Bill97Z

I found a nice deal on a slightly used 04 TL, low miles, going to offer 27K with navi. I have read so many horror stories though I am a bit skeptical. Rattles and squeaks, subpar AC system, Brake problems, and more. Does anyone out there have an 04 that has had NO PROBLEMS?

Brewmaster

I have an '04 with 17K miles .. no squeaks, no rattles, no brake problems, I'm even ok with the stock tires (they're not great, but they're ok).

The only problem I've had so far was a one time issue where the VSA light came on while driving through snow. I suspect that the sensor got clogged with snow and salt. It melted, I cleaned it and I haven't seen another problem since. This si one of the best cars in terms of fit, finish, quality and value that i have ever owned.

That being said, get a good mechanic to take a look at it .. take it for a long test drive over some bumps and ruts, cross your fingers and hope for the best!

Good Luck!

Jss1

I haven't had any problems in almost 2 years. Car still looks new.

mickey3c

The 04 as you know is the first year for the 3g. Butt prints were a problem, oil jet for 5AT as well. There are other things such as rattles...
If the car has original rubber on it, expect to get rid of them soon. The car is considered to be 2 years old now with the 06s on their way. So if you do decide to buy, make sure you bring that up...

If it was me, I would buy something new in the price range that you are looking at. I would rather have a new car with no miles and full warranty than something used. New brakes, tires, everything... Sure it might not have as much power and some features, but you pay for that. 27K with navi and I think new, some people are getting 33500. Sure 6500 off but in a month or two the 06s will be out and that car will be worth much less. Invoice on a new tl 5AT with navi is about 32,000 I would move up to new if you can afford it.

youngTL

For once I agree. If you can afford the extra $5000, it should be worth it for all the corrections and revisions Acura has done. The 05 were much improved over the first year build 04's. The 06 should be even better (plus it's getting a 10hp bump). I would strongly recommend against getting a first year build of any vehicle. You should be able to get a deeply discounted 05 pretty soon, since the 06's are right around the corner.

EZZ

Also, i'd never buy a used sports sedan/car/coupe.... People tend to really drive them hard and if your hood ornament doesn't have the prancing horse or you don't have a flat 6 behind you, then you are asking for trouble.

quake97

I say this all the time, and I'll say it again. People go to discussion boards to complain and find fixes for issues. There are 1000s more people out there that have zero problems. People that come to this discussion board are a small subet of the TL population.

With that said, I had some minor sweaks that have been fixed. I had my tires replaced for free after 18k and same goes with the brakes. The only thing that annoys me is the headliner on the brake light in the rear of the cabin is falling down again. I already had it replaced once, so it looks like I'll be doing it again.

Joe

Bill97Z

Well he is asking 29K and I am going to offer 26 and settle on 27. The car was his wifes and only has 5K miles. It isn't even a yr old yet. I think it's worth it to save 5-6K that I will never recoupe. I'm just wondering since this is a newer 04 if most of the fixes have been doone on it already because the the 05's were made just a month after this ones build date.

castre

Let me tell you something… if someone is selling a relatively new car then there are problems that the owner do wish to deal with anymore. It is very likely but not definite. If you think about it, it’s a bad pretty financial decision on their part to sell a one-year-old car. I just think you should just buy a new one.

castre

by the way rattles, squeaks, and poping sound are all standard features in this "value" performance sedan.

DFBRL8R

I have an '04 with 29k on it. I had a 3rd brake light rattle (fixed with weather stripping form hardware store) I have an occasional rattle from the passenger visor (no big deal). Drivers headrest rattled for the first 1,500 miles but dissappeared. I'm due for new tires (yippee...EL42's are crap). Other than that, it's been an awesome car. (I'do miss my S2000 though)

ekumar

Watch out for people on this forum, not that they are bad, but because you have to be aware of who you are speaking with. People on this forum are the type of people who have discerning tastes, some fashion of aptitude for cars, and enough desire to actively seek out a forum to discuss their cars with others. This is also the type of people who will be picky, so thats why it seems there are always issues with peoples cars on this forum. As for my TL, I have an '04, purchased in nov 03, with about 30K miles. In terms of problems, the seat memory used to loose its memory, but that was fixed and I do not think its a problem anymore. My EL42s were terrible, but I got 20K miles out of them, and instead of fighting for replacements, I put on what I wanted (Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's). Leather seems to be wearing fast, but I also need to condition it. Overall, I am pleased with this car and recommend it new. However, used, watch out. There could be a difference between why they say they are selling it, and the real reason they are selling it.

Road Rage

I am one. I have 12k miles and one year of ownership. The few inevitable squeaks are typical of all my cars, and have diminished over time. My A/C works fine, my brakes and tires have had 0 isssues (I do all my own maintenance, including rotations and ensuring the wheels are prorperly torqued to the hubs).

My car has fine paint, absolutely no oil consumption, and has had no mechanical problems whatsoever. I average about 24 MPG in suburban driving, and a daily 40 mile roundtrip commute.

My car went back to the dealer once - for a steering wheel slightly offset to the right. They re-centered it perfectly in about one hour elapsed from receipt to return, and did it without mucking up any trim.

Oh yeah - my "butt prints" are small, and I would not consider asking the dealer to replace the covers. I prefer the "smooth" cover to the new design anyway. I use Meguiar's Medallion for Leather, applied by hand, about once every 2 months.

Stuff/maintenance I have done:

1) Tire rotation at 10K
2) 3 oil/filter changes (to remove typical Honda engine break-in and assembly debris)
3) Yearly chassis lube (cleaning and treatment of suspension rubber bellows and bushings, F/R)
4) Oil filter inspection and used-oil analysis
5) Replacement of interior lights with LED's
6) Hi intensity "blue" fog and B/U light bulbs for safety and cosmetics
7) 3 drain/refill cycles with Amsoil ATF
8) Small ding in bumper cover from a careless nitwit
9) A few small rock chips (No, the paint is not "soft" - all cars will chip when encountering a hard missile at speed - duh!); no door dings
8) Lube Control in oil; Regular fuel treatment with RL SI-2, or Fuel Control
9) Ditched stock carpet mats for Berber-style from AutoSport catalog

While some have accused me of dismantling and re-assembling my car, I consider my ownership typical, having owned 3 2G TL's, 1 1G TL, an NSX, 3 Accords, and an S2000. All had bulletproof drivetrains.

Which one had the most problems? The NSX. Needed a new clutch due to transporter driver error and failure of the service shop to properly "bed-in" the twin disc system *(713 miles), and disassembly of the entire rear section to deal with one taillight being noticeably dimmer than the other - turned out to be a high R wire defect in the harness - I cannot imagine what the dealer charged Acura back for that one!

*Due to the peculiarity of the symptoms, the cost of the car and the fact that the NSX Targa (NSX-T) was new at that time (1995), and my visibility as a journalist and former SCCA racer, Honda had me participate in a satellite telecom conference with some very interested (and tired) engineers in Tochigi. The hot spots from improper handling of the clutch were compounded by some free play in the Targa's engine cradle - resulting in a new term - "judder". That is what was coined to describe the jitter and shudder.

It just goes to show that even (or perhaps because?) hand-built cars are susceptible to defects. My 2004 S2000 was built in Tochigi - something no longer the case - and that thing is a jewel. As I have said before, I prefer the S2000 over the NSX anyway.

mickey3c

Well in the end if it does only have 5,000 miles on it you can be saving some money or getting a car that has been problematic. Why is he selling it.. you can ask even if there is some BS answer. The 04 would still bother me since there are improvements in the 05 and you probably could pick an 05 up really soon for 28.

JetJock

I'm another one with a "04TL and have had absolutely NO mechanical problems, squeaks, rattles or any other problems with my car. The paint is awesome also. After a few coats of Zaino, it looks like a show car finish. My ONLY minor problem was the buttprint issue with the front seats. My dealer replaced the leather covers with the "05 style leather but I had to pay for new cushions and seat heaters. This car is about as good as a car gets. It's not perfect but nothing is. I'd buy another one in a flash so that says it all.

Bill97Z

Thanks guys! I am going to look at it this weekend. He is selling it because his wife died. Do you think 26K is a good deal? He is asking 29K which I think is a bit high.

Hopefully I can convince him to go lower. I mean I saw some 04's on dealers lot for 30Kish (prob can be negotiated down a few K) and they are acura certfied so have an extended warranty and also qualitfy for acura low financing which I wont get with this. I am going to use that fire to convince him to go down to 26.

empathy

26 means he is taking 8-9000 dollar loss :\

well, the 06's are almost out..i am getting a brand new 05 for 31600+TTL tomorrow. why dont u spend 5000 more and get a brand new one?

mickey3c

an 04 acura certified is a joke. Unless the car has like 25000 miles on it... then it is not worth more money. If the car has like 8000 miles on it what could have gone wrong. The cert process was washing the car.LOL

crazymjb

Only 500 miles but no problems, the AC is great, no rattles. Only thing I actually dislike is the perferated leather, its a bitch to get the treatment out of(although I should not have put it on this soon).

mcmanut

60K on my 04 TL and no issues. GREAT Car and still fun to drive.

Bill97Z

Well scrap that deal. The guy is a real HARDA$$.

Went to see the Anthricite 04 TL 6M with grey leather with 5K miles and NAVI advertised for 29K. I told him that was a little high being that I can get a new 05 for 32ish and I saw some prowned ones for around the same price. The preowned ones have a warranty extension if they are certified and qualify for very low financing. Hell this one didnt even hvae the protection package or mud guards! It also had the summer performance tires I was not crazy about. I offered him 26K figuring we would reach some middle ground around 27 or 27500 (my highest offer). He said the price is 29K take it or leave it, for 26K he will just keep it. I said well you just told me that you never drive it and if you keep it it will be worth 25K after not too long...it is just going to keep depreciating. I said why not cash out now? I asked him if he would be willing to negotiate off his 29K price tag. He said I will just trade it in, I am confident they will give me 28500 for it. RIGHT! GOOD LUCK!

Oh well...back to the drawing board.........

SouthernBoy

I have an '04 Anthracite/Ebony/6MT/Nav built in July, 2004 and purchased by me two days after having arrived at the dealer.

The one problem was a flatlined outside temperature display late last August that caused the battery to go completely dead after having sat in my garage for 5 days without being driven. Problem was due to stalling the restarting the engine immediately. Has never occured again.

Car has been great with no regrets on my part. Truly the near perfect luxury performance sedan.

Prolanman

Go with a new 05 rather than the used 04 if you can swing the extra $. I have an 05 and none of the problems that people who bought the 04. Personnaly I stay away from any first year model/first year redesigned. The extra year lets them address some of the problems in the early release.

castre

Just to let you know… I privately sold my 04 TL (<9000 miles) w/o navigation and w/ protection package for about 27,500. Actually, at the time… which was about 6 months, the demand was pretty high. For that price, I sold that car within 4 days. I was considering in trading it in for 06 BMW 3 series, and the dealer was asking 26100 for the trade in.

simont53

Its absolutly true, I have had my 05 auto Nav for two weeks and after reading the stories here I started to become paranoid about the terrilbe things that will go wrong with my new purchase........the reality is this is one of the best made/finished cars I have owned (came out of a lexus) the car does none of the things that people here complain about......I could not be happier, I also bought my wife a TSX to replace her mercedes.

Just mt 2 cents

SouthernBoy

To simont53;

I know your experience. My wife's former '96 328i BMW crapped out for the last time (as in too many times) last March and I took my wife to test drive a TSX. While one the way there, she asked if she could drive my '04 TL 6MT a little bit on the way (she is an excellent manual operator). No more than maybe a 1/4 mile had passed after turning out of a school parking lot onto the highway and she said, "Wow, this is REALLY nice!".

A week later we got her '05 automatic (SSM/Quartz/5AT/Nav) and got rid of the Bimmer. I am not a fan of German engineering.. at least in her '96 328i. I saw a lot of needless crap and what I would call serious design mistakes. German engineering in WWII probably shortened the war by as much as a year and saved a lot of American lives. It's a dichotomy, really. Some things they do are really good and some things.. you wonder what the heck they were thinking. Guess we all are subject to that from time to time.

Bill97Z

Well I want to thank everyone for their input. I finally sold my car and have been on the fence on what to get next for some time now. A few of the TL's I found in the combo's I wanted fell through and thinking it over again and again I can honestly say the TL was my second choice, even over the G35 but I just couldn't part away from owning a BMW. I picked up an 05 BMW 330i M6. See you guys on the road!

claud

I bought my 04 TL in April 04. I waited to see when the new TLs had been cleared of problems by monitoring this forum. I now have 20,000+ on it with no real problems. I changed the tires to Michlin Pilot Sport AS at 10,000. I changed the navi DVD yesterday. I don't notice butt prints. The aluminum trim is easy to dent, so you get dents around where the seat belts connect. That's it.
Thought I wanted a new 3 series BMW until I started monitoring two of their forums. Think I'll drive this TL until they do a refresh in 07.