If your car pulls to one side or the other and it was not fixed by an alignment, try rotating your front tires side to side. If that makes it pull the other direction, you know you have a tire problem instead.

 

Lol at blaming faulty peripheral equipment on the manufacturer.

 

No dual ac button. Cooled seats could work better. Dated nav screen.

Wiper performance. Tried stock and PIAA inserts, same issue with spraying on the down stroke.

 

The most frustrating thing about my car is transmission hits when switching form P or R to D in hot weather..
Service workers don't know what to do, AT is already rebuilt..

 

Ditto.

Add to that the NAV. Not just dated, it is often flat out wrong, calling out rights and showing lefts. And in traffic, that's a very bad thing. Updates didn't work. Dealer reverted the system kept my updated disc... Still fails. Ugly problem. Sometimes, I just fire up the iPhone.

 

ive only owned mine for a week but my only complaint so far is the vinyl bubble on my drivers door arm rest

 

I hate the ANC module It buzzes every time the car starts. When you open the door it goes away. to dis-connect it you have to dismantle the trunk..

 

You can disconnect the mics from the map and dome light modules. People have documented it here in the audio sub-forum.

 

I wish the FM radio included RDS data so you could see the format of the FM station and the song and artist. My '96 Audi had this feature. Also, with XM artist and song information in both the screen and dash top LED display do not scroll to show entire song or artist name. Finally, center console creeks and groans, especially when it's cold.

 

Maybe your "oil" caused the issue from the underside?

All cheap car leather is plasti-coated so there's not much need to oil it. And even if you did it wouldn't do anything as it can't get past the plasticoat on the leather. And probably weaken some stitching over time.

What did you use to "oil" it?

 

I had the same problem. Endured it for years and years.

I fixed mine by the simple use of masking tape.

I lifted the center console and cut masking tape length-wise and completely wrapped the silver shifter cluster part where it meets against the piece that you just removed.

Noise is completely gone.

 

My least favorite thing about my '11 RL Advance, has to be the dated tech. The nav system should've been upgraded in 2009, to the high-res unit in the TL, with the HDD. Also Acura should've brought IDS, and BSI to the RL in 2010, when the ZDX launced with this features.

55k flagship, with worse tech than the 32k ILX.

 

I hate how the drivers side wiper only goes 3/4 of the way across the windshield, outdated nav is a bummer but w/e.

 

Absolutely the worst windshield wiper design ever. I can't imagine being on a trip and an insert shredding and you having to stop to replace the damn thing, especially in the winter. Cold as balls and you're having to use a screwdriver with frozen hands to remove those tiny-ass, non-magnetic screws in the blade so you can change the insert. Fuck that. Plus, the damn things don't clear snow and slush that well. There was even a Service Bulletin issued for that but try to get a dealer to do that on good will. That's right, you get the big "Sucks to be you". Grrrrrr---

 

I'm really surprised to hear that about your nav. Mine never does that.

I'm also puzzled to read the comment about how awful the wipers are in function and in refill-replacement design. I've never noticed anything especially bad in either regard, and yes, I've changed my own.

If I were to pick on the car, I'll refrain from grousing about the mediocre trunk space, rear seat room and MPG, because I obviously knew about all of those before I bought the car. My only real complaint is that the suspension honestly is not quite up to the best Germans in sophistication. They made the springs and shocks too damn soft to preserve the ride, with the result that the car starts porpoising in high-speed transitions. I was making frequent highway trips and was afraid the thing was going to get me killed, so I put A-Spec springs and struts on it and fixed the handling at the expense of ruining the ride. That chaps my ass a bit. Other than that, my only real complaint is that you have to take off the front bumper to change the headlight bulbs (yes, I know there's an unofficial alternative method, provided that your wrist is a U-joint), but even that pales compared to fixing a Krautmobile. On the whole, I'm damn pleased.

Hell, having written all that, I just now saw this is a revived thread from nearly two years ago. I'm so old, I'm repeating myself.

 

Only thing that actually bugs me is the autotragic...

 

Seconds on the shock & suspension. Car feels floaty. I felt i almost lost control on a highway once too.



Aquapel helps them out a good deal.

 

Honestly other than the bubbly glove box and the rubber covers on the center console arm rest I'm pretty well pleased.

Even mine being an 05 model I have no complaints on the reliability at 159k miles it's perfect..

 

First world problems.

 

Still not missing those piece of shit wipers.

 

My wipers are fine? I been using the Honda/Acura wipers and haven't noticed anything wrong with them

 

Only time my wipers sucked was when they had ice chunks on them in the AM

 

my least favorite thing is the curb weight. especially since my other car weighs 2,700 lbs it makes the RL feel like a real pig. no wonder the gas mileage sucks.

 

Hmm, try reading up on how else to change your blades. Nothing needs to be unscrewed..the blades just slide out and new ones slide in. $10 each and keep the old ones in the trunk as a spair. 5 minute job. I think its easier than notmal assemblies, tbh.

Anyway, my least favorite part has to be that my trunk leaks. Under the plastics where the shocks are are poor welds and seams that rust and leak. Resealing this week. (Seconding the body design)
Other than the above, I have all the same complaints. Gas mileage at 12 mpg city at the top with only a decent 6.6 0-60.

 

Quite proficient in changing wiper inserts, thanks for your concern. Been doing it for 45 years. I prefer to have spare blades with fresh inserts ready, I don't like fumbling with those metal spines for the inserts unless I'm around my garage. My whole point is that conventional Honda wiper arms with the "hook" are much easier to deal with in an inclement weather scenario which usually seems to be when a refill disintegrates.

BTW, if your trunk leaks around a weld seam on a rear shock tower it's most likely been hit. Did you run a CarFax or check the service records before you bought it? There has literally been only one other thread on here since 2005 that mentions a trunk leak. Also, you should be getting better than 12 mpg, I get 18-19 mpg combined and 26-27 on the highway. If the previous owner went 155K and hadn't done TB/WP, you're probably justified in cringing about what else may not have been done. Good luck---

 

Well, maybe I just have luck with handling wiper inserts, but that probably will run out soon after replying to this thread.

There's no record of any accidents on my recently purchased RL, and I have since taken care of the outstanding maintenance you called out that the previous owner neglected..with the addition of new plugs and a fresh air filter. 12 mpg is very real and now expected in city traffic most days...and to prove I don't drive like I stole it, I get an average of 22.4 highway on cruise control. I will update a relevant thread if any information on that arises.
Below are pictures of the leak which I have since sealed. I suppose built up debris around the area took it's toll, although a previous accident is never out of the question. Thanks for your help.....

 

That's not where the rear strut mounts. It mounts behind the rear seat just below the rear deck.

 

all of this, actually.
AND...

i hate that there is no SYNC button for the climate control!

oh...

 

They got rid of sync so that you could control the fan speed without going through the nav menu. IMO, you have the lesser of two evils.

 

Like others I do not think that the RL should have cheap fake leather. I did an un-scientific survey (looking in the windows) and noticed most Acura models have the issue with the center console leather not holding up. My 08 had this problem on the console and driver door checked with Acura and they stated that this is not their problem they did offer some goodwill assistance (so small it was more insulting then helpful) for them to replace with the same junk. Took the car to local auto upholstery shop got all replaced with real leather for 1/4 the dealer price.

 

I wonder how much real leather and in what spots other manufacturers put in their cars of the same class. I know Hyundai Genesis doesn't have real leather everywhere too. Back part of the seats is fake leather for example, same as with RL. Not sure about the center console, though.

 

Wish the interior for the radio, climate and the switches light up white, red or blue instead.

And be nice if the arm rest on the door panels had the pockets

 

Pockets on the door panel armrest?

 

This is my least favorite thread about the RL.

 

I was going to say the exact same thing, thank you. I had this argument on another site, in fact. A guy mouthed off that cars in "this class" should have leather on the dash, the armrest and the doors. My question was (and is), what class? These cars listed for $49k and streeted for around $42k. At that price, BMW and Mercedes will sell you a car that's a full size down and/or lacks a litany of features the RL had standard -- and never mind the armrests, a lot of those cars came with plastic SEATS.

BTW, nice line, 007. It's a pretty good note on which to put this topic to rest.

 

No Remote start, should have been a standard on this car.

 

The auto door unlock, if set to 'Park', only unlocks if you place the car in park without the "hand brake'. I push the "hand brake" first then i place it in park. Good habit for a longer life tranny.

So the auto-unlock option doesn't exist for me. I've already built a habit to unlock manually.

2. Visor mirrors flip to open not slide.

 

Still the autotragic..

 

What if you change the unlock to a different setting like when the engine shuts off?

 

I remember knowing what you were talking about in post 56, but now I totally forgot what that was.

I gonna try that again. In the winter not too handy as i often leave the car running for quickies.