Picked up a 2003 TL Navi back in June. 42,000 miles, pre-owned certified, full warranty till 100,000 miles. Since I bought it I've had to take it into the shop for numerous warranty work. Splitting seat leather, rubber on windshield peeling, squeaky sunroof, plastic pieces popping off the interior, driver seat power motors not working. Now the car is back in the shop, again, because the steering wheel audio controls are glitchy, left driver side mirror is not memorizing its position and the sunroof opens 3/4 of the way. My last car was a '96 Accord, 170,000 miles, with zero issues except for routine check-ups. Has Honda reliability gone down, is this car a lemon or is this normal wear and tear? My last car didn't have any of these fancy features so maybe this is normal for luxury cars. I love driving the car and that hasn't been an issue, but the fit & finish stuff is getting out of hand.

 

maybe the previous owner abused the car?? i don't have a single problem with mine...

 

But these issues seem like manufacturer problems and not user issues. If I had the car since day one, I'd still be upset that this stuff is happening at 42,000 miles. Maybe that's why the owner sold it.

 

I picked up my 2002 TL-P non-navi with the Acura pre-certified package till 100k. Since I purchased it in February, I've had the ECU replaced along with an engine mount, the windshield trim fixed, and still am trying to fix a rough idle problem. I've spoken to the mechanics at the dealership at length with some of the problems and they've been more than willing to help get all the little problems resolved.

Having cars in for repair is frustrating as hell, but the TL is an incredible machine. As long as the dealer keeps fixing it and the warranty keeps covering it, I'd say just work through the problems. The only exception for me would come if I was driving with a cute little girl down the street and the door fell off.

But thats me...

Good luck on the repairs, though.

 

I think the car was a lemon/abused, which is why the original owner sold it.

I've have an '03 TLP/Navi with no problems other than the warped rotors and window trim bubbling.

Damn, that doesn't sound too good does it.

 

Do some research on the Lemon Law in your state, or any state for that matter.

Your issues are certainly not indicative of a lemon law candidate.

 

I picked up a 00 TL about 18 months ago, and it also came off a lease, has 3 warranties (factory, certified, and now an extended to 100K). In that time, I've had my car in numerous times for all sorts of things from problems with the navi display to replacing parts of the interior (I’ve probably been in 10 times over the course of a year, to get things fixed as I noticed them). I have a feeling that the previous owner of my car treated the car "pretty well", but certainly didn't baby it. Since I have had these things fixed, I haven't had any other problems (I think the previous owner just lived with the issues when they came up and didn't bother to get them fixed).

So, I don't think your car is a lemon; it might just be that the owner before you ignored some issues. I would get everything fixed, and chances are you'll notice some more things the more you own the car, and then see how it does. If it looks like things are still coming undone, then I would see if you could work the lemon law card. I honestly think that your car is ok, it just needs some startup TLC.

 

i think my leather is beginning to split too. it's barely noticeable unless you really get on top of it. i wonder if they would cover it under warrantee....i guess i'll have to ask.

SSTS

 

That would be my conculsion.

 

I got my '00 TL back in May with 68,000 miles and it was a lease, one owner, and they took care of the car! It even has Dunlop tires on them so I know they took care of it cuz they're not the cheapest tires out there. The drivers seat looks a little worn but not much but that is expected since thats the one seat that gets the most abused. Other than that, nothing wrong so far knock on wood. I called Acura and gave them my VIN # and was able to find out that my tranny was replaced at 33K.

 

Sounds like your car was not taken care of well by the first owner. I have had my TL since 2001. No isssues with fit or finish. I had the tranny replaced at 51K and wrapped rotors twice but all of it was taken care of with in the basic warranty. I have been very happy with the care so far.

For you guys having issues with the leather, use Lexsol it works great and you also might want to tint the windows also. This will help prevent fading and heating up the interior. I never leave the sunroof open fully when the car is parked in the sun. All that does is just heats up the leather and drys it out. My leather is still like new with 55K on the car.

 

I guess you didn't research the TL before you bought it. It has horrible quality for an Acura or any luxury badged car. Period. I can never recommend American made Import badged luxury cars. I.E. QX56, X5, ML, TL.