On Saturday, my brother helped shepherd our parents through the final paperwork to turn in our 2011 RL and 2011 MDX to upgrade to a pair of brand spanking new 2014 RLX and 2014 MDX.

The RL was always a nice car, with materials that I always felt were more than good enough to compete in the class (aside from the plastic wood panels, which I could do without), a strong motor, and decent driving dynamics. The design was always something that needed work, but that did not seem to bother our parents so much since they were the primary drivers, and fuel economy was always a bit low for my tastes, but it was a reliable car that was comfortable and drove well.

In the end, I personally have no regrets to see the car go since the 2014 RLX represents a nice upgrade in terms of many of the features and definitely in the fuel economy.

Click here to read my brother's complete thoughts on the 2011 RL over our slightly less than three years of ownership.

 

Side by side....it's amazing to see how similar these cars look.

 

Yeah, I was struck by that too when I first saw the photo. It is only when you start to examine the details that you see the real difference in the RLX, which has a fair amount more character and much smoother lines. I think the RLX is a handsome, if not exactly daring design. The RL was more daring, but may have gone too far over the line into bordering on ugly.

 

I turn my head every time I see an MMC in person. The RL has never photographed well. It's something you have to see in person to appreciate.

In response to your brother's concerns about the transmission, the Legend line has always had solid transmissions. Many feel the full Japanese build and assembly have a lot to due with its superior reliability.

 

I have an 05 RL and in y opinion it looks better than the MMC. The RLX is a nice looking car and anyone who has one should know they have one of the very best cars on the road.

 

Fair enough on the transmission concerns, but the 2nd and 3rd generation TLs had a history of transmission issues, which we actually experienced on the 2G TL we owned. Additionally when the 2G RL came out, it had some issues with the SH-AWD rear differentials so as good as Acura's cars generally are, you cannot blame us for being a little bit cautious with a brand new 6-speed transmission.

 

Wasn't trying to be argumentative, just informative. I understand the issues that plagued the TL, CL, and Accord transmissions, most of which were shipped to Marysville, OH.

Do you have any documentation of these differential issues? We have not seen any here, and this is the first I have heard of it.

 

Acura have been using the 6 speed in the MMC 2G RL and the MMC MDX for years and I have heard of no problems with them. I also have never heard of any diff problems on the RL's.
There is an incessant supply of opinions regarding the RL by owners of TL's and it only serves to prove that the theory of the Japanese sourced hardware is very different from the US based models.

 

CGTSX2004 is right about the SH AWD diff problems when the 2005 RL first came out. Multiple incidents of the diff seizing up sometimes due to insufficient ATZ Z1 ( used to be the recommended rear diff fluid for the 2005s and 2006s before they changed it to SH AWD fluid sometime in 2009/10 or so ) in the rear diff. Heard quite a few stories of new owners being stranded in their 2005 RLs. Sometimes the fault was attributed to dealers who did not do a proper PDI and failed to top up the ATF Z1 in the rear diff. But Acura learned quick enough and most of the 2005 RL's bugs were sorted out in the 2006 onwards cars. Mine was bullet proof for the 7 years I owned it except for door handles and some expected and known issues like A/c condenser and motor mounts. My carbon fiber driveshaft only whistled once for 10 minutes in all 7 years and my SH AWD warning light never ever lit up. Was pretty good about following the MID for maintenance and fluid changes and I probably over achieved a little on the tranny fluid drain and refills over the years. Treat the 2006-2008 RL well and it will be a faithful friend for many years. No regrets for all 90,000 miles of 06RL ownership.

BTW we have a 6 speed trans in our 2010 MDX and we have never had an issue, though of course at 34k miles, still early days. But I figure I might as well buy an extended warranty and run it to a 7 or 8 year ownership experience cos that is cheaper than buying a new MDX. I really like the 2014 MDX but as long as we are willing to eat the poorer gas mileage of the older Acura non DI V6 engines ( like the RL and MDX ), we can save on the upfront cost of buying a new vehicle.