robr

Greetings, I'm very interested in entering the world of used RL ownership and am trying to do some homework before I jump into that pool. I've been a Honda guy for many years and am looking to return. Honda engines will go forever, but I really don't know anything about the reliability of all the electronic gizmos in the RL. I've looked at a fair number of RLs ranging from 85K-130K miles, all priced within $1-2K of each other. I've obtained a couple of opinions from Acura/Honda mechanics I've known for a long time, but I thought I would get the opinions of people who have actually owned a high mileage RL.

Some of the concerns that were had were lack of maintenance records that indicate critical services such as differential fluid changes and timing belt changes were done.

What do you guys think?

PS, thanks to "Frost" who pointed me at this site, his vehicle was one of the ones I was considering. Dunno his board name here though... .

DurgyNess

Check to see if A/C works, the active lighting system,
you can even go through the messages on the car to see what all has error with the previous owner if the messages have not been erased. That can give you some ideas with each particular car.

I assumed if there was a message/error then it has been fixed by previous owner other wise it will prompt you still

poppintec

just make sure your taking a good look at it and I would suggest you go for 06 or better 05 has many known problems, you gotta be cautious especially with high miles. Just make sure you get detailed service records if you can and take a good look at it.....good luck with your search

FredS

I have a 2007 RL with 110,000 miles. I am the original owner. Have had no problems mechanically or electronically. I enjoy the car as much today as I did at 10 miles. If I had to buy another car would do it again but definitely buy used. At 105,000 miles the spark plugs, timing belts and other belts, water pump and valves adjusted need to be done. This cost approx. $1,000 but you will than be set for another 105,000 miles.

Dopes6070

I have been lurking around this forum for a little while and figured I would create an s/n to give my input here.

I bought my 05 RL a few months ago for dirt cheap. I could tell right away that the previous owner just got in and drove it without a care in the world... They also did not pay attention to the MID recommended service and probably just had the oil changed at a quick lube place. Here is the rundown of the issues:

- ATF was never changed and the transmission was very lazy with 1-2 & 2-3 shifts when cold. I did 4 drain and fill cycles and now the fluid is nice and red. I also replaced the transmission fluid pressure sensors for 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears.
- Had 2 broken motor mounts. The car would make a nasty clunking noise when turning right and giving it gas. The mounts for this car are around $200 each and luckily I can do these kind of things myself otherwise labor would have been killer.
- SH-AWD diff had never been serviced. Surprisingly it is still perfect.
- Had a cut seatbelt in the back. When I replaced that I also took care of the annoying rear sunshade rattle.
- Fixed a couple other rattles/squeaks.
- Got myself some A-Spec wheels because I can’t stand curb rash.
- Replaced all of the interior light bulbs since many of them had burned out.
- Replaced the HID bulbs since the right side would ignite then go out after a few minutes.
- Replaced all the steering wheel controls since the coating was peeling.
- Last but not least I treated the leather with leatherique and it’s almost like new now.


After the time I have spent getting the car in very close to new condition, I can say that I am REALLY happy with it. The feel is very solid and for what I paid I am still way ahead of buying with a lower mileage. All I can say is don’t expect the car to be perfect but if you’re mechanically inclined its not very hard or expensive to get it close. I hope this is a good first post LOL.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

^
It is.

neuronbob

Great first post and welcome to AZ, dopes6070!

Robr, good advice here.

FredS

Replaced all the steering wheel controls since the coating was peeling. Mine is doing this. Where did you get the controls and how hard to change? Thanks!

Dopes6070

Not hard at all, The wood steering wheel diy in the garage is all you need since you need to pull the stock wheel to change them out.

Thanks Bob BTW!

OLD_HATCH

If you cannot get service history, a simple compression test will tell you how the engines been treated. That and check the color of the oil. If the color is more of a dirty chocolate brown than stay away. This means the rings aren't sealing like they should and the oil is being contaminated.


just to give you an idea, my first gen with just over 100k has the exact same psi compression in each cylinder and the oil comes out almost exactly the same color as it goes in.


the way I see it, if the engine (tranny) are healthy you can pretty much work around the rest.

poppintec

^^^ very true..... if you do get one welcome to RL ownership

robr

Thanks very much for all the help, I am still pretty certain I am going RL, just still watching ebay, craigslist US-wide, manheim, and all the other usual places. I'm not all that concerned about the engine, I put over 100K on my NSX before I had kids and I had to part with it , it was really all the gadgets and gizmos that had me concerned.

stevesrl

DOPES6070,


- ATF was never changed and the transmission was very lazy with 1-2 & 2-3 shifts when cold. I did 4 drain and fill cycles and now the fluid is nice and red. I also replaced the transmission fluid pressure sensors for 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears.

I am planning on doing this next weekend. I am interested if you did the fluid and PS at the same time or independently (as to see the effect of changing the PS alone). Never the less, PS get get fatigued and should be replaced as a maintenance item in my opinion.

- Had 2 broken motor mounts. The car would make a nasty clunking noise when turning right and giving it gas. The mounts for this car are around $200 each and luckily I can do these kind of things myself otherwise labor would have been killer.

Very interested in changing the motor mounts. I will do timing belt in 10K more miles and will inspect and change motor mounts if needed. Can you offer any insight beforehand.

Is it as simple as visually looking and what is in the way, remove, access the mounts, and swap out?

Any words of caution?

Any special tools?

Was it a pain in the but?

- Replaced all the steering wheel controls since the coating was peeling.

WOW! on this one. It had to cost up to $800 in parts. As best I can tell, you have to buy the units themselves because they just don't sell the buttons. Could you elaborate on exactly what you did? Used parts, new, or, found access to the unit manufacturer/somehow just purchased the buttons and DIY'd the switch buttons only?

This is a very good first post. Thank you in advance for your clarification on my posted questions.

Very Very nice work you did. You definitely deserve the following smiles.

robr

Option-wise, the 06 Base is = to the 05 right? The tech package just adds additional things that weren't available in 05 as I understand it.

Does the adaptive cruise in the 06 mess up a radar/lidar detector like it does in some Nissan and Audi vehicles?

neuronbob

The 2006 base is equivalent to the 2005 RL (which had only one trim). 2006 Tech was CMBS/PAX.

2007 Tech was equivalent to 2006 base and 2005. 2007 base was without navi, and a third trim was introduced: Tech with CMBS/PAX. They changed the terminology every year until 2007, confusing matters unnecessarily.

Dopes6070

I did the ATF changes each a week apart then did the pressure sensors a few weeks after that. The ATF changes did not really get rid of the lazy cold shifting but they did make it smoother. The sensors are what made it feel like new. Actually I got the idea to change them from the 3g TL forum since the tranny is similar. I figured it was worth a shot.

You can tell the motor mounts are broken if they are leaking an oily fluid. Another easy test is have a friend get in the car with the hood opened and power brake you can look to make sure the engine doesnt lift and move around a lot. It will move some but shouldnt look loose. The passenger side mount was really easy to change out but there was not much room when doing the front one. It took me about 2.5 hours to get both of them in. There are no special tools other then misc. sockets and extensions. Make sure you support the engine with a floor jack when pulling the mounts so it wont over stress the other mouts that are still there.

I bought the buttons from hondapartsunlimited.com brand new. It was a little over $300 for the audio/cruise/nav button set and for both the HFL & MID buttons on the side.

robr

Getting closer here.... I may have to settle. There an 06 base 1 owner black/black with new timing belt, front brakes and new Pilot Sports with 78K I'm really wanting but the wife isn't happy with the $17.9K price tag (actually I told her $17K hoping I could negotiate it down ) which I think is a pretty killer price.

I bought my last car about 10 miles from where this one is and I think she also hates the idea that I'm 'off having fun' for a few days while she's at home with my 3 and 4 year olds.... I can tell you, there is nothing fun about driving 3000 miles, but it's a lot cheaper than shipping it.

If I can't sell her on that, backup is an 05 black/black w/105K also with new timing belt for $15K.

I think I may watch Manheim another week and see if anything decent comes through there.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

With so many available, why bother? Just be patient and pick up a lower mileage example. But also, prior maintenance and care is important.

stevesrl

I would go for the 78K one. Bring 17K cash with you, show em the money and they'll show you the keys (I bet). Think about...it in my opinion they obviously took care of the car if the belt was already changed. Plus you have new tires.

You could go for a lower mileage one but the price will reflect it too. 105K service is over $1K so that is an important consideration and it has already been done on the 78K version.

CFoote

Hi there, how easy are the pressure sensors to change? Does this require removing the trans and opening it up?

It would be great if the sensors were just sitting there in an easy location but I have a feeling it isn't so simple

Chris

stevesrl

The pressure sensors are external so it is not that difficult to change. See sticky for service manual...Sevice manual instructs how to change all three of the sensors.

CFoote

Thanks Steve, my guess is that you might have to drain the transmission before changing these out? I'll take a look at the service manual and see whats going on...