ONAGER

within a year or 12,000 miles and as long as there is no visable damage acura will probably align it for free if you ask them... its in your book... they wont align it for free if there is an indication you whacked a curb....

pedalermike

Yep. Mine does it too - very rapidly oscillations side to side when going over minor imperfections in the road. My wife took great delight in pointing out the lousy ride in a $35K+ car!!

ONAGER

get it aligned.... a 4 wheel alighnment on the right equipment....

my tl is super stable... a hwy dream

kosh2258

The service manager is overstating the automation just a bit.

The body welding and painting are robotic, to be sure, however the assembly process is done by real, live people with some automated help putting in front and rear windows, suspension subassemblies, wheels and so on. And so is the final alignment of the vehicle. But like any process there is a range of allowable tolerances for the adjustments and it's pretty likely some cars will leave the factory at the extreme ends of the limits.

KJSmitty

I have never witness the TL assembly line but I was once told by an alignment specialist who had spent an entire career at one of the "big 3" that not every vehicle "gets an alignment" on the line. Once numerous cars have gone through the line and assembly processes are honed certain processes are able to be eliminated. These processes are then done randomly every so many vehicles etc. for quality control. He informed me it wasn't uncommon for a 15-25 vehicle interval between "alignment" quality control checks.
This entire discussion transpired due to how bad the factory alignment was on my domestic vehicle..... (500-800 miles on my vehicle and tires cupping badly)

Not sure if each TL actually gets a full alignment check or not but would edge it doesn't. This would definitely help explain why a few are having major issues.
I know next winter when I drop a grand on new Michelin's I will have the TL checked no matter what. - I usually have my vehicles checked every 25K or so miles anyway.. Never know how many potholes or curbs etc. the wife has been jumping (not in the TL)..... She's actually a darn good driver, it's the typical roads that suck. Good thing she doesn't read my posts though......

rets

I heard the similar story... and I'm not sure if Acura does the same procedure to "filter" their product lines.

Just like any production lines for food, commodities, etc. Some black sheep are never abel to be found... until customers use/eat them...

SBTL

I developed this problem with worn tires. Replacement tires solved it!

Karizma

if you dont fix the mechanical problems, your "new" tires will do the same thing. ill repost after i hear from the dealer on my tire wear situation.

crisis641

I had this problem as well. I took the car from Iowa down to Florida and back with the trunk fairly loaded up. About half way back I began to notice tire dust inside the rear wheels and that the tread was very low. Got back and took it in to the dealer who said they had seen some of this before. They replaced the tires (with the same lousy bridgestones) and did a 4 wheel alignment for me. It still feels like the rear end wanders around on bumps with a load in the trunk. I wish they would make a kit to get rid of the rear toe gain on the car. It's not so bad when the road is dry but if it's wet or any snow on the road, it's not very fun to drive. Unless they fix it I'll probably be getting rid of my TL.

TLOBLLC

Yes! As a matter of fact, my TL is extremely unstable when carrying passengers. No matter what happens, I can't get the airbag in the passenger seat to stop from going off.

I've discovered that when passengers are present, the TL's secondary navigation system is activated: telling me I've missed my turn and that I'm driving too fast. While I've found the primary system to be very accurate, the secondary one is almost always wrong. Also, the shrill tone of the secondary NAV voice is very irritating. Why Acura couldn't install the same voice in both systems, I don't know. I can't seem to activate the secondary system when I'm alone. Can I get some money back by returning the secondary system to Acura?

Also, I'm very comfortable with the driver side HVAC. I set the temp within days of getting the car and haven't changed it since. On the other hand, my menopausal passenger is constantly complaining that the passenger side HVAC is either too hot or too cold. No matter what temperature its set at, it needs changing within a few minutes. I've taken it back to the dealer and they can't seem to replicate the problem.

I find the stereo system very accurate in playing back every nuance of music with good power range for replicating dynamic passages. Yet, everytime my old lady gets in the car she invariably tells me to 'turn that noise down.' Is she hearing some distortion I cannot detect? It just ruins the experience.

The TL is a great car when I'm in it by myself, but as soon as I load it with passengers it turns into a Piece of Sh*t. Why disappoint myself?... no more passengers.

ITL

wow...you really put a lot of thought into that...oh well, I got a good laugh

danno

I was a regular on this forum a year ago. I was one of the "firsts" to get the TL in Oct of 03. I had Comptec springs installed 3 months after . Then I bought Yokos 255s which I used only in the summer. The bottom line is after changing my tires only in the winter months, which came to about 9 months and only 10,000 miles, my rear tires are 3/4 worn on the EL42s.
I only noticed them recently, after I drove with my 2 kids in the back, on a wet highway, and the rear was jerking to one side in wet areas on the road.
I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow. I don`t know if the comptec springs has anything to do with it also.

Kubrus

I got my 04 TL last october, first thing i did with it was take it 3,500 miles cross country (smart, right?). Loaded it up the ass with crap plus a buddy in the passenger seat, never felt a skid or anything like you guys described. The tires look fine for the most part, there is a little wear from 6,300 miles of driving, but not as much abrasion as you guys are seeing.

rets

Welcome back, danno.

Hope your dealer could tell you it's the easy fix...

KJSmitty

Most definitely...

Installing "lowering springs" changed the "geometry" of the rear suspension. Hopefully your dealer can overcome the change with a 4-wheel alignment.
Their may or may not be enough factory adjustment given the "compression" of the rear suspension due to the springs.

Let us know how your visit turns out.

ITL

After my first alignment, it was better...now that I have my CT springs, I am BARELY noticing it again. I'll give it two weeks, get an alignment, and then see how it goes...

TL A-Spec Owner

Question: I am taking my TL in for the inside tire wear issue tomorrow. I had the tires rotated several months ago and now the front tire that was moved to the rear is wearing the same as the rear tire now presently on the front of the car. The dealership states that they have never heard of or dealt with this issue before. I explained to them about the "toe" issue and they told me to bring the car in to see what they could find. I would sort of like to know what angle would be the best to have the situation resolved. Any comments would be appreciated.

ITL

they should adjust it within factory specs...ask them if their equipment is accurate enough for this. My local dealership recommended that I take it to a performance tire shop since they have newer, more precise equipment. After doing this, my service manager fully reimbursed me for the alignment.

Sharunas

So here is the story guys. My buddy and I have 2004 TLs. Both experiencing Extreme Tire wear in the rear. It is even and hard to understand how it happens.
We were going to Colorado for new years eve and there was 4 passengers and full trunk of stuff. He just put on 235/45R17 Yokohama YK520 on. Then we came back rear tires were 4/32 left. This was 2500 mile trip. His car was extremely unstable on the way back, especially since it was snowing. I was reading that there is service bulletin that recommends different measurements or angles for alignment. I am new here so you guys know better where to find those service bulletins. Also get all stuff out of the trunk.

Crestwood1001

Welcome to the world of driving a pickup, my old silverado did this, as does any pickup truck without weight in the back, bounces all over when ya hit bumps, and god forbid u have a V8 and try to accelerate on a wet hill in 2 wheel drive

I hate cars

I think the best way to fix the problem until a real solution comes along is to run stiffer springs without the lowering. I'm running a-specs that barely altered the height with stiffer shocks and I stiffened the springs by 66%. Car is much more stable now with passengers in it. This keeps the geometry change to a minimum. It's also more stable when I'm alone and cornering hard and hit a bump mid corner.

I posted a thread about this years ago with good sticky tires and the stock suspension. When it compresses it gets unstable. It also hits the bumpstops very easily in the rear which makes the rear roll stiffness go infinite. This too will cause tail happiness. This is why I've been preaching all these years about not slamming the TL to the ground.

After I realized these shortcomings, the only thing to do was to add a ton or stiffness in the rear to stop the compression and of course, increase the front roll stiffness via a-spec springs, Koni Yellows, and the ultra stiff H&R front sway bar to balance it so it's not tail happy from the rear roll stiffness.

Aspector Gadget

I have an 04 TL 6MT w/ Aspec.

I feel the rear push left or right when passengers are in the back seat (I can feel a little bit when alone in the car. I feel the movement when hitting bumps/potholes between 20-45 mph. In my area the highways (above 45) are pretty even so I don't feel the "push."

I have not noticed the extreme rear tire wear, but the insides on the rear is worn a little more.

I am getting new tires tomorrow and have been looking for the correct alignment numbers for my setup. Here is what I found:

The owners manual and installation instructions for the aspec suspension have the same numbers:
Camber> Front: Neg -0deg 30' +- 30' Rear: Neg -1deg 00' +- 30'
Caster> Front: 3deg 17' +- 45deg Rear: N/A
Toe> Front: 0mm +- 2mm Rear: in 2mm +- 2mm (0.08in)

The Nov 04 ServiceNews Bulletin has a different camber for the '04 TL w/ sportsuspension:
Camber> Front: Neg -0deg 40' +- 30' Rear: Neg -1deg 20' +- 30'
Caster> Same
Toe> Same

The third number I got is from Service Bulletin 050-076, Rear Tire Wear:
Camber> Same as manual
Caster> Same
Toe> Front: Same Rear: 0 +- 2mm (0.08in)


This is what I'm telling the to do, pretty much owner manual set up just error towards the SB:

Camber> Front: Neg -0deg 30' +- 30' Rear: Neg -1deg 00' +- 30' (between -1deg 00' and -1deg 20')
Caster> Front: 3deg 17' +- 45deg Rear: N/A
Toe> Front: 0mm +- 2mm Rear: in 2mm +- 2mm (between 2mm and 0mm)

Do you all agree that since I have not had the extreme tire wear align to these specs and see if the problem is resolved before moving forward? Do these numbers look good?

TL|GTX

Wow ive had 5 ppl in the car ppl wieghing from 150-240, and went 130 car felt very stable, and even takes fast turns it handles fine.

Aspector Gadget

My front was out of specs, they fixed it. BUT my rear camber is not fixable. I think I read that camber is not adjustable on the TL, correct?

My rear camber is> Left: -1.4deg (.4deg off) and Right: -2.2 (1.2deg off)

It may be a small number, but seems large when you look at it as 40% and 120% off.

Can the dealer do anything? Will I need a camber kit?

I hate cars

130 and 600+lbs in the car is how people get killed.