yooper

My daughter and I are going half on her first car in about 6 months and I've been looking at the 2nd generation TLs as a good car for her. We'll be looking in the $5 to $7k range. I was pretty much set on a 3 series BMW or Audi A4, because I've owned both and am currently driving a 740i and 740iL, so I'm familiar with a lot of the maintenance and repairs for the Audi/Bimmers. But then I thought, why not get a car that I don't have to fix all the time?

Which leads me here: Being unfamiliar with Acura, what are some of the things I should be looking for in a TL? I would definitely want service records and have a pre-purchase inspection done, but what about some common problems to look out for? A co-worker had a 2002 TL that he loved (his 16 yr old daughter totaled it by running a stoplight and t-boning someone). Only thing he mentioned was the potential tranny problem, although he had 90k miles on the car with no major problems.

Thanks in advance for the help. Hopefully I can come on here in the future as an owner.

Bob_F

By far, the biggest concern with buying a 2nd generation TL is transmission reliability.

There are serious reliability problems with both the 4-speed transmission used in the 1999 TL and the 5-speed used in the 2000-2003. Some TL owners have experienced multiple transmission failures before reaching 100,000 miles.

Consumer Reports subscriber-based reliability surveys give the 1999 TL transmission a "worse than average" rating or "half black dot". The 2000-2003 TL transmission gets a "much worse than average" rating or "full black dot". And that's the lowest rating they give out. That can be a surprise for those expecting excellent reliability for Honda/Acura parts.

So definitely spend some time on this forum reading up on that.

The Tranny Failure thread is a good place to start:

https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/leather-conditioner-help-106818/

Rebuilding or replacing the transmission can run between $2,000 and $4,000.

Acura does provide a 7 year 9 month/109,000 mile extended warranty on the transmission for all 1999-2002 TLs and for some of the 2003 TLs. But many of the previously covered cars have hit the 7 year 9 month limit.

Now, having written all of that, I bought my 1999 TL over two years ago and it's been a great car. The previous owner had just installed a new transmission so that reduced my concerns on that front. (The original transmission made it to about 173,000 miles.)

Good luck with whatever you buy!

rob-2

Get as low mileage as you can.

We own an 00 TL with 121K on it. Runs great. The tranny is going to be the sore point, make sure they have a new tranny on the car. I wouldn't purchase one now that didn't since you'd be out $2500-3k to replace it.

Get your daughter proffesional driving lessons, no offense meant. This car is very safe but also very fast for a first time car. My wife says it has ALOT of power. She's 5'4 and feels the car is as large as she'd want it to be.

ts_vaj

is warping rotors also an issue too?

achen0122

make sure you test drive it as well first.. in my opinion, the brakes on our cars are very soft, even with aftermarket pads and slotted rotors

rob-2

I dont think it's considered an 'issue' presay as it's going to happen with all stock rotors. A light female driver will likely never notice it and/or cause it.

The B window pillars tend to go bad. Just lett you know.

acutee

x2 on rotors.

new2tl

I havent had any major problems yet ( knock on wood ) and I still love my car now that the I have new front and back bumpers....lol. The only thing I regret is that I didnt get a 3rd Gen.

swalch@stanford.edu

[QUOTE=rob-2]I dont think it's considered an 'issue' presay as it's going to happen with all stock rotors. A light female driver will likely never notice it and/or cause it.

You should see the rate at which my daughter can go through brakes!

BlackMambaTL7

1.) Get the vin registered with Acura and check for ALL of the recalls, including the oil jetpack that has be to placed on the third gear (tranny issues). Also, the Acura TL has been known for bad ignition switch problems (a common recall).

2.) Be prepared to buy new rotors if the original OEM rotors are currently installed.

3.) Make sure you get the extended warranty that covers the tranny (I believe it is for 7 years or 100K miles...whatever comes first). Read the FINE PRINT before signing it. It does not cover everything.

4.) Wheel bearings are also known to get bad.

With all of that said, I have only had rotor issues and I am at 49K ...knock on wood. The TL is a great car and I love her to death but make sure your wallet is covered for this vehicle. Good luck to you!

swalch@stanford.edu

My daughter has a 2002 TLS that she bought a few months ago at ~105K miles.

So far I've done the following reconditioning.

1. timing belt/water pump with new tensioner/idler pulleys.

2. other drive belts

3. new hoses, thermostat, and coolant

4. 3x trans fluid change

5. new right side motor mount

6. machined rotors and new pads (all 4)

1,2,3, and 4 cost me ~$600 for parts, fluids etc

5 was $70

6 cost $210

That gives you some idea what it might cost to recondition one. (No labor charges included since I did the work.)

dj5

I have had a 2002 Type S since new, it's about 6 years old. It's been a great car, the tranmission was replaced once at around 35k miles which was under warranty. I replaced the brake rotors due to warping. Other than that, no other maintenance issues.

I've been thinking about trading it on on an '08 Type S, but the '02 has been such a great car it's a little hard to let it go.

Big Pip

I have an 03 TypeS and I love my car and before I purchased it I was able to find out it was regularly maintained at the Acura Dearler. However, in the 15 months I have owned the car I have had to replace the tranny, both headlights have leaked and filled with condensation causing a blow out on one of the HIDs ($100) from the dealer, warped rotors, B pillers lost clearcoat and the most annoying thing is when I had my windows tinited the @$$ hole didn't tint the top of the rear window so it looks like $h1T when driving this thing!

Now, the joy of the car is you can convert to a 6 speed (you who have done this I am very jealous!) B pillers look awesome with the carbon fiber lay over, condensation in headlights gave me a reason to take apart and paint the insides, and I have put a piece of tint on the outside of the glass temp. until I have someone put a piece of vinyl sticker over it. Everything here has a DIY on how to do it which makes this site AWESOME! I have thought about trading my car in but I have decided to keep it, I love this thing and after a few upgrades you will understand. They really are great cars and their only down fall is the transmission, lucky for me I purchased the extended warranty which I highly recommend doing as well.