Acura must have searched long and hard to find the softest, lousiest plastic possible to put in their cars. You can scratch the **** with your fingernail. Pathetically cheap components inside the TL.

Leather
Plastic
Stearing wheel cover
Shift Gate
Carpet

It's all sub-par for Acura.

 

I should have said "you can scratch the heck out of the plastic with your fingernail"

 

I have a question. No offense, but why do you always post negative comments about the TL / TLS. If you don't like the damn car, get rid of it and buy something twice as expensive. That should take care of the problem.

 

I have the same question too. What do you actually like about the TL?

 

First, the upgraded forum is kick ass!!!!

Now to business. I have to say, there have been plenty of threads discussing pros and cons of a TL/TL-S. But this is a valid topic. Many people in this forum have not purchased their TL yet. They want to know what they are getting themselves into.

To me, the pros outweigh the cons. I am getting my TL-S as soon as my lease is over (in several weeks) :p. But the knowledge of what's not so hot about the car is helpful, not to mention that it can be a useful tool in negotiating with a dealer.

Let up, guys!

 

I've noticed the same plastic problem - check this out- drive with the windows open - the passenger side seatbelt buckle will hit the pillar plastic and make small dents! In the very least, there should be a piece of Velcro there to hold the loose buckle in place.

In regards to why we post these comments, I hope that someone from Acura is reading this popular forum and taking notes - the best way to improve the model IMHO :-)

 

I am buying TL-S for the awesome navigation system...
extra power/VSA for TLS, memory seats is nice option also plus 6 CD changer.

 

Agreed. It is always good to hear the cons as well as the pros in order to make an informed decision.

 

I have to agree and disagree with tea elle. Our cars do have cheap plastic wood wannabe trims (IMO to keep cost down and make car affordable), just recently noticed that the back and sides of the leather isn't leather (no biggie but still kinda lower-classy), my dash is all scratched up too (not sure if it's cuz the plastic is cheap or what), my paint is already not matching in some parts of my car (now that's just Acura flat out using cheap A$$ material)...on the other hand, I love the size of my trunk (I could fit 5 golf bags ), I personally like the stereo (all you audiophiles don't bash me please), the SS is almost as good as the Germans (mine's all f*cked up now), love the price of the car so all in all I feel I got what I paid for...I personally love the car!

 

Sure the interior of the TLS is cheap looking compared to a Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, BMW.... I found Volvo to be nearly as cheap as the TLS... But you can't have your cake and eat it too... a $10-20K discount and the expensive materials.

However, check out the interior of the Escalade...a $50,000 vehicle...it is total CRAP with misaligned switchgear and panels made out of some extremely atrocious material! Makes the TLS feel like a palace on wheels!!

 

has a freedom of opinion. If he dislikes the car, he dislikes the car. But I know there are plenty of us out there who loves this car! I think Acura has done a spectacular job in making a car this great for the price! Notice I said "price", give Acura a few more dollars and I guarantee you that they will give BMW or Lexus or whoever a big phat lip! Just look how the NSX competes with the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.....

 

A Ferrari Modena or Porsche 911 Turbo will put the NSX to shame!

 

Good points from all of you. I posted this topic because I too think its important that people who are thinking about getting a TL know what they are getting into.

There are many things that I love about my TL. However, I wish I had known more about the shortcomings before I made the choice to trade in my Legend. Its likely that I would have done it anyway, but I wish I had known more (i.e. the leather seats that have hardly any leather).

And, if your dash board is scratched you can bet its because the plastic is soft and susceptible to being marred.

 

Since I'm in the market for a new car soon and am torn between the tl-s and '02 maxima, I very much appreciate these types of posts (discussions of pros vs cons of the tl-s) from owners of the vehicle. Keep it up.

Regarding the soft plastic, is there a product out there that might make it more scratch-resistant?

 

Interior materials in the Maxima are similar to the TL-S, although I prefer the ergonomics of the TL-S a bit better. The dash plastic looks cheaper in the Max, but it is harder. I don't know if harder means more scratch resistant or not.

Nissan advertises "Leather Seating Surfaces", which means the sides and backs are vinyl - at least it's a decent looking vinyl. I'm not sure what the TL-S said (sticker or sales lit), I didn't pay much attention, as Leather was standard instead of an option.

VW calls their package "Partial Leather". I'm not sure how far up the car expense line you need to go to get 100% leather seats and door inserts.

Anybody got an Audi/Lexus/BMW that can comment? Our QX-4 seats are partial leather, too.

 

I wish I could take the leather and plastic from my passat and put them in my TLS. For $28,000 the Passat interior materials put Acura's to shame. But on the other hand, I just can't get excited about driving the Passat, its really slow and handles like a twinkie on wheels.

 

Well On Lexus vehicles, the seat is leather, the rear is not leather or vinal, rather a sturdy plastic (definitely not to be confused with leather, it;s as hard as the dash)

 

I, personally, am more disappointed in Acura's quality control. They should take a long hard look at Ford's motto "Quality is Job 1"! At Acura it may well, sadly, have fallen to job 2 or 3

 

TL's interior although cheap, is still better than my $50k 530i.

BTW, i do not think TL's SS is anywhere close to steptronic. Steptronic is far more smoother in shifting up and down than TL. TL's transmission is slow to engage.

 

Sometimes to the point of ineffectiveness

 

Guys, remember.. this is sold & marketed as an ENTRY LEVEL luxury car. By todays standards, 30-33k dollar car, it's going to have some things in it that are "cheaper" type parts. Sometimes even an Acura, lexus, Infiniti, etc, will use a part or parts that are inferior in quality, b/c they are in the business of selling cars, & trying to make a profit. 30k isn't that much more than the average price of all cars in a 4 door, sedan type class. I remember when 30k was for the TOP OF THE LINE cars. I couldn't begin to afford them. I can afford a 30k Entry Level Acura Tl, & know that some parts used are not going to be best possible, otherwise, the car is going to cost 40k, & I probably won't buy it! I know that it bothers some about Acura duing this, but see what some of the other people, like chiawei, said, about a 50k car. Each manufacture is going to decide about how to save money in one area or another, but Acura still build a OVERALL quality car. The TL/TL-S defineatly falls into that catagorie! Some people will complain about the "cheap" stuff, but that's human nature. It's good for all to know "the rest of the story"
sorry for long post, but I felt it had to be said!

 

I checked out an IS 300 at Lexus and I think the materials are worse than the TL. There was a definite difference in quality of materials between the IS 300 and ES 300. I hate to say this but I think even Lexus maybe cutting back on costs.

 

SACRILEGE!!!

Are you trying to imply Acura should learn about quality control from Ford! This is silly... ford is american junk,

Acura is now ranked #2 after Lexus (#1 last year) in quality by JD Power. Please don't commit sacrilege by mentioning Acura and American cars in the same sentence...

 

Yeah and how much are you paying for them? **** if I paid damn near $200,000, I would want my car to put another car to shame!

 

OK, in that case, the Vette will put the NSX to shame...

J/K


I think American cars have gotten a bad rep, even from Javagod. There are some good American cars out there. I guess the Lincoln LS won the Motor Trend Car of the Year for the hell of it. I know that's just one example, but yet I agree that most American cars could be made better, but some are just NICE.