SilverTL

my wife drives a 03 v6 accord, and there is ONE item that Honda did the TL a disservice:

blind spots

looking over your left or right shoulder in the tl, the view is much more obstructed than in the 03 accord.

your thoughts?

jjay

to tell you the truth my windows are so dark everthing beside or behind is a blind spot.. hah hah just kidding...i do take my time before changing lanes though in all seriosness

Ron A

The visibility is very bad in the TL. You can't see the trunk lid, and the large pillars block your rearward vision.

I have removed the right rear seat headrest, which markedly improved my rearward visibility.

If you don't regularly carry passengers in the rear, you could remove the right one and stow it in the trunk for use as required.

cliff

the blind spot on the left rear is horrible, the area of blind spots are tremendous

boltjames

Agree completely. The TL might be the most difficult car to navigate if you think about it:

Tough left/right lane changing visibility.

Short rear deck makes it look like every car is tailgating you.

Sharply sloped nose makes it difficult to judge curbs when nosing-into parking.

Pancake-flat sides that either trick you into parking too far from the curb or too close.

Rims that protrude over the tires, leading to scrapes.

High rear headrests obstructing rear view mirror.

Extra-small side view mirrors with limited range.

Distractions, distractions, oh those technological distractions (no need to elaborate).

This is not a car for mom to take grocery shopping. It's powerful, luxurious, and challenging to drive

Love it, but afraid to let the wife at it to be honest

TLGator

Bolt, you're married? And yet sleeping with the wives of half the members of this forum? You, not the gas cap or headliner, are the devil, sir!

A depressingly good post summing up the TL's "driveability" issues.

cdgatti

I agree my TL is much worse than my last car, an 850 turbo, in the area of rear visibility for backing up and lane changes. I have overcome the lane change issue by adjusting the outside mirrors much more to the side. Several years ago I heard about this trick on the "click and clack" PBS radio show CARTALK. It takes some getting used to but, I now change lanes with much confidence and always just rely in the mirrors... never look back before changing lanes.

Heres how you do it. To adjust the driverside mirror, while sitting in your drivers position, lean your head all the way over till your head practically hits the driver side window, now adjust the mirror so you can just barely see the drivers side rear quarter panel. To adjust the passenger side, lean over toward the middle of the car and adjust the passenger mirror so you can just see the passenger side rear quarter panel. What this effectively does is eliminate all blindspots in the mirrors. That is as someone comes up behind you, you can see them in your rear view mirror and as they pull to one side of you their car will pass from the rear view mirror to the outside rear view mirror, with overlap, that is you will see there car in both mirrors for a brief period. Then as they pass you, you will be able to see them in the outside mirror all the way up to the time that you can see them directly yourself just looking to the side. In effect you never lose sight of them.

Like I said it does take some getting used to in order to trust it, so you will find your self using the mirrors but also still craning your neck around to check directly, but after awhile you will gain the confiedence that you can always see everyone around you in your mirrors.

JoganJani

Ditto! I do the same.

KeithL

Style vs. function debate. Style winning big, function loosing. I agree. Blind spots for changing lanes very bad, also I noticed the steeply raked windshield creates some blind spots to the right behind the front pillar.

saltyFISHscales

I agree! Thank god, I'm not the only one!

boltjames

Married, three kids, one wife, one steady strip-club dancer, one steady prostitute. You?

Dutchml

If you have any kids going through driving school, take a note. Side mirrors should be set way to the side, not to the rear, so as to see your blind spots. Trust your mirrors. Set em way out there and all you need is a quick look into them to see if a car is in your blind spot. (Jeez, they also tell you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at 8 and 4 so if the air bag deploys you won't smack yourself in the mouth).

Used to be so easy to drive.

boltjames

Man, learn something new every day. Never ever knew that side view mirror trick. For those of you interested, here's a link with a diagram:

http://www.canadiandirect.com/code/t...a-080020c629df

Thank you cdgatti! Just set 'em and I'll report back tomorrow on how they work in the daytime.

BJ

TLGator

A prostitute who is steady on her feet? Bitch ain't working enough.

Married here, too, but no kids. Three young nieces keep us busy, though. I was adopted and might consider adopting at some point, but not too eager to make more humans. The planet's already crawling with 'em.

boltjames

Not having kids is dumber than putting the PLFH on the side of your TL

It'll change your life for the better.....have kids immediately. Don't wait.

Hmm.....that may make an excellent poll.....BJ

BJ

Dutchml

PLFH.....Parent looking for hoes????

Zeuser

I've got my side mirrors aligned to see in the blind spots. When a car comes up on me, either to the left or right, I see him in the rearview and then he appears in my sideviews and when he's no longer in my sideviews I see right beside me out the side windows.

The only thing I'm worried about is bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians as my side mirror alignment thing doesn't work well for smaller objects. They can fall out of view in 4 different spots.

What we need is the newer mirrors coming out on the market. The ones with 3 LCD video screens (rear, left blind spot and right blind spot). Combine that with the sideviews and you can see everywhere around your car.

Dutchml

All you have to do is haul ass. Then you don't need to worry about anything except what's happening in front of you. No blind spots to worry about.

TLGator

That's why most driving "experts" don't recommend relying entirely on your side view mirrors. What most of them recommend is adjusting the side mirrors as discussed in this thread, but still taking a quick "peek" before making a move. The idea being that with the confidence of properly-adjusted side mirrors, you don't have to actually crane your neck back and have your eyes off the road too long. Personally I have used the technique described in this thread for years but still take that quick peek - and you know what, a couple of times it DID prevent me from whacking a motorcycle who had sneaked up on me!

boltjames

No.

Starting tomorrow, it's no more head turning for me. I'm going to trust those mirrors. Well, I'm going to try to trust those mirrors.

hokietl

suggest trying the round convex mirror at any auto store...cost about $5/pc. Attach the covex mirror on the side view mirror bottom outer edge... help me eliminate blind spot when changing lane. I did the same for the wife MDX.

ahkim

First, I agree that the TL could be one of the most difficult cars to drive. The blind spots are horrible.

So I went out to Target and bought a rectangular convex mirror and it completely eliminated the blind spot on the left. Now when I change lanes to the left, I look in the rear view to see if anyone if coming fast, then the side mirror as I lean foward, then finally the convex mirror. If the car is in my blindspot, the car will be right in the middle of my convex mirror so it's easy to see.

rdjsw

rdjsw

I have been using my mirrors widely adjusted for 20 years, but I never heard of the "head to the window technique". I have always adjusted my mirrors while sitting at a traffic light with cars around (but most importantly) behind you. I just place the inside mirror in the best possible position and then adjust the outside edges of the inside mirror, to see exactly the same thing as the inside edges of the outer mirrors. Normally you can locate a grille point, headlight or something to use. This will pretty much create a panoramic view of cars going from mirror to mirror, in normal driving situations.

divxz

Have any of you ever checked out the Interactive Showroom on Acura.com?

There is an entire section on visability.

http://www.acura.com/models/model_ga....asp?module=tl
For those of you who have TLs (mine is on order), I'd be curious to read what you think about what Acura has to say about this issue.

kosh2258

I'm more cautious of the blind spots caused by the relatively thick windshield pillars. I've learned to look around them to make sure nothing is lurking there.

I have my mirrors adjusted such that as an object behind me is leaving the rearview mirror it's starting to show in the side mirrors. That pretty well covers the side blind spots. I do also take a glance over my shoulder.

The thick pillars are, to an extent, the price paid for the stiff structure the car has for front and rear impact protection - and the curtain airbags.

moeronn

Agreed. Driving this car takes some getting used to. I've managed to keep my rims from hitting curbs, but have also parked more than a foot from the curb a few times. One of the more annoying things is the front left winshield pillar. I have to constantly look to either side of it when taking any kind of left curve/turn.Had the same issue with the girlfriend, but let her drive it yesterday. We met up after work and I (in her 4Runner) followed her (in my TL) for part of the way to see how the car looks (and to watch her driving ). The rear of the TL looked kind of odd because the 4Runner's headlights (don't really think it would matter what kind of car/truck I was in) only lit up the middle part of the car - i.e just the trunk area - because of the curves in the rear quarter-panels. I also came to the conclusion that although I might blindly switch lanes into someone, NO ONE should ever rear end my, cause those brake lights are bright!!Steady is alright, but you might want the dancer and prostitute to vary their rythm every now and then, just to keep things interesting

rynpamn21

I used to, well i still do, drive an F-150 supercrew and it had far less blind spots as compared to the TL so whenever i drive my baby i am extra cautious...

divxz

My TL is due in about 3 weeks, but now I'm getting worried. Perhaps I didn't pay close enough attention during my test drive.

I guess I should drive it again, because I get the feeling that my Grand Am has better visability.

Thoughts?

moeronn

It's something that will take ajusting to, but isn't reason enough (or even with the other minor issues some people are having) to decide against this awesome car. The fact that you know you have blind spots makes you extra careful when driving.

Jcxny

The correct way to avoid a blind spot is put your head on the driver side window and adjust the mirror so you can just see the end of the car and with the passenger side you put your head just right up to the rear view mirror and adjust the passenger side mirror till you see the end of your car. I learn this in a NYPD car driving course. I will take some time to get use to but it works really, really well.

boltjames

No! Don't be worried. The TL is a perfect automobile. So much so, in fact, that all we do is make up sh*t to talk about and it invariably turns to the teeny-tiny boo-hoo's that mean squat to anyone.

Translation: The bitching is nothing. You'll love the TL.

TLGator

Your Grand Am has better visibility.

Your Grand Am is also an ugly piece of shit. Get the TL.

rets

Agree.

TL's style and C-pillar are eye-catching, but following blind spot is tricky. Accord is the functional vehicle, TL is superior. However, it's hard to have everything perfect in your 04TL.

If the blind spot is the itch, Hyundai has better rear view behind the driver seat, and cheaper... Wish this won't be another whining thread.

boltjames

Nice to see that our taste in cars and colors isn't the only thing we've got in common.

TLGator

Well, bolt, my opinions aren't nearly as strong as yours when it comes to BSM's, non-Navi, debadging, and various other TL cosmetics. But when it comes to the Grand Am, well, that just crosses a line for me. That car is just plain wrong.

zeezz

i tried the mirror trick that was posted in this thread (where you can't see the sides of your car). suprisingly, it works well. hopefully i don't get so confident that i crash into a motorcycle or something. thanks for the tip, guys.

rets

TLGator, boltjames, I understand how badly you hate Grand AM now... you may feel mad when guys in G sites saying the tail of 04TL looks like Pontiac and they cannot recognize if it's 04TL or not... in the first three months...

Formula 350

I have been doing the mirror thing for about 20 years. However, I have not owned a 4 door in that time!! The problem I am having with the mirrors adjusted like they should is the B pillar is in my 'quickie peek' spot. In a coupe, you could see a car in that spot but now I see the pillar and have to look again to make SURE nothing is there.

divxz

Harsh, but hard to argue with.