I really like everything I have heard about these cars to date. I am considering trading/selling my NSX or trading in the wife's Mustang in on one very soon.
Do you have any regrets about buying/leasing this car. I have always thought it is a good idea to not buy the first year of an all new vehicle so they can get the bugs worked out of them. Would that be true in this case also or is the quality already there?
Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.

 

I like buying the first year of the redesign so I don't pick up a new car just to have it redesigned next year(*laughs at 03 TL owners :p*). As for regrets, I only wish there was less traffic on Long Island so I could have gone with 6MT.

 

no regrets at all the car has been great. drives wonderful and offers a bunch of nice features.

Galforce: traffic in Long Island? i don't know about that, i drive there everyday and there isn't much at all. traffic in nyc now that's a different story.

 

Picked mine up at the end of April and have no issues with the tires so they have probably corrected that. I will probably switch to Pirelli PZero Nero M+S's when these show some significant wear for better grip and I will get a slightly wider tire for better rim protection.

Seems like they have corrected many of the bugs earlier reported and I am loving my car. I have no regrets at all! I went from an 02 TL Type-S to this car and for me the switch has been seemless... slightly more power, better cabin isolation, lots of gadgets to play with (I love the NAVI and the voice recognition) Even the slight reduction in trunk space doesn't bother me as I can get 2 sets of golf clubs in very easily (maybe even 3) and that was my only concern.

Hope us folks on this forum help you with your decision! Good luck!

 

Ever been on Jericho Turnpike? I live on it. Traffic light every 20 feet, its horrible :p

 

I remember reading on here a few months ago about some minor issues with trim, paint, etc. So it appears that now those are addressed and resolved issues?

 

No regrets at all. The car is phenomenal!

 

no regrets, except that I never had sex with an asian woman before I got married. I just wonder what that would have been like...been with most other types that I was attracted to.

 

I expect to be in the minority, I regret it. I have owned a few Infiniti's and a slew of Toyotas and none (actuually all fo them combined) have had the annoying problmes my TL has had. Form the tires to constant squeaks and rattles in the interior that they can't quiet fast enough. For every one they quiet a another 1 or 2 pop up. Truthfully, if I had it to do again I woudl stick with my I35. While on paper the TL is a better car, my expierience hsa not be so. Scan these forums, and look for the poll on interior quailty. Many people are fine living with these minor annoyances, and if this were a <$20k car I might as well. But for an "Acura" and to be treated badly by ACS, they have lost me. And I have owned a few "year one" cars before, some American, none with this many issues. I am counting the months until I can afford to trade out of it. 24.. 23...

 

The last Honda I bought in the first year of a model change was a '94 Accord EXL. It was a zero defect vehicle that was never serviced under warranty. It was bought towards the end of the first model year.

I bought an '04 TL (VIN # 315XX) that is now 2 months old. I have a couple of rattles, but they're so minor that I may not have them fixed. I usually listen to music and don't notice them very often. The EL-42 tires vibrate a little for the first few miles until they warm up, but I'll go ahead and wear them out.

Don't wait, unless you're wanting to get the inevitable changes that will improve the '05 over the '04. There are certain to be a few. I'd bet big money that the '05 doesn't have EL-42 tires on it!

 

This is only the second brand new, first year redesign car I have ever purchased. First one was a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE. That thing was a POS if there ever was one. Not so much mechanical issues, just annoying things like crappy paint, poor interior materials, etc.

The Acura (at least mine ) seems to be perfect in my book. I have an occasional rattle in the doors from the speakers - no headliner issues, no other popping, or weird noises. The tires only take about 2 minutes to ''unflatten'' their spots, so that's not even an issue in my book.

No disrespect to anyone here, or any Acura owner - but this car costs +/-$33k - not 43k like a comparable BMW or whatever you want to compare it to. For the amount of fun in driving and features to go with it, I'll take a few minor squeaks and flat spotting tires that I will replace at their life end. For what you pay for this car, you couldn't ask for anything more. You want it to have zero defects? Good luck - it's a car - it moves and bounces and sooner or later something will come loose. I'm not making light of some people's issues, to them they are huge problems....to me, it's part of owning a car.
Go check out any other forum - BMW, Nissan/Infiniti, etc etc They all have their issues. One that comes to mind is the Infiniti G35 paint and interior problems STILL going on today - remember, I said I had those problems on a 2000 model!

In the end - it's up to you, but I say go for it. You could always wait, but you'll be missing out for that much longer.

Good luck in whatever you do!!

 

Got my baby in November 2003 and No regrets ... I did have the tire and seat memory. I replaced the tires myself and the seat memory module was replaced under warranty. I have enjoyed driving this baby every minute and find excuses just to go go for a drive...

 

No regrets, no bugs, no problems at all since October. Compared to my last GM which was delivered with a dead battery its perfect.

 

Have had my 04 TL for a month now and I just love this car so far. Vin#17xxx had tires switched off before taking delivery being aware of the tire problem. No problem with tires so far, came off later vin# car in stock. Did have memory problem which was fixed last week and now works perfectly. Have not experienced and rattle or any of the other problems so far, have 1600 miles on odometer to date.

Love driving this car! Traded 2002 Maxima GL with no regrets though was happy with Max, happier with TL. Handling and driving much better. Seat comfort is fantastic. Always had back stiffness after 2 hr plus drive in both Max and Avalon XLS 00 but so far getout of this seat feeling great.

Never been a radio listener, music wise anyway, news radio and occasional oldies station. But find myself actually enjoying music listening just because of quality sound radio system has.

Dash lighting, that luminesence blue, is great on eyes. Wifes 02 Altima great car but I hate the orange lighting scheme, too gaudy for my tastes.

Takes getting used to line of site, thick pillars small windows I know not what but once used to can live with it. Just feel that have blinds spots and takes time to get comfortable backing and changing lanes. Rear window and mirror view seems much less than on Max.

Looking forward to Verizon getting blue tooth phone hopefully in near future so can use Hands Free system, big plus in NY where $100 fine for using cell while driving.

So count me in the Happy Camper categorey so far. All cars have something they go back to shop for. Wife has been driving Altima's for years and very happy with them trading off new every two years. Her latest is heading to dealer this morning for it's 2nd recall in two years. Always going to be something I figure. As long as you have a decent dealer that fixes and corrects the first time around it is something you live with.

Gas mileage, mixed driving, 25 mpg so far, by onboard computer and verified the old fashioned way, gallon and mileage math. Takes some getting used to gas guage since stays in top half for very short time and then moves little for quite a while.

Trunk much smaller than what I was used to on Max yet I was pleased to find that my two large and bulky 29 inch hard shall suitcases do indeed fit though differently. In Max fit side by side, never happen in TL, but one laid down in back, other standing in front fit nicely. Trunk deep enough and lid high and square enough to close with second one standing. Meets my needs.

Headlights take a lot of getting used to and I admit to being self concious about possibly blinding other drivers. Very nice and bright to drive, very white light. Unusual though that light stops short. Regular lights diffuse and the actual end of the lit area in front of you has no clear ending. With these light goes to end of range and suddenly it's dark. Strange effect to get used to. Also since you so clearly see the end edge the designed aiming seems funny at first. The left headlight has shorter and lower aim than right. I read here and makes sense that left light is aimed short and low to prevent blinding oncoming cars. Don;t get me wrong, plenty of light, just very different Halogens on Max I was used to. Fog lights really light up near and side. High beams you would think you had a high power light rack on your roof or something. I don't get flashed normally on low so I presume they are not too bad for oncoming. However if you load up trunk with heavy luggage or if you are carrying rear passengers you can readily tell that your lighting is projecting much higher and longer, I do get flashed when carrying passengers in rear. Should really be self leveling lights or some such.

Cruise control most accurate I have ever seem, no fluxuating at all up or down hills so far. Live in NE with some decent up and downs. Tranny and engine smooth. Not quite as smooth as Maxima but Max engine is a great engine.

Climate control very good so far. Maxima was great climate except that when first starting out on hot day fan would run max for first 20 minutes. Toyota Avalon was horrible, always either hot or cold. TL's blend air nice, fan seems a little low for initial warm weather but it really hasn't gotten to hot yet in NE except for one day but so far seems to keep temp moderation well.

Great car. looking forward to lot's of fun driving.

 

No regrets whatsoever.....what an outstanding automobile! I'm about to crack 2k miles and I still smile every time I climb in!! My VIN is 29XXX, I've experienced none of the most common problems seen by early VINs. My only wish is that sound system would crank a little more.....opening the windows really cuts back on the available sound.

 

u regret getting at i would be much happier with mt...

 

It's not a turnpike if it has lights......

 

I have to say that I liked the ride of my '02 TL-S much better than my '04TL. In all fairness to the EL42 tire issue, they are not the same Michelin Grand Touring Tires that I had on my '02. The TL-S had TV adds of a guy driving from NY to Maine for lunch and from SF to LA for a date, the new '04 is not that kind of car. It is now a faster better cornering car, not a touring sedan.

The car has been designed to be much stiffer and a better cornerer, and as such it suffers in other areas that were more to my liking in the TL-S. Acura felt that the '04 TL needed to be a Hot Rod and put a Mustang GT stiff suspension on a luxury car.

 

Nope, Nada, None! Still Love this car!

 

Wow! You thought the suspension on the 04 was stiff? I thought it was just fine if not a little soft on the test drive . I'm a person who is willing to sacrafice a bit of ride quality for good handling so I guess that is where the difference lies. In fact, my current car is a 97 Camry V6 lowered with Eibach springs with Tokico high performance struts with a stiff rear anti-sway bars on summer 45 series tires. Ride is mildly or moderately stiffer from stock but handling is very sporty. The 04 TL has similar handling so it works out well for me right out of the box :toothless .

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