Scott in Houston

I've owned my Acura TL for a little over a month now. I really really love this car. For $31k, I'm extremely please. I don't have any rattles (knock on wood) and if I get 'em, I'll fix 'em.

Anyway, I have read so many posts on this board regarding subjects of build quality and other issues. There are a lot of people (it seems) expecting more out of a car that they paid $30k+ for, and it seems like the whole community is upset with Acura for quality and rattles and squeaks... YADA YADA YADA

Well, I'm a new TL owner as I mentioned, but I'm also a Mod on a couple of Porsche boards and frequent a lot of other boards for cars I've owned in the past and will probably own again.

Here are some posts from boards regarding cars and their rattles. All these cars cost much more than our TL's.
The point is to show that every maker has issues at times. And to re-emphasize what's been said a million times, a small percentage of owners can give off the impression that the whole lot of TL's are bad cars...




996 Turbo Rattling... and it's $150K car (5 TL's) lol

911 Carrera (approximately 2.5 TL's in cost)

Another 911 Turbo with horrid noises


360 Modenas... what a POS


OMG! A NEW LEXUS! And a dealer that didn't listen!

Another new Lexus... they must suck. hehe


So, the point is just to say... we're not alone.
This board does however have a higher percentage of complaining people. I'm not sure why, but I am pretty confident that it's not because more TL's rattle. It just seems like this community is smaller than the others, and as a result there's a higher percentage of complaints.
Also, it does seem like people here expect more.
My theory... a lot of TL owners are buying their first higher end car. They haven't realized that all cars of all costs have some issues, so more TL owners complain vs. a higher end Lexus owner who has had cars of all levels squeak, etc.
It's all about expectations. TL owners have owned less cars and less expensive ones on average than some of these other forums... That's pure theory based on just what I've read on all the boards I frequent.

Personally, I think TL's rock. I bought one because I've been enamored with it since new '04 came out. I shopped heavily for months and picked it because its over all package was the best for me.

Enjoy your cars. We're all fortunate to own one whether it was your hard work that got it, or your parents. (I'm thoroughly jealous of that bunch).

Have fun discuss.

ExLexusGuy

Interesting posts from those other boards. I drove 3 different TL's before buying the 4th one I drove... Some 6MT, some 5AT, and I never noticed any squeaking. The third one I drove before buying I took out specifically for the rattling and couldn't find any at any speed. With mine, I still can't find any, and hope I don't.

In addition to the TL, I have a 94 Lexus ES300 and that thing rattles, as does the 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (expected from a convertable).

I think it really just has to do with the TL you get. Some TLs may have just fallen through the crack on this small detail? Don't know for sure, but drive the one you want to buy and look for those specific things...

All in all, I love the TL, from its quality, performance and reputation. There could be bigger things wrong with your new car than just a couple of squeaks.

ndx2

Good essay.

I'm watching the Pistons dominate the Spurs, so these malcontents' complaints couldn't possibly upset or annoy me.

crazymjb

All cars will have there problems. Although some more than others. Porches arent made for luxery(well, not like benz s class stuff), they are made for sport. So expect a few rattles, especially with that much power.

Russdaddy

I agree that all cars will have their problems but if I spend over 50 grand for a car, I don't wanna hear rattles, end of story. I bought my civic hatchback in 1997 for a little over 12,000. There were no rattles for the first three to four years, but of course now, you get rattles like mad (The car's eight and half years old ya know!). But I've had rattles on my new TL from day one. Something's just not right here!!

caball88

i think its just more prominent here because acura sells so many more TL's than porsche does any car. so if there are equal percetages of complaints the quantity will just be more on this message board than a porsche. we've seen quite a few complaints about things here and there but if you look at the total amount of owners here it's a very small percentage. most of us are pretty happy with the TL and it's either problem free or has a couple of things here and there that might have to be addressed. no car is perfect no matter what the cost.

JetJock

I'm on my 3rd TL so far. The '04 is the best yet with no rattles...NONE. I had one slight rattle in my 2002 TLS which I easily fixed myself with a piece of felt. I'm very picky about rattles so if there were even one, I wouldn't be happy. Rattles are not the only factor that determines quality in a car, but certainly seems to excite the wrath of those that get them. I really love my TL and frankly wouldn't trade it for anything I could afford. Now...if I should win the lottery....that's another story. Good luck with your new car.

JetJock

BTW...reading the post by the Lexus owner, it cracked me up to read that his old Acura didn't have any rattles yet his newer Lexus was rattling around the steering wheel. If you want to hear rattles....try a Honda DelSol...they are famous for rattling with the roof on. I've got one and it drives me crazy in the winter. Thank God for summer and the stereo!!

triggle

I'm convinced that we are hyper sensisitive since we've seen hungry mice eat our tasty knock sensor cables, leather cheek marks that resemble the Himalayas, free vibrator with every 5AT on Turanzas, airbag relief marks on dash and steering wheels, dimples on window sash from elbows. Wait a minute...dimples in the window sash from elbows ? Come on who is the f'n idiot who chose the materials for that part. Fire the bastard. Need I go on. Water under back seat. Throttle lag. Brake squeal....

Sorry these are real problems not just rattles. Some has to do with materials selection and some to maximizing profits but when you are sold a car with leather trimmed interior and leather seating surfaces you expect all 5 seats to be leather not vinyl. I don't want to hear any crap about what my expectations are and how they are too high. When I am sold something it shoud work as sold. Without rattles no matter the cost. If I buy a Hyundai I expect it to be rattle free. People need to stop being such passivists taking all the crap corporate ___ hands to them with a pat on the back. It's your money and if you don't complain about garbage you've been sold then you are part of the problem, not the solution. Hurray for boards that allow people to vent about their miserable experiences being sold vapor. Time to hold the manufacturers to a higher standard.

Ahh that felt good...
Long live Acurazine.

neuronbob

Thanks for the great essay, Scott. It certainly keeps things in perspective. I'd hate to pay north of $150k for a car, only to have it rattle....but it is true that all cars have flaws. Even my TL has a couple of rattles, now that it's over 30k miles old, but they are hardly worth returning the car.

Legend2TL

Good writeup.

KevinB656

My 2005 TL needed to have its brake booster and master cylinder replaced at 2,000 miles. Is that a build quality issue or am I just another complainer?

mxtt

Feeling good about your situation by comparing it to others is not exactly a good attitude. What is wrong with discussing problems about our TLs in this board? Sure, there are a few people who are super anal about the rattle issues, but the vast majority offers constructive outcome.

mickey3c

LOL... yeah some people can have someone else piss on their backs and think it is raining as well.. Build quality is down... period... Or part quality is... whichever you choose.

Some people who never owned a new car or new luxury car get into a 30K+ car from a beat up chevy and say wow...

I have owned several acuras since the 80s and I can see/tell the difference. I am not saying it isn't a good car for the money, but the initial quality is down and after being on the forum for a number of years I have seen more and more complaints.

And people can explain it all away and say that other cars have issues as well... True, but stay in the same category. In the near luxury category of a G, TL, Lexus, etc... I have seen more problems with the TL than any other. Look at JD power, etc. Most car mags only test out the car for a week and do not do extended drives. When you hear about the extended drive tests and quality over 6 months or more, the TL is not fairing that well.

Adam9997

100%
This is my 4th "new" car and by far the initial quality of my TL absolutely sucks. I have 4k miles and already had it back to the dealer twice. As with my other cars all I expected out of this one is to enjoy the ride. Never did I think I would be crawling all over the cabin with sticky tape eliminating rattles. Whether you spent $15k or 150k on a new car, you should never accept or expect shitty quality.

leeherman

Thank you for the excellent writeup!

4,200 miles on my '04 and NO issues, other than I don't get to drive it nearly enough!

wck3

Pin? This is good stuff that shouldn't slip into obscurity on the board.

cccjoecool

I totally agree with you. I have an '04 with just under 12K miles. I am completely satisfied with the TL...no issues...would recommend the car to anyone who wants a fun drive with nice technology at a good value! I still look forward to driving it, and I've owned it for nearly one year.

Scott in Houston

Well, not really. I've owned 3 911's since year 2000, and I can say that NONE had rattles. They were rock solid... but others have complained about rattles on boards. See where I'm going w/ this?


To the others... I was focused on rattles. If you had a bad tranny or other part of the car fall apart, well, that sucks, and it happens. Every make has those issues too.

Visit any 996 board for Porsche and all the base Carrera owners will tell you all about the RMS failure. It's been going on since 1999 and Porsche still hasn't fixed it! It means a new engine if it's too bad a problem with your car.
This from a company known for the best engineering in the world supposedly.

My point is enjoy the car.... Don't let these little issues make it seem like just TL's have problems.

Brewmaster

I'm with ya Scott ... 13K miles no rattles, one small problem with the VSA sensor, and I may have to have my AC condensor drain cleaned out (still working on that one) But all in all, a GREAT car!! good fit and finish, a few minor problems, but you know what ... for something with this many moving parts, this much technology, and regularly subjected to relatively extreme examples of the laws of physics, I haven't had one thing that I would
"complain" about.

I'm not denying some people have had real issues, I'm just gloating