I just bought a '99 RL with 82,800 miles. I absolutely love the car, especially the ride, comfort and smoothness of the car overall. I changed the antifreeze, oil, and the pcv valve last night (pcv was plugged). I found a dead mouse and chewed up sound deadener on the intake manifold when I removed the cover. My tachometer and some dash lights don't work. However, after reading some of the threads on removing the instrument cluster, I think I will live with the problems. The previous owner had a dash light failure and had the cluster circuit board replaced. She said it was a very expenisve repair at the Acura dealer. Sorry for rambling - I do have a few questions.

Is the 3.5 in my 99 RL a VTEC?
Do the timing belts really need replaced at 84 months as the manual says or is mileage the only thing to worry about?
What are the known common problems of these 99 - 04 RLs?
How are the trannys in these cars? My 98 V6 Accord tranny had problems.
Are most people really waiting until 90,000 to change the tranny fluid as the manual recommends?
My engine is a grimey mess. How are you guys cleaning the engine without damaging the electronics, etc?

 

Welcome to club--the RL is a great ride! I'll answer a few of your questions...

VTEC: your V6 is not VTEC. This engine is largely based on the 3.2 from the Legend and did not get this technology.

Timing belt: you really don't wanna mess with the timing belt--I'd say get it replaced.

Tranny: our trannys are great; I don't think you'll experience the nightmares that we've all heard of from the G2 TLs.

Engine bay: I simply shower down my engine bay on occasion (not using too strong of spray). Wouldn't recommend using much in the form of soaps or chemicals other than those made specifically for cleaning out the compartment. In summary, just be careful when cleaning.

Hope this helps a bit. Enjoy the RL and be sure to post some pictures! What color combo is it? Do you have the Nav? Where'd you find the car (it's got low miles)?

 

Thanks for the info SPUDMTN. My car is the gold color, not sure of the official color name. It does not have NAV. Paint has a few scratches and dings - it is not a perfect car, but I paid less for the car because of the flaws. My neighbor was selling the car and I couldn't pass it up after I drove it.

I'm not allowed to post attachments. Not sure how to post photos, but I have some.

 

Does anyone know of a good website to buy OEM Acura discounted parts?

I need a set of 4 splash guards.

 

www.hondapartsunlimited.com seems to provide for some decent discounts.
Here's the direct link where the splash guards are located.

www.hondacuraworld.com is another website. For the splash guards, they appear to have the better price (appears they have free shipping--don't know about tax, however). Direct link can be found here.

For posting pics, head on over to this thread to post pictures. Upload your photos to Photobucket and then use the "Insert Image" button on the message toolbar.

Hope this helps.