Ok so im riding, windows down, nice 75 degree weather and a cool breeze. And i have my elbow over where the lock of the door is, and even though the doors are locked, the notch of the lock sticking out is and is now irritating my elbow... so all the sudden i have this flashback of my friend saying how the locks in his bmw go all the way down...

ok so out of nowhere the next thing i know... i am trying to un screw the lock so i can totally take the thing out, (thinking i can always screw it back on)...

Nope it snapped and now its broken... whenever i unlock the door, the borken lock thing, forces it go down and locks all doors as soon the doors are unlocked... apart from this being so much more irritating, it cannot be good for the lock system to keep unlocking and locking. So now i have to quickly unlock and open the door in a fraction of a second, or else they will lock.. i feel like shit right now... apart from comments like "u jackass" and what not, any helpful suggestions will be appreciated,

would this be covered in the warranty ?? What route should i take in fixing this... how much would it cost....

 

Page 2,956 in the warranty booklet, under "dumber than..."

We've all done something like that. Now that I tried to make you feel a little better-hell, no, it's not covered.

I don't know how you broke it, but if you can get the knob only, it is #11
011 72137-SDA-A00ZA KNOB, INSIDE DOOR LOCK ( GRAPHITE BLACK ) 2 2004 Acura TL 4.37 3.50

but you might need the cable #23
023 72173-SEP-A01 CABLE ASSY., L. FR. DOOR LOCK 1 2004 Acura TL 7.41 5.93

If you want to do it yourself I can probably post some scans of the door panel removal.

 

Yep we have all done some dumb things in life.

 

And now that I have thought about it some more, if the knob is supposed to screw off, and it broke when you tried to screw it off, maybe it was crossthreaded at the factory when they installed it, so maybe you could get it fixed under warranty. Check with your service manager.
Don't tell the whole story, just enough to see if he will do it under warranty for you..

 

Something definitely broke, the lock (as i know now) wasnt meant to be screwed on or off (or maybe as u say it was crossthreaded)...

when i try to screw it back on, i hear clicks, as if u wud click ur gas tank cap to close (only difference is that i only hear clicks in the former, it doesnt seem to be screwing back on)...

 

Probably because the rod dropped down and the knob threads won't catch. It may not be broken after all, but you will have to take off the door panel and raise the rod up to tell for sure.

It was meant to be screwed on and off, which is why they sell the knob separately from the cable.

 

Yes please !!...

i'll give it a shot... if not, calling the dealer !!!

 

Good luck.




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The reason it broke is because it's wider at the base than it is at the tip, and will not pass through the hole because of this. Also, the only thing holding the lock rod in it's correct position is the hole that it passes through in the door panel. The lock rod will fall out of place & catch on the underside of the door panel when unlocking the vehicle.

Can you tell I've seen a few of these in my time?

 

Ok i can tell u know what ur talkin abt... how much wud it cost to get this fixed, i dun wana be ripping the door apart by myself... can a warranty repair be done on this ?

P.s thanks for the scans Ron

 

technically, no, it shouldn't be under warranty because it's not a defect. If you take the car in & explain that it cracked & fell off, they may cover it. If you "let the cat out of the bag" and tell them you were goofing with it, don't expect any sympathy!

 

I wonder if we could do what a lot of 2G TL owners did, change those "rods" to metal ones that are shorter so they sit flush with the door panel

 

I am down for some flush metal rods (as funny as that sounds)!

 

Intox,
Ok, practice this:
"Sir, I don't know what happened I just unlocked the door and this plactic thing broke..I just don't understand." A clear cut case of plastic fatigue.
Remember, the cat stays in the bag.
I am usually a very honest person but after owning a 2nd gen car and Losing a few thousand dollars on trade in because of the tranny disaster, all is fair.

**Note to any Honda/Acura staff that may be scanning these posts, this is just typical American humor and not to be taken seriously.

 

thanks alot for the speech, ima practice that in front of a mirror... i was wonderin the same.... that as im in the dealership... they show me a print out of this thread... and there is an awkward silence.... ...
lets hope for the best...

 

I doubt highly that ANYONE from the dealership cruises these forums. If they did they would be well aware of the common issues prone to the TL and wouldn't give that blank stare when you mention that others are experiencing the same problem. This would also nip lines like 'I have never heard of a falling headliner', 'You have rattles, hmmm haven't heard of that issue', 'You have butt prints on your leather, hmmm have never heard that one before' etc etc

Frankly I wish that Acura dealers were required (both service AND sales) to read these forums. They would be the better for it!

 

Ummmm, not yet !!!

 

Ron your service manual is very helpful. I do worry, however, that you could be sued for copyright infringement by posting it on the web. When my dad gets back from VT. I'll ask him(hes a lawyer). If anyone else has any idea that great. It is useful, and I certainly dont mind if you keep doing it, but, keep an eye out for the feds.

 

This car forum stuff is a dangerous game..We have the dealerships, Acura execs and the feds watching us carefully.....Just stick to straight polite conversation. I hear that lawyers will be watching us next...
Ron, burn the service manual and I will throw my hard drive in the river..

 

HAHAHA!!!

 

I hope I don't get sued, but Honda Corp. owns the manual, and I don't think they will bother me for scanning a few pages to help their customers.

But don't ask for any more scans unless you contribute to my defense fund.

 

u got it Ron ...
although ur not making any money of these scans or getting benefits (except for virtual points )... soo it really defeats or negates the purpose i guess... but i dunno what the definition of copyright infringement is with different companies and so on...

so yea jus be on the look out... and we wana keep it nice n clean here !!...

 

Acura service personnel do indeed read this forum.

 

Yes! That was an irriation of mine as well. I had an '02 Acura RL with the same lock button config that rubbed my elbow during summer runs with window and arms out drives. BUT I tackled the problem a different way. I cut the button with with a small cutter about 1/4 inch from flush and smoothed/rounded it off with a dremel tool. Then when locked it dropped to flush with the window sill. AND yes my wifes' 330i BMW's lock buttons are flush when locked. More than one way to skin a cat. Since I havn't had my '05 TL during warm weather yet. I may have to do the same thing to it. . .

 

Sadly, not enough of them...

 

It's fair use. Unlike making backups of DVDs, this particular case has precedence, and it was explicetly described as a scenario of fair use, IIRC. That being, making photocopies of a few pages of a book, for personal reference. I don't think it matters if you were the one to do it or not. You could've very well had your spouse, butler, etc do it.

IANAL, but if this doesn't qualify as fair use, I don't know what does.

 

Besides, even if the feds were watching, they can't just bust you on their own accord. Only the copyright owner can assert infringement. And I doubt Acura would bother pursuing something like this.

Reminds me of my Law101 class. There was a case when the FBI actually burglarized a foreign banker's hotel room, to steal some of the banker's documents which would incriminate his clients who were involved in money laundering.

The FBI actually consulted attorneys before doing this. They were advised that this would pose minimal risk, because only the hotel and the banker would have a case against the burglary, but neither would probably want to get involved. And that's exactly what happened. Hotel wanted to stay out of it... Banker wanted to get the hell back to his home country. His clients were then prosecuted using the stolen documents.

Fruit of the poisonous tree did not apply, because nobody contested the burglary. Therefore, the documents were obtained lawfully.

Crazy how law works eh?