This is the thing that I personally dislike most about my TL. I don't think the damned thing should squeak and pop more than my wife's 04 Accord. Overall, it leads to the perception that the car is cheaply made.

Having said that, I think it's only fair to also add that the TL's interior squeaks and rattles are more cosmetic than structural. The 04 TL is 24 percent stiffer torsionally than the 03, and is stiffer than the BMW 330. There was some more information that I read on the Accord which stated that the Accord beat the BMW 3-series, the Audi A4 and A6, and even the Mercedes Benz S class in torsional rigidity, and was second only to the Mercedes in bending rigidity. It's probably safe to assume that the TL, being based on the same platform, inherits the same characteristics.

In any case, I'm one of the people most unhappy with the squeaks and pops in my TL, but I also feel a tad better knowing that the problems are more cosmetic. Acura is so close. It just seems like a couple of days worth of engineer's time and $25 in felt application at the factory would make it that much better.

 

$25 x 69,120 TLs made up till Aug = $1,728,000

Thats some killer money saved

 

I've owned my TL for about 8 months now, and the amazing thing I noticed is that certain rattles that were obvious a few months ago are now gone. It seems that some rattles come and go, and once the car settles a bit (I have 11k miles now) it actually is fairly rattle free inside. Not bad at all. Maybe not up to german quality (my gf just bought a benz and that car is uber-solid) but definitely acceptable for an entry luxury at this price with this much decent hardware.

 

Not amazing -
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...ht=RR+Journals

 

Yep, killer money saved and customers lost who will not buy Acura again because of how poorly the interior was put together. 30+k times how many pissed off customers? Killer money lost.....

 

i would buy another acura in a heart beat, they have far less trouble than MBs, BMWs, Infinitis to name a few

 

Word on that - I can live with a few real-world sounds. All this namby-pamby stuff makes me shake my head. Every car I have ever ridden in made sounds - these are mot mausoleums, or houses of the dead.

My bro's E55 AMG cost $85k, and it has its sounds*, but I grin every time I drive it, but for day to day commuting and errands, the TL is a much better drive. He also has an MDX and his wife a 330ci, and care to guess which has been bulletproof?

*one was from a rattling cat shield - drove him crazy - dealer could not or would not bother to find it. Little brother (me) put the car on jackstands overnight, and we did a cold start, and I found where the thermal expansion caused the metal just to touch - took a block of wood and a rubber mallet, and re-shaped it away. My bro is not auto or mechanically inclined like me, and was spazzing out "up topside". Until the sound went away. Little bro burnt his forearm on the cat, but the scar is a badge of honor.

 

Thats true, but just think how much they saved giving us EL42s.

 

aren't the el42s expensive tires tho? that's what i don't get

 

No, as OEM they are cheap to the factory, BS get's its money on the replacements (most people stay with the same tire for replacement (except us on the forum) and many times one gets damaged in use, and you usually want the tread to match.

You know, take it short on the start, and make it up on the replacements, "A profit deal" as Steve Martin said.

A company I worked for sold replacement parts at a huge profit (like 1000 times cost), the service manager always was well liked.