revolutn

So last night driving home from the in-laws I noticed the Power Steering was making a noise, so I planed to phone the dealership and have that checked out today anyway...

Drove to work uneventful.

Parked went in, about 20 min later I realized I'd left my phone plugged into the charger on the center console, so back out I went....

Only to find this horrific Exxon Valdez scene!:


Swatch:


Off to the Hospital via Emergency Transport, was unwilling to risk driving it, even though it *probably* would have been O.K. Figured, why risk it.



Sad, but glad it will be addressed rather than having something happen while under driving conditions.

The silver lining is all the punch list 'we owe you' items that I pointed out while taking delivery and had written up will be taken care of while they have it as well, so....

Is what it is...sigh...I've heard that absence makes the heart grow founder but I only got to have her for 2 days really.

Rev

ssbusa

iTrader: (1)

Itll be worth the wait. Nothing serious happened it could be alot worse! Good luck!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to see that, but at least you've got it to the dealership OK.

AkumaMax

damn man that sucks. Doesn't look like a real major problem but still a nu-sense none the less. BTW didn't you get your car at carmax too? They have a 30 fix any damn thing warranty

mau108

I wonder if your car never had the power steering hose recall done to it.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

LOL. Never seen anyone spell it like that.

Looks like it might be the rack & pinion leaking. It's the only power steering system related item I can think of on the drivers side.

That might cost you a pretty penny. Let us know how it turns out!

BC2G

dont let them charge you too much for that power steering pump change. Retail price on OEM Acura TL is like $350 and labor is like 1 hour

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

good thing you got it towed. if enough power steering fluid leaks on the rear cat it will start a fire and turn to this:

truonghthe

yup good thing you got the car towed, BTW did the car ever got the recall done?

revolutn

You all get Quoted FTW

http://owners.acura.com/service-main...=Q73&l=English

Dealer hasn't phoned with Dx just yet, but I am confident at this moment that it problably IS power steering fluid, that it LIKELY is the steering hose recall, and no I am not certain if the recall was ever performed I took delivery on the car Friday and it went in yesterday, Monday, so I lived with it effectively only 2 days....the garage floor however had no leak spots, so it developed very suddenly.

The picture of the TL in flames is horrifying, thank goodness it didn't happen to me!

Meanwhile, I confess I don't know....is there any way for me to pull the recall history work on my vehicle or do I just have to have an Acura dealership do this for me?

Rev

imakeholesinu

The CarFax should tell you if it has an open recall, or if you have the VIN I think there is a site you can pump it into to see if it has been done.

To me though, it does look like coolant but it is under where the PS reservoir is.

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

I see you broccoli baby.

revolutn

I figured it out on the Acura Owners site.

It shows status as "fixed"

It is most definitely *not* coolant as in radiator AF/coolant

I always thought PS fluid was pinkish but read for Acura's it tends to be clear to amber, so that fits with what I dabbed on the swatch, plus it's viscosity and lack of distinctive odor.

Freaking missed the Dealership's call so they left a very generic VM with no real details! grrr
Just saying it won't be ready before tomorrow at this point.

Phone tag has begun. Wheeee!

Sbarbee54

My factory power steering fluid looked just like the paper you held up. I just changed it 3 weeks ago.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

That isn't a power steering hose recall problem...

The hose that gets replaced under the recall is located near the firewall on the PASSENGERS side of the vehicle.

The picture you posted of the leak appears to be coming from the DRIVERS SIDE.

If I could guess I would say it's the rack & pinion. Bellow might be ripped. That's my only explanation for power steering fluid to be leaking from the drivers side...

revolutn

Well the reservoir is on the opposite side of the engine bay that's for certain, so you may well be right, I was making an assumption based on the fluid type coinciding with the recall.

I'll know more once the dealer tells me what's what.

Rev

revolutn

vietxquangstah you called it.

Rack & Pinion not the PS fluid hose.

1 of the outstanding issues is the passenger side mirror motor, the delear didn't have that part, so it's been ordered, then of course it has to be painted to match and installed, so...eta for actually having it back is early next week...balls... oh well till then I have their car and mine should be in tip top.

Then I can start thinking about what upgrades / mods I want to make.

Right now I'm definitely going to do LED cabin lighting

Highly probable Weathertech Digital Fit rear floor mat

Thinking about the big 3 wiring project now

Considering HonData Flashpro
Considering A-Spec body kit

That'd probably be about it though not huge on the mod sceene....time and cashflow will tell.

Rev

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

honestly I would wait until you are fully bolted on with exhaust mods (pre cat deletes, jpipe, catback exhaust) before buying hondata.

Being bone stock and having hondata isn't going to do much for you

flyromeo3

smart move letting the ambulance take her away.
There's a video out there of someone taking their TL to a dealership ( not sure if it was a trade in or repairs ) but the car caught on fire right in the lot.


edit: paper boy posted an image of it.

revolutn

Wait...Hondata isn't for HP, it's for lowering the Vtech engagement RPM point and smoothing out the powerband across the entire RPM range, that's what everyone says...

So why do I need thousands of dollars in exhaust mods?

Rev

ds03

The mirror motor can be replaced without having to replace the entire unit. $30 or so and a little bit of labor. Hopefully they aren't charging you for that fix.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

It's when you spend money on performance parts that you will benefit most from Hondata FlashPro because the factory ECU can only compensate for so much.

It will help smoothen out the powerband when you have a full exhaust system and other supporting mods.

If your car is bone stock the ECU is already programmed pretty well for it. Spending $700 for FlashPro + another $100 or so to get it tuned is not going to give you final results that are worth spending almost $800 for..

revolutn

Good to know, appreciate the feedback.

I read a few (more) HFP threads to get some better understanding.


Mind if I ask you another total N00bish question.

I've been trying to understand / spot the visual difference(s) between Type-S "base" and Type-S ASPEC

I just can't seem to tell a 'stock' TYPE-S from an Type-S + ASPEC

I can see clear differences on the base TL vs base TL + ASPEC

I'm pretty confident that my TLTS is 100% stock which is to say NON ASPEC, correct?
Attachment 105688

Can you point me to a confirmed / knwn Type-S + Aspec

After over an hour of google images I'm still confused.

Rev

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Look closely at the front bumper in the 1st picture and rear bumper of the 2nd.

They both have the ASPEC lip kit installed.

Chad05TL

Oh thanks for calming his nerves paperboy.

michaelap95

My PS have been leaking for a few months. I guess its time to have it repaired....

tl-frank

Ohhh god I've noticed mine leaking a bit when I was doing the brakes and oil change yesterday ^^^^^

nokkieny

Thats not a cheap fix is it? I wonder how the previous owner was able to disguise the leak, it seems highly unlikely that it would develop a massive leak right after you bought the car.

nokkieny

Might I say: Class Action Lawsuit!

truonghthe

OP the reason its hard for you to tell from Aspec vs non Aspec because Type S feature aggressive side skirts, like Viet posted above all the side, front and rear can be purchase as individual or the whole kit to install on your vehicle. There is also A-spec 18in rims, suspension which lower your car about 1/2 in also there is steering wheel too to complete the package.

tl-frank

But mine is leaking from the power steering reservoir I believe it's cracked it's not a fast leak but it's noticeable when I take the cover off I can see it sitting around the frame

revolutn

Dealer called this morning said she was ready.

Went there ~11am only to find...

TWO of the issues she was in there for weren't *actually* corrected even though they did perform 'service' for them.

Issues were/are:

1) I identified several about 1/2 dozen in under 30 seconds) imperfections in the paint job they did on the Hood from the original 'crows' feet pre-purchase inspection. These appear to be pieces of dust or debris embedded into the fresh paint finish.

The dealers proposed solution was to wet sand and buff the hood, which they did.

But the blemishes looked no different today than they did when I identified them on the day of delivery.

2) The Drivers side Read Passenger Interior Door Panel, the leather was pulling away at the seem just in front of the interior door release handle.

They didn't fix that at all - not sure what they thought they did to mark it off as completed.

As a matter of course I just happened to be dealing directly with the Service Dept Manager since about 60% of the service staff was off today, so he had as many questions for me as I had for him because he wanted to understand why his staff had my car for 2 weeks while I have their loaner and couldn't adequately resolve the open items.

This was nice it meant I didn't have to ask / demand to speak to a supervisor or someone in charge / of authority or even really get mad or plead my case, he was all about finding out what it was that it would take to make me happy (and undoubtedly go away / leave them alone)

Manager actually got out a marker and circled the bumps, and helped me find several additional ones my at a glance inspection hadn't detected. And used tape to mark the area of the door leather that required re-attaching/tacking so there can't be any ambiguity about what I meant vs what's in the service systems description records.

Long n short of it is they still have my car, and I still have theirs.
Alas it's a lowly Hyundai Sonata - very uninspiring and pedestrian.

I could have taken my TL-S home for the weekend and brought it back on Monday morning, which admittedly was quite tempting, especially with a need to take two longer drives to visit family on both Saturday & Sunday...but I really didn't need the extra hassle on a Monday morning of stopping on my way into work plus the paperwork to get a new loaner vehicle signed out etc, so ....I just left it until they get it right.

Suffering withdrawal, but I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder n all that jazz right?

Rev

revolutn

None of this is costing me a penny by the way to answer your question.

I didn't ask them to replace the whole unit, but they chose to.

I priced them earlier on acura parts for less saw them listed at $265, the dept manager claimed they were $350 each....

He said so because there was a moment when I went to 'test' them that I thought they weren't working right, but it turned out they indeed are, which was a relief, one less thing.... his comment "They were $350 each, they certainly better be right..."

nokkieny

Why is there no cost to you did you buy at the dealer and they give some type of guarantee or they are just being nice?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Poor thing...that's a lot of headaches, man! I'm honestly very glad that I have been fortunate enough to address all my issues as they arise and not really get caught off guard.

tones160

And the side skirts as well xD...mine are still stock too...huge difference. It gives the bulky look.

revolutn

CarMax = 30 Day guarantee.

See the full story starts in a different thread but cliff notes ver is this:

I had this car transferred from an out of state store because it was the only MT TL-S I could find. AT's were plentiful but not MT's as well all know.

When it came in my local store identified several things that did not pass their own quality assurance, so they were addressing those things before I even took delivery.

One of those items was bad paint on the hood - so they painted it.
But when I showed up to take delivery I noted flaws in the paint job and had them write up a punch list of other things I wasn't satisfied with quality wise - they didn't push back on any of the items I had them list, either because they were being very nice, or because the whole transfer plus time to complete the original repairs they chose to do dragged out the process much longer than it should have taken....

It's this list of things that are being fixed at this time, and all of this is taking place under under their 30 day purchase protection guarantee.

I did in fact purchase the controversial Extended Service Plan Warranty, but that doesn't even come into play until day 31+

So far they've spent a small fortune.
The 2 mirrors alone according to the service dept mgr ='d $700
They have already painted the hood once, and chances are based on the finish being flawed, they will simply have to sand it and repaint a second time.

The rear window tint was all kinds of jacked up, so they had that window re-tinted it at my insistence - I played the safety card as the tint was bubbling and you actually did not have a 'clear' view through the back window using the Rview mirror, for instance you could not clearly read a license plate or sign etc.

They voluntarily replaced the front windshield before I even took delivery again because it didn't pass their internal quality check.

Makes one wonder how the hell it was up for sale already at a CM stor in TX, so either a sh!t load of bad stuff happened in transit from TX to IL....OR the TX store's standards for quality assurance are seriously substandard as compared to my local CM store!

The full list for the record was:
1) Side Mirrors jumping/clicking when doing that look down & in while going into reverse / back to home when in N or Fwd.

2) Smoke smell (I specifically asked about this before paying to have it transferred up a CM person at the remote store assured there was no odors)

3) Rear Window Tint bubbling

4) Front Passenger seat, very small 'tear' in the leather bucket portion

5) Leather on the Drivers side Rear Passengers door interior panel was pulling away at a seam.

6) Front headlight lenses were....I don't know what exactly....a little cloudy but actually looked like something petroleum had spilled on them not like that typical cloudy oxidation you see on some plastic lenses?

Then after I took delivery on a Friday, Monday morning the Power Steering sprung a leak and PSfluid was leaking, so I called them and had them tow it in (again no expense to me) as I was concerned to drive it.

Honestly if the PS fluid hadn't leaked I'd probably have gotten 'lazy' and been enjoying the car too much to make it much of a priority to get it back to them for all the other items, so this kind of forced me to not procastinate...so I guess everything happens for a reason.

I'm just hoping that in the end this isn't a never ending series of 'signs' that my owning this car is ill fated from the word go....

Rev

nokkieny

Thats crazy, I think carmax has a customer for life.