I have an 08 TLS with a 101 K miles. I know the car has a sport tuned suspension and sometimes feels a little rough on certain roads, I have learned to live with this. The interior noise has gotten worst over time and this was high - lighted the last two days that I have been driving a 2014 Ford Taurus rental.

The Taurus is so smooth and quiet on the road, it's like night and day compared to the ride in the TLS. This being said, I would not want to own a Taurus and still love my TLS. I have to admit that the Taurus made me realize how rough and noisy the Acura is. I have good condition Michelins on the Acura. In conclusion, this has got me thinking of a new car purchase, I have to get that thought out of my head. Any comments appreciated. Bill C.

 

Your tl by age is now about 7-8 years old now, if you compare a new car with a car that was built almost 10 years ago it wouldn't be fair, just for the reminder the suspension does degrade after years obsorb road bump along with other coponent such as upper and lower control arms, sound obsortion material also degrade after years too.

 

Comparing a car that's roughly 7yrs old to a brand new car today is unfair. Cars nowadays are all about noise cancellation because the technology is so much more affordable. For a 7yr old car, the TL-S is still a very good car and still offers quite a bit for what it is.

However, if you feel your TL is showing its age and you require a quieter ride then by all means get a new car. Otherwise, enjoy your car the way it is and maybe replace some older parts such as the control arms

 

Original shocks/bushings/etc???

 

Acuras have never been known for being "bank vault" quiet like certain European brands or even like Lexus. The age, the mileage, the fact it's more of a sports sedan than a base Taurus stack the cards against it. I'm sure the SHO is a bit more raucous than the base Taurus.

 

I drove a 2013 Taurus Limited. You couldn't hear or feel anything. It was like driving on a cloud.

 

^ Was it quick?

 

Your suspension will degrade over time and "crash" over bumps and such in the road. Have quality tires can reduce some of the road noise but there isnt much you can do about aging OEM suspension besides buying new parts.

 

How old are ur tires? What tires are u running. Some will literally make ur car a pos.. Learnt my lesson.

My buddy just leant the hard way. His bald potenzas were better than his new pieces of crap. Loud, no grip. Horrible

 

I'm actually amazed how quiet my 07 TLS is. Its definitely your tires. And if you're riding on your original shocks with 100k miles there's no comparison to a new car. Replace those two and you're golden!

 

All I hear from my TL is BWAAAAAAAHP! Oh, and when I scrape, that's it lol. Car was quiet as heck before I put my XLR8 exhaust on. Drives like a dream. New cars have far more sound deadening and quiet cabins. Not only to reduce outside noise, but to keep the Voice command functions for the radio and electronics like Bluetooth etc. from picking up anything abnormal. Unless you have choppy and noisy tires, or something wrong, I bet your car is quiet. Go drive someone elses stock type s and see what it sounds like. Maybe you have and issue, or maybe your being unrealistic comparing the two. Go find out!

 

People that belong to Acura church will defend their God at all cost.
My 2001 Camry with more than 160K miles has a smoother ride then my 2008 TL which has half as many miles I even lowered tire pressure to make it a little smoother but there is a reason why I like TL. I can get on/off freeway while doing 80 without feeling any body roll I wouldn't even dare to attempt doing same things I can do driving TL thanks to its rough suspension. I bet there is nothing wrong with your car it is what it is enjoy while you can.

 

Just because you can't feel it doesn't mean it's not there. Does your camry have a strut based suspension and higher profile tires? I'd be careful at high speeds if either one is true...your TL has a more sport based suspension design (double wishbone + multi link) and low profile tires, which gives you better feedback / road feel and handling at the cost of comfort. Your camry just gives you comfort and a numb feedback / no feel, as intended.

6-7 years old and 100k miles vs a new 2014 car Bill

Change all your bushings for new ones (including the sway bars). If still not to your liking then get new shocks / springs.

 

Tires are a year old, Michelins. They were noisy from the start.
What tires make a difference? Bill C.

 

^This. Have Michelins too, they get worse as time goes by.
And your getting older Bill. This is how seniors find themselves in Buick's.

 

 

It's all about how the TL-S is setup. As everyone said, when your car was brand new it was surely much more smoother because everything in it was new. And even then it wouldn't ever compare to the Ford Taurus in terms of quiet comfort. That car is meant for highway cruising, that's it. That is what a Taurus customer wants.

Even a base 3GTL is MUCH smoother than a Type-S. I remember when my car was new, smooth as silk. I have done so many mods it is such a different car now. Other people who have rode in my car think the car rides too stiff. But that's actually how I want it and I like it. If you are looking for a smooth car above all else, the TL-S really isn't for you.

Changing the tires will help BIG time. Go for something less aggressive and not Z or Y-rated. As long as they are W or even V-rated you are good to go. Michelin makes very smooth quiet riding tires in that rating. If the suspension really bothers you, perhaps you could swap in out for a base TL suspension? I don't know if anyone has tried that but I'm sure you can find it for VERY cheap or even someone practically giving it away (A lot of us have lowered cars with OEM suspension just lying around.)

When I drive a rental car I also experience what you do; a much smoother car. It's nice for a temporary change. But when I get back to my car I feel "Ahhh, just as I like it!"

 

you may need an alignment.

 

Just what you said as intended.

OP can start throwing money at his suspension and will get miniscule improvement because TL is not intended to be Taurus by design.

When I switched from Sumitomo to Michelin there was an improvement in comfort (could be just because old vs. new) but it was not nearly enough to make it Taurus like and again by design.

 

You are right about getting older, but a Buick is definitely not in my future.

 

I don't think the improvements will be miniscule compared to how it feels now. I think he'll get a decent improvement because it'll be a 6-7 year old / 100k mile suspension vs a new one.

If he wants this to feel like a taurus or a camry then that's a different story and his best bet is to swap everything out for a base TL's parts. But then, what's the point of having a type s? Food for thought for Bill.

Use Tirerack.com to check out tire ratings and sidewall stiffness / softness across different brands and different types of tires too. Choose accordingly

 

I use summer performance tires on my is300 and it more quiter than my tl, I got primacy hx on my tl as all seasonal, and thinking I will switch to pilot sport AS next.

 

Fyi my brother just snagged a 08 33000km tl type s and it got amazing ride quality. Super stable at highway speed, extremely quiet ride. And he's got the original tires from 07 on it. So the car should be to your liking provided everything is up to snuff.

One thing that goes on the 04-08 tl is the lower control arm /subframe bushing.

It takes a lot of stresses and OFTEN fails on these cars. Symptoms can in include, clunking over bumps, tire wear, and instability when turning and or braking hard.

It can get so bad sometimes it will literally wear into the subframe and can get to the point where u need to replace the arm and subframe. That's extreme though.

My mechanic who does my car was working on a tl when I brought it to his place and that's the exact problem it had. Mileage was around 100000miles. He said they virtually all go, just the way they made the car.