Hello to all,

Just bought a white '99 TL. What a great car! I've been glued to these forums for the past 3 days looking at all the great advice! And, trying to figure out where I'm going to get all the money to do some of the cool upgrades available. I'll be back asking questions about those later.

I have a few questions now though.

Are there any mods to make the doors lock when you put it in drive and unlock in park? Or, are they supposed to and mines broke? I was really suprise that it lacks this feature. The '94 Cavelier Conv that I traded in had the feature. Half the reason we traded was because my wife was worried about carjackings. (her car really. Trying to get her to like my explorer (which also has this feature) better so I can drive it more

Also, how difficult is the wood trim kit to install and is it a "quality" look? Does it go over or replace existing?

Thanks in advance,
-Rick

P.S. Hats off to those that created and maintain this site!

 

Hey congrats on your ride (or rather, your wife's )!

No, the TL does not have auto locking doors, and nor does any Honda car, as far as I know. I lock my doors each time I sit down and buckle my seat belt anyway, it's a habit.

I don't know if there are any mods to do this, although it's not impossible to do with some electronic know-how.

Although I don't have the wood kit, I gather that it's really easy to install. It simply pastes over the existing trim.

 

Welcome to the board Rick!

You should thank Tim...He created this site...
Also, he runs www.autocarparts.com. Make sure you get all your toys from him!

He's a little something he wrote:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=24494

 

Welcome!!

I'm sure it's possible to wire something up to make it work, some electric guru can maybe figure it out.

I don't know if your planing on a aftermarket alarm, but that is one of the features that come on some alarms.

The anti grind feature for the starter and the locking doors are featues I thought were pretty cool in my alarm.

 

Thanks for the help. Sounds like an alarm might be a good way to accomplish this. Especially after reading poor AzNTL's thread

 

Congrads on the purchase! I was supposed to purchase a 01 White TL, but it got sold before I got my hands on it.

I thought all high model hondas have autolock doors. My Accord EX V6 did. Did you close the door then start the car? who knows...haha! ANd I thought every TL got wood trim?

 

you will need to add an aftermarket alarm to your car to get ignition-controlled locking. that's either viper or clifford though there are more brands that i am not familiar with.

viper's system requires that all doors be closed prior to starting the car or it won't auto lock...when you turn off the car, all doors should unlock.

clifford's system works differently. the locks are rpm-controlled...you will need to reach 5 or 10 mph hour before the doors lock. this is pretty nice considering by this time all doors would have been closed. there is a chance that clifford has the ignition-controlled locks too, but i do not recall if it has both or just the rpm one.

 

Get the lexus or the MB...

 

The 1996 Honda Accord EX that I had had this feature (at least auto locking when you start the ignition, but can't quite recall if it unlocks when park... Anyways, I loved it...) But to be honest, after I traded my car in for my TL... I totally forgot about this feature cus I was so overwhelmed by all the features that the TL had and the old accord didn't.

 

Or perhaps that's why...

 

BTW... Welcome to the Board Rick! And congrat on your new rocket!!!

 

Welcome to the forum, and the family. I'm also going to look for an alarm... one that has auto-up/down windows, and moonroof.

Oh, Inspire, you should of tried to edit your post, rather than add new ones... just a thought.

 

I should've known about the autolocking features on current Honda/Acura vehicles. We have an '01 Accord EX that the wife has to lock herself. My Dodge Intrepid has autolock that activates once the car gets to 14 mph. Is it THAT expensive to program such a feature into an expensive car such as the TL? Can't be if my $20k Intrepid has it.

The good thing about the Accord's system is that if you press down the lock on the driver's front door, all of the locks engage.

Looks like mod number three once I receiving my '02 TL next week (after adding rear wing and buying new tires) will be an aftermarket alarm with that feature.

 

It's not that expensive to do this, but it may not be a desirable feature for some people. I know I don't miss it. And I especially do not want a feature that unlocks the doors when I park.

 

Yes Rick you can get an aftermarket alarm to do this.
I have a Clifford & this feature is on the alarm system. The alarm system also has Built- in BlackJax Anticarjacking Self Recovery Sub system. You can have the RPM auto locking doors lock when the car reaches a certain RPM. You can also have the doors unlock when you put the car in park. I do not like that feature but it can be turned off by the alarm installer. Carjacking was a big concern to me. This is why I purchased the Clifford alarm. A person can have your keys & alarm remote. the car can even be running but without a code they cannot drive the car more than about 200 feet.This will give you time to get away from a carjacker or get yourself together to beat his A$$.The car will give warning sounds if the code is not entered & then the car will shut off. This will happen only when the car slows to a safe speed. The car will then stop brake lights flash & full alarm sounds. The carjacker can not restart the car because they don't know the code.They would not even want to stay in the car with alarm going off. They can't even try to guess the code. After the third incorrect entry the car will not start for a few min.You can enter the code before you drive off or a few seconds after moving. It all depend on what model you get.The mid & upper end model Cliffords have anti carjacking Built-in. www.clifford.com

 

I wish it had auto-locking doors as well -- however no auto-unlock. That, I think, is asinine.

My TBird locked after you shifted past Reverse. It didn't unlock them -- but you were able to open the door from the inside with it locked (one of the ones that unlocks the door when u pull the handle) I wish the TL was like that -- because when I do lock the doors I keep grabbing the handle trying to open the door without unlocking it first -- that's been a particularly hard habit to break.

As for the wood kit -- it's an add-on "factory match" Unfortunately no REAL WOOD trim kit is available for the TL. Only kits avail. add more of that UGLY, FAKE, Bowling Ball "wood" sh!t....

My Advice, don't add it.....

But thats my opinion, I could be wrong

BTW Welcome the board yo!

 

I had that auto locking thing on my Chrysler which was not bad, especially for the security of my wife, however, my friend had a Grand Am and there auto locking system is horrible, locks when vehicle put in drive and unlocks when key comes out of ignition. can you say annoying.

 

I know I know... Just didn't know how to quote two people at the same time... my badd...

 

PW'ing

Its not particularly hard highlight, CRTL + C & CTRL + V (copy n paste) :p

 

That was my next question. Thanks for your opinion And thanks for all the "Welcomes" everyone. And thanks to TIM for the GREAT site!

 

Courtesy of my Python, my doors lock 3 seconds after I put in the key in and unlock when I turn the engine off.

They are just stickers. Pretty easy to put on, you just have to be sure where you put them down is where you want them. You won't be uninstalling the wood stickers. There are real wood kits (Joshua Tree or something like that) out there but they are still just wood stickers. The real wood kits don't match as good as the fake ones though. As for whether it is a quality look...

Here is the 02 TL AC trim:

Click here for a bigger pic

Here is the Inspire wood wheel (you can buy a wood wheel from your dealer that fits an 02 TL, it looks the same) and a wood kit:



Alot of people on the board are haters, but I've never had anyone who has seen it in person say anything besides that it looks great.

 

Thanks Nate.
I must say, the pics of your trim kit look good! I saw them in the gallery also. Nice ride! The steering wheel and shift knob too! Maybe I'll win the lottery this time

 

Nate -- Joshua sells *REAL* wood?? link me up
I'll paint over the factory $hit and add some real wood
thanks

 

Tommy, Joshua is a type of tree. I think thats what Nate was trying to say. Hopefully he has the name of the manufacturer for you...I know, I know, I'm no help

 

Thanks rick763!

The manufacturer name is Joshua Tree. But I won't link you because Tim sells wood kits... but he doesn't sell the Joshua Tree kits, and for good reason: they don't match the stock wood. Why would you want real wood stickers when the fake wood stickers look better!? The real wood stickers are exactly the same, just a little lighter in color.

 

I have a Joshua Tree wood kit installed on my TL and the color match is perfect with the existing factory "wood".

I imagine the wood that Tim sells on this site is excellent quality too. Many people have bought that, and love it.


-Joshua

 

About the auto locking feature...

If you plan on getting a car alarm then you shouldn't worry about this at all...but if not, you can use a simple timing circuit. There are two types that use a power signal as an input...rising cycle, and falling cycle. You want the latter, because falling cycle is when the power goes from some positive value to some non-positive value (0 or negative). So you take this simple little circuit, and you wire it up to your power locks. You will be able to set the time delay with jumpers or hard wire it in, and it will send an impulse through the wires you have connected it to for a certain time you specify (probably 1 second or so), similar to that which your power lock button would do. The whole thing is really simple and about 2"x1"x.5" or smaller. This is the same type of timing circuit I'm also going to use to auto power up and down my windows and moonroof, as well as a few other things...

Austin519

 

Thanks Austin,
This sounds good. I'm going to look for one of these circuits. I may have some more questions when I find one.

 

That is True...Welcome to the Board

Purchase a aftermarket alarm and the doors will lock if you want it.

 

rick:
"Thanks Austin,
This sounds good. I'm going to look for one of these circuits. I may have some more questions when I find one."

Sure thing...lemme know if you have trouble...

Austin519

 

This circuit that you're talking about is called a relay timer module. DEI makes one for like $25. It is a non-retriggerable monostable one shot controlling a SPDT relay with an adjustable delay via a potentiometer. In other words, upon receiving a negative trigger (like through a switch) it engages a relay for a set amount of time and then disengages the relay again. In order to trigger the relay again, the trigger must deassert, and then reassert itself.

The potentiometer can vary the amount of time that the relay stays engaged from nearly instantly, to over a minute. Just a little turn effects the time significantly, so this is not a precisely timed instrument. The reason this is so is because the circuit uses a 555 timer and not a quartz clock. A 555 timer is a circuit whose time is determined by the rate of charging and decay of the voltage across capacitors and resistors. In order for it to properly close/open a window under all circumstances (and operational battery voltages) you will need to set it to engage for a couple seconds longer than it actually takes for the window to close/open to guarantee that it will work.

-Josh

 

bebber:
Do I sense the presence of a fellow EE? There is a disturbance in the force! Hee hee...I'm actually familiar with (have used) the DEI one...but there are also digital ones based on a quartz clock for not too terribly much more...those were what I was really referring to. And what you wrote about the timer closing the window all the way is exactly correct...in fact I believe I posted that somewhere else in a discussion about this. You'd need to set it so that it has a second or two of "hang", a.k.a it closes the relay a little bit longer than necessary.

Austin519

 

Yeah, I admit it. I'm a gEEk, albeit a slightly cooler than average one. And I pursue other discplines like philosophy and opera singing.

So where do you get the fancier quartz timers? how much?

 

bebber:
Ha ha you worry me I'll have to check next time I go down to the solar car shop which ones we used exactly...but they're similar to these:

http://www.datum.com/pdfs-ttm/9600_q.pdf

I've built one before...like this one:

http://www.siriusmicro.com/B1.pdf (DIY)
Although this one isn't quite as accurate...it still is a lot more than the 555 timers.

I seem to recall DPIE being who made ours...I'll have to check. I seem to recall the ones we got were $40. I'll have to check on that too.

Austin519