Xpditor

Need I say more?

Crazy Bimmer

yea the TL blows away the G35 in terms of interior. There is NO question about that.

Its funny, i came into the TL section because my buddy is car shopping and i was wondering how much they go for. I didnt realize people had this many rattles in their 3rd gen.

Even if the rattles though, the TL offers plenty for the money and still reliable otherwise. Hmm what to do....

Xpditor

Keep in mind one thing. This is Acurazine:

Threads: 93,218, Posts: 1,079,224, Members: 77,995

People with no rattles like me don't start threads saying "I have no rattles". It's a non-issue.

People who have rattles are angry and want to vent. They will start a thread or post in one: "I have a rattle(s)."

So, we hear about the problems, as minor as they might be, just as all other brand-centric car forums do.

Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have heard perhaps 20-30 members complain about rattles. That's 20-30 out of 80,000 or .03% of our total membership.

Then, a poster will conclude from the several rattle threads that "a majority of TLs have rattles."

Until we have a lot more of our members complain about rattles, we are nowhere even close to a majority. I have ridden in quite a few TLs and I have yet to hear a rattle. (Except those caused by junk I had placed in the doors or elsewhere)

Crazy Bimmer

Xpditor, may i ask what your previous cars were?

Reason i ask this is because you seem to love your TL, which is great. But i feel like this is the nicest car you have ever had so you feel you need to defend it and being blind by real issues people have. Including the FWD topic.

There arent no where near as many rattle threads on the forums i go to. You can easily tell that american made cars rattle more than anything else. I was convinced of that when i had a TL and my dad had an RL. (he had 3 btw)

Sure maybe i had good luck, but my german made cars have never had rattles and i rarely see people complain about them on the forums.

Dont get me wrong, we have bigger issues than rattles as far as reliablity.
So a rattle is very minor in terms of overall.

Xpditor

I think rattles become more of an issue in the TL with some folks because it is very quiet and because people are looking for perfection because of the Honda/Acura reputation for quality.

This is indeed the nicest car I've ever owned. Most of my life, I have had a company provided new car. I travel a lot and rent a ton of cars. Lately, I have been spending a month or so in Europe every year with rental cars.

I have had Maximas (2), Mazda RX-7 Turbo, Cadillac Seville, Trans-Am, Mercedes 380SL, and, of course my current 1995 BMW that I have had since it was new (that you already know about because we discussed it) and Jeep Wrangler. Those were/are cars I've had long term. Short term rentals? Just about everything imaginable. Most recent was an Infiniti G35.

I am not blind to issues people have. Perhaps you are blind as to how small these issues really are. As to FWD? I assume people know that TLs are FWD when they buy one. Either they don't care or they test drove a TL an found the handling and feel to be great.

Finally, I can only share my personal experiences. I like the way my TL handles, I like the way it looks and feels and smells, I have not been back to the dealer since I bought it except for a flat tire, and I have no rattles or complaints. That's probably a big reason I am a member and Mega Moderator here on Acurazine.

Since you don't have a TL, I'm not sure why you're a member. But, other people have different experiences and everyone's opinion is welcome here.

Crazy Bimmer

Running out of things to say?

You forget some of the MODs here dont own acuras, hell nor does Astro who is an admin.

Its cool that you are a hardcore acurafan. But dont get worked up when people who arent the same.

Anyways, my buddy and I drove a bunch of cars today.

The TL we drove was rock soild and the 6speed drove great. He really wants it so now im staying in the TL section to read up more on pricing for him. Hope thats ok with you that I stay around.
You take your title here way too seriously.

Brettg

We would still get the TL (with the 6MT).
Only if we wanted to spend less would we look at other cars.

Not a single problem or rattle yet!

Brett
2005 6MT

Shaqs2002TLS

My friend has an 05 TL and I always ask him if he has rattles and he always tells me no. He was like, this car is sooo quiet and looked confused when I asked him.

Xpditor hit the nail on the head for sure. It's the same thing w/ the 2nd Gen TLs w/ Tranny problems. All you're going to see here are the people who had Tranny problems but the one's w/ out the problems are MUCH MUCH more, as was indicated by Honda. Some people may think that Honda was lying about the ~2.5% of the 2nd Gen TLs w/ problems, but let's imagine they did. Let's say it was 5%. LEt's be serious, if 5% of the cars had the problems would that still stop you from buying one.

Point is, as Xpditor said, people only come on these forums to complain. So you're going to see the worst of the vehicles. But I could tell there are ALOT more out there who don't have these problems. Unfortunately you're probably not going to see them here.

Excellent post by Xpditor 7/8/2006 at 12:35 PM.

MorganPerez

My answer is absolutely not.

I researched this car for a month, and then I bought it.

I have owned, and currently own a Mercedes Benz.

I am used to the respect and treatment that I get at Mercedes. I wanted to try Acura out, because I heard great things about Acura.

The Acura dealer where I live now, is rude, argumentative, condescending, and disrespectful, they treat me like a punk because I am young.

To date I have been asked: "where did you buy the car" "did you slam on the brakes from 70MPH" "have you wrecked the car" "Did you go to the other side of the state to buy the car" "did you buy the car new" "have you bothered to take care of the car"

All things that are not relivant, and make no difference concering rattles in the dash board.

I had to go to the dealer and ride with the service manager to point out rattles. It was amazing how he never heard them before when he drove the car.

To top it off they got grease all over the seat.

I shouldint have to argue for hours with the service manager about fixing the car. I shouldint have to make 3 trips in one week to get the car fixed.

I have a vibration in the front end at over 80, and the dealer refuses to fix it. Because its above the speed limit.

So, to answer your question. No.

pimpin-tl

Dealer problems = no a issue with the car itself. Some dealers are more rude than others.

Infiniti is no better than what you described. At least at my local dealer.

Acura here has been great.

subinf

Our local Toyota dealer is pretty bad. The BMW dealer is even worse. Acura is great. I've been to other Acura dealerships where my experience was god awful.

A_UFO

For me, the dealership experience can make or break the brand.

You have Acura Client Services that should be helping people that have called about negative issues with their dealership experience. It seems the response Acura Client Services gives the customer's that have posted on this forum is that the problems are between the purchaser and the dealership. In other words, Acura washes it’s hands regarding a problem at the dealership.

Acura needs to understand that the dealership experience is how customers will and should judge the Acura brand. The dealership is where the customer goes to get warranty repairs and to receive the premium brand experience. I did not buy a Honda and I expect more from the premium brand both in the quality of the product and the dealership experience.

I am not one of the Acura kool-aid drinkers. I have no brand loyalty with cars. As I posted earlier, the jury is still out if I will purchase another Acura.

Honestly, I would have preferred the Lexus brand, I just did not like the exterior styling of the ES series and I was not going to spend the extra money for the GS series.

neuronbob

I agree with the above poster because the first experience many people have with Acura is at the dealer. If they are treated badly during the purchase process or with service, even with a bulletproof car, it reflects on Acura.

I've said before, along with others, that Acura REALLY needs to police its dealerships better. Sure, many are locally owned, but the concept is the same.

Acura needs to come down like the Angel of Death on dealerships where people are routinely treated badly. The "Precision Dealer" award is, frankly, a joke, I've read on this very board about "Precision Dealers" who treat their customers like dirt, on a regular basis. If Acura wants to be perceived as a luxury brand, they need to keep their dealerships from acting like Honda dealers (as a group, the WORST I have ever personally dealt with, worse than domestic dealers--and I'm a Honda/Acura nut!!!!)

/me steps off soapbox

crm_codder

I was happy with TL (with minor issues) until gasoline starts cost me $40 per tank.
No more 3.2L engine and now I am looking for something smaller. In 5 years 80% of cars on US roads would be like Mini Cooper anyway.