Should I take a TSX loaner car from the dealer until my AC is fixed or should I keep driving my RL with intermittent AC. I really love the RL and only bought it a few weeks ago (upgraded from a TSX) and don't really want to drive one again (at least not so soon). But AC is only working 1/2 the time so I don't know...

This AC has me so pissed off at honda. This is supposed to be the flagship not the titanic.

 

With the heat in NC I would say take the loaner. I took my RL in yesterday with dead AC and they gave me a brand new (7K miles) MDX to drive. It's nice, so I have no complaints. I've kept the AC on 60 F since I've been without AC for a couple of days. They just called and my RL is ready!

 

Take the Accord, ahem, I mean TSX. It'll make you appreciate your RL more when you get it back.

 

Take the loaner. Why sweat all over the RL? The TSX is an entertaining car to drive. So much so, you will find the gas mileage sucks.

Then when you get the RL back, you will appreciate the refinement all the more!

 

See if they are willing to give you something else. Just tell them you are dropping off a RL, the least they could do is to give you a TL or RDX as a loaner. But if all else fails, a car with A/C is better than one w/o.

 

well, my CLS is not on the same level as your RL by any means...but when i had to drive my friend's TSX today because my CLS is getting a new transmission, it was terrible because theres no power in that car... otherwise the TSX isnt bad....you should go ahead and get the AC fixed and get it over with.

 

Take the loaner so you don't suffer in the heat. Who cares, it's just a few days anyway. The TSX isn't that bad that you need to suffer through no A/C, geez.

 

I drove a TSX for 2 weeks last year when my RL was at the dealer waiting for parts. It wasn't great but was better than nothing. Push for a better loaner or drive the TSX if it's the only option.

 

Um, take the loaner! Why would you even debate it?! It makes no difference to them but it does to you unless it happens to be in the confy 50-65 degrees...

Just my

 

take the loaner, better than nothing. Just make sure the A/C works, lol...

 

^ What he said.

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+1. Take the loaner. If your A/C is intermittent, you'll just get more and more frustrated driving that way. At least with the loaner you and your passengers will be comfortable. You don't want to drive someone in your failing RL and turn away a potential buyer!

 

Why are you POd at Honda? How many miles does your RL have on it? I imagine the original owner dumped it because of problems. Be POd at the original owner.

 

That's the problem: It's Honda/Acura's fault for covering this problem up.

I have brought the A/C issues up many times to at least 2 or 3 dealers, and Acura Service Center, all of which denied knowing that this was a known defect. They all acted like this was the first time they heard of the problem. They also couldn't give me an explanation of why it takes weeks (literally) to get the parts in on this one.

I'm already looking to trade my 2005 RL for either a 2007 or Lexus in the next couple of months. I am not going to risk paying almost $2,000 to fix the A/C if, and when it breaks again, this time out of warranty.

 

I'm debating it because I love m sy RL and just sold my TSX 3 weeks ago so the RL is still (or was) the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

You right every time it stops working I get more pissed. And I alreay had the passanger problem. AC worked fine on the way to lunch yesterday but it was like an oven on the way back to the office, my coworkers weren't thrilled (we took someone elses car toay).

 

I am pissed at honda for making a defective product but I am infuriated that two years after the issue popped up they still are having supply problems. It has 50k mi. The original owner is a very good friend of mine and I know the only issue he had was errors messages about the lighting system.

 

Heh....not only is it 2 years after for the RL and 3 years after for the TSX, but the Honda CRV has had A/C issues since the late 90s! There was a link (I think from some place called topix.com) posted in the TSX A/C issue thread about CRV owners complaining that the A/C was crapping out. So, it's been going on even longer than we all knew. Now THAT pisses me off. And I don't know about the newest generation CRV, but I should find out about that because my mom is pretty interested in one to replace her current vehicle.

 

Here it is: http://www.topix.net/forum/autos/hon...F5ULF5EJR4M48E

 

I had no idea the CRV had issues too. I have always been a honda guy. I've only owned honda's, but now I am questioning the quality. None of my others had any real issues (tsx had the console display failure issue). But I consider an AC issue major, and second only to a powertrain issue.

 

Just about every car manufacturer has issues like this. Of course Honda/Acura has had both A/C and transmission issues recently.

 

Yup, I had the console lights issue as well. I actually had that AND the A/C failure within a month apart over the summer. Needless to say I wasn't too happy, especially because I'd just been in for my 40k mile service. In addition, it took 2 trips to fix the console lights because the first headunit they ordered made the problem even worse! So I had numerous trips to the dealer in a very short period of time. I hadn't had any problems up till then, and then they happened one after another. I've decided I'm probably going to trade when the warranty is up because I sure as heck am not paying $1500+ for the A/C and $1500+ for the console lights to be fixed out of warranty. This is my first Honda product and it's had more issues than my previous cars, which were all American. I will still consider Honda cars for the future, but I do question their "superior quality." This TSX, however, is my last first year model vehicle. I learned my lesson.

 

what's a $1500 console light please??
I call the compartment between the front seats the console, but I know that bulb in there is < $1500.
AC reliability is a major for me, maybe I should stay away from 05 RLs.

 

The headunit thing is what we're talking about. On the TSX forum we call it the "console light problem" or "HVAC light problem" because when that circuit board goes out, all the lights go out around the stereo, A/C buttons, etc. And it's $1500+ to replace. Not cool. And when they put my replacement board in for the fix, the stereo & CD player went out and I didn't get a loaner, so I had to drive an hour back home, wait a couple days for the new part to come in, then drive an hour back to the dealer, then an hour home again. It friggin sucked.

 

I think this "console light issue" affects the RL as well. The 2005 RL that I traded in last week had 2 lights out in the headunit. Fellow member Qatar said he had a similar issue with his RL a few times and had to have a chip replaced.

 

Great something else to look forward too. This is exactly why I bought an extended warranty for my RL. But I drive a lot of miles and was hoping to keep it for more than 100k, I guess not. I think next time I may just lease a bmw w/ free maintenance. While their cars aren't more reliable, I've heard very good things about their customer service.

 

Don't be so down on the car. A trip to the BMW forums would likely reveal similar issues. The 05 RL probably had more problems the the 06 and above since it was the 1st model year. For the most part the customer service I had in dealing with the 05 issues was good. The worst part was the waiting for parts that were on "national backorder" which happened to me twice.

 

I agree with DW. The 2005 had clear teething issues, mostly electronic, and not as many options as the 2006. Most of those issues have solutions, thankfully, though they do take some time to work out. I'm very glad to be in a 2006 model.

Personally, I think you should have ALL of the TSBs, issues, quirks, etc., addressed while your car is in the shop so you WILL be able to keep it when it's over 100k miles.

briny, you should PM member FN90, he has a 2005 with well over 100k miles, and see what issues he's had.

 

I love the car. I'm very happy driving down the road listening to the bose and enjoying the comfortable seats, right up until warm air starts blowing in my face.

Like I said, I know bmw's have similar if not more issues. It's just that bmw would give an equivilant loaner and hopefully not have a backorder.

I'm not thrilled with the customer service from acura dealers or american honda. Most acura dealers around here suck. The one I am dealing with (Rallye Acura) is very good but still not what I expect for what I pay them.

What other part failed in your car that was on a national backorder?

 

Perhaps I should have gotten a 2006 or a new TL like I was considering, but I was expecting some electronic issues (which is why I bought the VSC). I was not expecting AC issues.

I will PM him thanks.

 

I tried to and it says:
The following users were not found:
fn90

 

Actually, I have heard of really bad backorders (months) for some part on BMWs. Can't remember what it was, but I read it on AZ somewhere. It's going to happen on a lot of cars, but foreign ones in particular.

 

Sorry. It's FN P90.

 

In order to address the engine whine at 75 mph, the dealer replaced the transmission and ultimately the carbon fiber driveshaft. For the transmission the wait was 10+ days, for the driveshaft it was a week or so. Mind you I had traded in an 03 TL-S to get away from the transmission issues with the TL's and ended up with a new tranny in the RL (though I'm not convinced it needed to be replaced, it was a guess from the Acura techline).

 

A new tranny... that would have pissed me off.

 

loaner 4 life

 

Loaner 4 life

 

???

 

Well the RL finally became to hot to drive with the AC working 0% of the time, so I picked up a TSX loaner car. I miss my RL...

 

Can't believe you waited this long!