juchale

Hello all! So I have owned my 2008 TL for one month. Here are my observations thus far. Please excuse this post if it gets too long. I purchased it used from a Toyota Dealership with about 81,000 miles on it. It had tints on it (20% sides, 5% rear), but I ended up removing them because I am getting older and my eyesight is not what it used to be. It just wan't fun to drive at night with tints that dark.

1) The dash is not terribly cracked, but it is cracking. It doesn't bother me as much as others, but if it ever does, I will most likely try the Coverlay. I don't like how the Dashmats look, so they are not an option. I bought one of those windshield visor covers, but it is so hot down here I am not sure how much it will really help, so I haven't been using it much.

2) The Carfax says that the oil was changed in April at 78,000 miles so I will probably get my first oil change in the next few weeks. The Acura dealership says oil changes start at $79.99. However the Honda dealership says theirs start at $44.99. It is 20 bucks extra for tire rotation at both places. The Honda dealership's prices seem to be much cheaper than Acura's.

3) Things that I am planning on getting done in no particular order. I am sure some members can advise: Spark Plugs, Alignment (feels good now. no hands on wheel and it keeps straight), Brakes, Timing Belt (valves, tensioners, water pump, etc...). These were all services recommended by the Honda Dealer when I took it in for a tranny drain.

4) The stupid tighten gas cap message comes on at 3/4 and 1/4 of a tank. It goes off pretty much after the next restart. I will probably follow Ghost's tutorial and replace the Purge Control Solenoid Valve soon.

5) For some reason the Bluetooth doesn't really play nice with my iphone 6s+. It pairs fine and when someone calls I get an alert and I can talk to people. But, when I press the pick up button on the steering wheel I have to go to the phone and select to talk through Bluetooth, which kinda defeats the purpose of being "handsfree". I try not to fool around with the phone while driving anyway, so I wouldn't have used it much regardless. I haven't noticed any problem with the HFL, so I will just keep an eye on it and disconnect it if it ever causes any issues.

6) The only thing that I am still not totally in love with are the downshifts. This is probably the topic that I have researched the most. At first, I thought there was a problem that I must not have noticed during the test drive. It doesn't happen all of the time. It's mostly when I have to brake hard (like going 50 and need to slow it up quickly). It feels like I am hitting the brakes, while I am hitting the brakes(?). It was weird. The only service that I have had done so far is the 1x3 drain. The guy at Honda showed me the drain plug and was like, "hey, we have to show you this so that if you have any tranny issues, we have documented that we aren't the cause." He asked if I had noticed anything strange. At the time the downshift was strange to me so we talked about that a little. I don't think the fluid had been changed before so the guy said that is probably why the drain plug was somewhat gunky looking. The fluid wan't black/burnt or anything like that though. The plug didn't really have any large shavings on it like some pics I have seen on the net. Some of those look almost like a troll's head. My plug looked more like it had a gunky afro. I should had taken a pic of it, but I wasn't thinking about it because I'm was sitting there wondering if they are trying to nudge me towards unnecessary tranny repairs. He said that the drain should smooth it out some and if not we can try a 3x3. This was before I learned about grade logic, etc... The drain did smooth the shifts out some (upshifts were already pretty smooth), but the feel of the downshift is still there and I am keeping an eye on it. Gears aren't slipping or grinding or clunking or anything like that. A friend of mine who owns a 2009 TSX (he also works at the BMW factory here in SC) rode with me and told me the downshift is just going to take some getting used to and I shouldn't be worried about it. Keep in mind that my previous car was a 2007 Saturn and before that a 2005 Impala, so it's not like I'm used to driving a vehicle as beastly as this one!

Overall: I LOVE the look of this car and the way that it accelerates from stops as well as how I can be going 70 and still hit it and leave people behind! I have been calling around about Timing belt prices. The Honda Dealership is by far the cheapest option at $780 for the complete service. One Honda/Acura Specialist shop wants $1400. The Acura dealership wants $1125. The compliments about the car are just non-stop. One lady almost got into a wreck she was staring so hard. It is really fun to drive and I appreciate the sporty, yet luxurious look and feel of the ride. Hopefully, I can get many more miles out of it. I live maybe 3 miles from work, so it's not like I have to do a lot of driving. I look forward to learning as much as I can from the long time Acura owners on this forum. Thanks in advance!

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Nice car, great shape, but with the timing belt job with various prices, make certain they replace everything when doing the job.
Belt, water pump, tensioner & bearing, idler.

Jackass

Oil Changes - Compare between the Honda and Acura on what oil they will be using. Otherwise there should really be no difference other than "dealer experience" between the two. I know my local Honda dealer's waiting area is no where near as nice as my local Acura dealer. It is still clean, but very bland. I buy a lot of my random Honda parts (wipers, radiator cap, etc) there that are common with the Accord and I don't want to wait for shipping.

Timing Belt - Agree with Turbonut to make sure all of the same components are included with the prices you are getting quoted. That seems fairly cheap for an Acura dealer so guessing there are some "extras" waiting to be added in. I paid $1200'ish several years back for my service at the Honda dealer which was quite a bit cheaper than the local Acura dealer.

TVL65

$79.00 for an oil change?! That's based on changing oil based on an RDX Turbo with a higher grade synthetic. My Acura dealer changes it for $39.00 and uses a lower grade synthetic, all dealers use Mobil 1.

truonghthe

Congrats on the new ride, here are some of my 2 cents...



1. Oil change.... I would bring my own filter and oil ($22 mobil 1 high mileage and $10 Royal Purple filter) that way you know exactly what you getting. Dealer oil is synthetic blend which is a lower grade that full synthetic, may be the new RDX require full synthetic because of high boost.


2. Alignment.... I highly recommend you look into LCA bushing (a popular topic here). That is my first services prior to the alignment and so far I had to do on every single TL I bought, well except for one because the PO already did 6 months prior to trade in.


3. Spark Plugs, don't let this scare you. Its a DIY able, all you need is 2 3/8 drive extension and a 5/8 spark plug socket. All 6 plugs can be purchase on Rock Auto for whooping $56 shipped (NGK Irridium Laser which is the exact same thing as OEM) vs $20 per OEM plug (cost more if you buy from the dealer)


4. Timing belt and water pump..... when you have the car done this service make sure to spend the extra $300-$400 for resealing the oil pump assembly or you will regret this later down the road. Also have them replacing the timing belt tensioner (80% time this item goes bad before the 105k miles mark)


5. Transmission hard down shift... Its normal for a TL to have hard down shift/ up shift especially from 3rd to 4th or versa, however 3x3 does help (I did 6x3 on my TL-S) also note that by changing the pressure switches will give you more crisp and butter smooth shifting but 1st changing the ATF and make sure there is no old fluid left is vital. I had wrote a thread on here before if you google its should pop up.


Lol you might ask how I know? well I am currently owning 4 3G TL with almost all the trim and transmission had offered on the TL lol.