW brakes and rotors with every other tank of gas. (2) Buy manual transmissions, whenever possible. That's my standard policy / recommendation in all of these forums, but it seems particularly appropriate for someone with your (wife's) luck. (3) Go ahead and get that Ford that you were praising in another forum as "much better looking than the goofy styled Honda and Toyota". I'm sure you will have much less trouble with a Ford than a Honda or Toyota. But just in case, be prepared to sit on the floor of a Ford service lounge when the bankruptcy court repossesses their Barcoloungers to pay off creditors. (4) Bring those other 27 out of 30 disgruntled Honda customers with you over to Ford. That should get you an immediate appointment as senior vice president of marketing. Please, don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting Honda/Acura is perfect by any means. Good to very good, but definitely not perfect. On the other hand, it seems to me that either you work for Ford or have been so severely mistreated, that you have lost your rational thinking skills. I can't fathom how you've managed to post 5-6 times on different days from the Honda service lounge. Our Acura dealer provides loaners for all service apporintments. My former Honda dealer, upon a $10 convertible latch breaking a second time in the first month, sent their technician 20 miles to my house to install the replacement in my garage. Followed by a call from their national customer service rep to apologize for my inconvenience. Try getting that out of Ford. Let us know how you make out with the Fiesta or whatever non-goofy car you were considering.
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Replying to: fornov (Oct 21, 2008 6:57 pm) 1. bad understeer and plowing into corners 2. torque steer 3. wheel spin with even moderate acceleration from a stop 4. squealing wheels any time a corner is driven anything but lightly 5. about the slowest car in its class The new TL-SHAWD should partly take care of some of your issues, but it is going to come at the expense of a nearly 4,000 lb car, which, even with the boosted output, is unlikely to anywhere near as quick as a lighter 335ix and will probably knock 15-20% off your current gas mileage. It seems like you have the conflict of "needing" FWD or AWD with the desire to have a car that performs like a 50/50 balanced RWD. If it's any consolation, I can sympathize. But given that you indicated that you would have been interested in an AWD AMG car, I would also suggest the 535ix. It's a little more upscale than the 335i and, from what a neighbor who owns one has indicated, is nearly a perfect compromise for all weather, sporty handling and passenger size. They live near us in DC, but have a winter ski house in the Pocono's and the 535ix handlied the snow very well. He previously leased an RL and claims that the 535ix handles and performs much better (described the RL as sluggish). He also did the unconventional thing and got a 6-speed manual. His wife gave him a little grief in the beginning, suggesting they had "outgrown" a manual transmission; but now she drives the car more than him.
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Replying to: habitat1 (Oct 22, 2008 10:34 am) That's a good suggestion about the 535ix (is that new nomenclature? I thought it used to be ...xi) - I did drive one a few months ago, and I liked it quite a bit. I guess I'll need to think about that one more. I do worry about making the TL so heavy. From what I've seen, it will still be significantly faster than the current (non-type-S) TL. The AWD system sounds very good. I'd only list mileage as a secondary concern because the marginal cost of the extra gas is only a drop in the bucket compared to the marginal cost of the vehicles themselves. It does make you feel better to drive a more fuel-efficient car, though. Perhaps I'll look at a Tesla next time...
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