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Acura TL 1999-2003

84 messages,  Last post on Nov 13, 2009 at 6:34 AM

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#37 of 84 Re: 1999-2003 TLs [hpmctorque] by digs5446 Jan 16, 2009 (2:45 pm)
Replying to: hpmctorque (Feb 01, 2008 6:04 am) My wife has an '02 TL-S w/ about 73K on it. Overall great car, although seems like certain parts suffer quicker wear and tear sooner than one would think. Had to get the front lower ball joints replaced at 57K and the engine motor mount shortly after. One of my fog lights is shattered and I have no idea how or when that happened. Service quoted me $275 to replace that so I said no thanks since I rarely used them anyway.   Our TL-S was included in the '00-'03 extended transmission warranty, and we did need it replaced. My wife must have misplaced or forgotten about the Oct 2002 letter Honda supposedly mailed out regarding the issue, and luckily our service dept diagnosed it Jan '08, a mere five months before the extension (7-years) expired! They put in a current model, "state of the art" tranny, which took a couple days and would have cost at least $3,000 according to the service rep. We knew there had been a problem because the car would have a delay in going from 1st to 2nd gear and would all of a sudden kick into gear...just felt like it was "slipping" too much. We brought it in and sure enough that was it. Car felt like new after they replaced it, much smoother and more responsive pickup.   Our last major recommended maint was at 60,000 (our dealer does the major ones at 30K intervals), and we needed the engine motor mount, cabin air filter, transmission fluid flush, and timing belt. Whole thing came to $2,000. I do feel like the car is better off after they find and fix all that stuff at the major services, but MAN it can hit your wallet hard.   Suffice it to say, it feels like it could last for another 100K at least. the OEM tires were shot at 39K. Can't recall what they were but definitely a high performance summer tire with awful winter traction that ran ~$230 a pop. Replaced them at NTB w/ Sigma Regent tourings, much cheaper all seasons that are better in snow but have a much less comfortable ride than the OEMs we replaced. My rims are pretty banged up from a couple curb jobs my wife had...it's causing slow leaks from a couple of my tires so I have to constantly take my compressor out to the driveway and fill er back up. Anyone know how much the OEM rims cost? Replies to this message: grasshopper3 (Mar 20, 2009 12:22 pm) shiva70 (Mar 20, 2009 1:19 pm) hpmctorque (Mar 21, 2009 5:14 am) and 1 more...
#38 of 84 #37 of 37 Re: 1999-2003 TLs (digs5446) by hpmctorque Jan 21, 2009 (3:48 am)
Sorry your car needed the repairs you listed, but none of those repairs, except for the ball joints, is unusual for the TL. We had to have the motor mounts on my wife's '99 TL changed at about 98,000 miles, so based on our experience, those on you wife's TL failed prematurely. From what I learned, motor mounts are a week spot on TLs of '99-'03 TLs.   "...our dealer does the major ones at 30K intervals..."   I think your dealer is recommending service intervals that are shorter than necessary, mainly for his benefit, not the customers'. Our Acura dealer does the same thing. I'd follow the maintenance schedule in the owners manual, which is the one recommended by Acura, and I'd tell your dealer that this is what you want to do.   Don't believe what the dealer service people may say about a shorter maintenance schedule being better for your car. Of course, more frequent maintenance can't hurt your car, and may be slightly better, in certain cases, but it's not sufficiently better to justify the additional cost, let alone the time and trouble of taking your car to the dealer more often. Shorter maintenance schedules benefit the dealer primarily. Replies to this message: kcall2 (Jan 23, 2009 7:30 am)
#39 of 84 Re: #37 of 37 Re: 1999-2003 TLs (digs5446) [hpmctorque] by kcall2 Jan 23, 2009 (7:30 am)
Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 21, 2009 3:48 am) Most of the repairs/replacements ie cabin air filter, transmission fluid flush and replacement, are just routine maintenance items. Who would drive with a dirty cabin air filter? The lower ball joint replacement is also somewhat common, as is the motor mount replacement. I recently went over my service invoices, and found that the front motor mount had been replaced at the 60K major service, along with timing belt and all the rest. Believe the motor mount problem is that Acura uses silicone goo-filled mounts to isolate engine vibration, and if the rubber bladder develops a leak, the result is vibration and harshness from the engine. Have 82K miles on my '01 sedan, and so far no hint of transmission problems. Knock on wood, my extended warranty is now expired. Is that what they call self-insured?
#40 of 84 Re: 1999-2003 TLs (digs5446) [hpmctorque] (kcall2) by hpmctorque Jan 23, 2009 (8:33 am)
The owners manual calls for replacing the timing belt at 105,000, so the earlier replacement is more for the dealer's benefit than yours, if you should sell your car before that rather expensive scheduled maintenance is required. In the event you should reach 120,000 or 180,000 miles before you replace your car, you will have replaced your timing belt (and probably the water pump too) 2 or 3 times, respectively, instead of only once.   I believe in proper maintenance, and maintain our cars very regularly, but maintenance schedules that are overly short are a waste of money.
#41 of 84 sup by zin0 Jan 23, 2009 (11:26 pm)
Sup people, i just bought a 2003 acura tl 3.2 pearl white clean clean for $10500 couple days after christmas. rides good with 68.000 miles. But i have been reading forums and hearing about problems with the transmission on these cars. i'm calling acura tommorrow to find out if anythings been done to this car. the only thing it really does on me is when i have it in park or reverse and put it into drive it hesitates about 2 to 3 seconds before going into gear. but people tell me thats normal? and i dont think the tranny slips but i dont know much about cars. it seems to ride alright. should i worry about this car. because it sounds to me like i just bought myself a nightmare.. very depressing.
#42 of 84 sup (zin0) by hpmctorque Jan 24, 2009 (1:06 pm)
Relax, it seems to me you bought yourself a nice car, not a nightmare. Let us know what the Acura dealer says.   Let's assume the worst, and the transmission fails. Acura has extended the warranty on the transmissions on the 2000 - 2003 model years to 100,000 miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. Therefore, the bottom line is that your car is still covered and will be for a while longer. Unless you put on a lot of miles, the 7 years will expire before the mileage.   So, enjoy your nice Tl and stop worrying.   By the way, zin0, what does "sup" mean?
#43 of 84 sup sup by zin0 Jan 24, 2009 (1:50 pm)
bad news.. I called the acura dealer and my VIN does have "any" kind of warrenty. and i just dropped all this money on this car, i just found all this out, and now i'm really worried, because i didn't get a warrenty off the dealer i purchased the car off. i just wanted a ncie car and it is turning into a nightmare. i'm scared the tranny is gonna go on me.. and im gonna be screwed. and btw sup is a short way of saying "whats up" lol Replies to this message: ohheck (Mar 29, 2009 1:31 pm)
#44 of 84 sup sup sup by zin0 Jan 25, 2009 (7:29 pm)
they say VIN numbers 19000 and below were the ones infected. my last 5 numbers are 70000 something, so maybe ill luck out. and more of the acura TL S type were infected too. that's prolly why i dont have factory warranty because of my VIN number./..
#45 of 84 sup sup (zin0) by hpmctorque Jan 25, 2009 (8:31 pm)
From what I know, the majority of 2000-2003 TLs DON'T have premature transmission failures. Now, that leaves a minority, and maybe it's a significant minority, who do experience failures, but from a probability standpoint you probably wont have a problem. Make sure you keep up with maintenance and avoid aggressive driving, and your car will probably provide you with great service and satisfaction.   Assuming the dealer is correct, is it possible that your car is not covered because it is not one of the failure prone ones? I'd get a second opinion from a another dealer, without mentioning a thing about the first dealer.   By the way, what kind of car and model year did you trade in for your TL?
#46 of 84 sup by zin0 Jan 26, 2009 (10:16 am)
I didn't trade anything in i bought this car straight up cash.. and im on my way to get a warranty off the dealer where i purchased the car right now.

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