HondaGuy347

I hit 10,000 miles today, about 6 days short of 5 months of ownership. Nevermind that I am racking up the mileage at an alarming rate, here are my thoughts of the car so far.

First, the bad:
-The windshield creak. It kinda drives me nuts. I guess it hasn't been too horrible yet, as I haven't scheduled a time to take it in. Right now, it is the worst in the morning and evening, probably since it is cooler. When I have colder weather all the time (very soon, as you will see farther down), it may become more of a problem.
-The driver seat slides. I don't really mind this, it is mostly a gauge of how hard I am stopping. If the seat slides, "shoulda braked a little earlier there, son." However, it is a flaw, and flaws bug me. I'll have them look at that when I take it in for the windshield.
-The stereo. 75% of the time, I have no complaints. There is plenty of bass, and good sound, around volume level 20, which is a little higher than I listen to it with the windows closed. However, I usually drive with windows and sunroof open, and then the system is lacking, mostly in the bass/volume tradeoff. I haven't done any sort of upgrades yet, and I am thinking about replacing the front speakers, adding a sub, or doing both. However, right now the car is completely stock (save for my wood shift knob), and I don't want to have a shoddy install ruin that for me. Most likely, I won't do anything to the system.
-Because of the shape of the dash and windshield, I have a really hard time reaching in there to clean it. This is not as big of a deal, but does get annoying.
-I wish there were bolts to secure the bottom edge of the license plate, everytime I close the trunk, the plate and my college plate surround thing rattle.

Now, the good.

As I said in my initial review, this is by far the nicest car I have ever owned. However, I have affluent friends and used to work as a parking valet, so I have driven pretty much every under-$100k car you can name, and most of them had little or nothing on the TSX. Sure, some have more power, but I already get pulled over in this car plenty. Few have more gadgets, when you take into consideration that we have the ultimate one, the voice activated navi. Yeah, I'd like Bluetooth and that sweet DVD-stereo in the RL/TL, but for the price and my needs, nothing comes close to the TSX. MBs and BMWs may be more prestigious, but I see hundreds of them a day, and see another TSX only a few times a week. This car (especially in my red color) is about as exclusive as you can get in this class. Here are some specific likes:

-The Navi. It doesn't work as well down here in GA, since a lot of it is backwoods, and let's face it, probably not a big Acura market, but in CT and PA, it is flawless. I also love the calendar and trip computer features. I use them all the time.
-The headlights. I am one of those tools who drives around with them on all the time. They are great in the dark, I got used to the cutoff and 'notch' pretty quickly.
-The seatheaters. Nothing beats the "pissed your pants" feeling on the way to work on cold mornings
-The remote window rolldown. I use this every time I get in the car, except when it's raining. Cools the car off almost immediately, and I usually drive windows-down anyway.
-The sliding armrest. I use it all the time, and it is in the perfect spot.
-The steering wheel. I love the little notches where your thumb rests on top of the side spokes, and how the leather is perforated for extra grip right were your hands should be.
-The steering wheel controls, especially the volume and channel. I have gone on many many rides where I never have to touch anything on the center console, since I have the steering wheel controls and voice activated button right at my fingertips.
-VSA. Used it for the first time yesterday, when I almost got sandwhiched driving in the middle lane. Hit the gas, did the little back-and-forth to dodge cars coming at me from separate directions, and the VSA brought the car right back in line with no drama.
-The upper storage bin. I keep a CD wallet and my actual wallet in there, perfect size so that nothing is in sight in the car. Along these lines, there is tons of storage in the passenger compartment, with the glovebox, armrest, and storage compartments. I hate having stuff laying out in my car, and now I never do.
-The seats themselves. Most comfortable thing I sit in all day, bar none.
-The size. This car is the perfect size for a single guy like me, who has some stuff to haul occasionally, and who often drives two other guys to lunch, but is mostly by himself. Big enough to be practical, small enough to not be wasteful.
-The looks. I know some think the car is bland, and some thing red is ugly, and parchment hideous, but I love the way this car looks. When I walk out of my apartment, I go to the end of the breezeway overlooking the parking lot before going downstairs, and always see the rear three-quarter view of the car from 1 floor up, and it just looks smooth, agressive, and taut. Then when I slid into the seat, I look around at my plood and parchment interior, and it makes me feel rich.
-The handling. Say what you will about front drive, but I love how hard you can throw this car into a corner, and it just sticks. Sure, it's not a racecar, but it is far more capable than 99.99% of drivers will ever need it to be.

Other stuff:
-Gas mileage has probably averaged around 22mpg, driven moderately aggressively and
mostly around town.
-I have had two services down, one at 3750, and one at 7500. First was just an oil change, second was oil and tires rotated. From now on, I will probably stick to the longer service intervals, as my service manager suggested. I will continue to get an oil change every 3-4000 miles however, and my next service will be at 15k.
-I really miss XM. I am watching this space, hoping and hoping that we find out you can install the 2005 XM system in the 2004 cars. If it's under $500, I will be all over that. Sure there are other ways, but I am hoping I can do something stock-ish.
-I am also going to possibly install the side mirror heaters, as I am moving to Maine in December with the Navy. This isn't as much of an obsession, and if it is very complicated, and/or more than $100 or so, I probably won't bother.
-Also about Maine, I am interested in my choices about snow tires. I have been looking into this, but am not sure that I want to make the $500+ commitment when I will only live in Maine for 1 winter (moving to Norfolk summer 05), and have driven in snow since I was 16. I will have to see how bad the weather (and my finances!) is.
-I am thinking about buying the Panavise in-dash clip and a nokia cell phone holder for the car, but haven't decided. Is the Panavise mount really $60? Anyone here use it?
-Only one small mark so far (knock on plood!!), a small chip where I dinged the car putting my golf clubs in (DOH!)...and I am not always as careful as I should be about where I park. Haven't curbed the wheels yet, though that was a big worry of mine.
-For its "birthday" I bought the car the Griot's Garage leather care kit, and will be detailing the car this weekend, and then taking it on a road trip to do some mountain biking, and maybe tackle the Tail of the Dragon.

I hope you all continue to love this car as much as I do. Sorry for the long post.

iamhomin

Holy shit, now this is some long ass read.

I'll be back on it tomorrow morning.

slo007

I've had mine for 22,000 miles. Although it has that annoying window rattle, and the seat moves on left turns, I plan on keeping the car past 80k. It's great on the road and lots of fun. When some of my friends get in the car for the first time, they get so jealous that they don't say anything; but I can tell the drooling on the side their mouths. They won't take their eyes from inside the car!

tsxhondatuner

looks like my baby!!!! i luv my car. but mines 6mt. and tinted windows but your pic reminds me of the day i picked it up. i luv this car. and the red is so perfect for the tsx, i have grown to like the interior also

Tipsy

looks just like my car

hawk77

Now I don't feel so bad. I hit 10,000 miles yesterday and have had my car for 4 1/2 months. Commuting to Philly every day runs up the miles quick!

jiggaman

put some foam behind your license plate, that will get rid of the rattle.

dzuy

have 30000 miles since august 1 last year.

and my car will still smoke any AT tsx

plutonium239

Could you elaborate on the "sliding seat.”? I originally thought you meant your butt would literally slide forward on the leather when braking but I suspect you mean the seat is physically moving forward.....???????

wiz

28,000 miles here and I've had my car 18 months. Ok, so that's not too bad.

dzuy

my car had that problem too, when you take moderate turns or brake harder than conventional smooth braking, the driver seat used to shift out of it's position. you could feel the seat moving.

Viking

Here is the thread on the seat sliding. Mind you not all TSXs have the seat sliding problem.

jlukja

HondaGuy,

A great review. Rep points coming your way.

crisco

Great review, I agree with your assessment. But don't waste your money on the heated mirrors. I rarely, if ever, have to use them. After an ice storm, or an early morning frost they work well. I'd spend the money on a tint job instead. ' ify' that car .