Bad Chariot

Hi All,

I have started looking at the 2005 RL, using tools like MSN, Edmonds, JD Powers, there seems to be no issues with the 2005. When I search "reliability" here there has been numerous mentions of the the 2005 being an issue.

What has been the experience of 2005 owners here. What exactly are the issues being reported. Are the issues enough of an issue that you would recommend that someone stays away from the 2005 even if it's a CPO one?

Lastly one of the things I am looking at is this a car that I can drive to 150k miles w/o no-minimal issues. Since I am looking used with < 40k miles, I plan on keeping the car for 4-5 years which I avg 19k miles a year barring a job change.

Thanks for the help in advance
Mike

drolds72

What I found, was that the original owner took care of any and all problems in my 05, and in the 14k miles that I have put on mine, I have had no serious issues. That being said, I would not have considered this car without the CPO and the Factory extended warranty. Very expensive parts all around, and it is the first new model year of it. If you have one in the crosshairs, try to figure out who the selling dealer was. Call them with the VIN, and see if it was serviced there. The dealer I asked this of was more than happy to print out and mail me the complete records, so I knew exactly what I was dealing with.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

Actually those studies you mentioned were not very nice to the 05 model year RL. Not stellar by any means.
If your going to get an RL, get the newest your can afford and with a good B2B warranty. 05s had many issues with them straight from the factory.

rlerman

I think most of the 05 issues have been ironed out through recalls/TSB's. As long as you have an extended warranty on the vehicle, you'll be fine. I haven't seen much on these boards about people having problems above 100k miles; virtually all seem to be on the lower mileage cars. I paid an extra $900 for an Acura 7 yr/100k mile b2b warranty, which is much smaller than the price difference between an 06 and an 05 rl. My 05 had 43k miles on it when I bought it last spring.

One thing I found when I was looking at the RLs is that they are virtually spotless inside and out, owners appear to be taking care of the cars, at least the one's being sold CPO by Acura dealers.

Bad Chariot

Thanks folks. I would have to agree with the poster that any of the issues would have been ironed out before.

Since I could not find what the actual issues are in my search could you guys shed some light on them?

As for the dealer, we are currently leasing a 2006 MDX that we got at Acura of Peabody (MA), our sales rep was awesome and I will be giving him 1st crack at getting me a new -used car when the lease is up in May 09. I may even approach him sooner about getting out of the lease early if the $$ #'s are there.

Blazing GT

I have a 2005 and had no real issues
except for the rear sunshade that got fixed. But nothing serious.

rlerman

there's a myriad of issues, but the biggest one seems to be the AC going out. A TSB suggests it's a field coil and not the compressor. Some have had issues with the door handles. search the boards and you'll find some others, nothing major IMO.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

There is a good thread here that discussed the issues. Several TSBs are out there.
But to name a few
A/C will go it, not if.
Trans shifting, noise.
Power steering line
Mirrors
Audio system issues (XM, etc)
Flickering lights, electrical.
Door handle leather seperating
Premature seat leather wear.

A few others out there. Owner care would also factor into the equation with a few of these

larrynimmo

the sad thing is both the AC compressor and the door handles are very expensive repairs.

The AC compressor change out is like 1.5k and the door handles are 500 a pop.

I think timing belt & water pump is 105,000 and cost 1k if done by a dealer.

Tires and brake rotors are very pricey.

While failures dealing with the AWD have been minimal, the carbon fibre drive shaft and bearing failures is worth mentioning (2k)

All things considered, I love this car and wouldn't pick any other car over it (unless someone else kicked in 20k to pay for an upscale model that i don't think is worth paying)

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

I agree, every single car I have owned (Lexus's inc) have their issues. The 05 RL has more than it's share, but it a great car once past them. I enjoy my RL immensely.

highlymotivated

Just got my 05 RL last month (Nov.) with 27,000 miles on it. Had an issue with the window switch on the drivers side and the windshield solvent pump. Both were covered under the orig. manufacturers warranty (4 years/40,000 miles). I would have had those issues fixed before I drove off with the car but was too excited to even notice them.

I would make it a point to ask the dealer if any and all recalls on the car had been taken care of so that you don't have to bring it back in for repairs. Ideally, and like others have suggested, you'll want to get an RL, especially an 05, that's still under warranty. Just in case.

Gabe15

iTrader: (1)

I got my 05 in May and I have to admit Ive had a few issues. The only out of pocket though was $100 for the 60,000 mile transmission service and $12 for new wiper refills. Things replaced under warranty are the AC field coil in August, the passenger side headlight assembly in June, and an update to the ECU which eliminated a growling noise before transmission upshifts. Oh and I do have the noisy center support bearing on the drive shaft. It is annoying but goes away after 5 minutes or so of driving. It drives me crazy that you have to buy the whole drive shaft when just the bearing is at fault. Car is out of warranty now so this and anything new will be on me.

If you are looking for a luxury sports sedan at a fair price then this is your car. If I had to do it all over again I would still get an RL but would probably look at an 06 or newer.

CelestialRL05

Gabe15-- quick question about your 60K transmission service-- was it just a drain and refill at the dealer? or was there more done during the service visit?