E92Vancouver

Not good if you own an Acura:

http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...ability-survey

Acuras are rated as least reliable. My vehicle is buggy. Lots of warning lights and messages.

BrianV

They deserve every bit of it...

hues10

Which is why you do not buy the first year models. Sure, great to have updated technology and all, but the bugs have not been worked out. Glad there are manufacturer's warranties. My 2011 RDX still going strong, all 43K miles on it.

mondster

On the last rankings, acuras according to CR are boring but reliable. Now theyre boring and unreliable. They better fix their shit soon or they will see their boat sink even further. Im glad i got the 2015 mdx with the old tranny. As for the tlx, maybe a lexus will be its replacement if they dont fix the tranny

mrgold35

It seems CR puts the same scoring level for minor (jerky shifting trans) and major issues (shop time, reprogramming, replacement of trans). I've had minor issues with my Acura's like door actuators, key fobs, 6AT reflash, speakers, rear cup holders, etc... I still would rate the overall brand above a B+ compared to issues I've had owning GM or Ford products. I don't see a lot of +10 year old Audi, MB, BMW, Volvo or even Infiniti on the road compared to Acura or Lexus.

BrianV

I kind of agree that little issues should be reported at the same scoring level. In my experience, it's the little things that are hard to get fixed and the burden of proof goes to the owner to fight the good fight alone against the unbeatable wall of denial that is the dealer and Acura corporate.

On the other hand, major issues like a transmission that outright doesn't work, leaks, check engine light, etc. dealers are well equipped to fix because they can immediately see the issue and then repair or replace the entire component. It's the minor nuances that are hard to nail down and get any support on. Anything that makes a funny sound, rattle, clunk, forget about it.

So I'm all for dealers and manufacturers being accountable for customer satisfaction on these less obvious minor issues. Acura has proven to me they could give two craps that my car with 8 miles on its roof liner wasn't installed (at all), my muffler wasn't put on the hanger, my reflectors weren't screwed in, my hood is crooked/misaligned and my shocks sound like they're out of a 1994 Ford Crown Vic that has done 600,000 miles in Manhattan, NY. I asked ACR twice to have a dealer do a courtesy inspection of the entire vehicle as many things were just not assembled and ignored, and they denied saying just deal with it on a case by case basis. I argued that I don't know what I don't know, but I have proof that this car missed several QC stops on the production line.

E92Vancouver

I love my tranny. The infortainment system is buggy and laggy.I get warnings that my BSI and Lane Departure are not working even thought they are working. I get these warnings everyday. The dealer says nothing can be done. My navigation system only works with one key. Dealer says he can't do anything. I give up.

doopstr

WTF, doesn't Acura know how to make a tranny? When I last owned an Acura in '02 every other post was about tranny. Now I come to research MDX and what do I read? Bad tranny.

mondster

The fact that your dealer says "nothing can be done" to all these issues is a sign to go find another dealer. Id talk to the GM about their incompetence and suggest they shut down their operations

E92Vancouver

They tell me to wait for a software update. They say Acura has not pushed any updates to them.

mrgold35

Acura traditionally has done better on quality after the MMC. Unfortunately, most of the damage has been done between the 1-3 per-MMC model years before they can recover in the survey. I usually try to purchase after the MMC (as long as the styling doesn't suck). My TSX and MDX are MMC while my RDX is not (liked the 07-09 styling better than the +10 beak). I've had about 2X as many problems (minor annoyances) and out of pocket cost on the RDX compared to the TSX and MDX combined. I still think Acura makes the best near luxury used vehicles out there.

mondster

Seems like your issues are electrical. (Bsi, ldw, nav working on 1 key)

012TL-GLM

The term reliability should not be used on these reports. If the car didn't leave you stranded it's reliable. As a recent driver of a 2016 mdx for 3 weeks I agree the tranny needs a lot of work, however if I was shopping that class I'd still take the Acura for sheer driving dynamics over the competition

Rexorg

How CR rates vehicles is beyond me. Some get excellent road scores above 80 and are not recommended, while some POS ones score 67 and are recommended. CR hates the info/navi system and the push button gear shifter, which are niggling to say the least to us owners, but will cost the '16 MDX in their ratings and recommendations. I would guess their 1,000,000+ plus responses on their annual survey they tout ad nauseum are from subscribers mainly with an ax to grind, and are middle aged to dead. I take their ratings/recommendations with a grain of salt. There is no perfect vehicle, and never will be, even though CR intimated the Tesla was until it wasn't. Go figure.

Disclaimer: I am a CR subscriber.

RDX10

I agree that it is a very very stupid move on their part to inplement a non in house built tranny, from a company who has been publicly shamed for creating a horrible transmission on anywhere online.

Go take a look at the chrysler 200 forum, jeep cherokee forum, evoque forums, tlx forums. Like Acura clearly seen how much issues this thing had, but they decided to put it in their cars anyways despite their history with transmissions and even with the MDX issues, they put it in the pilot too.

I drove the 2016 mdx with the 9 AT, my experience was hot and cold. A.k.a it would work seamlessly sometimes and other times it would be incredibly buggy.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Honda is very good in building manual trannies, but never auto trannies especially those for high power, high torque V6 engines.

Just visit the 2G TL/CL forums and check out what a nightmare 5AT tranny that Honda had created INHOUSE.

RDX10

I have to disagree with this. The main issue was with the earlier 2000's 5 speed auto. By around mid 2007, they became rock solid. I have not heard of any issues with the new 6 speed auto from 2010 and up except for a few isolated cases, which every brand has.

Besides, every brand has an infamous problem. VW can't ever seem to get a timing chain right. Land rover is electronics, BMW is usually engine related stuff...etc.

My point is that they should have stuck to their 6 speed auto and then implement this 9 speed in a couple years when it has been perfected.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

The 6AT, as used on the 4G TL, is far from "rock solid".

The 6AT has issues with its torque converter, and this is not just a few isolated cases.

Please visit the 4G TL forum, and get yourself up to speed with the problems and issues.

RDX10

I guess I have just been so focussed on the mdx and rdx that I never thought about the tl. I want to say that it is a good thing that honda is trying new transmissions. But I think they should have tried someone elses. Why was aisin not on the table? They manufacture toyota's transmissions as well as a host of other brands. They have a REALLY good 8 speed auto too.

hondu

I think the reason they went with ZF's 9-speed is because the "general public" all think more gears are better. And a transmission with more gears is more advanced.

Really, the most gears you reasonably need is 7 in an auto. Not surehow ZF can make an outstanding 8-speed auto that receives praises, then comes up with the "not so great" 9-speed design.

BrianV

The 8spd has been around for longer and is a traditional transmission in terms of gear and clutch packing. The 9spd was designed to be extra compact for FWD and FWD-biased AWD cars and as such they had to use two dog clutches and other somewhat unorthodox things to keep the size down. These systems behave "differently" than people expect, and that coupled with people adjusting to 9 total gears and the wide downshifts required to mimic what they're used to in a 4 and 5spd transmission create some negative complaints.

My mom has a 2015 RX350 F-Sport with an 8spd transmission, I find it also feels like it has too many gears and is several gears away from the power band often (9spd has the same issue). That said, the 9spd manual-mode downshifts, particularly from 5th gear to 4th gear are VERY bizarre due to the dog clutch engagement, so that takes a lot of getting used to.

However, in reality, if you drive both cars (or the 6spd for that matter) like normal SUVs are driven, and don't downshift or use manual mode, you'll find extremely quick and smooth upshifts and downshifts.

hondu

Yes, I know about the 9-speed design and the use of dog-clutches. I think they went too far to down-size the transmission and it is a crappy design.

If Acura went with the standard 8-speed design, I don't think they would be having all these complaints. Though I feel the need to say "more gears are better" drove their desire to go with the 9-speed and one-up BMW, Mercedes, etc.

Heck, Honda is working on a 10-speed auto design right now, which I think is even crazier yet.

WheelMcCoy

I wouldn't say it was Acura's desire to go so many gears. I think they would have been satisfied with their 5 or 6 speed design, but not too long ago in these very forums, Acura was criticized for being behind the transmission curve. And this sentiment was echoed in the car journalism sites and magazines. And perhaps voiced by actual and potential customers. Acura had no choice but to add more gears to keep up with the competition.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Agree.

Nowadays, most top auto makers, especially luxury brands, are using 7,8,9-speed auto transmissions on more and more of their vehicles.

The economy Honda brand can get away with it, because Honda is a cheap, economy brand name. But Acura has no choice but to follow suit, or risk being viewed as behind its competitors. After all, buyers are paying premium $$ for the "more advanced" Acura vehicles.

Remember that Acura motto : Acura - Advance. There is nothing advance with a 5,6-speed auto box, but 7,8,9,10-speed auto box definitely is.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Not surprising. Honda/Acura quality has been going downhill for a long time. Every year it gets worse. Don't blame transmissions. Blame bean counters and consumers.

Honda has no passion since it's founder died. He is rolling over in his grave at the disgrace.

My 12 year old acura is still better than my new Ford Focus ST in every way imaginable.

Acura has to compete with cost cutting American brands, so they have to cost cut themselves. Cost cutting might seem good from consumer standpoint when purchasing vehicle, but hope you enjoy trips to dealer for warranty work.

Better off buying 2003 or older honda/acura's over new ones. If buying new wouldn't even consider Acura.

hadokenuh

WHAT? Audi is #3. Done. The list is flawed lol.

Seriously though, I am not surprised that Acura dropped some places. Their current models are not as solid as before.

RDX10

This X 100. The issue is that Acura was behind for pretty much ever with their transmissions. They were rocking an old school 5 speed when 6 and 7 was the norm and they starting rocking a 6 speed when everyone else had 8 and 9 speeds. They thought why not jump the curve and go for a 9 speed. I think they should have just stuck with the 8 speed.

I personally like 7 speeds because the first 4 gears should be spaced very close while the last 3 should be spaced a little farther apart. Have 4th be average city speed and then go up on 20km increments till 6th and then roll into 7th at highway speeds for economy.

When they start getting ridiculous like 9 speeds, they end up in a situation where the transmission keeps gear hunting, down shifts take too long and then you have to do something odd like installing dog clutches to make it smaller. Just doesn't make sense to me. 7 speeds would have been very adequate for this situation.

I am personally excited for the next gen of all of Acura's vehicles. They should really turn up the volume.

Reinnie

That's interesting the Honda rated that high though. My in laws have a 2015 Honda Accord with pretty much the same infotainment center. What I noticed with the Honda is the lag time. It's so much slower than the Acura and sometimes you have to press the button a few times in order for the car to pick up your input.

Volvo & BMW rated that high, I don't so! I had a BMW 535 & Volvo XC90 both had the transmission replaced. Both were under 75K when replaced. Also had issues with my other past Volvos & BMW (not major though).

atsx1313

hope acura build itself up!!!

unless they change, i won't even consider an acura for my next ride...