Just wondering...I dont really have any issues with flat spots but I have not driven my car in the rain yet extensively and feel there could be issues based upon all the bad press on this tire. Did anyone get the tires replaced free of charge from dealer? Also is it possible that *some* of these tires are ok and its just a bad batch?--

 

dealers will only replace your tires if they actually test drive the car and see that you really do have flatspotting. it is free of charge. I got my tires replaced awhile back and the problem is not solved. It still vibrates around 45-55 mph when i wake up in the morning to go to work and when im leaving work to go home ( 8 hours of not driving the car). The only diff in these new tires is that it goes away faster than the original tires. I really dont care anymore b/c im getting some 19" wheels with better tires. Good Luck

 

No, even the new batch has a problem, not as bad as the early ones but they still have the problem. Acura will only swap out the older versions. On your tires there is a DOT followed by numbers and characters, if you have "TU2", then you have the better of the 2 versions and they will not swap them out (nothing to swap to).

FYI, there are a lot of threads on this topic

 

My dealer did not replace the tires for free - Instead they were going to give me a credit of $50 a tire. I decided against swapping them right away because I just spent so much on a new car and $50 a tire is nothing when they charge for balancing and other things. OH well as of right now i still have them - not all people experience the problems. My dealer still claims there is nothing wrong with them

 

There have been reports here about individual dealers swapping out tires for a different brand or allowing a trade-in allowance. It is strictly up to the dealer, so if you have a problem you could check with your dealer and see his position in this matter.

 

Correct, I had a Bridgestone Corporate Store offer to swap my tires for a different set, free of charge, but at this point I do not feel like driving 1hr to get to them just to get a set of Bridestones.

I will try to swap them a lcouple of local shops for a set of Michelin Pilot A/S today and see what they will do for me

 

I'm going through this right now. See thread:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77257

Acura will NOT replace the tires with any tire that's NOT a Bridgestone. I think it's up to the dealer if they want to give you a credit towards Michelins, Pirelli, etc. I'm waiting to hear from my dealership GM on what they're going to do for me.

 

Nice poem on your sig MikeyK---us anthracite owners cant have a poem...after all wtf rhymes with anthracite?

 

wtf rhymes with anthracite? Shite.

Sorry, couldn't resist that. I honestly think anthracite is a beautiful color, and if I had gotten a white 96TL instead of a green one and got the need for a white car out of my system, I would seriously have considered anthracite, even though it is harder to spell than white. There is a thread here today about where do you park your car, and the car in the pictures is beautiful. It is anthracite, isn't it.

 

Shite? (pronounced exactly as it's spelled) What's that?

 

I guess you never watch BBC or British movies. It is their word for s**t, and the "i" is pronounced like a "y", so it would be "shyte" (spelled phonetically). I think Irish and English folks say this as an expression.

I was just trying to be funny so don't take it the wrong way.

 

ok then here goes..

Roses are red
Violets are blue
If your car isn't Anthracite
its a piece of shyte ! :toothless

 

lol. It is also appropriate that the word shite ended up a thread that started talking about EL-42's

 

Black is too ghetto,
Grey is too bland.
But every time I see the blue
It gives me a kickstand.


Honestly, I haven't seen this car in a color I didn't like, but I wanted to give the poetry a try. Maybe we can start a TL haiku thread next.

 

Originally, Acura has asked all dealers to check/diagnose your tires and test-drive your car before filing the order of "new" EL42s to Acura Headquarters.

But dealers could do the direct order for you without any additional investigation, too, if they like to do you a favor.

Or, you could call to ACS, and complain your tires... About 1-3 months later, you might get the call from your dealer that your tires arrive...


I don't have the serious issue with EL42s (3903) on my 04TL, and don't like leave my car in my dealer for the whole day check-up. After complaining bad tires to ACS for months, Acura automatically delivered my "new" EL42s (0904) to my dealer... I spent a few hours to think it over and asked a couple of friends here and there, I deicde to take these "new" ones... why not?



But, but if you totally have no issue with your current EL42s, you have to understand you're risking yourself to get "maybe" bad EL42s in return.

 

My dealer tried to balance my old EL42s but that had very little effect. So he told me he has ordered four reformulated tires and they will arrive in under two weeks. If the vibration is gone I will stay with them until I can try them on snow. If they go in snow, I will just keep them. Otherwise, I am getting Pilot Sports A/S put on.

 

Just FYI:

If you're lucky enough to live near a Discount Tire, they gave me $80/tire as trade in towards a new set of gForce KDW.

EL-42's had about 400 miles when I traded them in.

 

Anyone happy with the reformulated tires?

 

Have had the new version for about a month. Take my word for it, they are not significantly different. I am now decided between Nitto and Falken for replacements.
04TL White/Parchment/5AT

 

I just got my TL back after the regional factory rep drove the car yesterday. He indicated that he did not notice any cold start flat spotting with the newly formulated EL42s. Of course they drove it when the outside temp was 75. They also did not notice any mild vibration at 50+ MPH. I don't even know why I bothered. I did get the dealerships approval to have them road force balanced. That's the end of it for me, no more screwing with the dealership, Acura reps or whoever. I'll get the tires balanced and wear them out as quickly as I can.

 

I checked my tires and I apparently do have the "TU2" on my tires so I guess I have the new ones. I do not have any issues with flat spotting at all..my TL rides pretty smooth. I dont push it in the rain but its not like its all over the place...so I guess you can say I am relatively happy with the EL42's. I do recall driving a demo TL that rode like shit in east brunswick NJ...for what its worth...maybe they had the flatspotting issue.

 

Summer is coming, the major problem for EL42s is Flatspotting, which may not happen everyday in Summer.

This is Acura's strategy to keep our mouth shut until 05TL arrives...

 

My tires are of 0352 and 0401 vintage, and do flat spot. Worse when cold, still exists at 70 degrees. Goes away after 10-15 mins. Had me TL in today for gold Badge and spoiler install, mentioned it to the service guy, and he ordered me new ones. No other questions asked, or "leave the car so we can see for ourselves". They're still gonna be the ELs, but he said the new ones don't have the problem. I told him I don't want to swap tires for the sake of swapping....He said this should do it.

I love my TL, and my dealer is the BEST! Ray-Laks Acura, Billsville, NY. (Bill is short for William)

Steve

 

Wow, you got some old tires, based on what I read the 0352 tires were made the 3rd week of 1952, the others are better 0401 = 4th week of 2001, I would definately beef if I had tires that old on a 2004 car

 

Your guys are joking, right? Your 0352 above means "5203"... 52 week of 2003. Your 0401 above means 1st week of 2004...

Why my tires were 3903... not "0339"... :toothless

 

I am getting replacement tires tommorrow. I travel every week with rental car. I have driven Tarus's, Navigators, Town Cars, LS's, Caddies, and Infintiy's. Not one of these autos vibrate as bad as my 04 TL.

 

Sorry if I got the numbers backwards.....I think most people understood what I meant. Time to join DAM....Mothers Against Dyslexia.

Steve

 

I just had my EL's replaced with the "new" tires last Friday. Guess the word new meant that the tire had no prior use as they are actually manufactured before the ones I replaced. The new ones are PVC 4903 and the old ones were PVC 0204. Needless to say I am waiting once again for my dealer to fix this problem.