Aight so far I've heard about the Bypass Valve Actuator not working. The Electronic LOad DEctor circuit sucks. My car sqeaks like a mofo. Anything else am I missing please post if you have more

Mr.T

 

Welcome to the automotive world.

It's really amazing sometimes with all this technology and know-how that they still have all these "bugs".

Seriously, it is the same with every manufacturer. Some do try harder, but as long as more technology is being put into cars you'll keep getting "bugs".

After a while you'll just come to think of them as features or personality traits.

It's the way it's always been and will always be.
A good reason why many folks will never buy a first model year of a car. Too many bugs, just like software. They get better with every version and then they come out with a new release and it starts all over again.

 

The only problem i have with mine is the ashtray/coin holder latch doesn't close all the way. Dunno why....but dealer will fix for me tomorrow. Any of you guys having this problem too?

 

Ashtray fits ok, no squeeks/rattles after 1500 mi, but the bumpers need adjusted so they line up with the sheet metal.

Even Lexus has the occasional problem - according to J.D. Power, the TL finished 3rd in the least number of defects per 100 cars for 2000, behind a pair of Lexus (Lexi?). The one that really surprised me was the Jag at #4.

My beloved Maxima finished down at 28, behind the Chevy Impala with 113 problems per 100 cars.

Here's the top 20:

Total Industry 147

1 Lexus LS430 58
2 Lexus ES300 73
3 Acura TL 76
4 Jaguar XK Cpe/Conv 81
5 Lexus RX 300 85
6 Toyota Avalon 87
7 Toyota Tundra 91
8 BMW 7 Series 92
8 Saab 9-5 Sdn/Wgn 92
10 BMW 5 Series (Total) 94
11 Jaguar XJ Sedan 95
11 Mercedes-Benz E-Class 95
13 Lexus GS Sedan 96
14 Dodge Intrepid 99
15 BMW 3 Series (Total) 101
15 Chrysler LHS 101
15 Toyota Sienna 101
18 Lexus LX 470 102
19 Infiniti I30 103
20 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 104
20 Toyota Corolla 104

 

1) Getting new transmission tomorrow after only 9500 miles
2) Sunroof squeaks and rattles like hell
3) Passenger seat squeaks when someone is in it
4) Lots of blemishes in the paint, mainly on the hood

 

How hard do you drive it?

 

I'm in the market for a new car and will probably be ready to purchase sometime in the next few months. I've narrowed my choices down to the tl-s and the '02 maxima. I've been reading posts on this board for several weeks to gather as much info as I can on the tl-s as well as some of the nissan boards getting the same on the new max. Lately, I've been reading a lot of posts on the nagging, minor quality defects with the tl-s (squeaky seats and sunroof, paint, etc.) and wanted honest opinions on what others might do if given the same choice that I have now (max vs. tls). Anyone care to comment?

By the way, I'm a long time Honda owner (3 Accords since 1985) and supporter - current car is a '93 Accord with 120K miles.

 

I too was considering a Maxima right before purchasing my TL-S. Here's what I was looking at:

2001 Maxima SE, 20th Anniversary Edition. It had nice ground effects, lights, and other bells and whistles. However, I was not impressed one bit by the interior. It is very bland and not luxurious at all. The hp was only 225 and I thought the thing was pretty ugly from the front and back (this coming from a previous 2 maxima owner). The thing just keeps getting uglier and uglier. Anyhow, back to this Maxima that I test drove, aside from the few things that came with the 20th Anniversary Edition (special mats, racing pedals, ground effects, spoiler, special shifter knob), there was NOTHING more impressive on the Maxima than on the TL-S. To add insult to injury, to get the luxurious interior, you have to purchase the Maxima LE....they don't combine luxury with performance over at Nissan. Of course, this may have changed for 2002 but as far as the body style, I did preview it (online) the other day....and it still looks pretty unappealing. I am positive that even if you go with maxima, there will be complaints on it as well. Oh, also, one major reason we were leary of Nissan.......our previous 2 Maximas, as well as our Infiniti Q45, were exhibiting premature transmission failure. We had to rebuild the tranny on our 90 Maxima way sooner than anticipated. I have other friends that experienced the same tranny woes on their Maximas as well.

Hope this helps some with your decision.

 

Thanks, TL4Mo. I too looked at and drove the 20th edition about a month ago and was almost ready to buy but heard about the 260 hp '02 version coming out in Aug-Sep. I thought the max was somewhat luxurious but my frame of reference is my current car. I'm glad to hear you think the tl-s is more luxurious since a lot of stuff I've read about its interior says its a little lacking on fit and finish and overall quality of materials.

 

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar the TL is the best car in the entry-luxury category. I honestly believe it is in a class by itself, mostly because of how much you get for 31K.

I've owned four Acuras (1 Integ, 2 Legends, 1TL) and I can honestly say the TL has the most annoyances, but it also has the most technology, best ride, acceleration and refinement of the four.

Whatever glitches or oddities you may discover with your TL, you can get the dealer to handle them if you try. My belief is that those people on this site that have had transmission problems are primarily BAD DRIVERS who abused their cars too soon. I think many of them are lucky that Acura is replacing their transmissions so quickly and not investigating whether their warranty may have been voided by abusive racing, sport-shifting and redlining. Clearly, it would be a big hassle for Acura to attempt such a thing, and a publicity nightmare as well.

In my opinion, here is no other car to choose, unless you jump to 40K, and even then I'm not sure there is much that still wins in terms of all categories (reliability, performance, features and resale value combined). Good luck, and happy driving.

 

Any word on whether Acura will be addressing any of these tl-s annoyances in the near future (preferably before I buy one)?

 

the noise just won't stop!!!

G

 

Please describe "bad driving" so that I can avoid. So far, I've just taken it to 100 mpg on the highway (bringing it home from the out of town dealership). What are good things to avoid when wanting to drive fun? Please help a very inexperienced "driver"....I normally only transport in a vehicle but never have "driven". Well except for very few instances....once taking the '90 Maxima up to 130 and the Infiniti Q45 to 140 on the highway of course.

TL4Mo

 

Passenger's side seat motor gone bad.

 

Wow! I hope my TL-S gets mileage that good when I pick it up in two weeks!

Sorry
Paul

 

No need to be sorry...that does sound silly. Unfortunately when my typing tries to keep up with the thinking.......wrong letters get punched. I'm sure you know 100 mph was meant.......duh! I feel like such a goober.

That would be a fantastic selling point....."100 mpg"

 

Considering the price of gas these days, I imagine it would be. Luckily I have a BJs Wholesale club card, because I can get 93 fuel there for $1.569 (or at least, that's what it was the last time I filled up). So if you DO figure out how to make the TL get 100 mpg, please let us know!

Incidentally, I'm very thankful for threads like these so when I go to pick up my car in two weeks, I'll be armed with some actual problems to look for and not just "want car want car want car -drool-"

Thanks folks!
Paul

 

OK, am I the only one who is confused by this post? Let me say this about that...

A car is not a video game. You cant just hop on, insert four quarters and beat the sh*t out of it and then call the "guy in the change booth at the arcade" to come fix the machine. If one buys a $30,000 car and thinks they can drive it to its limits without anything bad happening as a result, they are going to learn a hard lesson.

 

Well said...and true. But at the same time, if a Type S is engineered to drive fast, we should be able to have SOME fun with it.

 

Here are my list of problems that I will have dealer addressed ASAP...

Squeaking Sunroof
Squeaking Seatbelt Buckles
Squeaking Driver Seat
Exhaust Pipes not level
Paint Flaws(no chips, but there are cracks, YES, cracks on paint surfaces)
Keyless Entry(it would not unlock the doors occassionally)
Random RPM(Some one already stated it's defective Idle Controller)
Loose Headlight bulb and/or assembly(the HID lights "vibrates" when going rough terrain. Either the HID bulbs are not secured properly, or the whole assembly is loose)
Loose Bumper Cover on the Driver Side.

Andy Kuo

 

Dang! That's quite a bit of stuff. How long have you been driving your TLS?

I must be deaf or lucky because so far there are no sqeaks like I read being described. And I hope is stays that way. Good thing there is a warranty!

TL4MO

 

WOW, this is sad.......

 

VIN 006XX
7800 miles
Picked it up March 13, 2001.
[list=a][*]Rattles inside the cabin. The sunroof kit fixed those.[*]Rattles from the front end, triggered by going over bumps at speeds lower than 40. Turned out to be the hood latch adjustment.[*]Uneven exhaust tips. Dealer adjusted them after first saying that they had "never heard of the problem."[*]Power window safety recall. Dealer replaced the window motor(s) controller.[*]Inoperative driver seat lumbar support. I don't use it and haven't even reported the problem.[/list=a]

I won't list it as a "problem." but I was a bit miffed that the dealer pretended not to know that the recommended oil is 5W20. They put in 10W30 at the 7500 service. In my area (Livermore, CA) it gets rather hot in the summer, so 10W30 sure won't hurt anything but mileage.

Mostly happy with the dealer and the repairs.

Very happy with my TL-S!

 

I have a 2002 TL Type S and after 3,100 miles, only two known problems. One tailpipe isn't quite level, but I'm told this is a simply fix, and I found the source of the creaking noise in the dash - it happens when the AC is on Auto and some vent opens up behind the dash. I'm having the dealer look at that next time I'm in. Other than that, rock solid, dead quiet (with the AC off), quite relaxing!

 

With 3,200 miles on my TL-S I've had only one minor issue. The right tailpipe had to be adjusted by the dealer. Took all of 20 minutes while I had a cup of free coffee. No squeeks or any rattles to report. The car really runs great!

 

- my tail pipes worked themselves to being uneven. dealer serviced and evened them out.

- air conditioning system. i hate the smell when i turn on the car if i don't turn off the a/c before shutting off the car. makes me turn off the a/c (to just vent) a couple of minutes before i know i'm going to shut off the engine.

- looking at the sides for dings, the areas around the front door latches make the sheet metal look like they have slight dings (but they really don't)

- body rattles are noticable, but minor (as if the last two weren't really minor either).

 

Got my TL-S since late April, have about 5300 KM now. Gonna book an appointment tomorrow, and have dealer fix all the problems....

Andy Kuo

 

Okay, I've got to put my two cents into this comment.

Any car that can't be driven at its limits is not a car but a poorly designed POS.

I've driven every car I've ever owned to its limits and a couple beyond. None of these have ever failed me. Most of these cars delivered 100K miles of service with one exceeding 150K and another 170K. Neither of the last two ever had the engine overhauled. If a car has a redline of 6500RPM, it can be driven to 6500 RPM regularly. It was engineered to do it and if it was put together properly and maintained properly it will take it.

That said, there is a difference between driving a car to its limits and abuse.
Example would be keeping it in 1st gear and running it upto redline and letting it run itself back down and repeating this process just for the heck of it.

Sorry, but that's my opinion on "spirited" driving.

RUF

 

Sunroof rattles when the shade is open.

I'm not sure how to describe it but the biggest problem is a hesitation at lower speeds. I'd say under 2,500 RPM is when I notice it. It's annoying and rather disappointing.

 

Yeah but this isn't really an "all-new" model is it?

the transmission is the same since the '99 revision, engine is the same since '99 except its been tweaked for more HP, same with the platform (current generation Accord) / suspension (stiffer), and the sheet metal is altered a little here and there. This is essentially the same car as it was 3 years ago with enhancements to the engine & suspension. So Acura's had enough time to get its act together.

The most widespread complaint seems to be rattles and squeaks. Acura clearly should have paid more attention here. My TLS rattled sporadically initially (drove me nuts) but I was able to systematically isolate and eliminate each one. So far so good. I did have the uneven tailpipes, only cosmetic though and not a big deal as far as I was concerned. My left door was not flush with the body panel (noticeable upon close inspection only). Dealer fixed this and the tail pipes. Armrest rattled, subwoofer rattled .... both fixed by me. All things considered nothing major, but irritants nonetheless. I guess people's expectations go up a notch after paying $30k +, and that's to be expected.

Just to keep things in perspective though no car is immune from problems. Read what the the new Lexus 430 owners are going through. Scary. Or the horror stories about new 330 owners driving back from the showroom to find their temperature gauge shooting up and their auxillary fans fused to the wall! When I test drove the new Q a couple of weekends ago (w/ the Sports Package) there were loud rattles everywhere!!!! And the car had 4 friggin miles on it.

So .... spend less time worrying about the minor irritants and enjoy your ride. Threads like this are informative no doubt but sometimes they end up F**KING with your mind.

 

I agree with 1000bpm. So far it's just been little minor squeaks. I was 2 days from getting a 330i in April, when I had to cancel after the car came from Germany, and from reading about the thermostats going out on your drive home from the dealer was scary. Every car has its share of tweeking that is needed. Here, some people say their TLS has no squeaks or anything wrong. I'm sure even some Mercedes owners aren't totally happy. Just enjoy your ride, work out the little things, and smoke those IS300s, Bimmers, and all those rice burners in style.

 

Just turned 1800k.. and Im happy to report that I have only two problems (minor) with my TLS.
1) the sub rattle..
2) driver side front window is loose! meaning that if I were to roll down the window say half way, I can then grab it a lift it up about an inch! Very annoying rattle indeed...

Other than those two things, my car has been rock solid!

 

Did anyone notice these rattles & squeaks before taking their new tl-s home from the dealer or did they develop over time?

 

I know what you're saying. I feel a sort of dragging sensation at low rpm. I push the accelerator a little harder to make it downshift and its fine. Does everyone have this? No other problems besides the usual (tailpipes and window).

I should mention, though, that this is the first car I've ever had with an automatic tranny, so I can't really say if it's a good one or not.

 

I experience that too. Especially after hearing Redline's horror stories, it gets me concerned. But maybe, it's just our TLS rebelling when we are going too slow!

tl4mo

 

I would agree with that but I haven't been driving my car hard and the tranny is already being replaced at 9500 miles. I've averaged 26 mpg overall so clearly I'm not redlining it at every shift. I've been driving my TLS the same way I drove my Accord EX V6 for 115000 miles w/ no trouble from the transmission.

 

THAT REALLY SUCKS! I've been thinking very seriously about trading my 01TL for an 02TLS, but there is so much recent information about tranny problems with the S-type....I'm gonna have to wait a few months to see how this all resolves.

 

1000bpm,

How did dealer fix the panel problem?? I notice my driver side door is not flush with the side of the car, and passenger door is not aligned horizontally(you can see the chrome moulding of the front passenger side door being a tick lower then rear right door).

I am a bit hesitate to tell dealer to fix it as I don't want them to send the car into body shop, hitting/bending little here and there, then hand back my car...

Andy Kuo

 

The dealer sent my car to the body shop and they fixed it. Like you I was concerned, last thing I wanted was some inexperienced guy to do additional damage. But I told them to go ahead and give it a shot anyway, I could not live with the misalignment, however minor it was. Fortunately they were able to fix it. I checked 2 other "gift-wrapped" TLS's on the dealer lot that day, and the chrome strips on both were misaligned, not by much but noticeable if you looked closely.

If I were you, and its only your chrome strip thats off by a bit I would leave it as it is. However, if your left front door is also not flush w/ your left rear door, then I'd take it in to get it fixed. The best angle to check on this is from your rear bumper. Get down on your haunches and see if your left front door is sticking out. Keep in mind that there also may be a problem with your rubber seal (driver door). Acura seems to have done a pretty shoddy job on this. Mine was replaced.

 

I have almost 4500 miles on mine and so far have had only 2 problems (aside from the window/seat belt recall): the tail pipes were mis-aligned and the door gaps on the lt side were off. The dealer fixed those and rented me a vehicle to use while they were fixing the car. I have not had any other problems, so far, knock on (my head).