Nodoze2004

Well I think I am reaching the end of my excitement with owning an Acura!! Having had numerous Hondas in the past I bought this car based on features and reliability. I would hear horror stories about BMW reliability, Audi reliability, etc etc. Well I can say first hand that if this car is any indication of Acura reliability I will GLADLY move to BMW and never look back.

Car has 2400 miles on it and here is the list of issues:

1. Alignment problems. The car pulls right to the point where if I let go of the wheel the car will literally change lanes. I will be bringing it in for the 3rd time on this issue.

2. Speed based vibrations. Some on the forums call this driveline vibration (I call it annoying). Car shakes violently at anything over 75 mph.

3. Now the new issue.....the car wont start!!

So this morning I go to start the car and.....nothing. The car seems like it wants to turn over (i.e. typically a dead battery exhibits symptoms of no turn over just a clicking noise). in this instance the starter whurrs trying desperately to start the 40k doorstop in my garage, all the lights on the dash are blinking randomly, and the power windows are flashing all over the place.....but this is all to no avail. The car simply wont start.

I have read on these forums that others have had this type of issue (i.e. battery drain), and I am willing to accept the fact that this could simply be a dead battery (perhaps a bad one from the mfg), but I do not think these types of issues should be experienced on a 40k car. I have had 6 previous cars from Honda, and NONE of them in the span of their entire life (some 6+ years) exhibited a dead battery...EVER!! I have had this car for 4 months and already have potential battery issue.

On the positive side, at least it died in my garage!!

J RIDE 81

Sorry to hear you're having all these issues, just wanted you to know i have none and coming up to 6k, request another car is my suggestion. G'luck buddy. Remember these cars are all built by machine so not all of them can be perfect. Same thing with all other makes.

havokgroup

Wow..sorry to hear about your issue. I hope they all get fixed. Guess I'm lucky that I have a good running TL with no issues (knock on wood).

arg

40k? Unless you got an a spec you got ripped off. 33k with navi or closer to 30k without one.

If you got a bad car that sucks but evey car brand has "lemons". IT always sucks if you are the one with a bad car but all brands (acura, bmw, lexus, benz) all have lemons. The real test is how your dealer handles them.

ALso, you might want to give acrua a call and let them know.

Good luck

VTEC=happiness

Can't believe that you are back with us again with more issues...for those that do not know, NoDoze is probably on his 10th set of major problems with this car...let us know what happens this time...

oppnyc

Acura TL costs around 40K.
back to your calculation:
330000-33500 price with NAVI
8.625% tax~2900
3.5%-5% loan ~2500-3000 interest paid over loan life
so
33500+2900+2500=38900 is closer to 40K

so long...

JoganJani

Nodoze, I've 04TL with 12700 miles and I have a zero problem. Hope you get yours fixed. As people already said, unfortunately, you might have received a lemon.

DarkZ

just go back to your dealership and have them fixed man, nothing in the world is perfect, making a car is not that easy, the point is how the company stand behind their products, as long as they have them fixed, you shouldnt be worry or pissed about it. just take it easy

neuronbob

NoDoze, it sounds like it's time to lemon the car. You've had so many issues already...you have been more than patient.

Keep us posted.

Mindcrime

Was the car parked for a while without being started? My parents Lexus GS 400 and ES 300 have this issue where if the car is parked for 2 weeks or more the battery dies due to the alarm system taking too much power from the batter when idle. They replace the battery 2 times and finally Lexus gave them a plug in where it will keep the battery charged when they are out of town.

cM3go

honestly, from those issues you describe, they are very insignificant to what BMW owners, MB owners, etc etc have experienced. Try buying a 120K 760Li and its internal systems glitch and your car doesnt even let you out!

check out bimmer forums and mb forums and you'll know what I'm talkin about.

Brewmaster

It sounds like you have inadvertently moved the mode select to "Funkified"


Seriously man, that sucks ... good luck in getting through this one.

Jinen

If you think you've had issues with the TL, then you really don't know...Here are the issues that I've had since November 2003 (when I bought the car)

1) Entire Body kit had to be replaced after a week
2) Of course, that driveline vibration
3) Driver side and passenger side motors/sensors for the windows
4) Subwoofer had to be replaced
5) New battery had to be installed because it had some draining problem
6) New radio had to be installed becuase it wouldn't let me play my cd's
7) New Bluetooth module had to be installed because it would always stay on (hence, no radio)
8) Insulation had to be installed in quite a few areas of the car because of the rattles
9) ECU was f*cked up, so they had to do the ECU Upgrade
10) There was some transmission recall so I had to get that done
11) Washer nozzles were messed up and not aligned properly so they did that (minor)
12) Tires were always a problem and as a result the alignment was messed up, but not much that they could do about that

Now these are all the things that I could think of the top of my head, but I know there are a few other minor ones...I mean it's crazy!!! I called up Acura and they said that well, all the problems were fixed, so you shouldn't worry...the reason why I called up Acura was because if all these problems occurred in the first year, then when the warranty goes out, I am left with all the charges out of my pocket...Honestly speaking, these problems should not occur with the car...I've spent ~40K on the car and not what I expected...I mean I still love the car, it's awesome and definitely fun to drive, but it just disappointed me on how many problems I've had...by the way, the car's vin is in the 8000's...

So I've just swallowed all the problems and am just "going with the flow"...So I can completely understand where you're coming from...I guess we are the unlucky ones who have soo many problems in a car that's worth ~40K...

J RIDE 81

Fact of the matter is, all makes experience there problems. It doesn't matter who. Like I said above, they are all made by machine. If you always want a perfect car no matter what, then go buy a hand built Bentley. But for real, G'luck. It will show you if its a good car company if they handle the problem. CALL ACURA AND DON'T LET IT SLID.

MADCAT

Honda has one of the best quality control programs.

In regards to your points

1. Have you been hitting big potholes every 500 miles? If you are hitting something, then it isn’t the cars fault. And this car isn’t a SUV!
2. Like my response to number 1, are you hitting things at every 500 miles to get major vibrations? If you are hitting something, then it isn’t the cars fault. And this car isn’t a SUV!
3. It may be a battery or bad alternator. One of these could be changed and you’re back on the road.


Just because of these issues, I would never conclude to your assumption that all Honda’s are bad. That kind of response could be coming from a German or American car owner who don’t like Japanese cars al together.

fla-tls

Both items 1 and 2 could be caused by a bad/defective tire. It's not common, but it does happen from time to time.

Make sure they check them out.

Nodoze2004

Thanks for all the comments guys! I am sorry to keep bitching cause I REALLY want to love this car, but thus far it has been hard. When it runs well I love it, plenty of power, the interior, the looks etc but lately she has not been treating me well.

In response to the questions on the price $$ the car is a 6mt/Navi/ with full A-Spec. Out the door it was 40k so thats why the price is so high.

I am dropping her off again tonight (finger crossed) and hope to get her back tomorrow afternoon (assuming all is resolved).


At least my headliner is still attached (knocks on wood)

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

I agree. I know it totally sucks, but Neuron is right... lemon it. Don't waste your time. Life can suck sometimes, I don't have to tell you that, and unfortunatley, you are one of the few w/ a shitbox TL. Trust me, I know how you feel b/c I had THREE failed transmissions in my last Acura, a TL Type S, and I fought the company (Honda) to have them buy it back .. after a long struggle, it worked out.. but I did have to work at it.


It's your hard earned money, fight for it, and get compensated. Don't just get frustrated w/o doing anything about in terms of trying to get a new car. I wish you the best of luck. Let me know if you need to know how to start filing a complaint against Acura based on your grievances. PM me anytime.

Peter

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

For the record, I have helped about 8 people get buybacks from Acura (TL-S's).

Nodoze2004

Naa the car was parked in the garage for no more than 10 hours, unlocked. The funny part is that the past 2 days the car didn't seem right during the startup process. More specifically each time I started it the clock would read 1:00 and it would take longer than usual (but it always turned over). After turn over the clock read properly and showed the correct time. I had read of some starting issues with the car (attributed to ULEV status) and didn't give it much thought. Now this morning she was simply dead. I am wondering if the blue tooth link is draining the juice from the battery. When I went to call Acura TLC this morning for a jump the cell indicated it was in use (even though nothing was going on). I tried to manually turn off blue tooth on the phone and again it said it was in use......hmmm strange. So I power cycled the phone and was able to shut it off. Other than that I don't know what would contribute to a battery drain on the car!?

Any ideas?

Sorry to spread my misery, I just needed a place to vent. I REALLY want to keep this car, but it is growing harder and harder by the day. I just spent 5 hours detailing her over the weekend and fell more in love only to have my heart trampled on this morning....

Nodoze2004

1. Have you been hitting big potholes every 500 miles? If you are hitting something, then it isn’t the cars fault. And this car isn’t a SUV!

No, the car only has 2400 miles on it and had the alignment issue on day 1 with 5 miles on the odo. At the time I attributed it to the install of the A-spec (I assumed they did not align it). I have since taken it back for this issue twice and was told the first time that the tire was low on air, and that after filling it tracked straight. I get in the car drive off the lot and low and behold it literally changed lanes again with my hand off the wheel. I didn't have time to correct it then, but I did take it back and let the service manager drive it. At first he was like"It is the road, on uneven pavement the car will veer, this is normal". So I handed him the keys..."Wow this is a problem." NO SHIT!!

Took it back the second time, and it appeared to be resolved. On my drive home it was fine for about 5 miles. Then out of nowhere the car started pulling right again. This is when I did the hard pull test. I hard yanked the steering in the opposite direction of the pulling and WHOALA the car tracked straight for awhile. Something is amiss with the centering of the steering, i.e. I think the over boosted power steering is actually taking the car out of alignment (sans pot holes).


3. As I mentioned in the initial post, I hope that this is all it is. I still feel that these parts should not be going bad with only 2400 miles on the odo though!!

tl_soso

Nodoze - welcome to the club. Check out these posts:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/im-selling-my-car-audio-stuff-94395/

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...7&page=1&pp=25

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...3&page=6&pp=25

I had my tires rotated and the problem SEEMS to be gone (the alignment issue) - but if this is the case, it means that the tires are the cause of the problem.

I am taking my car in on Friday - so i'll report back the results. Please let me know what the dealer said to you after today.

I have the EXACT same problem as you with the alignment issue up until getting the tires rotated.

ed99

I Know many car makes have had their share of problems such as BMW/Mercedez/Lexus/and especially Audi-Would never touch one!! In results, I think the car makers such as Acura should replace the car-lemon with a brand new one. Not fair for the consumers where they spend thousands on a car and you have to take your time off taking it to the dealer for fixes. A good solution for both parties would be, the consumer gets a brand new car replacement and the LEMON should be shipped back to HONDA for research in why and where these problems exist. Then they can use this research to prevent any of such problems for their future builds. What do you all think!!!

TLover

That sucks. Acura should really be compensating you right now. But my TL has almost 10,000 miles and no major problems. And to give you some perspective, imagine spending $55,000 on a BMW M3 and having the friggin' engine throw a rod at 6,000 miles! Hang in there, bro. I don't think your experience is the typical Acura experience.

J RIDE 81

That really sucks and I would be just as pissed as you are. Hopefully in the end it works out though. I really would take as much action as I can. G'luck again.

ou sig

saddly that is something that may happen with new models durring the first year of release. My parents got a new Avalon like an '02 or something and they were at the dealer nearly every week for a month or two getting random things fixed. Now the car is perfect.

bodyshopguy

Wow, that really sucks "Nodoze". Sorry to see you are contemplating moving over to BMW. Good luck, heard they are having reliability problems. There sales have really been poor as well. Acura's by the way have consistantly gone up and up in the past 12 months. Seems the public is buying the new models like crazy. And now we have the new RL. Knock on wood my TL has been fantastic, a few minor problems but it is its first model year and I think they addressed all the issues pritty quickly. I love my car and will be patiently awaiting a new one in about 2 years and 3 months.

Nodoze2004

Like I have stated I REALLY want to love this car, but I liken it to an abusive relationship. Just when you think things are going well POW right in the gut. So she is still sitting in my garage clean as a whistle from the detail I gave her on Saturday. Off to the wonderful world of Acura service tomorrow. I pray they don't cause another issue, and are able to quickly track down and resolve the issues.

I have always had a thing for BMW's (especially the M3) so we will see how things turn out here. I think the TL interior hands down spanks that of the M3, and really would miss the 2 extra doors, the nav, the dvd-audio, the bigger backseat.....aww hell I want to keep the TL!!

CLSpeedfreak

Should have bought a used CLS and saved 20-25k!

Do your issues fall under the lemo law perhaps?

maxTL

what would it take for the dealer to give you another TL? Would you have to get a lawyer?

Nodoze2004

**UPDATE**

Dealer stated the battery had a bad cell, and has replaced it. They could not state what would have made the battery drain (since everything was turned off).

Also claimed that the ongoing alignment issues are due to the tires and ordered me 2 new Yoko's.

Going to pick her up soon!

fla-tls

HA - I guessed correctly for once!

BTW - mine is in the shop for tire-related issues as well. They're doing a road force balance and found that they can't get one of the tires under 26 (I'll explain what a road force balance is if needed).

I'll have to see if the Tire Rack will exchange it for me.

ericajackhannahjamie?

Nodoze2004,
Car sounds like it may be a LEMON, but for you to JUST think you could take it into the dealership and expect them to hand you a new set of keys for another TL... then you must be dreaming. First, they will try to explain the recalls and fix the problems... then after a few trips, they'll claim they fixed all the problems then you'll need alot of to get into another vehicle. No dealership is going to hand you a FREE TL in exhange for the lemon unless you obtain a lawyer and numerous frustrating trips of with them. In the DREAM WORLD, we all want THE PERFECT car that we spent $40k for and just drive with the big , but we're living in the real world and some cars are just . I am very sorry to hear that you got all these problems, it's very unfortunate that some cars are just made I bought my TL in mid September and so far, I have minor experience with driving vibration around 50-60mph and tomorrow I will be bring my car to the local Acura D. for alignment.....as my car tend to pull to the LEFT at 60-70mph
I will be standing next to the mechanic and watch him do the alignment, nothing piss me off more than wasting my time to take my car into the dealership and the mechanic just do some 5 minutes test and say "I don't feel anything is wrong with this car"

GOOD LUCK with your problems, I hope you can solve them without too much frustration

mio

sigh...