Gents,

Thanks for the comments regarding the trans. issues you all are experiencing. I must say it is a major turn off for me moving towards my purchase of the type S. I feel for you guys and it reminds of how I blew through my TA's trans twice when I was younger by doing huge brake torques and also going through a set of BF Goodrich radial T/A tires every couple of months. Ahhh, to be young again.

I guess my concerns are how much aftrer market work has been done to the cars and how do you drive your cars? Hard , real Hard. I drive aggresively and will use the car to move quickly in passing lanes and getting on the highway. I plan to do very little if anything under the hood. Please help clarify why you think your trans. has gone out once, twice, or whatever.

I recently bought an Infiniti QX4 for the wife and I arranged a pretty good price with the dealer for the I35. The car is a bit boring and now pumps 255 horses. As you all state your concerns I must say the last thing I want is a permanant seat in the waiting lounge at the Acura dealer. I would bury them if I had a trns. problem.

So, if you could let me know and reply I would appreciate it. I like the car, like the price.

Peace Good Luck to you all-

 

I feel for my brovas who have had tranny problems but I took a gamble and bought my TLS nonetheless. I accept that I may have the same thing happen to me someday but I just figured that its still a minority of people having these issues. I was willingly to take a chance on a car I've wanted for a long time, from a well-known-in-reliability company, that offers the most for the least, and had been researched for over a year by me. Now the second point might not mean anything anymore to some people but besides this board I have not met too many people dissatisfied with their Honda/Acura purchase. I love this car and have been happy with it the first 4 weeks that I've owned it.

This site has ruined me a bit because I get paranoid about every little thing now. For example, my car did not want to start earlier today on my first turn of the key. I tried again and viola! Now I still am a bit nervous since my galant, in the almost four years I owned it, never did this but I still love this car. Now I've also read other people have had similar issues and that it probably has to do with the high compression ratio our engines have. If you buy another car it may or may not have a problem, same with the TLS.

That sucks that Redlined is on his third or fourth tranny and I'd be pissed if it were me (might even be in jail for killing the salesperson who sold me the car)! The fact is that he is not the norm. I don't think there are too many others who have had their trannys replaced multiple times (although it is a bit disturbing knowing that there are more). Honda/Acura has sold plenty of cars and I think it is safe to say that the majority have been more than solid. I plan on driving my car and driving it hard at times. If I wanted a car to just get me around I would have bought another galant or just fixed my previous car. I wanted something I could get around in with some style, comfort and occassionally some sport and that is why I bought my TLS.

As a disclaimer, and final point is that go with what you want. If you feel safer and/or happier buying an I35 then do it. There are plenty of good cars out there like the A4s, Accords, Maximas, I35, GS3/4, IS3, Camrys 3-series, G35, etc. I just happen to think the TLS is one of them. Good luck and happy hunting!

Sorry for the long post. (does length count to becoming a post-whore? I wanna be a post-whore....or any whore for that matter!)

 

While I don't discount the problems others have had with the transmissions, I'm betting that from a statistical standpoint relative to how many TLs have been sold, I would say the number is pretty small.

While I'm not a big fan of Consumer Reports (CU) reviews, 'cause I think they are somewhat subjective and find it hard to believe that people who test toasters can also test cars, I do put a lot of weight in the reliability reports. That's because that information comes directly from consumer surveys and is not based on the opinion of CU.

If you pick up CU's latest Automotive edition, you'll notice that the TL scored just about perfect scores in every category, and in the one or two categories it didn't, it was still above average. Admittedly, I believe it only covered up to the '01 model year since it was too soon for the '02s.

I have a '01 TL w/NAVI and love it even more today than the day I bought it. The only problems I had was the rotor warping and the wiper smudging due to some TLs leaving the factory with wiper fluid that had too much alchohol resulting in the deterioration of the tubing and wipers. Both were fixed per the service bulletins at 3K miles. Since then I have had no other problems.

I love my car!!! The I35 is a nice car, I just think the TL is sportier. I'm not sure if your considering the NAV option. If so, keep in mind that the I35 NAV is CD based and you'll have to swap CDs if you travel outside of your region. The Acura Nav is DVD-based and contains the entire country on one disc, although map detail is still wanting in rural areas.

Good Luck!

 

The TLS is nicer than the I35 (IMO). If you are interested in the I35, look at the Maxima. Waaaay cheaper and it is exactly the same car (just uglier). The I35 is a dinosaur compared to its new sibling the G35. Consider the G35 before the I35. If RWD doesn't bother you, then look at the G35. If FWD is a must, the TLS is better car.

 

hey ferizzo, i had the same problem. and i posted here once about it. someone explained and said pretty much to avoid it... instead of just turning your key, go to stage II, let it sit there for a second or two.. pretty much wait till the guages go up and start. you will avoid the starting problem from there.

 

fugget the I35. that's passé

go get a G35!

 

The G35 is the best car you can buy for 30ish K hands down. Its just going to be a bit hard to get and the waiting period will be a few months.

G35 is the best bang for the buck right now, no matter which way you look at it.

Lets put it this way, if half the people here at the ACURA boards recommend that you get the G35 then you must know how good that car is.

But if you decide to get something else thats just dandy and 1 less person fighting for the G35 with me.

Good luck on everything.

 

hey day, just took delivery of my I35 with sport package today (silver with black leather), after lurking on this forum, maxima.org and freshalloy for the last year plus. with the sport package, imho, the I35 is the best combination of luxury, performance, value and reliability, especially with the deal i got. many will call the I35 boring etc., but drive it and i think you'll disagree. its all about what you're looking for, but if you need the back seat space as i did, does half of a second or a little less steering feel really matter? i'd say the I35 and tls are so close that the differences are indiscernable to those who want a little fun in every day driving, vs. those who are fanatical about performance. i frankly got very scared of the tls tranny problems from reading this board and the cls board (which has a whole forum dedicated to the issue). the max was only a contender for me due to the 6 speed, but i passed on this so the wife could drive it, and i think the I35 looks much better and more mature than the max, plus there are a million maxes in my area, but very few I35's, and even fewer with the sport package. good luck in your decision making, i dont think you will go wrong either way. i'd let the finances dictate the choice if you're neutral or close to neutral on all else.

 

Did you get a great deal on the car? I'm wondering because the G35 is priced very similarly to the I35. Even though Inifiniti says that people will not cross shop the I35 and G35, people will and I think the G35 will get more sales. I was wondering if Infiniti is giving huge incentives to buy the I35 now?

 

they are not publicly giving any incentives currently, according to edmunds and various other sites that publish this info. i was just in the right place at the right time (which is frankly rare for me). i purposely went in on good friday for a test drive, knowing that things would be slow the whole weekend due to the gearing up for easter, and also knowing it coincided with the end of the month. it was the easiest car deal i ever made (finalized the deal on monday after a few phone calls back and forth and the sales manager let me take his identical demo for a few days to test). they had to get the car out of state, so it took a few days after coming to terms to take delivery.

i think a number of factors played into their dealing. they had just got a big shipment of g35's in that they had not expected, and people were in and buzzing about those, so the I35's were kind of like orphaned children over in a lone row. i didn't test the g35, just sat in it, didn't wow me so much that i had to test drive, and the controls were just a tad too futuristic. plus they were not ready to deal on them, maybe 1k off msrp, but nothing like how i did on the i35. plus i'm always a little leary of first year models, notwithstanding that g has been out is slightly different form in japan for a while.

the i35, after driving it for a week now, feels very solid and tight. i personally like that feel, and am willing to sacrifice a little of the tossibility for the solidness. plus its cavernous in the back.

good luck on your decision.

 

I've read both of your posts and I agree with your statements. My brother has a 2000 I30 and it's a really nice car. I do like the interior layout in my TL a little better, but I really can't knock the car. Now bump up the horsepower and add a sport package and I think you have a nice comboniation of luxury and performance.

I'm way past the boy-racer phase. I'm looking for something that will transport my family comfortably while still putting a smile on my face when the mood suits me. When I was looking to trade in my Vigor, I wanted something with a little more space in the back seat. After eight years and 111K miles, my Vigor had served me well, but the backseat was atrocious. It wasn't a big deal when I was single, but after getting married and having kids, it became more of a factor.

My choices were narrowed to either a TL or an Infiniti/Maxima. The Maxima was making a strong case, but I wanted a NAV and at the time, Nissan wasn't offering one in the MAX. Not to mention the plastics in the MAX just seemed to be a lower grade than a TL. The Infiniti with NAV was a little pricier than the TL with less performance (at the time). Hence why I bought my '01 TL.

It's big enough to carry my family around, but there's still enough performance to make my drive to work fun. Serious hauling duties I leave to our Land Cruiser, but that's another post.

 

I agree. G35 or TLS are the only options for me.

 

Congratulations on your new Inifiniti, and especially on getting a deal that you're so happy with. I'm pretty strongly biased again Nissan/Infiniti products, but the I35 is the only car they make that I think has a nice look to it. The quasi-futuristic semi-retro G35 does nothing but annoy me, so I think you made a great choice!