frostwhiteh22at

hey guys, so im in the hunt for a second car, a nice daily driver, decent mpg, comfort, some sporty appeal, something good for lots of highway driving, im not concerned aboutt being the fastest car on the road at all (got my h22a cb7 soon to be boosted to take care of my speed urges). Im considering the following cars, 02-03 tl-s, 03-05 accord v6, 05-06 altima v6, and open to suggestions. The one thing holding me back from getting a tl-s is hearing all of your guys horror stories of the transmission crapping out, then im out another grand or so. Please tell me if the TL-s is a good choice for me, or am i gonna be replacing a transmission every year(ok maybe not that often) but you get the picture, is the tl-s as reliable, practical while still fun as the other cars?

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

03-05 V6-6speed

01tl4tl

if it were only a grand for a trans!!--its about 2500 to rebuild
that might be 40-60kmiles or 100kmiles,,, or 500 miles from now.

expect it to be bad once by 100 and hopefully replaced under warranty
blue paint on trans bolt heads means warranty unit

due to its failure being a major problem,,this being a tech problem gathering place the numbers are higher-- but in general:
the trans warranty is gone- you are on your own when it fails, and it will eventually- just when is the question

see other recent threads on same subject
for the same money I would get a honda- ck accords,, but some had trans problems
Altimas seem to be reliable cars with good looks

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

04-08 Legacy GT?

V_Langs_3.2TL

04-05 TL 6Speed?

frostwhiteh22at

Im looking for an automatic, something easy if i have to go in seattle or other near by cities, but im gonna admit that i think im falling for the tl-s, i test drove another one after driving a v6 altima, and a v6 accord. the v6 altima is my second choice.. but it gets really crap mpg, i talked to the tech at the dealer he said he get abt 24 mpg on the highway with his altima v6, also i felt like it took a step backward in quality from the acura. i really feel like im going to have a UA5 parked in my garage soon.

01tl4tl

beware of what you say--a dead trans will leave it parked in the garage!

crap mileage of altima? the TL on a good day in town gets 17-19,,some even lower with lead foot, or stop and go commute kills it bad
It takes a lot of power to make the car move forward from stopped to 25

freeway ~25mpg up to 29 on pure freeway cruise,,some will claim 30-32 with whatever mods and choice of oils etc,,
sticky tires reduce mileage but make the car fun to drive,,stock it handles loose,you dont know until you drive one with some basic crossbar stiffening in the suspension

combined average 300-350 miles per 15 gal refill- at low fuel light = ~22

Look at the cost of the 105 service done right, new brake rotor/pad package, trans if not recent rebuild, ps and brake fluid flush...
put all those with the purchase price,,does it make sense
also factor yearly miles and 91 octane gas required,,do the other cars?

Note for those thinking 04 05 TL 6speed- see gen3 threads on big synchro prob on 3rd gear

01tl4tl

the gen2 TL was one of the first with this tiptronic style trans on a lower priced car (not counting P or B euro cars) Today its found on most cars above basic level- steering wheel paddle or SS mode on shifter is the same thing- electronic control of the system

with that early work 1990s? came compromise on design of engineers and reality of what the company wants to spend per car,
led to `not enough room inside the trans case for an extra disc`--and not great oil flow passages
thats from a 20 year acura tech who rebuilds these trans for friends and has been trying to make a fix for 10 years with no luck..simply not going to happen,,certain limitation of room here and shaft size there...

Im glad to have purchased a TL 4-5 years ago, in its prime and covered trans~
but
would not do it on one today without a hassle free trans warranty for as long as I plan to keep the car