I'm now into my 13th month with my TSX Wagon and thought I'd post my thoughts for those interested in getting one, or those who have one and are curious.

First off, I have to say that this has been a great car! I've purchased 3 TLs, 1 RL, and 1 RDX since 1999 (all w/Navi's), and can easily say that this car has been the least expensive Acura I've ever owned to operate.

I am currently over 23,000 miles, and so far have spent under $300 in Acura Dealer service, which to me is remarkable. I almost feel like I'm stealing something, because with the TLs and RDX, I was in there all of the time for maintenance, and it wasn't cheap!

I do about 60% Highway, and 40% city-back country roads, and as I said in another post, I am an "agressive" driver, but not a lane changing maniac. On an open road, I drive at a "comfortable" speed that's safe. Let's just say I do not drive with gas mileage in mind!

Here are my first year stats for gas mileage, all tracked and acurate as I keep a log in the car for such things. First time I've managed to complete an entire year doing it, BTW:

TOTAL FIRST YEAR MILES: 21,379
TOTAL COST OF GAS: $3, 142.23
AVERAGE PRICE PAID PER GALLON: $3.90
TOTAL GALLONS PURCHASED: 807.61
AVERAGE MILES PER GALLON: 26.13

As for "problems" with the car, I have had 2. The first one was that the passenger door did not always close all of the way. The first time it happened, I went out in the morning and was greeted with a dead battery! I then began making sure that when I closed the door, it was really closed.

The second is that the phone pairing keeps disappearing. I started with a Motorola Nextel Phone. It worked OK with the car, but every once in a while I would go to use it and would hear "There are no phones paired, would you like to pair a phone now?"

I switched to an iPhone a few months ago, and the same thing happens out of the blue. Not sure why, but it's easily repaired, it's just a pain.

Other than that, the car is a gem. It's "pretty good" in the snow. Without all wheel drive, you just have to be careful about driving in deeper snow on unplowed roads. It's low to the ground, so backing out over frozen snow piles crunches things at times.

The storage is great. When I need to carry a 6 foot ladder to a job, I fold the seat down, and I have a long piece of cardboard I fashioned into a long 'U' which goes all the way in over the center console. I then slide the ladder in along the cardboard and I'm in!

The audio system is great. I do not use the hard drive. I have an older iPod that sits in the car filled with 64Gb of tunes for "hunch" music, and I use DVD-Audios when I can.

Bottom line is if you want a reliable car with decent mileage, high-tech electronics, and is not expensive to run, this is a great car for you. It's not a V6, AWD monster, but it's not supposed to be.

I wish good luck to all TSX owners and would love to hear what other wagon owners find when they reach the 1 year mark. I know we have some members getting close to that point. Let's hear about your experiences!

 

Nice write up. I am on the stock tires with the tsx and am having trouble with the snow. Did you have winter tires put on your car?

 

Thanks for the update. Still thinking about purchasing one wo nav.

What do you think of the power and power delivery compared to the V6 Achras you've owned? Does it FEEL like enough in comparison?

 

No. I have the standard tires. Like I said, it's not great, but as long as you don't get out of control, or try and go up an icy hill, I've been OK with them. Of course, if it's really bad, I use my wife's RL.

Bob,

It might be because the car is smaller and lighter, but I have yet to feel like "I wish I had more power" in this car. It's never let me down when I needed it.

 

Having owned 4 Acuras with a V6, the wagon does NOT feel down on power at all. The gearing is ideal, the throttle doesn't have any lag. The transmission kicks down quickly when needed. I would only want a V6 in this car if I had 4 adults AND their luggage AND mountain passes. Even then, I wouldn't really need it.

 

Thanks guys. The comparison, as you know, is not moot for me as I've owned two J32-powered TLs, a J35-powered RL, still own a J35-powered Pilot and wouldn't want to feel like I'm driving a Fit.

 

nice write up

a suggestion on the phone pairing problem (no idea if it can fix it, but just a thought)

did you delete any old phones that you paired up with before pairing up with a new phone? i remember someone didn't delete an old phone pairing and their iphone didnt pair up nicely.

 

I think I found the solution to the "Phone pairing" issue.

It seems that the car takes about 1-2 minutes to pair the phone once you start it up. If you try and place a call BEFORE the Bluetooth connects, is says "There are no phones paired with the system", and then the connection is totally lost. You have to re-pair it.

Now I wait until I see the Bluetooth Icon in the display area of the dash (not the NAVI screen), and then place the call.

 

Great review! We just purchased a bellanova white pearl tech tsx wagon 2 weeks ago and the car is simply amazing! Very comfortable driving positions, great visibility, quiet, a lot of fun to drive, beautiful nav/audio screen and great gas mileage too. I'll post later in detail my testing experiences with the subaru outback, honda crv, and acura rdx and how we ultimately choose the wagon over these.

 

Hello,

I'm new here, but am currently thinking about purchasing a 2012 in White. I'm replacing a 2003 BMW 328it with Dinan exhaust, intake, and suspension. I would get another BMW, but I've decided it may be time to do something a bit more reasonable, yet still sporty.

Thank you for the information on reliability and cost of ownership.

I'd prefer a 2013, but they are not available ANYWHERE! What's up with that?

If you guys don't mind me asking, what did you guys pay?

Ted

 

Whoa! Just realized this thread is really old.

Sorry for bringing up such an old topic.

Ted

 

no worries.

rumors say that the wagons will show soon..... April is what I read on another forum. but who knows. there isnt much new on the 13 sedan so if you want one maybe try to deal on the 12.

GL

 

Its alright. I'd actually prefer a 2nd year review w/ more miles on it.

 

Hmm..... final model year of the TSX, so.... maybe no wagons? If they're not here by now, I'm not so sure. I remember reading somewhere that TSX production was ending in like May or something. Either way, they'll be the last of their kind.

 

I picked up a white 2012 TSX Wagon, with Tech. Came with 70 miles on it. Plus tax title license, etc.. They were asking 35,898. I Because they would not budge past 31,000.00, I had them throw in 3 years/40k of service, the color matched mud guards (installed), 5 of the weather tech mats (including the big one for the rear). Not a great deal, but not the worst deal.

The splash guards arrive on Wednesday. They will install them at that time, as well as re-detail the car when it's done.

I can't photos photos yet... but when I can, I will.

Ted

Sitting in the garage.

 

Congrats but I wouldn't let them 'detail' it. All they will be doing is giving you the dealer installed oem swirl marks, free of charge.

 

In case you have not fixed the phone pairing problem. There is a TSB out for the HFL deleting paired phones.

Only fix is to replace the HFL unit, hopefully you are still under warranty and can get it replaced.

Unfortunately cannot remember the TSB number but if you search you can find it.

 

Phone paring problem? Oh no. I'v only had the car for like... 13 hours. I haven't even had time to pair the phone yet! I'll give it a whirl and see what's up. They are going to install the splash guards on Wednesday. Maybe I'll complain about the phone paring (if it's a problem) and see if they can refer to the service bulletin and get the head unit swapped out.

Are there any other tech bulletins I should be aware of?

Ted

 

haha so true

 

I've only ever seen swirl marks in dark colors. I guess I'll keep 'em off the 'detail'. In a few places, the car still has the super sticky goo(tm) from the 'delivery' wrapping plastic. I'd like that to be removed. I'd also really like to figure out a way to delete the front lic. plate holder.

I also need to figure out where to order some TSW Nurburgring 19x8's. Most likely need a slight 1.5+/- inch drop to take up the wheel gap. The finance guy said "Anything you can bolt onto the car will void the warranty..." - yikes!

All in due time I suppose.

Thanks for letting me share about the new car. In 26 years of car ownership, this is my first 'new' car. My wife has had 2 new cars since we've been married, but this one is my first. Wahoo!

 

The handsfreelink link problem is something you need to experience for yourself before you just bring it up to your dealer.

You can check: LINK


And follow the instructions to find more TSB's.

Only ones I have had so far is the HFL problem, and I am thinking of bringing up the loose arm rest as well.

For the HFL problem, my phone would completely get deleted and I would need to readd my contacts.

 

Seems likely. The local Acura dealers have had few if any wagons available since the end of last year. I rarely ever see another one on the road.

 

Weir Canyon recently had 5 or 6 out onthe front line of their new car lot. Intersting they were all black.