Scott in Houston

Hey gang,

I'm new here. I've been VERY active on Porsche boards for years, but just bought my first Acura couple of days ago. (I'm a mod at 6speedonline.com and funcarsonline.com)

I got a new '05 TL White / Parchment 5AT non-Navi.

I really really love this car so far. (Only have 205 miles hehe)

I've been reading this board, and you guys have me a little concerned.

1) Leather problems? I love the looks of my interior. I've read that the seats and leather may not wear very well. Is this still true of '05's? Is there anything I can do about it? I love the sleek leather look that it has now.
I noticed that some of the used cars I was looking at had bad leather and some still looked almost new, so I'm hoping that the newer cars wear better...

2) Vibration issues... What is that? I have read about vibrations, but what does that mean? Do you feel it in the steering wheel or the seat of your pants?
Should I be concerned?

3) Rattles... this has me terrified. I HATE RATTLES. I've had 3 Porsches and none had rattles. My Explorer doesn't even rattle. If this car does, I'll be very disappointed. Can most of these get fixed if they appear?



Scott in Houston

JoganJani

Scott, congrats and welcome.

1. Leather is one of the nicest and soft I've ever seen in any car. Taken with proper care wearing can be controlled. try using conditioners at least once in 2-3 months. I've my leather in as good as new condition even after 17 months and 22K miles.
2. Vibrations may be there due to tire but I never had any on my 6mt (22K miles now). Search more for vibration.
3. Rattle there are some in the dashboard, glove box and pillars. I just had one in steering wheel and got it fixed.

crazymjb

What he said, and as for rattles, it really depends. People who have them seem to have more then one, people who dont seem to none. My dad has a ford(taurus) that thing rattles more then the TL could POSSIBLY rattle.

rets

Agina, Welcome to the forum.

I do agree what JoganJani said above. To maintain your leather seats by proper ways could extend the long life for them. Conditioners would be very helpful. Then, most of rattles are fixible, but some of them are hard to be pinpointed, and it may take a long time to apply the right solutions.

As for the vibration issues, it's the devil. Wish your new 05 would be totally vibration-free.

JetJock

Guys, I just had the leather replaced on my '04'TL. I got the dealer to give me the old leather cover, and the cushion since they were just going to throw them away anyway. I thought the leather on the '04 seat was going to be thin and cheap, but when I got it home and took the cover apart, I was suprized to see that the quality of the leather was actually very very good. It was much thicker than I expected. The problem with the '04 seats is the design not the quality. The large area on the bottom without the extra seam on the '05 style, causes the leather to stretch and create the problems. It's not the quality of the leather as I previously thought. The '05 cushion has a "channel" cut into the foam, creating the extra seam and crease. The seam has a rod with tie-down attachments so that the leather can be "hog-tied" down into the cushion. This extra pull down and seam keeps the leather from showing the stretching previously causing problems in the '04 seat. There is absolutely no difference in the quality of leather between '04 and '05. I've heard some '04 leather covers didn't have much padding under the leather, but my covers had quite a bit of padding under the leather. This leather is not cheap by any standard!! I know because I've taken the cover apart and examined the leather, cushion, and padding in addition to the seat heater. BTW...the '05 cover WILL NOT fit on the '04 seat without changing the cushion and seat heater!!

Oswald Vater

Welcome and a great choice in color combo I might add. Don't let those with TL issues scare you. I've had mine for 14 months and 9500 trouble-free miles. Just enjoy your car and remember that you have a 4-year warrranty if you need it.

Scott in Houston

Thanks for all the replies guys!
I love this car. I hope I can avoid some of these issues.

I know I have a warranty, but stuff like rattles can be impossible to fix or worse, they can get worse when the dealer tries.

Leather is easily seen as 'normal wear' and not fixable, etc.

Anyway, I'm going to just enjoy the car and hope for the best!

ghughes20

Congrats on the car. I picked mine up today .

What type of tires did yours come with?

Follow the link for more info.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116364

Ron A

Vibrations and rattles are not something that you have to search the forum for, or anticipate with trepidation, until you actually experience them.

Many (like the majority, or you could even say most) people do not have either problem, or if they do, they get it fixed by the dealer, or with a little help from the forum. Then, there are some unlucky souls who have one or both and never get them fixed.

Enjoy your car, and I hope you never get either problem, but if you do, we are here to help.

Scott in Houston

ghughes, congrats to you too!
I have the EL42's. I'm not too worried about them though. Tires are such an easy thing to fix. I have Michellins on my Porsche, and they are the best tires made by far on average, but Bridgestones have been good to me in the past, so we'll see.

Ron, thanks for the wise words. I appreciate you being there to help too.


Funny story, an old friend saw this post and called me up. We hadn't seen each other in a few years. It turns out, he has a TL too.
He said not to worry that his was problem free, and that as many have said, this forum makes it seem worse because this is where people come who have issues.
It's just amazing how small a world it is... even in cyber space!
We both used to have '94-'95 Taurus SHO's, and we know what rattling is really all about!

Magnutz

Welcome! I bought mine from Gilman a few weeks ago. I love mine! I am having my suspension installed next week :-)

Msnowdon

So what Porsche board did you come over from?

Michael

PatC79

COngrats on the car. Ur car is pretty much the car I am currently looking for...except I want White with Quartz interior.

I too am thinking of passing on the navigation system...but it's still up in the air with that.

Do u mind me asking what you paid for urs?

Good luck with it!

-Pat

Scott in Houston

Msnowdon,

I'm a mod at 6speedonline.com and Funcarsonline.com. I have a 911 Turbo (2002) as well, and am just way into cars and forums.

Pat,

Good luck on your hunt. I paid $31,800.

Msnowdon

Scott,

I am Porsche fan, and spend alot of time on Pelicanparts.com

Michael

Scott in Houston

Nice, I've purchased stuff from there, but never visited their forums.
I do my own oil and brakes before and after track events. Pelican is a good store online!

JWhite1301

Scott,

I look forward to checking out your other sites. I have a 76 911S with an RSR conversion motor.

Congrats on the TL. I have an 05 with 4800 miles. I bought it in Oct. No leather problems, rattles, or vibrations.

Weclome again....

Scott in Houston

Oh.... slobbering over your 911S. Love the old ones!

See ya on the other sites...
btw, for the older 911's, Rennlist.com is probably the best site.

Love my TL too... so far so good!

Msnowdon

PelicanParts.com is the best site for the older cars, and if you are talking about 73 and before then there is the early911sregistry.org.

Check them out.

Michael

mojo risin

i have been concerned myself after reading some of these posts but i have to tell you that even if the car did rattle or make any other noise the sound system is so good i could not hear them anyway.

got 400 miles on mine and lovin every minute of it.