Hey what's up everyone, I recently purchased an 03 "Type S" from some guys and i'm having a real hard time trying to figure out if it's a legit "S".

-I Checked my engine cover and it has the bottom plastic that states type s and it's red writing, but the middle piece is missing.
- Car is debaged so that doesn't help out either
- Has the type s shift knob

anyone with inputs on how I can tell the difference?

 

2G Type-S has the following that non-Type-S doesn't :

VSA warning light in the dash display panel,
front seat headrests with a hole in the middle, rather than solid,
perforated leather seat covers.

 

white faced gauges rather than black

type s
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/...c90d19eb_o.jpg

non type s
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...3153_large.jpg

if u look at them, u will notice a big difference
just focus on the engine itself

 

Did you get a carfax when you bought the car? That will show if it's a type-s or not also.

 

should have J32A2 engraved somewhere on the engine block.

 

^^Dont they have it on the serpentine belt, if it is the original of course. Don't quote me I could be wrong.

 

The redlined of non-type-s was 6300rpm vs. 6900 for type-s.

 

your interior moldings should be like a dark gray with black and not wood grain brown

your cluster should be whitish silver

on the front of your engine block should have a stamp that says J32A2 and not A1

 

sweeeeet I have all of that! im pumped wouldnt mind the regular tl but this makes me more stocked haha

 

Did you ever research the car and found out that our cars are prone to tranny failures?
u should be stoked about that

 

^^
lol
dont ruin his fun!

 

^^

If the tranny really craps out, it ain't no fun.

 

go ahead to Honda and have the fluid changed to the new DW-1 fluid.

 

It's cool if it fails on me i'll probably look into the manual swap.

Is it easy to change the fluid by myself?

 

They are silver, not white.

 

Meh. toe may toe, tuh mah tuh
Lol

 

tons of clones out there smh.....

 

Not the same.

 

Doesnt the 02 Tl-s have solid leather seats and wood trim on the door panels?

 

All TLs have leather seats.

 

I meant solid instead of perforated.

 

No the TL-S has the perforated, while the TL-P has solid. Also, all TL cars have wood trim. However, some TL-S cars have the blackwood.

 

Very easy. Drive the car around until it is warm. Park for 5 minutes. Jack up the front and find the transmission drain plug. It is on the driver's side. Can't miss it.

Open the drain plug, drain the fluid. Refill transmission with 3* (not sure it is either 3 or more, check the manual) quarts; I refilled through the dip stick hole. Check the fluid level. Go drive the car for 5 minutes. Drain the fluid + refill. Go drive the car again for 5 minutes. Drain the fluid and refill. Done.

Honda recommends the 3x3 flush as their standard procedure. It is very simple, just takes time.

 

My 02 Type-S has brown wood grain for sure. And interior trim is tan.

 

The headrest are triangler on the S-Type and square on the base TL's

 

S-Type or Type-S? Last I checked we drove Acura's not Jaguars... .

 

Yup my Type-S also is Brown Fake Wood Trim + Tan Interior...

Interior is an Option bud "ProjectAcuraTL"

 

Here's a link to the honda/acura web site that states the differences between a regular TL and Type S. It will fill you in on the mechanical specs that are different on our Type S cars. Enjoy!
http://www.hondanews.com/channels/29...4-7c004c34c75c