I read a Motortrend Long Term Report (think it was Motortrend) for a 2005 that they had all sorts of minor issues, primarily electrical/electronics with stuff like the sunroof motor, mirrors, Nav system rebooting. I'm thinking of picking a used RL up. What have been people's experience? Should I avoid and '05 first year model or is 06 no different from reliability standpoint?

 

140,000 no problems outside of tsb and recalls.... 2005 rl and i love it. however i take care of my car. so you need a cerified Rl not private sale.

 

There were some minor but irritating issues with the 2005 as you read. All would be addressed with the TSBs and a thorough CPO (which is not always the case if you read some threads here on CPO). Generally speaking, finding a 2006+ will have addressed most of these issues plus give you the longer factory warranty (including a longer drivetrain warranty).

A few issues more have reported on 2005 than later models (but certainly not exclusive to 2005):

Propeller shaft whine
A/C failure
Brake Squeal
Door Handle AutoLock Sensors Failed
Pop up Power Port (center console)
Various software reprogramming (window switches, Bluetooth module, mirror auto-tilt, etc.)

Also a factory backup camera is NOT compatible with 2005 RLs. It is a dealer option on 2006 and factory installed on some 2007+ models

As said previously...all of the issues were addressed by TSB, warranty and 1 recall (power steering hose). But you would have to research these to be certain they were corrected. My belief is many of these cars came of lease, and lease owners may not have been so diligent correcting these issues.

So is it worth your effort and diligence? A 2006+ won't guarantee any of these issues to pop up....but the odds are much better.

 

Yes, I try to avoid first-year models for this very reason. However I've found a superb deal on an '05 with a bumper-to-bumper 100,000 mile warranty. I suppose I could take it to the dealer and have them make sure all fixes were applied. But it leaves the question was there any issues on the 05 that could not be fixed that were fixed on the 06. I would expect not??

 

Is it CPO? Is it an AcuraCare warranty or is the dealer offering an aftermarket warranty.

If it is CPO the Acura dealer SHOULD diligently certify the car, and apply all the TSBs for the issues mentioned. But that is not always the case. If it is a CPO at least you can engage Acura Customer Service to right anything not addressed. Only you can decide if you want to do that and weigh the dealer for having done diligent CPO inspection.

If it is an aftermarket warranty....look for even more loopholes...they will be there and you cannot lean on Acura Corporate for fulfilling CPO promises.

Either way, do your homework on the TSB and 2005 issues and you can have a stellar vehicle.

 

I have had my.....
AC go out
Sub woofer go out
Head lights continue to flicker and go out
Fog lamps crack
Doesnt unlock the door when i put the car in park like i set it up to do
Return the right side mirror back to the correct position after i take it out of reverse
Navi automatically reset while i'm using it on long trips
Sun roof not closing sometimes
Thats all i can think of for now.... I love this car with a passion. Best car available compared to the competitors but i wish i'd a held out and bought a 06 model or at least spend the extra thousand that i had for that extended warranty. UGH!!

 

nothing here other than a bad door handle and a rare flicker.

 

I have a 2007 with 125,000 miles. I have had no problems just the routine wear items (brakes battery etc.) I enjoy getting in and driving it now as much as I did with 5 miles on the odometer. Have to admit however that the 09-10 used Rl is starting to get my attention. The drive is very enjoyable, the exterior look is great look, the interior is layed out well and is very comfortable but the techie part is the best. I could not live without Bluetooth, nav and satellite radio. Our other car is a Lexus SC430 and the nav system in it can not come close to Acura's.

 

Yeah if acura created a nav upgrade for the the older model's they would sell like hot cakes.

 

I bought my 2005 was 50,000 miles (just out of warranty) and I have had it for 4-5 months now with no issues other than the prop shaft whine, however, I almost never drive on the highway so its a non-issue for me. I noticed on the carfax service records my AC compressor was replaced under warranty at 48,000 miles so that makes me happy. I dont have any other problems!

 

I have 2 2005's and they have been great!! If anyone puts down a Honda they have brain problems.

 

My 07 with 45K would sometimes refuse to unlock the door on the driver's side. The passenger side, no problem. It's hit or miss whether it works according to the weather. Locks with no problem every time.
Other that that, zero problems.

 

Odd, almost every other handle problem has been the opposite, always unlocks, but intermittently does not lock. That said, why don't you get the handles replaced before your warranty goes out?

for OP, I would echo most of the other posters. I have 2005 with >110K miles. Only 1 problem other than the documented recalls and TSBs which were all fixed under warranty. The one other problem was the headlight flicker which after much (heated) discussion with dealer was replaced for free.

 

2006 RL CMBS. Purchased CPO March 2008 with 4,708 miles on it.
Now at 105,000 miles. Drives, runs, and looks brand new inside and out (always hand washed, garaged, and detailed a few times a year). The RL has an outstanding paint finish and top tier interior materials quality.
4,708 miles. Dealer swapped Pax tires for brand new OEM std RL Michelins and wheels
10,xxx miles rear sunshade rattle repaired. Warranty
65,000 replaced Michelin MXMH4's with Michelin Pilot Sport Plus (great tire for traction)
81,xxx miles OEM Battery replaced
85,xxx Dealer tightened outside mirrors, Warranty
90,xxx miles propellor shaft replaced under CPO warranty
90,xxx miles passenger side door handle lock/unlock feature intermittent. Did not repair (estimate was $800).
90,xxx miles ashtray/storage cubby door broke. Parts and Labor at dealer about $50
100,000 miles Blue Tooth sometimes drops incoming calls (may be iphone related still researching)
I will have the 105k service done soon.
Car burns absolutely no oil and on a recent trip from DC to Detroit and back the car averaged over 28 mpg for the trip there and trip back.
Brakes are all original and dealer tells me there is still good pad depth remaining.
Overall a superbly competent and well engineered car that I feel I can get at least 200k miles out of with minimal repair costs and it will still "feel" like a brand new luxury car.

 

Had my door handles replace twiced. Other than that, nothing.

 

I took this pic this morning... I opened the door at a stop light to pour out a drink.

It eventually went away a couple of miles later.

 

that happened to me last week ... I had got out of the car to get my newspaper on my way to work . It was wierd but I just turned the car off and back on and the warning was gone

 

The most obvious cause for this is the remote/fob battery needing replacement. If not the battery, there may be something interfering with the RL sensing the fob. This can be a number of things such as:

A cell phone in close proximity to the fob.
A cell phone charger....
An electronic passcard / keycard...
A wireless transitting device (ie. security gate transmitter, tollgate transmitter, etc).

Almost any radio frequency transmitting device can 'confuse' the RL from sensing the Fob. This is mentioned in the manual.

 

Haha, well I have all of the above going on in my car.

 

with 140k on my love 05 RL, here is what is going wrong with my car
headlight flickering
brake squeal
whistle noise
Except those things above, my car runs work flawlessly unlike my bad 04 lexus ls 430 which now have many serious problems

 

I had alot of problems with my 05/tech. AFS unit replaced twice (headlight swivel), A/C fixed once. Loose side morrors, drive shaft whine at 75 always and at about 35-40 on days below 50 degrees, Interior bulbs for climate control went out as did the (this is not an ashtry) bulb, both Xenon bulbs replaced to fix the flicker, passenger side seat incline button, a transmission that needed fluid changes once to twice a year, and several warning messages that only the dealer can totally remove including starting system error, TPMS error, and AFS error. I loved the car but it got the point where every time I got in it I would worry about what light was going to come on or what part was going to fail next.

 

I picked up two of these guys and all seems well.

Thanks for the info!

 

I got this message a few days ago in line at the drive-thru pharmacy. Whipped out my manual and quickly realized that it comes on if you open the passenger door while the car is on. I pissed my pants for nothing.

 

This is in response to the "Keyless remote not detected" message on the MID.

 

Well been shopping used off and on all summer. Getting close to pulling the trigger but I'm a little worried about not going CPO but money is money. Right now, after over 3 months of looking, I can spot good deals much quicker (clean title, older/mature original owner, etc. etc.) and have zeroed in on two '06s. One is private party executive in CA, 60K miles, well cared for, all service records, a very shallow dent on rear quarter panel that should pop out okay I think. Tires and brakes done a little over a year ago. I think I can get it for $17.5-$18K. I think CPO at a dealer I'd be looking $22K so the $4K I save can go into my repair fund that hopefully will never be used that often. Other is 06 with 67K at a Volvo Dealer in Texas (why are cars so cheap in Texas?) Has the 18" chrome wheels - although I'm not fond of chrome (the RL really needs 19" wheels for a much better, yet tasteful/stock look), but 18 is better than those tiny 17's. Dealer asking $18K so I figure I can get it for $16.5-$17K but then add shipping cost. I'm a little leary about the powertrain warranty ending at 70K though. Should I try to get the propeller shaft issue (which appears to be common) fixed ASAP?

I'd really like one with A-Spec package with at least one year and 12K miles left on original warranty. But I'm also trying to spend less than $25K. The good thing, the two A-Specs I've run across the dealer put virtually no premium on the price. That's a good deal for a $5K option? Maybe I should hold out for a CPO A-Spec but I've only seen 2 in the past three months. Very rare.