Son bought 1999 TL - HELP!!
#1
Son bought 1999 TL - HELP!!
My son - 19 - did an unresearched purchase of a 1999 3.2 TL (yea, I know, stupid but what can I say). Car is in nice shape and he got it for a decent price, but......no vehicle history. I was angry and am doing research and seeing all these transmission problems posted! I did a VIN lookup and there's no bad history that I can see. However, this car has 75K miles on it and I have no idea if it was ever brought in for recalls, etc. My mechanic didn't find anything blatantly wrong with it. Is the 7 year, 100K warranty from Acura applicable to this car or would he had to buy it from a dealer? Is that warranty only for certain year cars? Do I need some kind of paperwork? What in heavens name happens if his transmission goes (besides pay a fortune to get it fixed). Any advice welcome.
LG
LG
#2
Originally Posted by quiche_97
My son - 19 - did an unresearched purchase of a 1999 3.2 TL (yea, I know, stupid but what can I say). Car is in nice shape and he got it for a decent price, but......no vehicle history. I was angry and am doing research and seeing all these transmission problems posted! I did a VIN lookup and there's no bad history that I can see. However, this car has 75K miles on it and I have no idea if it was ever brought in for recalls, etc. My mechanic didn't find anything blatantly wrong with it. Is the 7 year, 100K warranty from Acura applicable to this car or would he had to buy it from a dealer? Is that warranty only for certain year cars? Do I need some kind of paperwork? What in heavens name happens if his transmission goes (besides pay a fortune to get it fixed). Any advice welcome.
LG
LG
Now if he got a TL with the 5 speed, then you may have something to think about, but still - not worth worrying about it. these are great cars, you should be happy he got one!
#3
Originally Posted by quiche_97
However, this car has 75K miles on it and I have no idea if it was ever brought in for recalls, etc.
Originally Posted by quiche_97
Is the 7 year, 100K warranty from Acura applicable to this car or would he had to buy it from a dealer?
Originally Posted by quiche_97
What in heavens name happens if his transmission goes (besides pay a fortune to get it fixed).
#4
LOL (I had few last night)! I know, I'm a typical mother and freaking out. I know this car has an automatic transmission but not about speeds. I know very little about cars but alot about teenager headaches! The car is beautiful and in great shape but sheesh, I can't imagine him going along a highway and the gears shifting on their own! I will do what you say and register his car on this site. Unfortunately I'm a single parent and of course he thinks I know nothing (which is true some of the time but not all!)
#5
ok well if he doesnt believe you, send him over here and read this thread or have him search on it - lots of info on this site, from knowledgable people. So he will be just fine with that car, very reliable and fun. Just know that he has a 4 speed transmission and the majority of the problems, I would say 95% are with the 5 speeds - and even still, the problems are few and far between, just on a site like this, you hear about all the problems while there are 1,000's of 5 speed TL owners with 0 problems.
BTW go to the main Acura site to register for owners link...not on here
BTW go to the main Acura site to register for owners link...not on here
#7
I wouldn't worry too much, the '99 TLs have a much lower occurance of transmission problems than the '00-03 TLs. Its not 0%, but there aren't many cars out in the world that can claim 0 problems for every vehicle manufactured.
If you want to get the vehicle's history, your local Acura dealer may also be able to pull its service records out. Acura has a national database that shares service records, so if the car was serviced at an Acura dealership, the records should be there.
The TL in general (besides the transmission problem) is a fairly reliable car. No promises that you wont have any problems with it But he could certainly do worse.
If you want to get the vehicle's history, your local Acura dealer may also be able to pull its service records out. Acura has a national database that shares service records, so if the car was serviced at an Acura dealership, the records should be there.
The TL in general (besides the transmission problem) is a fairly reliable car. No promises that you wont have any problems with it But he could certainly do worse.
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#9
Originally Posted by 55M2G7L
...you should be glad your son has such terrific taste
Might want to keep your son away from this site, or he will get all kinds of ideas about modifications he will just 'have' to make to his car.
#11
Originally Posted by MikePA
and a mother who cares enough to both find this web site and post a question!
Might want to keep your son away from this site, or he will get all kinds of ideas about modifications he will just 'have' to make to his car.
Might want to keep your son away from this site, or he will get all kinds of ideas about modifications he will just 'have' to make to his car.
#12
quiche:
As the others have said, there's no need to worry about the 4 speed transmission. If you are still concerned about the transmission problem, then I recommend you be pro-active about the following: have your mechanic (or Acura dealership) do a transmission fluid drain/fill (or tranny flush if available) every 40,000 KM or so. Keeping your transmission lines free of debris (while not documented) should go a long way in preserving the life of your transmission. Installing a transmission cooler would not hurt either. Good luck!
As the others have said, there's no need to worry about the 4 speed transmission. If you are still concerned about the transmission problem, then I recommend you be pro-active about the following: have your mechanic (or Acura dealership) do a transmission fluid drain/fill (or tranny flush if available) every 40,000 KM or so. Keeping your transmission lines free of debris (while not documented) should go a long way in preserving the life of your transmission. Installing a transmission cooler would not hurt either. Good luck!
#14
Thank you all so much! (sorry 55M2G7L, I have no witty pics!).
I feel much better now. And about the modifications...hey, he's lucky he had enough $$ to buy a car! (I only help w/insurance). I didn't know about transmission drain/flush, etc. or all the possible ways of getting info on the car but I will do that. The VIN search lookup said it was one owner and leased. There wasn't much else on there except a couple of recalls which I will see if they were taken care of. My job doesn't help my stress level lately and now this! ;-)
I feel much better now. And about the modifications...hey, he's lucky he had enough $$ to buy a car! (I only help w/insurance). I didn't know about transmission drain/flush, etc. or all the possible ways of getting info on the car but I will do that. The VIN search lookup said it was one owner and leased. There wasn't much else on there except a couple of recalls which I will see if they were taken care of. My job doesn't help my stress level lately and now this! ;-)
#15
Originally Posted by ou sig
ok first of all chill out and go make yourself a drink!!! ok, the main tranny problems are with the 5 speeds ('00-'03) models - the '99 has a 4 speed and I am yet to hear of ANY problems on this site - well one person did, but that seemed to be a lemon of a car. And yes, his car is covered under the tranny warranty, and no you dont need to do anything about it! There was some ignition recal work for the '99... so go to Acura.com and go to the owners link area, there you can put in his VIN # and it will register it (free) and you can see any recals that are for his car and if they have been taken care of.
Now if he got a TL with the 5 speed, then you may have something to think about, but still - not worth worrying about it. these are great cars, you should be happy he got one!
Now if he got a TL with the 5 speed, then you may have something to think about, but still - not worth worrying about it. these are great cars, you should be happy he got one!
Oh shiZzz I registerd at Acura. there was a tranny replacement on mine. Here is what is said:
Your 1999 Acura is included in the 2001 TRANS WARRANTY EXT Campaign.
The stealersip lied to me. Well heh,,,, mine drives like new. lol
#16
Werd, as stated the 99's tranny's are top-notch (besides being a 4-speed). They did not have a recall. I've had the same tranny and Im at 106,000 miles. As for the warranty, it will still work, Acura is very reliable when it comes to customer satisfaction due to warranty related problems.
#17
Maybe that means you are just eligible...that doesn't sound like they replaced it or is it that this line wouldn't appear if the tranny wasn't replaced? Sheesh!
I am having trouble using the owner link. Says it's already 'owned' and it will email me my password (ha). I guess I have to contact customer service and fax the title or something.
I am having trouble using the owner link. Says it's already 'owned' and it will email me my password (ha). I guess I have to contact customer service and fax the title or something.
#18
i have a 99 , went through 2 trannys so far, acura will take care of it when it starts going bad, its not just going to fail out of no where, trustttt mee u will know the tranny is about to go, i was driving on a bad tranny both of the times for about 3 or 4 days, it would just drop into neutral wouldnt goto 2nd gear, so i would just shift it from 1st to 4th if i had to go somewhere. then took it to acura, they gave me a rental and thats it, ur covered uptil 100k miles or 7 yrs ,, dont worry.
#19
Originally Posted by quiche_97
Maybe that means you are just eligible...that doesn't sound like they replaced it or is it that this line wouldn't appear if the tranny wasn't replaced? Sheesh!
I am having trouble using the owner link. Says it's already 'owned' and it will email me my password (ha). I guess I have to contact customer service and fax the title or something.
I am having trouble using the owner link. Says it's already 'owned' and it will email me my password (ha). I guess I have to contact customer service and fax the title or something.
Oh and by the way, welcome
#20
Originally Posted by BLaCk Acc
ur covered uptil 100k miles or 7 yrs ,, dont worry.
Technically the car is like 6 years old I would think. I guess I have to hope nothing goes wrong soon or repetitively! Actually, I don't think Acura wants my mouth in their earpiece if that was the case. ;-)
...and thanks for all the welcomes!!
#21
Originally Posted by quiche_97
...My job doesn't help my stress level lately and now this! ;-)
#22
Originally Posted by Shift_it
Oh shiZzz I registerd at Acura. there was a tranny replacement on mine. Here is what is said:
Your 1999 Acura is included in the 2001 TRANS WARRANTY EXT Campaign.
The stealersip lied to me. Well heh,,,, mine drives like new. lol
Your 1999 Acura is included in the 2001 TRANS WARRANTY EXT Campaign.
The stealersip lied to me. Well heh,,,, mine drives like new. lol
#23
first of all, you have to realize Acura sold A LOT OF TL, and only a very few members here have experience failure
as long as you don't drive it hard like there's not tmr, then it will be fine. i love my TL and everyone loves the car. they are so jealous with my nice baby~
as long as you don't drive it hard like there's not tmr, then it will be fine. i love my TL and everyone loves the car. they are so jealous with my nice baby~
#25
THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS TO GET YOUR SON UP ON THIS SITE
im also 19 and if i didnt use this website i would have sure bought a shitty TL with tranny problems and no warranty
now im driving a clean 2000 with around 8k left on the warranty, your son is actually luckier than me cus he has a nice 25k still under warranty
im pretty knowledgable about my car and everyone here is pretty helpful
plus hes gonna learn how sick these cars can be made
im also 19 and if i didnt use this website i would have sure bought a shitty TL with tranny problems and no warranty
now im driving a clean 2000 with around 8k left on the warranty, your son is actually luckier than me cus he has a nice 25k still under warranty
im pretty knowledgable about my car and everyone here is pretty helpful
plus hes gonna learn how sick these cars can be made
#26
the only thing you have to worry about is when he starts wanting to mod his tl. its like a bad drug habit, minus the part that makes you steal from your grandmother, run over a old man in the street, hit a little girl on a bike as you leave the rive thru, let the kid your babysitting play near the pool, etc. etc. (you've seen the commercials right).
#29
Originally Posted by NYZGREATST
(you've seen the commercials right).
Ha ha! Believe it or not...until you are the parent of an 18/19 yo....you will think those commercials are a joke! They are FOR REAL!!! My son bought this car because it screamed "sex"....LOL! ....(and it already had tints and other xtras)...I doubt he looked at the dip stick! (no pun intended!)
#30
im also 19, bought my 99TL used by myself. parents will never help me with anything. i wanted to get the 02-03TL but my parents wouldnt cover the other 5k dollars. haha, but im happy i chose this car. i have yet to get a trann replaced and no major problems thus far. the only thing that i had a problem with was the EGR. but that wasnt too bad.
damn, i had the car for about two months before i joined this site. once i registered here, WOW i wanted to mod it out like crazy. spent close to 3000 already and i only had the car for 5 months. but i was lucky its winter, if i got it during the summer, i wouldve spent close to 6000 on it.
im happy with the TL its a great car, gets the job done with acceleration, great comfortable smooth ride, and an overall great with handling, especially in the rain and snow. pretty crazy how you care about your son so much, especially when when he's old enough to buy his own car. my parents wouldnt do anything for me once i got a job.
damn, i had the car for about two months before i joined this site. once i registered here, WOW i wanted to mod it out like crazy. spent close to 3000 already and i only had the car for 5 months. but i was lucky its winter, if i got it during the summer, i wouldve spent close to 6000 on it.
im happy with the TL its a great car, gets the job done with acceleration, great comfortable smooth ride, and an overall great with handling, especially in the rain and snow. pretty crazy how you care about your son so much, especially when when he's old enough to buy his own car. my parents wouldnt do anything for me once i got a job.
#32
Originally Posted by aaronnn
pretty crazy how you care about your son so much, especially when when he's old enough to buy his own car. my parents wouldnt do anything for me once i got a job.
I will tell him about this site AFTER this post dies out...he'll freak if he knew I went to this length of not trusting his judgement!
#36
Originally Posted by shogun
whats amazing is that you beat your son to this site. kudos on that and oh yeah what everyone else said :P
#39
thats a good deal for a 99 TL with only 75k
i live in the bay area where the market value is higher, but i paid 10k flat for a stock 2000 with 90k, and i love the car to death
most 99 TLs in this area are still like 11-12 grand+
i live in the bay area where the market value is higher, but i paid 10k flat for a stock 2000 with 90k, and i love the car to death
most 99 TLs in this area are still like 11-12 grand+
#40
I have to say, I'm getting pretty nervous about the tints on the car. The tints are so dark. They have to be illegal here. The back windows look nearly as black as the car. The front windows aren't too much lighter. I don't know much about tints but I know the cops here are pretty hard on teen drivers. I think I see alot of tickets coming up. I have now been browsing tint threads (obsessing on tints instead of tranny! LOL!)...I think it will take a while for me to get used to this car.