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03-06-2013, 08:54 AM
#1
2nd Gear
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New to the forums
Hello everyone,
After a long and hard look at the car that I would love to drive on a daily basis that would make me feel happy with my purchase and not have me wanting something else, I decided to purchase a 2004 Acura TL. I plan to upgrade later to the 2013 Acura ILX.
For now, I'm waiting for my checks to arrive as I work on contractual basis and I haven't been paid yet but expect to be paid by the end of this month.
The dealership that I wanted to buy my car from sold the remaining 2 Acura TL this week and I hope that they get more otherwise I will have to look someplace else to purchase like Craigslist which I'm not a big fan of.
I'm hearing people mention that Honda didn't get the transmission right on these cars and therefore the transmission suffers from the same rate of failure as the 2001 Honda Accords.
I'm also hearing that one must be careful in these care as the car has a bad habit of oversteering. '
These issue have me a little worried as I will be having my mother drive me to work and she is not as responsive as someone who is still young. My mother is 62 years old and she is blind in one eye and the thought of having her drive a luxury car that can get away from her if she is not careful sends chills down my spine.
Anyways, give me your
on these issues.
After a long and hard look at the car that I would love to drive on a daily basis that would make me feel happy with my purchase and not have me wanting something else, I decided to purchase a 2004 Acura TL. I plan to upgrade later to the 2013 Acura ILX.
For now, I'm waiting for my checks to arrive as I work on contractual basis and I haven't been paid yet but expect to be paid by the end of this month.
The dealership that I wanted to buy my car from sold the remaining 2 Acura TL this week and I hope that they get more otherwise I will have to look someplace else to purchase like Craigslist which I'm not a big fan of.
I'm hearing people mention that Honda didn't get the transmission right on these cars and therefore the transmission suffers from the same rate of failure as the 2001 Honda Accords.
I'm also hearing that one must be careful in these care as the car has a bad habit of oversteering. '
These issue have me a little worried as I will be having my mother drive me to work and she is not as responsive as someone who is still young. My mother is 62 years old and she is blind in one eye and the thought of having her drive a luxury car that can get away from her if she is not careful sends chills down my spine.
Anyways, give me your
on these issues.
03-06-2013, 09:29 AM
#2
3G TL/2G MDX Owner
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the ILX IMO is not really an upgrade from a 3G TL. it's more of a downgrade.
as far as the tranny is concerned, the early 04's had some tranny issues which were mostly resolved by the 05 MY (from what i have read). many on this board baby the AT by switching out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches and changing the ATF on regular intervals.
i'm not sure where you heard of the oversteering issue. all cars favor understeer. you maybe thinking of the torque steer that can occur if you mash down on the pedal hard enough to induce it. you have to drive the car pretty hard around turns and corners to induce understeer/oversteer in a car.
if you are that concerned with the tranny issues, then you may want to up your budget to shop for an 05-06. there are no guarantess with a used car since the history of the car is not well known unless you know the owner babied the car to death.
i'm the original owner of an 05 with a 6MT...i haven't had any major issues with the car.
as far as the tranny is concerned, the early 04's had some tranny issues which were mostly resolved by the 05 MY (from what i have read). many on this board baby the AT by switching out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches and changing the ATF on regular intervals.
i'm not sure where you heard of the oversteering issue. all cars favor understeer. you maybe thinking of the torque steer that can occur if you mash down on the pedal hard enough to induce it. you have to drive the car pretty hard around turns and corners to induce understeer/oversteer in a car.
if you are that concerned with the tranny issues, then you may want to up your budget to shop for an 05-06. there are no guarantess with a used car since the history of the car is not well known unless you know the owner babied the car to death.
i'm the original owner of an 05 with a 6MT...i haven't had any major issues with the car.
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justnspace (03-06-2013)
03-06-2013, 09:47 AM
#4
Drifting
they fixed tranny issue in 05???
03-06-2013, 09:56 AM
#6
3G TL/2G MDX Owner
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they weren't as prevalent as in the 04's. not gonna say there isn't a possibility of the tranny going, but they weren't as rampant. again, comes down to how the car was cared for.
there is a 2g TL still on it's original tranny with over 288k miles! (there is a thread on it from the owner). he was one of the lucky ones.
kind of luck of the draw.
i know if i were to sell my car (not that i will), the next owner is going to love the binder of maintenance records with spreadsheet for the car. plus the way the car looks...any future owner will know the car has been well loved and cared for.
there is a 2g TL still on it's original tranny with over 288k miles! (there is a thread on it from the owner). he was one of the lucky ones.
kind of luck of the draw.i know if i were to sell my car (not that i will), the next owner is going to love the binder of maintenance records with spreadsheet for the car. plus the way the car looks...any future owner will know the car has been well loved and cared for.
03-06-2013, 10:01 AM
#7
If its your style go for it, but the ILX has a noticeably cheap looking/feeling interior. Not to mention it suffers from excessive road noise. Had it for 3 days and did not enjoy it one single bit.
I'm not sure why Acura invested money in this project. You could probably get a better value with a new Civic Si or Accord.
I'm not sure why Acura invested money in this project. You could probably get a better value with a new Civic Si or Accord.
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03-06-2013, 10:05 AM
#8
Drifting
they weren't as prevalent as in the 04's. not gonna say there isn't a possibility of the tranny going, but they weren't as rampant. again, comes down to how the car was cared for.
there is a 2g TL still on it's original tranny with over 288k miles! (there is a thread on it from the owner). he was one of the lucky ones. kind of luck of the draw.
i know if i were to sell my car (not that i will), the next owner is going to love the binder of maintenance records with spreadsheet for the car. plus the way the car looks...any future owner will know the car has been well loved and cared for.
there is a 2g TL still on it's original tranny with over 288k miles! (there is a thread on it from the owner). he was one of the lucky ones.
kind of luck of the draw.i know if i were to sell my car (not that i will), the next owner is going to love the binder of maintenance records with spreadsheet for the car. plus the way the car looks...any future owner will know the car has been well loved and cared for.
03-06-2013, 10:22 AM
#10
Safety Car
I thought the tranny issue wasn't "fixed" until the 07-08 models and even those had issues.
03-06-2013, 10:28 AM
#11
3G TL/2G MDX Owner
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^^ we only know about the ones that people rant about on here. the thing we dont' know is how the car is taken care of (ie regular maintenance). any car can have issues if it's not properly maintained.
03-06-2013, 12:01 PM
#13
Drifting
this is true. I wish I had bought this car from a private seller and not dealership so I could get to know the seller. My car is an 05 from California and its a 1 owner.
03-06-2013, 01:46 PM
#14
Moderator
iTrader: (7)
if you're that worried about the transmission problem, dont get a TL. its like living in a hurricane area and worrying about hurricanes all day, you'll never be able to enjoy life. just get the TL and if the transmission fails, replace it, there is never any guarantee with used cars. You can buy a corolla known for its reliability but if you are unlucky enough you can have a broken transmission too. just saying, dont always go by statistics, theres always a chance you are the odd one out.
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THEReeM718 (03-06-2013)
03-06-2013, 01:51 PM
#15
Drifting
^ i know that. i was just curious
03-06-2013, 02:16 PM
#16
Safety Car
iTrader: (4)
Congrats on the purchase. I feel the same way about the ILX as the majority here. I personally would never consider getting one. Even being a new vehicle it is absolutely NOT an upgrade from a 3G TL.
03-06-2013, 03:19 PM
#17
Suzuka Master
welcome to the site, like everyone else said ILX isn't an upgrade it more like a step backward. I drove the TSX as loaner and that thing is boring as hell let not go into the ILX. as far as AT issue don't worry about there is plenty member here has 04 with over 100k miles and still retaining original AT like guitar player etc...
03-06-2013, 03:31 PM
#18
TLicious Type S
Good luck on your purchase. The only tranny change that I know about is the three shaft RL type tranny used in the 3.5L '07-'08 TL-Type S. I suspect that the perception of more '04 issues might simply be that they are older and have more miles. Perhaps someone has more information about this...
If you want your TL Transmission to last, you need to do two things: Change out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches (two switches for the TL base, three for TL-S), and drain and fill your Automatic Transmission Fluid using Honda ATF (3.1 Liters per change) at least once a year. A good thread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...t=transmission
Everyone has a different opinion, but I personally steer clear of buying cars from a dealer--especially an independent used car lot. Many of the cars brokered to dealers have been auctioned, and have very spotty histories. It's very difficult to tell if a car has been hit or poorly maintained (even with a Carfax), and these guys don't care. They also command large markups--you're paying a couple thousand dollar premium for the convenience of coming to their "car store." And many used car warranties are useless (except a Acura certified warranty which you'll pay dearly for). And if you trade a car in with a dealer, then they get you coming and going! There's a reason why they're called "stealerships!"
I've had best luck taking my time to find a good private seller--one owner preferably who maintains his car. You do the legwork instead of the dealer, and you pocket their markup. It took me about 60 days to find my very clean local '08 Type S (on Craigslist). I paid $4000 less than the best price I could find at an Acura dealer. I knew the car's history, exactly what the car needed, and saved a bundle. You just need to take you time, check the car carefully (I paid an Acura mechanic $50 to go over it), keep your emotion out of it, and move on if you have any reservations and keep looking.
Good luck, the TL is a very solid car (it's a Honda) with a few idiosyncrasies. And I've found that cool people drive TLs. You'll enjoy it!
If you want your TL Transmission to last, you need to do two things: Change out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches (two switches for the TL base, three for TL-S), and drain and fill your Automatic Transmission Fluid using Honda ATF (3.1 Liters per change) at least once a year. A good thread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...t=transmission
Everyone has a different opinion, but I personally steer clear of buying cars from a dealer--especially an independent used car lot. Many of the cars brokered to dealers have been auctioned, and have very spotty histories. It's very difficult to tell if a car has been hit or poorly maintained (even with a Carfax), and these guys don't care. They also command large markups--you're paying a couple thousand dollar premium for the convenience of coming to their "car store." And many used car warranties are useless (except a Acura certified warranty which you'll pay dearly for). And if you trade a car in with a dealer, then they get you coming and going! There's a reason why they're called "stealerships!"
I've had best luck taking my time to find a good private seller--one owner preferably who maintains his car. You do the legwork instead of the dealer, and you pocket their markup. It took me about 60 days to find my very clean local '08 Type S (on Craigslist). I paid $4000 less than the best price I could find at an Acura dealer. I knew the car's history, exactly what the car needed, and saved a bundle. You just need to take you time, check the car carefully (I paid an Acura mechanic $50 to go over it), keep your emotion out of it, and move on if you have any reservations and keep looking.
Good luck, the TL is a very solid car (it's a Honda) with a few idiosyncrasies. And I've found that cool people drive TLs. You'll enjoy it!
03-06-2013, 07:34 PM
#20
2nd Gear
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Thanks everyone. I am excited about getting my TL. My job is behind in payroll and as soon as I get my check, I will be heading out to purchase my TL. Stay tuned. Taking the advise that I learned from here, if I can't find one from the dealership, I'll save my money until the right one comes along.
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