Sherlock

Well, As much as I was thrilled to pick it up, one week later I can hardly say I'm as thrilled.

Problem #1, Engine Malfunction light blinked the first 2 days, then finally came on and stayed on. Dealer said it was a loose O2 sensor wire, fixed it, cleared the error, came back on the next morning.

Problem #2, Some of the carpet tacks were missing, namely in the passenger side, center console, where the tab holds the carpet up. Also the carpet under the passenger feet is buckled up and not like it should be laying flat against a pan or floor.

Problem #3, the fabric along the A-pillar inside on the passenger side is not tucked in and held down along the rubber seam, edge is showing, puffing out.

Problem #4, Nav is dated July 2003 and already I've been driven wrong 3 times. And I know my building at work has not moved in 10 years. ( I know, no guarantee ).

Problem #5, Tire Balance and Alignment was PITIFUL out of the dealer, pulled right, and shook like NTB got a hold of it for a balance.

Another fine example of POS American build quality with Honda building them here.

I've owned an 89 CRX that was built like a brick. Then a 98 Accord that started to show POS build standards, then an 00 TL that was pretty much OK, then this 04 is just pitiful.

Sure it's a great car. But "based on initial quality" I'm going to flunk the poor hell out of the sales lady and the dealership and Acura on this one. I'm not paying now $37K for GM quality.

Anyone else having troubles initially ??

DMZ

I've heard many times to never buy the 1st few months production of any new model or design of vehicle off the line, foreign or domestic. Call Acura customer service in California at (800) 382-2238 if you have to. But if all this BS doesn't get straightened out real soon, I'd demand another car or my money back, then shop another dealer.

By the way, which dealer in the Atlanta area is responsible here? I have a friend in Marietta looking to get a new TL and want to send the warning out ASAP.


------------------------------------------------------
2004 (deposit) Anthracite/Quartz/6MT/Navi

Sherlock

It wasn't an Atlanta dealer, they couldn't find a Blue Navi before december so I went up to Athens who found the car in Columbus and had it shipped up the next day, so I can't really fault Acura Of Athens either. But they were the only ones to find a BlueNavi.

amdmaxx

why blame the dealer? Its all acura's build quality and ye, I follow a rule: NEVER buy first year production cars... NEVER

Sherlock

I just wanted out of my 5-speed Accord for a while and have me a nice car, I wanted spoiled. I've had a crappy year and when I heard the car was out I got one. I had a pre-approved loan so I jumped on it against my better wishes.. And this is exactly why. OH well.. we don't live forever, me even shorter.

Sherlock

My roommate is coming up to where I work to trade me my Accord for the POS-TL to take it back to the dealer.

Yesterday they said they fixed the loose wire to one of the O2 sensors. Today she said they will replace most if not all of the ignitor coils since the errors from the ECU were O2 sensor or Random MisFire.

I'll keep updated when I hear back.

steveinathens

just for the record, i haven't had any problems with Acura of Athens so far......

who was your sales person?

Sherlock

Mrs Jones, I cannot for the life of me think of her first name right now. I can't fault them, it is the build of the car. I actually credit them for the sale of my first Acura and now this one. They beat Atlanta's pricing, and were the only ones to find a BlueNavi.

Now, their service shop, another story.

steveinathens

must be Patricia, i think. i didnt buy my car from her, but she took over my account when my salesperson left. she has been very nice to me so far.

and so far, with my 03 TLS, i haven't had any issues with the service dept either, but with my Legend, i did have a few complaints...

that's interesting that you came over to Athens to buy even with all the dealerships in ATL. as you experienced, the Athens dealership gave me a better price than the places in ATL and of course it was much more convienent for me. and they also got me the EXACT car i wanted, so i've been very happy with them...

Sherlock

I have a severe headache this morning, that got worse when yesterdays problem with the car came back this morning. She was nice and all, so I don't fault her. But I did pay for the Body Side molding that they forgot to put on. That made it out w/o either of us catching it, I was just too excited to get the car.

They are going to replace the ignition coils today to try to cure the "random misfire" problem also indicated by the engine fault light..

steveinathens

well i'm sorry to hear of your troubles, hopefully they will get it all straight for you.

i havent been up there to see the new 04's yet, how many did they have on the lot?

Type S Lady

Why the poor saleslady gotten get in trouble, she didn't make it, she just sold it. Come on, please re-think, what if she has kids man?!

chadr

Sounds like you got the bad one of the bunch. Haven't heard of similar issues from other people so far (still new I know). All manufactures have cars like this. I worked for an Audi/VW/Porsche dealer and at one point a $133,000 Porsche Turbo left the dealership. About 2 weeks later it is being towed in with a destroyed engine. Apparently they hadn't tightened the flywheel and some other components properly and it came apart with less then 1000 miles on it.

If you have more problems call Acura and *****. If you complain about initial quality enough there is a reasonable chance they will swap the car out for you. Try not to rail the dealership too much since it isn't their fault, unless they are being asses about making it right.

acura_driver

What is your build number, the last digits from the VIN. Feel free to round to the nearest 10 or 100.

-r

Sherlock

I don't have to round.. I know it's VIN # 259.

And I'm not ragging Acura of Athens, I know they didn't make it and she didn't (at least to my knowledge) try to pull the wool over on me.

I am concerned that there is also dirt marks under the passenger floor mats, and that the mats don't seem to match the same Quartz color of the interior.

Some things are just not seeming right with this car. It had 60 miles on it from Columbus, and they trucked it from Columbus to Athens.

I'm just not getting a warm and fuzzy now.

Roomy has it at the dealer right now, he didn't even turn the ignition off and they met him at the car to take it in immediately, still no word on problem yet. But the Engine light did come on as he drove down, and it stayed on once he got to the dealer.

steveinathens

hmmm, sounds like the car had been driven a bit down in Columbus, maybe for test drives??

lsbuffs

Wow, that sounds like an early, early VIN. I don't think I've seen any VINs on these threads earlier than 1000. I would never take a car with more than 5-15 miles on it. Anything more would make me very suspicious about its origins. I wouldn't have a warm and fuzzy either.

Sherlock

I feel so much warmer and more comfortable with it now.. Grrrrrr.

one more trip and I get to call Mr Lemon Law and get me a new one.

acura_driver

It sounds like it was a very early production car, one delivered to the dealer as part of their first allocation and meant primarily to be a demo.

Assuming they can get the problems fixed it should be fine.

-r

BigBluu

Sherlock,

Sorry to hear you're having all these problems. I have the same exact car as you, Abyss w/ Navi, and have had no problems whatsoever in the 1+ week I've had it. My VIN is also in the 200's. I was actually surprised that the Navi had my home address in the database as I live in a newly developed community. Haven't really tested it out other than that. I do have a couple of complaints though. I'm getting only 19 mpg even though most of my driving is highway - only 350 miles on the odometer though. Also, the leather on the driver seat bottom has streched noticably where my a$$ sits. Don't notice it on any other seats as I haven't had many passengers yet.

Hey, post a pic of your car when you get those door guards installed. I'd really like to see how those look. Thanks for being the guinea pig.

need4spd

I have one in the 1600's ssm/ebony, the alignment is off, actually, the alingment is fine, the wheel is off center though. A few rattles/clicks (glove box, head liner at windshield, glass in drivers door), door leather not tucked in, lower plastic frame rail not lined up with front fender all are minor, but I am picky.

None of this I would blame on the dealer, just acura.

Nothing I did not expect for a early production car. I fixed several items myself, it is done better than a dealer would do, and with TLC

chadr

As far as MPG goes you can't gauge that accurately until the car has some miles on it (1k+ often over 2k) because many manufactures run the mixture rich when the engine is new to make it run cooler and allow it to break in better. Then at a certain odo reading it switches to a different fuel map. Also, as the engine "loosens" up the gas milage will improve significantly.

On my 99 Audi 2.8Q I was getting rough milage until like 5k on the clock then it jumped by nearly 8 mpg overnight. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if Acura does something similar. Check your manual and see if it says no breakin is required (if so then it is almost assured they do this).

Wait till you have some miles on it before doubting the MPG. In my experience Acura has been very good with their MPG ratings.

Sherlock

well. I told her to send me the refund check for the door guards that she forgot to put on, so I"m not getting them right now.

Bad news, just heard from the roomy, they cleared the error but didn't have the parts to fix anything, so nothing has been done.

That means I have one more shop visit if it errors again and Honda can buy this one back from me, and pay for the tint job ($255).

Right now, I'm not amused. I've left a nastygram at AcuraOfAthens for Patricia who was out to lunch.

So much for taking it to Orlando tomorrow.

BigBluu

Manual says break-in period is 600 miles. I'm more than half way there. Can't wait to let it rip! Thanks for the info.

Sherlock - you still gotta post some pics - for the tint job. You get the fronts tinted as well? They must really look nice with the Abyss.

need4spd

If you want to see a SSM TL with tinted windows, go to photos 3-10 in the following photo album:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?i...03&mode=invite

65% transmittance, all windows (not windshield).

Gas Milage -

Also, I took a 200 mile interstate (60miles) and rural road trip this weekend on the first tank of gas, got 26MPG with ave speed of 46MPH per trip computer. For the first 30 miles on the interstate, 29MPG with ave speed of 64MPH. This was the first 230miles of the car's life

Sherlock

yeah.. the tinting looks pretty dang sweet, nice and dark, illegally so actually. I thought about the mirror with the very slight blue that I've seen, but that shop only gets it on order, and they didn't have any samples so I was like.. DUH.. can't see it so I'm not buying it.

But it's 99% uv and 90% heat rejecting so it's good for me and the leather and the HVAC.

I'll try to get some pix this eve if I can get my laundry and packing done to go on vacation tomorrow after work.

And we're going to see Dame Edna tonite at 8p.. take my mind off this piece of crap car.

steveinathens

just keep in mind, its not her fault they dont have the parts in stock. i stopped by and talked to her at lunch ( not about your car ) and she is a very nice lady, so take it easy on her.

kgoessling

If, after reading this forum, you people continue to buy these automobiles; you get what you desreve! Obviously Acura has major quality control problems that they refuse to address. Don't buy cars built on Monday, don't buy cars from a new model year. BS, this should not occur from premium motorcar divisions! Does anyone think the "Brass" at Lexus would allow this to happen? Think about it. By the way, I also have been burned by Acura.

kman156

RETURN IT NOW!!! if that car has "coil pack" electrical or "ignitor coil" engine issues whatsoever, it will never be right! just get out now if you can? sorry about "ALL" those issues! sounds like alot of people are going to have problems w/ the NEW TL!

acura_driver

A lot?!? I don't think I'd draw that conclusion from one early build. If there are more cases in the next couple of months that would be another story.

-r

kman156

point i was trying to make in the use of the word "alot" was because those issues are many times component problems or defects in the actual coil pack or ignitor coil, or whatever the component is. i had a pontiac trans am that had a defective coil pack problem, and gm couldn't figure out what was wrong for a year! they kept putting in new " defective " coil packs!!! it was a nightmare! i would drive off the lot and the car would die a mile away! this happened to me 6 times in a 2 month span! so, if there is a defective component in these cars, IE: THE INFAMOUS 3rd GEAR BEARING CLUTCH PACK IN THE 2ND GEN TRANNY, THAT MANY HAVE HAD CHANGED MORE THAN 3 TIMES!!! UNFORTUNATELY- frequent visits to the dealer will be inevitable!!! :wow:

neuronbob

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with your car, Sherlock. I've had absolutely no issues with mine other than an intermittent dash squeak when I'm on irregular pavement. Nothing bad. My build # is 1681.

There was a warning on A-TSX.com given by a dealer that some of the very early builds (approximately <1500) might have loose panels, etc, and to check them carefully prior to taking delivery. Yours is the earliest build number I've seen, most I know of are 1500 and up. Was your car used for test drives or the media?

EmuMessenger

Wow, this is very scary. Please keep us posted.

Cornell77

Big Bluu,

Can you post a picture of the leather stretching on your driver seat?

Thanks.

BigBluu

Yes, I'll try to do that tonite. Anyone else experiencing this or is it just me? Must be my skinny a$$ or something.

steve29

sherlock, you couldn't have said it better about American build quality. I cant tell you the little things that went wrong with my 02 tl-s. American's cant build cars. That was great when u said 37 grand for a gm. good luck . later

oracion

Agree. I always bought new cars after 2-3 years so that the manufacturers can fix the obvious problems found in the first couple of years.

TypeSDriver

This is the same thing that happened with my fiance's '03 Accord. Even though I told her not to get a first year model, she did and I think it was around 2600th built. What a piece of crap!!! My 2000 Grand Prix gave me no problems at all. Needless to say, we have gotten rid of her Accord.

I can't see Honda/Acura's reputation getting any better when they keep putting out products with spotty reliability. I love my TL-S, but I hope that it treat's me as well as my Pontiac did...

BigBluu

Okay, here's a pic of the driver's seat. Notice the impression my a$$ is leaving on the seat. Any one else have this problem?

acura_driver

I think it would be good if people taking test drives now check out the seats in the demo cars and see how they are holding up.

-r