DMZ

Try worse!

The last time this happened, early 1986, it was a total disaster! It was when I bought my 1st new car, a 1986 Accord LX which was in the shop every other week. The dealer's district service manager admitted the car was a victim of sabotage by assembly line workers supportive of the UAW. At age 3 1/3 years, 44K miles, car was ready for the junkyard. It was so bad, my attorney bypassed Lemon court and sent Honda a letter threatening a lawsuit for Outright Consumer Fraud. One week later, Honda bought car back for FULL credit of the original purchase price towards the purchase of the car I just sold, my 1989 Accord SE-i Coupe. I wondered how many of these cars were out there. 6 months later, I ran into an ex-coworker at a Honda dealer. He had an '86 Accord hatchback built around the same time. Sure as shit, his was falling apart and ready for the junkyard too.

Lucky for American Honda Motor Co. the internet didn't exist yet.

njtl04

Sherlock, sorry to hear about your problems. I can empathize as I just traded in my 04TL, 5AT, Navi with 12,500 miles. I lost all patience with the rattles, creaks over the doors, and the vibration at 50 to 60. I also had new tires installed and completed about 10 trips to the dealer for repairs (vin. # in the 8,000). In addition, my paint was peeling and chipping at an alarming rate. As of Thursday I own an 04 BMW ZHP with bluetooth. I know that most people are very happy with their car and I was very happy with my prior car, Honda Accord EX V6, but my Acura was a disappointment. I lost a lot of money on the trade, but struck a good deal on the bimmer. In the end, life is too short to be unhappy so I cut my losses. I had a case under the Lemon Law, but didn't have the patience to pursue it. Another victory for corporate America. Good luck and try not to get discouraged. You can always sell and buy something that gives you what you want, perhaps even another Acura. My neighbor has a TL and she loves it so I think our situations are different from the norm. However, that doesn't make them any less frustrating.

njtl04

Sherlock, sorry to hear about your problems. I can empathize as I just traded in my 04TL, 5AT, Navi with 12,500 miles. I lost all patience with the rattles, creaks over the doors, and the vibration at 50 to 60. I also had new tires installed and completed about 10 trips to the dealer for repairs (vin. # in the 8,000). In addition, my paint was peeling and chipping at an alarming rate. As of Thursday I own an 04 BMW ZHP with bluetooth. I know that most people are very happy with their car and I was very happy with my prior car, Honda Accord EX V6, but my Acura was a disappointment. I lost a lot of money on the trade, but struck a good deal on the bimmer. In the end, life is too short to be unhappy so I cut my losses. I had a case under the Lemon Law, but didn't have the patience to pursue it. Another victory for corporate America. Good luck and try not to get discouraged. You can always sell and buy something that gives you what you want, perhaps even another Acura. My neighbor has a TL and she loves it so I think our situations are different from the norm. However, that doesn't make them any less frustrating.

Shaggy

You have a point, however the question comes down to wether or not the defect is covered under the warranty, this is a requirement for lemon law recognition. Also, it may be a stretch to prove that the defect substantially impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle. For example, if your glove box keeps rattling, and they haven't been able to stop it from rattling, does this qualify as a lemon, maybe not. If theres a vibration that the dealer hasn't been able to fix, does this qualify? Maybe so, not sure, its worth a try.

Leostaats

Shag- yeah every case is different, I was fortuante in mine on my Dodge. All it actually was, was a ticking in the steering column that wouldnt go away and I told them if they couldn't figure out what was doing it then how could they assure me it was safe to drive. Realistically I had told myself I was wasting time and after backing off for a while I decided to persue it since it only costs a total of about 30 bucks to go forward so I sadi what the hell. Ironically when they came to do their final drive for repair I took all my keys off the keychain except the ignition key and they were"unable to duplicate the problem" as I dorve with them. As soon as they got out of the car and told me they would let me know, I put my keys back on and when I left the dealership it started to do it again.. I went right back and showed them but didnt tell them I thought it was the keys/ Two months later I had my check and I went and bought a chevy.. now im testing out the Honda waters...

need4spd

NJ, sorry to hear that you also had a problem, I to am acuraless. I was done with the BS from AHM also, and was not willing to put up with the 1500rpm issue, among many others, but that was the last straw.

rets

Could it be? http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66902

:o

njtl04

yep, that's me...6 months later and i am in a 330i, 6 spd, zhp, BT, moonroof, xenons, and cold weather package. like i said, i lost money getting out of the acura, but i am much happier. i went with the acura because i loved my honda. imo there was no reason to change companies. however, the tl was, for me anyway, a nightmare. the most disappointing aspect of the ownership was the, "you are the first to tell us this", response i would get from acura. I had contacted a lemon law attorney and they told me i had a case. however, i have too many responsibilities and i wanted to spend my summer joy riding, not driving to the dealership for repairs. for me it was a cumlative thing. no single problem would have been enough to push me out of the car, but the vibration, peeling/chipping paint, too many to count cabin noises, and zero interest by acura to resolve the problems lead me to believe acura is not a luxury brand. Of course others will feel differently. i respect their opinion.

as an fyi to the forum, i traded in an 04 tl with navi, abyss blue/camel, all season mats, 5AT, and 12,500 miles. The trade was quoted by two dealers, including the one where i purchased the car, at $26.5k to $27.0k. I got hit hard. The only reasons I was able to exit the car were (1) I didn't have to pay sales tax again, since I sold the car within a year of owning it and (2) I had a good deal of equity in the car as I was paying it off quickly. Good luck, Sherlock and the rest of you....hopefully, we will meet at a light someday soon.

KeithL

I thought Lemon Law was for Saftey only issues? I'm in GA too and if you make progress let me know. I gave up on attempts, didn;t think I had any other recourse, but if I can get Lemon Law then the dealer can keep my car until they fix it or buy it back!