An 03 TL Type S owner here. My car is currently at 56k miles, and I did not purchase any extended warranty with the vehicle. Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a mechanic by any means. I do not know much about cars other than the usual:

1. Change the oil every 3k miles.

2. Rotate my tires every 5-6k.

3. Take care of the major services offered by my dealership.

Through this forum, I have learned quite a bit of things to look out for when it comes to my TL. For example, recently, I have just replaced my foglight housing by purchasing the replacement lens from a board member that has a store on ebay. With the information I have gathered from this board, I have saved myself a couple of hundred $$ since having a dealership fixing the housing would have cost me well over $350. What I want to know is the following:


1. Are there any other COMMON minor issues / fixes as far as second generation TLs are concerned that non-mechanic savvy owners such as myself should be concerned or beware of? By keeping a list of these common issues, people would less likely be ripped off by dealership out there who prey on people who knows nothing about cars.

2. Are there any other preventive service and works I should pay attention to other than the three listed above when it comes to my TL? I am planning on having this car for a couple more years, and the last thing I want is being told that something on my car needs to be fixed and it would cost a fortune to do so because I did not do some minor maintenance work on my TL.

Any links, suggestions and input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oil switch to synthetic and run longer intervals.

Major service is determined on what wour willing to try. Most things arent that hard for a DIY'er to attempt.

Nothing persay to be preventive other than keep up with the standard scheduled maintance.

 

Thanks fsttyms1. Your input and suggestions are always trustworthy. Now, would you be so kind and answer my other post? (Pertaining to the Engine Mounts) Thank you!

 

I would suggest taking your car to a trusted or reputable mechanic first before the dealer for just regular service. The difference in prices are hugh, my dealer charge me about 480$ for servicing my car at about 52k miles and when I brought it to a mechanics i went to for years, he did everything for around 200$

 

Avoid placing your cell phone or any electrical device on the seat (driver and passenger) since SRS light might turn on due to that. It is unproven but that's the explaination from the dealer. Other than that and regular maintenance schedule, there is not much of common issue for our car.

 

Window panling fades...

 

how long do you guys go inbetween oil changes. i use mobile1 and after 3k miles its pretty black. idk how much farther i would go past 3k intervals.

alot of people had the clock lights go out. simple but a pain. thats the only thing i could think of.

 

Not unproven to me, Ive had my light come on just about every time i set my dell laptop on the Passenger seat.

 

About 8000 miles ? I'm using the mobil 1 (extended bla bla bla) with the yellow cap now. And OEM filter from Japan.

 

Color has nothing to do with it. If it didnt turn dark id be worried. I run between 12-15k intervals

 

ic... cause once when i had my other car they said to leave the synthetic stuff in for like 10 k miles it when they changed it he was like how long has it been since you changed it? it had soot in it and he flushed it with some other oil to make sure it was all out.

 

12-15k interval !! witch oil did you use .. my Torco was dark as hell at 5k.. and my car taked 1liter.. maybe because it way my first oil change with synthetic.. and i do drive a bit hard somethime.. anyway ive motul now maybe ill last longer..

 

It happened to me twice when I placed my cell phone on the passenger seat. Both time the dealer agrees to replace the sensor and reset the SRS light for free, but I won't try my luck for another one.

 

I use the Mobil 1 synthetic extended. at first switch it isnt uncommon to go thru a littel oil, my last time i changed my oil i hadnt used a drop in 12k and my engine has almost 200k on it.. Its also a good thing that it turns dark in color, if it didnt it wouldnt be doing its job, color of the oil doesnt mean its bad.

 

Mobil 1 doesn't need to be changed every 3k. Most TL owners using M1 change them around 7.5-10k. I personally change it every 7.5k. There have been several Universal Oil Analysis (UOA) that have shown that M1 is still good at 7.5k and could go longer. I am on the more conservative end so I don't normally push that.

 

While we are on this topic, let me make my own contribution to those of you who haven't done the foglight housing adjustment just yet. The stock/OEM foglight lenses that comes with the TL are made out of glass for some odd reason. Thus, it's easily shattered by pebbles & such. The dealership charges quite a bit $$ to replace the broken lenses, yet it simply patches the issue and not FIX the problem.

The fix the problem, you can purchase a pair of the Lexan MR-10 foglight glasses [mod edit] It's simple to install even for the non-DIYers and the new lenses are so thick that it is guarantee to never break.

Here's a link to the issue I had:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115628


Another thread with pictures:

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/4pdt-86769/

[mod edit]

 

The reason why the dealer charges so much to fix the foglight lens is because it's sold as an entire unit (ie the whole foglight housing + lens) -- they don't sell the lens individually.

Do the foglight lens replacement yourself. Go to Home Depot -- buy some Lexan plastic and GE high temp silicone. Take out your broken foglight housing. Trace the shape of the housing on the Lexan. Cut the Lexan with a Dremel. Take the silver metal edging off the foglight housing. Break off any plastic with gloves. Clean off any silicone that's on the housing. Use your GE silicone and put on the fitted Lexan lens you cut. Use some clamps to hold the lens in place overnight. You're done.

Cost to do this mod: US$15 + priceless satisfaction you did it. Cost from ebay loser : $50 + you still have to do the installation labor yourself. Why not do it all yourself?

 

I go 5K... I used to go religiously at 3750 (halfway between 7500)...

But I felt it was excessive, so I made it an even 5000... I was told by a friend of mine that the "every 3K" is mostly prevalent in the US... That in Europe, he has rarely heard of people changing oil that frequenty...

Anyway...that's how I got to 5... I am sure everyone has a reason for their interval preference...

 

English people don't know anything about cars, that's why

 

English maybe but french people does

 

When I bought my car I was told by the service tech's and sales people that every 7500 is now sufficient for late model vehicles. I still take it in every 3k since I get free oil changes for life but I have heard the same thing from other mechanics.

 

If you start get vibration when braking, DON'T go to the dealer! just buy new rotors online, it'll save you a lot of money and headache in the long run. Before I started reading this board I had the dealer resurface my rotors (or maybe put in new ones), then 15,000 miles later the same problem happened again. Went back to acura but they said it wasn't their fault, and that rotors wear, so I was SOL.

 

Very interesting. Which TL? I have been putting my dell laptop on the passenger seat at least twice weekly since before August 2005. The SRS light of my 2000 3.2 did not come on until after I had disconnected the tail light harness.