I am looking at a 01 TL with 154,000 miles on it thats in good shape and is priced at $2995. We took the car for a drive tonight and it runs and drives good ,the engine was smooth ,it shifted smoothly ,and the overall ride was good. One problem it does have is it has a rather loud clunking noise when you accelerate and to me it sounds and feels like it might have a broken motor or trans mount. It only does it when accelerating ,if you put it in drive with your foot on the brake and give it some gas you can feel the engine shift around.

It was dark when we drove it tonight so i didnt get a chance to look at it at all to see if i could identify the problem. The good news is I used to work for the car lot that is selling it so i know the owner ,and the mechanic he has work on the car is a good friend of mine that owns a shop behind the car lot. Tomorrow i get off work at 1pm so I am going to take it over to the mechanics shop and have him go over the car with me.

I guess the main thing I would like to know from other 2nd gen TL owners is if the motor mounts or anything related might be a common problem that could would allow the motor to shift around. And are there any other major things I would want to look over while I am inspecting the car. I appreciate any insight you guys can give

 

I could not say about your specific issue without looking at it...
But in another more important subject, You do know about the transmission issues affecting the 2G TL right?

 

No I didnt know about the transmission problems and thats why I wanted to get input from other members. Hearing that is almost enough for me to just walk away from it ,thank you for your input.

 

Yeah better stay away from it...
The TL is a nice car but sadly its plagued by Transmission Issues...

The best TL buying experience is when you buy a nice TLS that has an already damaged transmission for less than 1K and do the AV6 Swap so you get a very nice Sport Sedan for less than 3K But buying a working condition TL + Base?? is a bad value as it will most likely give you transmission issues in the future.

 

If you have a mechanic buddy that can - if needed- do a trans swap from certain Odesseys or Accord years-
then its safe to get a TL
Paying someone to do the swap is ~$800 and the same cost for a used trans

We all love our TL, and sadly there are trans issues, a now or later kind of thing... later may be 300,000 miles so thats good

159k? I can tell you how many fluids are behind schedule and the damage that does to systems, need timing belt-
major job at shop-
quotes over $1500 for that job are common!

Number 1 reason TL ends up for sale: Timing belt price
Number 2 reason- Trans flashed D5 light and bad news fault codes, Quick... trade it in!
Best luck in finding the right ride