BlacknWhite23

Besides getting the receipt, is there any way to tell if a t-belt, water pump and the like has been done on a car. I have found a car, I may want to purchase, 4 hours away, the dealer has no idea if the t-belt has been done. Before I make the trek, anyone know the answer??

Mike

BTW, it is an 04 RL w/ Navi......Carbon Gray Pearl.....my favorite.....

pdbailey

Options include: it is on the carfax (mine was), or you could essentially replace it and check...

pdbailey

My RL intermittently does the following: groan once for about 5 seconds, often within 10 seconds of starting up but sometimes as much as a minute after startup. Never groans otherwise. The sound appears to be coming from under the hood. No change in anything other than the sound that I can tell. Maybe the wheel feels odd, but it might just be my imagination and the fact that it sounds a bit like a awful tire rub going on. This hasn't happened to me for months and it happened today.

Any ideas?

Ken1997TL

You'll need to have a mechanic look at the belts. They can tell if they're relatively fresh or not and look for cracks or frays. It's not an immediate concern since it's an '04, I assume the miles arent too high.

BlacknWhite23

149251 miles on the 04. I wonder how much a mechanic would charge me to check it...

vas25tl

Me too I've had 2 2.5 tl's and have an 02 RL. You will find some similarities between the two cars.

Fabvsix

Find a clean 2004 RL as they are the BEST of the 8 year production run....CR gives it the BEST ratings too....

vas25tl

I've had it happen twice in the last year, probably 10 months apart. Its a real loud noise and feels like its coming from under the steering wheel. It just happened again a couple weeks ago, I have no clue what it is, maybe something with power steering?

Ken1997TL

Almost sounds like the ABS pump. They're really loud in the 1st gen TL and Legends.

Usually does a self-check after 3 or 5 mph is reached.

pdbailey

For awhile there it was happening so often and reliably a few seconds after the car started that I would just idle the car 10 seconds, let it make the noise and then take off. Right when I decided it was reliable enough to take to the mechanic... it went away.

I think it might be something with dew or the temperature/humidity in Fall/Spring.

pdbailey

So I went and sat in a new Accord EX-L V6 after hearing someone say it was basically an RL.

I was quite surprised by how tinny it feels. The steering wheel, the doors, the leather, weren't even close to the RLs. I recently got a loaner TSX and so I know the center console controls are just more tinny across in both product lines, but I thought the TSX was otherwise similar to the 1G RL in terms of build quality.

Have others had this experience with Hondas?

Ken1997TL

The sheet metal and sound insulation is much thinner than any RL out there. There simply is no comparison between the two in this regard. The Accord has many things going for it, it offers safety and features that are quite commendable for its price. But it IS engineered for a price point. Sacrifices have to be made to reach that. Lesser quality plastics, cheaper leather, thinner carpeting will be used in a cheaper car. There is no way to get around that. Sure it has newer airbags, USB connection for the stereo and many other new features but thats technological progress for you.

There is a reason why 1st gen RL's weigh up to 3900 pounds... You pay for more metal, more glass, better materials

DRS_RL2004

I agree with the 1G build quality and the reason the car weighs what it does and (gets the mileage it does). After having accords, civics, etc., I want the comfort and quality of the RL and will pay-to-play for cost of gas for one of the cars in the family.

Fabvsix

another reason the 2nd gen RL has NOT sold well.....looks like a Honda Accord on Steroids.....cheaper made too when compared to my 2004 RL....I'll keep my heavy solid reliable 2004 RL minus all those fancy gadgets that I really don't need while cruzing in my RL.....That's what I have the 2007 MDX for.....and yes its quality is LESS too.....

Ken1997TL

It's a pity the 1st generation RL didn't come with a 5 speed automatic with 2 over drive gears. It could easily get close to 30 mpg if the RPM's were lowered. It certainly has the torque for it!

OLD_HATCH

agree completely.

6 speed legend tranny would be interesting.

Ken1997TL

Yes it would. A couple of the Legend guys have our engine with some head modifications and the six speed manual. Granted their cars are over 250+ pounds lighter but they still get 30 mpg on long highway trips.

Fabvsix

Our RL was targeted for 55+++++ age folks who didn't care about gas mileage, reverse navi camera, 5+ speed transmissions etc....they were old folks with dough who wanted a comfy car but didn't want to drop $60K on a lexus LS 400 with a V8 that was the same size in fact an inch smaller and not that faster... that's what we got......one heavy luxo car with decent power and smooth shifting......

pdbailey

I have to imagine the only reason for the 4 speed is that they got lazy and didn't want to design a 5 speed--it would have been smoother and more fuel efficient, but perhaps more finicky. I called a dealer before I bought an RL and asked for the cost of a rebuild on the RL transmission and they said, "if it is rough, just change the ATF, I've only seen one rebuild on an RL, and it was a very special case."

Fabvsix

I too have seldom seen or heard of the RL tranny failing thus needing re-building....THEY ARE BULLET PROOF VEHICLES ESP. THE 2004 MODEL. What do you expect for a 8 year production run vehicle that was ONLY improved to BULLET PROOF STAGE by 2004 minus the rear window regulators that Acura ignored.......???

R_R4

I wish our gen RL came with a woodgrain steering wheel as an option........ like the Lexus LS of the time.


Does anyone have one on theirs (aftermarket)?

It would make the interior that much better.

Heck, even the 2000 Lexus ES300 (entry level model at the time) had a woodgrain wheel as an option on the top package.

Fabvsix

Acura was keeping the cost down so they sold at sticker price of $47.xxx.xx as was the price of mine....but I waited till those 05 were on the truck thus making them discount them for a first time in company history....47,848.00 minus $8K (wow), minus trade in of my 01 Acura CL Type S -$14,000.00, - $8K cash...financed $19,xxx.xx paid off in 6 months....drove out of there like I stole it cause I did.....laughed all the way home.... They made NO money on this sale.....

pdbailey

Went to have my state inspection today and you can't have any warning lights on (reset the maintenance required light on the way in) and as I'm pulling out after passing the inspection the side airbag light illuminates for the second time since I purchased the car. Thank you car for waiting the additional 10 seconds to do that!

Does anybody know if this is a real problem? It has been raining here for about a week and is 60 degrees, so if humidity can mess up some electronics, they will get messed up today.

Fabvsix

Most likely an actuator....these are known parts to fail ...about $368.00 for the part....

pdbailey

I wasn't clear. The light went off again after about a minute without me restarting the car. The last time it went on was about a year ago, a few minutes after I started it and didn't go off for quite awhile (20 minutes? Until I restarted?).

If it keeps going back off again, the dealer couldn't even read the codes, right?

kid spartan

I get this thing on occasion too. When it comes on, just lightly hit the top of the door sides from inside the car. Both the passenger and driver's side, just to be sure. For me it's usually the passenger side It goes right out after that, not to come back on for several months.


Also, is it just me or does this car just beg to be lowered? Every time i look at it now, I always think, maybe an inch or two. need new wheels first though. Wonder what I can get for cheap...

vas25tl

Fog light went out. I hate going to the dealer but looks like I have to make the trip.

OLD_HATCH

What the bulb?

I think that just means its upgrade time.

vas25tl

Yeah, just need to pick up the bulb and replace it.

I don't upgrade, I've been telling you that for almost 2 years!

silver3.5

You must got money if you want to go to the dealer just to replace two H1 bulbs. Even in this cold weather, all it needs is one 10mm screw to take out the foglight and replace the dead bulb. 5 minutes tops for both sides! I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer will charge you an hour's labor! Now, if it's electrical related, that's another story!

OLD_HATCH

What about those license plate bulbs?

vas25tl

I'm going to pick them up, I'm not letting Acura of Brookfield change anything. I can change out my own bulbs.

Plus it's not cold, been a very nice winter so far.

I can't believe you still remember that hahahaha.

silver3.5

Acura of Brookfield is a total ripoff. Their service and parts people are plain rude and arrogant!

I can't believe it's still in the 40s this late into December! I'm not complaining one bit!

vas25tl

It's like this on purpose because I actually went through the trouble of getting rims and tires for both cars this year.

Chase building downtown says 41 right now.

Jimmay

I scrape on everything around here. Ive looked at the underside of my car and theres alot of road rash lol. Im not going to bother getting rims for this car as I hope to have a new one by the summer.

phins2rt

^^^Looks great!!

pdbailey

Jimmay, 2004 RL or grand cherokee? I'm guessing, given how the winter is going so far, your leaning RL. But I'll bet grand cherokee prices are down (slightly) right now for the same reason.

pdbailey

Yikes, just called the closest dealer to ask the price for a new key: $190. And they wanted to reprogram it, so I needed all keys there at once.

The second closest dealer wanted $40. guess where I'm going.

RLNewb

Hello, just purchased an 05' RL with 70k miles, seems to be in great mechanical shape, few physical blemishes but those were expected on 7 year old car. I just put new tires, Bridgestone Turanza Serenity, made world of difference. I am considering getting a more aggressive look by dropping the car and would like any advice on which route to go, how low while maintaining a luxury look, etc...Thanks in advance for any advice.

OLD_HATCH

This is the first Gen section, but I would suggest aspect suspension n bodykit.