I just bought a silver 3.2TL automatic from a used car dealer yesterday. It is a 2003 and has only 20,000 miles. I think they look cool and have wanted one for some time now.


15 miles away from the dealer the malfunction indicator lamp (aka check engine light) came on. Also the transmission started feeling a little jittery around 1st and 2nd gears. This has me very frightened...

What are the most likely problems in my car? What kind of costs am I looking at? Are there known to be lemons among the 2003 TL's?

I have an appointment with a local Acura dealer, not the seedy used car salesman, to get the car evaluated and serviced on Monday morning. I would like to know what I should expect going in. Hopefully it will all fall under the warranty...

 

Sounds like you got a car with a bad tranny in it. Not surprising since a lot of TL's have this problem. Honda knows about it...

Anyhow, the warranty is transferable which means you're covered to have it done under warranty. I believe the warranty covers you for 7 years/100k miles...so you have lots of time to have another one replaced if it ever craps out again

Good luck with that...I'm sure Acura will take care of it for you.

 

If you just bought the car yesterday, I'm sure the dealer can take it back.

Sure, you can get it fixed under warranty, but why would you want to go through all that hassle for a car you just purchased?

See if the dealer will take it back, he obviously sold you a shitty vehicle.

 

It's not that the dealer sold you a shitty car, a lot of TL's will end up having the tranny die a couple times during the life of the car. It's just something you have to put up with if you bought a 2000-2003 TL. And plus, every manufacturer has their share of problems.

I would say, take the car to the dealer and have them fix it up. Honestly, once the car has a new tranny put into it, it will run like a dream, you'll love driving the TL.

If you replace the tranny and the car still doesn't feel right, then I would confront the dealer which you purchased the vehicle at, to see if they will take it back

First though, let the dealer take a look at it.

Hope all works out with you.

Take Care.

 

by law u have a few days return policy where u can get your money towards another car on the lot. my opinion if i could go back in time i woulda never bought this pos. Take it back while you still can

 

You should not have any problems with the car only 15 miles off the dealer's lot!!! Not good! Personally, I would've turned right around and gone right back. I would definitely give the used car dealer a call ASAP and let him know what went on, what your intentions are, and what you expect of him.

Did you check out the old service records prior to buying so you know how the car has been maintained? Did you have the car inspected by a mechanic prior to purchase either? Always have a mechanic of your choice check out any potential car.....a reasonable and experienced car dealer should not have any problems with you wanting to do that prior to buying the car.

Good luck! Keep us updated!

 

how many days by law is the return policy?

 

Well here's an update with the information people are asking for.

First of all, I did turn right around and go straight back. But it was the getting late and they were all gone and everything was dark by the time I got back there. about 40 minutes total since I had left their lot.

They did have documentation of a 120 point inspection run by the mechanic at the dealer, a copy of the clean CarFax report, and a clean inspection done by an Acura dealership about 6 months earlier while I was shopping. I don't really know any mechanics and had never bought a car before so I figured that was enough information to go by.

I finally got ahold of the used car dealer, who is a young guy. He told me I should take it to an Acura dealership because they are the ones with the warranty on it. He's not particularly mean. Just eager to make the quick buck and hard to get ahold of.

To Acuratl203 - Can you give me the name of the law that allows me to return my car? If things get bad in the next few days I might consider it....


I'm crossing my fingers until Monday morning.

 

What you are referring to is called the lemon law. Every state has one, but they all have diiferent requirement. Contact the consumer protection division of your state's Attorney's General's office. Usually one bad tranny isnt enough to cover you.

You should be fine though, taking the car to acura, theyll give you a nice loaner (an 04 TL?) and have you running fine in a week

 

Good to hear you're having it looked at. If you want anything done to rectify the situation with the *used car dealer* in any way, just make sure you stay on top of it and get it done asap (I know you are having the car looked at in a few days). The sooner you come to a solution (if any) with the seller, the more likely it will land in your favour. Btw, as far as I know (at least here) -- DOT inspections are only valid for 30 days.....six months is a long time.

Continued luck!

 

I may start actively start persuing the lemmon law to acquire buy back from the factory. reasons: (see sig.)

 

I got a call from the Acura dealership over lunch today. They replaced the tranny and I can pick it up tonight.

There were no charges to me due to the warranty and the Acura service people were very nice. But the whole ordeal was a tad annoying. I hope this Acura doesn't prove prone to these kind of problems.

I recommend that everyone who considers buying a second generation Acura TL take the car to your own mechanic before buying it. Don't trust a random used car dealers inspection...

Oh, and make sure the warranty is still good. If I didn't have that to fall back on I would be screwed!