Went to Tustin Acura this morning. After waiting for about an hour it came back that there was a bad inverter (Jens, you have any idea what this is?). They didn't have the part so they are rushordering it and should be here tomarrow. Acura sent me off to Enterprise and gave me last years bottom of the line Corolla . Tomarrow I'm gonna give the dealership a severe tounge lashing at giving me such a POS car. Whatever, hope this problem gets fixed once and for all.

 

Yeh, seems like all the Acura dealerships have absolutely NO idea what "Premium" customer service means. I got an Integra as my last loaner. I think next time I'll buy a LEXUS where they at least give you a comparable car when you get a loaner.

Acura customer relations seem as poor as their advertising. Not to worry though, the quality control on their domestically manufactured automobiles seems to be following the same downward spiral as their customer sevice so my next car will more then likely NOT be an Acura product. :o

 

What I don't understand is why the RSX that is priced below our car is made in Japan. Almost all of it, 95/5, Japan/USA.

 

That's not true for all dealers. When I brought my TLS in for the recall my loaner car was 2001 CL. Pretty sweet car I might add, but I like my TLS better

 

HAHAHAAH...by virtue of having the name Moo...you are now my Beatch!!!

 

Hasn't this Ameriucan-Bashing gotten a bit old...?

If all these negative comments were indicative of truth, Honda would not export cars to Japan, and the TL would not enjoy the high JD Power rating it does.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with "American Bashing"
The fact of the matter is that the cars made in Japan are undoubtly better in workmanship. The Japanese have a different work ethic and many still take pride in their work (times are changing though) and thus put an extra effort in getting it right. I agree that the TL's should be made in Japan just like Lexus's and Infiniti's are. I doubt I will buy another Acura since there are just too many little rattles and squeaks that should not be a part of a "luxury" brand. Not only that, the dealer service is the worst. My honda dealer had better service. I think they need to put together an incentive plan for good service. Actually, Saturn has great service. Acura should take note.

 

Not "American-Bashing", simply an empirical observation. It seems that American-made Hondas and Acuras show more problems due to poor quality and workmanship compared to Japan-made ones.

It will be interesting to see if the Japanese-made RSX has a better quality record versus the American-made TL.

 

Well, this has been said before, but:

Apparently, the objective observations from JD Power suggest that the vehicles coming out of the Marysville plant have among the *fewest* problems of any vehicles produced throughout the world.

The troubles that we may see reported on this board do not represent an accurate, random sample of Acuras. JD Power surveys (though they too can have statistical problems) do a much better job than the self-reporting on a board like this.

Also, as to the RSX: some of the quality issues may be comparable, but many won't. A lot of the quality has to do with the *design* rather than the actual construction. If you have a bad design, then the line workers can be as careful as possible, and there will still be problems. If you have a robust design, then average diligence on the part of line workers will result in high quality. So, to the extent that the RSX and TL share designs, you'll be able to directly compare construction quality. But to the extent that they differ, the engineering will come into play.

 

When I read your original post I suspected this but didn't get around to replying. The inverter changes the 12 volt DC from the battery to AC (alternating current like in your house but much higher freqency) and steps up the voltage to I believe about 20,000 volts. It consists of an oscillator using one or more transistors, possibly an integrated circuit, and a transformer. This is an uncommon failure and may be due to a cracked core in the transformer or a marginal component, like a transistor. The unit is probably potted so you will get a whole new unit. This is not something you should blame the dealer or Acura for. It is very rare and I would not expect them to carry the part. Also Acura does not make it. It comes from an electrical component supplier. The circuit is similar to the fly back oscillator in a TV set which also fails infrequently. Don't worry!

 

Thx a lot Ed K...now I can sleep in peace .

 

I have to admit I find that surprising. The fit and finish of the TLS is definitely inferior to my Japan-made 97 Accord.
That's certainly true. Every owner's forum suffers from what I call the "*****in' Board Syndrome". Everyone desperately seeks a forum to vent when he has a problem, but not when everything works fine.
As an avionics engineer, I can certainly sympathize. I don't know where Honda has its design house. I agree that consistent problems are indicative of a design problem, such as rattling sunroofs, squeaky seats, etc. However, random problems such as the failed HID inverter, mismatched paint, transmission problems and uneven gaps in the finish are indicative of a lack of quality control during assembly (or simply cheap materials).

Many problems can be attributed to an disproportionate desire to cut material costs, and this seems to be a growing trend at Honda--moving towards cheaper, lower quality materials. Maybe this decision seems to coincide with the move to Marysville, so we associate poor materials with the American facility.

 

I think the key here is that so many of us insane poster status members or higher are thinking these bad thoughts about Acura. We are the ones that probably love this website / forum better than we love our TLs. We didn't buy these cars to bash them, we truly do believe in them and we all have gripes too.

Acura is doing something wrong, because a lot of the die hard members here are already looking for their next rides, in a Lexus, BMW, Audi, etc. There is no place to go up from a TL in Acura. When they start to make the RL in OHIO like the TL, then it's going to be the same problems and gripes again on how much better this car would be if made in Japan.

 

My thoughts on the two issues:

1) Type of loaner. I had a Q45T and the dealer used G20's for their loaner fleet. As I wasn't planning to drive cross-country in it, it was fine for a couple days. BMW and M-B, two "premium brands", don't even provide loaners. Any time my C36 was in for repairs I had to pay for a Budget car and usually ended up in a Century. I'd rather have a free Corolla than a $35 per day Century. A lot of Acura dealers use Enterprise and it's luck of the draw as to what's on their lot at the time. Last time my car was at the dealer Enterprise gave me a 2002 TrailBlazer with 50 miles on it.

2) Japanese vs. American Production. If you go to the clubRSX.com forums you'll see just as many complaints about squeaks, rattles, and general strangeness that you see here. I think part of the problem is that with each new model, manufacturers are taking greater risks with QC and materials. Look at the complaints about the first year version of the current M-B E Class and the new C Class as compared to previous generations. Most people that say cars built in Ohio aren't made as well are comparing them to previous generation cars that were made in Japan before corner cutting came into vogue. It's kind of sad, but from a quality perspective "newer" doesn't always mean "better".