I am purchasing a nice 3.2 TL that originally came from Canada. As a result, the speedometer and odometer is in Kilometers. And of course the lights are on all the time. Anybody have any hints on the best and least expensive way to "convert" this Canadian car to US?

Also, it has about 52,000 miles on it and has recently had the transmission recall kit installed. Acura service department said the 2nd gear was inspected and looked good. Should I still be worried??

Thanks

 

Go to a junkyard (or buy new) a speedometer plate and just switch 'em out. That'll solve your KM --> Miles/Hr problem. Junkyard should be a cheaper route for buying a Speedo plate than new...for sure.

As for the Daytime Running Lights...I'm Canadian, so I actually prefer and am used to having DRL I say keep 'em....safer that way (more visible to other drivers). Otherwise, I *guess* you could just unplug 'em/change the wiring???

 

My TL is Canadian. I had the speedo switched over. Cost like 250 bucks. I dont believe theres any way in turning off the Daytime Running Lights without a major and expensive electrical makeover. I love my DRLs, it gives my TL a very unique look here in Atlanta, its the only one with it!

 

I actually don't pick up the car until tomorrow. So, I don't really know about the DRL's... Is it true that the DRL's require lower voltage therefore the lamps are not HID?

Other then the speedo/odometer issue, the Celsius temperature indication, and the DRL, are there any other differences with the Canadian model vs US?

Also - since the odometer is digital, what would it take to replace the circuit board or whatever controls it?

 

erm... I'm not sure about that. I paid 250 or so and they replaced the speedo guage, and the odometer, so I didn't question them. I didn't even want to know. As long as they did the work, its accurate, and doesn't cost me and arm and a leg I'm happy. I actually had it done in Canada before I brought it back to the states. No, the car has HIDs, but also DRLs. You can turn off your DRL's by having the car in park, and the parking brake engaged. The only difference other than that, the obvious celcius display (which I also like), is some of the lights in the dash are not the same. I cant really remember which ones, I think the brake light, of course we have DRL light, and something else is different. Oh yea, when you drive your car without the HIDs on, you'll notice the high beam light is on, but it is very dim. This is to remind you at night that the DRLs are not your actual headlights. As soon as you switch on the HIDs, the light is extinguished. I only wish that we could have access to Acura's Owners Link. They wont allow Canadian VINs on there. Oh, and also, you may have a problem with warranty work since it is now considered a grey market vehicle. I got around this because I'm a Canadian citizen. When I had my tranny replaced, they took a copy of my passport, and birth certificate, and Acura Client Services still gave the dealer grief about replacing it.

 

Ya, I am a little concerned about having transmission issues and then Acura refusing to fix it under the 100,000/7 yr warranty. I was told that is is possible to get the car VIN 'transferred' to the US system but there are a bunch of hoops to jump through and the current owner chose not to bother. Do you think as a second owner I have any recorse if I have the seeming probable tranny issues?

 

Honestly, I doubt you'll get any service from the dealerships here. Where are you located? If you live close to the border, I would just take it back to Canada if I had problems. Fortunately I was able to pass as a "student" visiting my parents here, and thus Acura honored my tranny warranty. I'm not sure you can change the VIN over. I've never even looked into this. But you will have to do paperwork when crossing over the border. I'll ask my father later on today what he had to fill out. I cant remember exactly.

 

True. DRL are not HIDs. They use halogen bulbs. Daytime Running Lights, simply, are just the high beam bulbs running at 50%.

DRL will turn on as soon as you power up the car. Also, remember that they do not affect your tails, so your full lighting system is NOT on. You can use the parking light setting (middle switch on the light stalk) which illuminates your front turn signal bulbs and tail lights (and your DRLs will obviously be on). For night use, turn the stalk all the way, which will turn on your HIDs in front, indicator lights up front, and tails in back (similar to the second setting, but will use the HIDs instead of the DRL).

 

I am in Cleveland, Ohio. Close to Canada only if I could drive over the lake.

So, just so I am clear. This car does NOT have HID? Instead it uses Halogen bulbs that is are at 50% during the day? Or is the DRL system in addition to the HID lighting?

Thanks

 

The car DOES use HIDs, but the DRL are not HIDs. The DRL are totally seperate from your HIDs. I believe your HIDs are what you guys in the States refer to as your "low beams". DRLs are in the same place as your high beam bulbs --- in fact, they ARE your high beam bulbs ------ but while in DRL mode (ie: whenever your full lighting system is not on), they are only on at 50%, so they aren't as bright. As soon as you turn on your full lighting system (ie: headlights), the DRL bulbs go out and your HID bulbs go on. You either have one or the other on at a time.

 

No. Your car uses the DRL in the highbeams. You still have the HID in the lowbeams.

 

Contact your local DMV for specific info. You can register your car in the U.S. and transfer over all applicable warranties, etc. You do not have to drive over to the car's place of origin for the rest of its life

 

OK... here we go. I just went out and took some pics to help you understand the differences. Hope this helps out. Dont mind how dirty the car is. I'm gonna try and clean it up today, but I'm so damned tired from last night, I cant even spell correctly, LOL.


With DRLs on.... headlights in the off position.


With HIDs on... headlights in the On position.

 

There ya go!

So you're basically always running with lights on in the front. The DRL are just dimmer than regular headlights.....more for you to BE SEEN than to see. You cannot turn off the DRL lights - they turn on with the car and only go off if you put on the HIDs (at night, as shown in the second pic) or turn off the car.

 

Geez Ryan, yoda man. Thanks for taking the pics, that cleared it up for me. Guess a picture really IS more then 1000 words!

By the way, your TL looks sweet. Same color as the one I am getting tomorrow. It has black leather interior. I think I'm going to love it.

Except for that nagging transmission issue that surely is lurking!

Thanks again !!

 

Well I had originally put these in the other post, but my photoshop skills didn't work and they came out to be huge. Here are some more.

Guage cluster with Key in Accessory position.


A/C Control Unit


And the thing that makes it really Canadian, is my sticker!

 

Yep, pretty sweet. Looks like you only had the speedometer indicator changed, not the electronics.

Maybe a junkyard is the ticket. Perhaps I can find the whole instrument cluster including the electronics. I bet there are a million wires though and another million things that could go wrong with switching them out. Hummm...

 

You have to be careful. I've seen a bunch of guage clusters go on ebay, and the mileage of that car is transferred to your car.... meaning carfax will show a discrepancy, if cars in Canada are recorded on Carfax. I'd just say call a speedo shop and tell him what you want. Better to get it done right than to take the risk of screwing something up. Shouldn't cost much either. I checked and I paid $250 to have my guage and the odometer changed.

 

So Comet, you have 129K MILES on your TL? That's what your odometer shows in the picture. I was thinking that had to be KM because of the celsius reading of the temperature.

 

Yes, thats correct. I've been puzzled about this too, but I think the actual temp read out on the odometer is just determined by my A/C controls. If I had a farenheit model, it would probably change the temp readout in the gauge cluster, if that makes sense. although I really have no clue.

 

to solve DRL - TAKE OUT FUSE

 

I live in Cleveland also ( se side burb). You should have no problem with the car here. I would suggest going over to motorscars acura on rockside rd near broadway. they may be able to switch it over for you. As for boneyards had good luck with a place on w 130th, (westside) for parts on my hondas. Or there is a boneyard on rt 8 in bedford/walton hills that also may have parts.

 

Hey Roz, thanks for the info. I am in Aurora. I pick up the car tomorrow. Found instrument cluster on ebay pretty cheap. I'll also check that place on Rt 8. Is that the one across from Adesa Auto Auction?

Does anybody know how the dealer might respond to a changed instrument cluster in the case of a transmission failure under 100k? I may have to have the dealer do the work just to ensure transmission warranty work if it fails.

 

I am down the road from you (solon) . Drive a 02 blue tl-s with a sk sticker on the back bumper. Since you are "down the road" so to speak the rt 8 walton hills would probably be the best bet. The place in on rt 8 by adessa might be a try, but I hav seen a few acuras at the other rt 8 boneyard. as fro the dealer motorcars is your best bet. Heard of a place out towards cahrin falls burton area that does hondas/acura might be still in business. Usually out your way for family, aurora farms , and chesper gas in streetsboro .