Alligator

I currently have an '05 TL with navigation. We need to replace a car, and I might give my TL to my wife. This means I could buy a TSX. Tried out a bunch of cars today, and I really liked the feel of the TSX. I've already done a bunch of searching and reading here, but I thought I'd ask specific questions.

From those who have upgraded, can you answer the following questions?

1. How good is the real-time traffic feature? Is it really usable and/or accurate?

2. How about the iPod/USB connection? Any complaints about using it? What do I need to know?

3. What else should I know about before upgrading?

Thanks!

defconskylude

do it

i upgraded from a 01 honda prelude to a 09 base TSX AT.

what TSX did you test drive? 09 or 10'?

sounds like you want the tech package.

did you like the steering response of the TSX?
there's signs of early brake wear. i havent experienced this yet. ::knocks on wood::

ive only had the iphone connection and its fine.

ed_423

v6 tsx?

patcracks

go with the v6

g0forkurself

I have a '09 TSX and the USB connection goes out quite often and I'd have to reset my ipod touch before it'll work again. Filed this complaint to my dealer but they pretty much just told me it's the USB cord's problem and brushed it off. I'm not sure if this is a problem in every TSX, perhaps I am just unlucky?

chilimost

I went from an 04 TL Navi to the 10 TSX Tech 4cyl (6MT), and while I can say that it is not nearly as fast, it is still much more fun to drive. I think that the 4 cyl AT would feel underpowered, so I'd be likely to want the V6 AT, but I just cannot justify the price for that. *Maybe* if they had a MT I'd have gotten that instead, but still probably not..

I guess the traffic is nice to have, but I found it to be pretty lacking and not up to date, and didn't renew it when my 3mo trial expired. I use Navigon on an iPhone also and the traffic on that is MUCH, MUCH better IMO, so I guess I may be biased.. The weather function pretty much sucks and seems to be dumbed down for no other reason than to make the current TL appear better. Same price for the "service" though!

The iPod integration is pretty good, if not a bit slow in navigating through the songs, but still usable. There are a few quirks that annoy me, such as it automatically starting to play every time, sometimes even when another input is selected, among a few other nitpicks, but it is still pretty nice to have. It always bugged me to not have that in the TL, so it's a nice step up from there..

USB device usage *works*, but is pretty basic and sucks that it doesn't work with the tag info on your library to organize by categories like the iPod does... it's simply folder and song title based for navigation, and really screwy in that it organizes by some mysterious order (apparently, ridiculously, based on the order of the device file system) but it does display some limited tag info while playing the tracks..

Bluetooth integration is better if you use the audio functionality (which I do), but otherwise about the same from what I can tell..

It still has the same crappy leather as the TL did, but I also HATE perforated leather, so you may not care about that... I can understand it if they added A/C cooled seats, but otherwise it's just a trap for stuff to get into and seems cheap looking to me.

Actual fold down seats are nice to have vs the pointless thing they had in the TL.

One other silly thing that I am happy they finally added is the ability to shut off ANY vent in the dash. This may seem stupid to mention, but I always felt that dual-zone climate control was pointless without dual fan control, so this helps with that somewhat anyway.

Also, I think that the ambient (blue overhead LED) lighting in the TL was nicer.. silly also, maybe, but I'm just trying to think of a few things off the top of my head..

Overall, it still does feels like a step up to me, but mainly because I like all the tech stuff and the 6MT is much more fun to drive IMO.

Alligator

Thanks, that was a good reply. Basically, other than needing to get a new car, I really wanted one that had good traffic based navigation (since I'm in traffic twice a day and need the re-routing) and a good Bluetooth phone setup.

I like the '05 TL's Bluetooth, but I wish it had some type of noise cancellation. I hate the navigation system, and from the short view I saw of the TSX, it doesn't look like they updated it much. No 3D from what I saw, right? What about 3D buildings in large cities?

I want high gas milage. I get about 27 average on my TL, with peaks of over 32-36 if I'm driving only on the highways. What does the TSX get?

A good sound system is an absolute must have. I hear the TSX is good in this regard. I'm disappointed they haven't gotten the iPhone/iPod integration done better. I use TomTom on my iPhone for navigation with traffic because my TL doesn't have this.

Did they update the voice commands at all? I never used them much, since turning a knob or pushing a button was easier (and sometimes more accurate).

The TSX fits me well, which is more than I can say for other cars. I'm just on the edge because the tech package isn't quite what I wanted it to be.

CU2MIKE

as far as gas milage goes, I can go to Las Vegas from Long Beach, CA and back on 1 tank of gas (around 600 miles with 1 gallon of gas left). that rounds out to be about 34mpg, and i do have a heavy foot.
normally i average between 26-28, that's 80% highway and 20% city.

lightjak_tsx

for me it's worth it.
i just have a question Alligator if it's ok?
what do you think of the new TL?
anythoughts of uprgrading to a new TL?

hondu

If you wait for a 2011 TSX, I think they have made improvements to the Tech Pkg (based on comments from Colin on here). I drive around 450 miles a week, about 70% highway, 30 city/suburban and get around 31-32 mpg. Highway only, I can easily get 34mpg. I think once my engine is broken in, mileage should get even better.

Nighthawk04

iTrader: (2)

This actually happens to me quite often and when it does, the only possible way for me to get my ipod to turn back on again is to plug it into a computer... My ipod is an old school 2nd gen 8gb nano model. I wonder how many others have this USB "issue" with their 2nd gen TSX's....

chilimost

If I remember correctly, there is no re-routing based on traffic data. If there is, I never had it affect my routes!

The bluetooth seems almost the same to me as far as the sound quality goes, although the volume seems lower (I need to crank up the system volume to almost max to be usable, and then system prompts are insanely annoying). I don't get complaints about background noise from people when using it and they claim to be able to hear me well.

The NAVI is updated, but still dated feeling, especially compared to third-party systems. That said, it is definitely an improvement on the 3rd gen TL system. POI and waypoint handling are much better, although someone REALLY needs to get the business categorization under control still. Integration between the HFL and the NAVI is improved a bit, including some address book integration, but it's still a bit of a kludge. I won't start on the difference between the touch interface and the dial, but suffice it to say that I MUCH preferred the touch interface for ease and speed of use. That said, I'd still take the new one over the old, given the improved features otherwise..

As for gas mileage, I pretty much get exact what you get on the TL (27-29 avg, occasionally 30-32 hwy), at least according to the car readout. I've not calculated it myself. The system indicates better mileage with regular gas (+2 or 3 mpg), but I usually use super anyway, and am not really sure how accurate that is anyway.

The sound system is definitely improved, but doesn't seem to get as loud as the TL did to me. This depends on the source though, as DVD-A discs do sound much louder than the iPod does to me. XM sound is MUCH better than it was in the TL. I always thought the XM sounded like shite in the TL and while it's still XM, and the source is what it is, it seems brighter and overall better to me now (think 64 vs 128 kbps MP3). The FM tuner FINALLY has RDS functionality (really?!?). The XM has a "note" feature which is really nice, that allows you to take little samples of what's playing (including the song data) for reference later. For some odd reason, DVD-A discs don't display track information (which I assume is there, but am not sure) and CD-Text info seems to be hit or miss on this forum.

I rarely use the voice commands as I agree that it's just easier (and way less dorky feeling) to use the buttons. It honestly seems like there are LESS voice commands than the TL had, but I could be wrong about that.

Yes, the tech package could be better, but it's still a MUST have IMO. As another person mentioned, this looks to be improved in the 2011 model also (it figures, since I just got the 2010!).

Good Luck!

tsxuser

For your MPG reference:
speaking about gas mileage, I have 2009 tsx/tech 5AT with 10,000 miles. I only can get around 25.5 average. I would say 80% highway and 20% city/subur. when you guys talking about highway, it means at least 60 mph or less. b/c even i do most of highway, but i only can dirve 30-40 mph, it also depends on highway traffic.
BTY, the car readout is always at least 2 mpg higer than your own calculation.

So are you guys talking about Car readout MPG or own calculated MPG?

hondu

I always calculate my own mileage, miles driven/gallons put in tank. By my own calculations, my first tank was 30.5 mpg, the second 31 mpg and the last tank of gas 32 mpg. I have only used premium gas (93 octane) and have around 1,800 miles on the odometer. My trip computer has been +1-2 mpg high (when I got 32 mpg, it read 33.4 mpg). I drive 60-65 mph on the highway (speed limit 55 mph) and usually 5 mph over the speed limit otherwise. I have the 5AT as well. My mileage has also been with the A/C on about 1/2 the time (cool in the mornings, not running). Once again, I drive around 70% highway, 30% city/suburbs.

hondu

By the way, in my opinion, I found it hard to justify spending the extra $$$ for the Tech Pkg. I couldn't see spending $2500-2600 more for a Nav, back-up camera and little bit better stereo. But I can understand why this would be a must-have for some.

I really wanted to have the Ipod interface and Bluetooth capability, both of which I could get in the base model.

ed_423

and dont forget all the problems ppl been having wtih the sound system and stuff...base sound system sounds great. (maybe jsut me, since i came from a 02 civic)

the_razor

whats the 2009 tsx Sales Number? just curious to know

No1nfoProvided

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_tsx

28,650