You call this giving back?

Im sorry but why get another one when you've already gone through all that with the first one?




I have no doubt that they read it, but we do too. There are way more members on here that are happy with their Acura’s then not, hence this being an enthusiast forum. I would say you find a more constructive way to let Acura know you're thoughts then to come on here in the hopes that they may catch a post or two.

We’ve had members turn out like this before. Anybody remember Elmer Higgins?? Got a lemon and then every other post was how much happier he was with his new IS or G or whatever the hell it was.

I’m not trying to downplay what sftroy's been through. For his sake, I hope that his new G is perfect. I’m sure there will be problems with it but this will be that last place he’ll admit it.

We’ve already gone through the goodbye TL hello G35 thread. Which was closed, not because of sftroy, but because here in 3G anytime a G35 or IS is mentioned we get a long boring, and I mean boring debate. Its the same fucking argument every day.

I don’t mind sftroy hanging around. He seems to like it here. I’m not saying we cant learn from him. I’m not trying to censor him either. Members should hear what he’s gone through. BUT if a member cant post anything but to just bash acura in every post like in this thread for example, well, Id rather they just keep it to themselves or just leave.

 

There are a lot of things I am very happy with and other things I am completely dissatisfied with.


For example:

I am VERY HAPPY with the interior styling and features, the navigation is fantastic. The heater/cooling system is top notch as well. I enjoy the exterior features, especially since I am a full Aspec. I am very happy with the handling, for an FWD car. (& Comptech RSB)

I am VERY UPSET with Acura service. Those two words should not be in the same sentence together. I am not happy with the paint quality, chips way too easily in comparison to other vehicles I have owned and currently own. I am not happy with rattles and small fit and finish issues like that.

Things that I find MEDIOCRE: The stereo is not super duper like they hyped or like some of the people here say. It's certainly not bad or average, but it's not top tier by a long shot.

 

Acura service is not uniform, and there is a significant difference among dealerships. Acura should establish a website where Acura owners can comment about their experience with different dealerships. Acura corporate can use these comments to "deal with" (ie carrot and stick treatment) the dealerships appropriately.

 

i'm somewhat unhappy. my 06 TL now has only 1,000 miles and since i have put 100 miles on it i had tighten the fuel cap followed by check engine light go off 3 times since. all 3 times both have came on few days after i fill up the tank.

first time dealership turned the light off, 2nd time they ran full leak evac diagnostic tests and said there was no leaks at all. 3rd time its still on and when i called the dealership, service manager said "its safe to drive my car with check engine light on" i will either go there tomorrow or call roadside assistance to take my car there!

what should i do? i need help guys!

 

For the Value for the dollar I am failry impressed, hard to get this much in any other car for this price. As for Quailty, I think the Japanese makers are faced with keeping their costs in line to remain competitive, yet maintain quality, as the Korens and soon the Chinese breathe down their necks. And if the American's ever decide to build a car I like they are also getting close to Japanese quality. It appears the Japanese still build rock solid mechanicals for the most part, although Honda does seem to struggle with V6 transmisisons every so often, but I find that Toyota and Honda has been really cutting corners on interior build quality. I have owned 2 Infinitis (I30 and I35) then 2 TLs (04 and 06) then a 07 Camry Hybrid and now a 07 TL. Year one cars form Toyota and Honda I find to have horrible interior issues, rattles, squeaks etc. I owned 4 Toyota's during the 90's and the 07 Camry was no where near the build quality of my oder cars. I think it is all the snap togther plastic vs. the older cars being screwed togther more. My 06 TL was real solild, my 04 had more squeaks and rattles than a haunted house. My 07 had 2 one with the guage cluster and another near the windsheld. I have fixed both. The 07 Camry was close to the 04 TL for noises. I am done with year one cars, I am waiitng for year 3 or 4 from now on. My Infinitis were very solid inside and out, the 00 I30 had some minor noise in back deck that was quickly resolved, the I35 similar, but otherwise rolck solid cars. The G35 is a tad out of my reach, but maybe when the new one is in year 3 I may give them a try unless the 09 TL blows me away thenI'll wait for the '10. As for customer service, I find the dealr is important factor, but as for manufacturers, Acura run you through Honda whihc you get treated like you bought a $15K Civic. Toyota is marginal at est, Infiniti I found to be stellar as their customer service is not just Nissan, it is totally seperate. In the end the gap in quality I think is mostly biased by what people rememebr from the late 80's and 90's where the Japanese had a huge quality gap, that has eroded to a small gap now and as people realize that the American's and Hyundai are in the same ball park as the Japanese it will come down to who builds what the consumer wants. Look at Toyota, the older Camry's were bland, but sold becasue they were solid cars. Now you have stylish and competitive Hyundas and American cars and Toyota had to make the Camry more appealing, and they have, but is the quality far superior, not from what I have seen.

 

 

And how is that Acuras fault? Your not turning it more than 3 clicks.

 

you are a moron. you think i would be stupid not to turn the cap more than 3 times? first time it happened it was on the full tank that dealership has filled before i bought the car. other times it was FEW days after i filled the full tank and clicked it at least 10 times

 

Well, how are we suppose to know. You just said you tightened it but you didn't mention you made it click more than 3 times. Some people have been known to make this mistake many times. Usually its the user and not the car/cap.

No need to call people names here. I suggest you not do that from now on.

 

this is a warning to you. one more personal attack and you get a vacation...

 

i don't want to hijack the thread but this happened w/ my wifes sequoia about 2 weeks back. i put gas in it for her and forgot to turn it 3 clicks and the check engine light came on. i took it to toyota and $100 bucks later the tech comes back and says the gas cap was not on tight enough. needless to say, i make sure i do the three clicks from now on in our vehicles.

 

Defintely yes!.....they seem to keep better and better with time, best buy for the money in this price range/ segment , despite being a FWD!

 

What's your mileage?

 

I love the car also, the overall package is great, everything you get for the price is unbeatable...but like a few post before KeithL said, all car manufacturers, not just Acura/honda are not making the cars as "solid" as before, they need to be competitive in pricing and compromise, i have a 1990 Toyota Supra I paid 33k for in 1990 that still runs great and is not as compromised as the newer cars...the carpet feels so much cheaper now, some of the plastic panels feel so cheap, the rear "this is not an ashtray" container is so cheap feeling, the leather is a bit cheap feeling also, the paint looks great but also chips alot easier, i have a little chip in the paint already, 1000 miles on the car, my Supra doesnt have any paint chips, well maybe a few but the car is almost 17 yrs old, dont get me wrong I love the car and will probably keep it for a long time, and i drove the IS and GS, but the TL-S for me, was the better deal, again I am not bashing the car as I LOVE it but just pointing out a few things i have noticed

Regards,
Steve

 

I used to have TL 03, the ONLY negative problem I have during 4 years of ownership is the PAINT, very easy to scratch. I'm not sure if this problem has been fixed in my new 07 TL. I think car internal design could be revaluated, i.e to close to regular Honda.

 

I have been very pleased with my late 2004 TL's quality. The only real "problem" that I would mention is the paint quality. However, from what I'm seeing on several other forums, I don't think this paint issue is isolated to our TL's. The newer paints seem more prone to nicks and chips.

I may look into the clear paint film for my next car.

 

I used to have TL 03, the ONLY negative problem have during 4 years of ownership is the PAINT - very easy to scratch. I'm not sure if this problem has been fixed in my new 07 TL. I think car internal design could be revaluated, i.e to close to regular Honda. Upscale cars should be totaly differ (TOYOTA -> LEXUS, NISSAN -> INFINITY). Plus, Acura need to introduce more colors.

 

i have the bigger pics if you want them

that said, competition is getting better now, and we are coming to every new car with lots of expectations. remember these machines are not perfect. heck, no two cars form the same factory are perfect. some may get a wednesday car (rattle-free, trouble-free) while others may get either a monday or friday car (opposite of the wednesday car).

there are just too many variables in play here to get a perfect car. even mercedes and bmw have their share of problems, its just that at their price point, the scrutiny is much closer because they cost more.

 

i just didn't like how you assumed it was my fault. don't you think i would learn from my mistake the 1st time and not do it 3 times in a row. anyways, i did click it for more than 3 times every time and lights still came on. i am also seeing less performance with the check engine light on and i am taking it to the dealership again today, if they do not fix it this time i'll be calling acura customer service and/or file my car as a lemon :\

how hard is it getting acura to buy your vehicle back if it is a lemon?

 

well i apologize for the personal attack. its just that i am already very upset with acura that i am having check engine light come on 3 times within first 800 miles on the vehicle and they dont even know what the problem is! i was expecting a more reliable car than this.... and then i get attacked by pimpin-tl that i'm not turning it more than 3 clicks... thats all. is there anyway somebody could actually help me with my problem rather than blaming the fault on me?

 

I understand, but he really didnt attack you. although his tone was a little off I agree.

But I honestly have no idea what could being setting off the CEL. You'd think it would be easy for them (the dealer) to figure it out.

 

No one said it was your fault. We were giving you advice on what to check. You never mentioned about making sure the cap was closed by 3 clicks, etc. People make mistakes. And you took it personally.

Maybe a defective cap. I would get the dealer to swap it out.

And sorry about my tone. I was straight to the point and shouldn't have been.

 

don't worry about it, its all good. i was just little frustrated about my tl as a lot of you probably would be.

i called the dealership and scheduled an appointment. now im waiting on my mom to come so we can go to dealership so i get a loaner car and i am not picking my car back up until they fix it, however long it might take. on a side note: acura's loaner car rental rule that you cannot get a loaner unless you are 25 or older is complete BS!!!! i can buy a car and have it titled to my name but cannot get a loaner while my car is getting fixed?

ill keep you guys updated

 

I have owned my 06 TL, No NAV, 5AT, Anthracite Metallic, since May of '06. It's never been back to the dealer. I have had no problems, and the quality is excellent.

 

Product Quality --> Honda Motor Co.

Service Quality --> Dealerships

If you enjoy the quality, which most people here do, but dislikes the service you are receiving from dealerships, then
1) find another dealership
2) go to a non-dealer for service

Complaining here or contacting Honda Motor is not going to do a thing. Unless you can somehow gather up the disatisfied customers and come up with statistical numbers that has a good representation of TL owners in this nation.

I would suggest #2 because Honda Motor WILL KNOW if people are leaning toward non-dealer. This is when Honda will seriously consider implementing new system to improve services at the dealership, or start lowering customer satisfaction bonus; both of which will have some level of "punishment" to their dealerships. Honda tracks their customer's dealer/non-dealer proportion every year.

 

I really love to drive the TL and for me it is very comfortable and fun to drive car and it has the best sound system I have owned for a car; however, overall I have been a little disappointed in my TL purchase.

The reasons:

Rattles: This is the sixth Honda product I have owned (90 Integra, 91 Accord, 96 Accord, 98 CRV, 04 Odyssey, and my 06 TL) and it has more rattles than the previous five combined.

Leather: Poor quality leather for a luxury brand. I have not experienced any cracks, but the rear seat where my 80 lb, 10 year old son sits has a butt impression…..

Air system: I have had mold/must odor problems and they have replaced the filter and sprayed some deodorant/anti-bacterial into the system about 1 month ago. I have not had a problem since then.

Battery: Failure of the battery when only 1 week old and they just charged up and did not replace. I have not had a problem since then….weird.

Things I would change on the TL:

Ditch the useless fog lights and allow them to be used as DRLs like up north in Canada – that’s what they are for anyway. Better quality leather and ditch the vent holes in the leather. Better quality control for rattles. Better range on the remote. Allow us to defeat the ability to open all the windows with a second push on the key fob through the computer selections. Provide a selection on the radio where the “channel” button on the steering wheel would be a search, instead of the next programmed channel.

Things I would not change: Just about everything else!!!!

And – my dealer has been great for service and taking care of my problems – kudos to Jay Wolfe Acura in Kansas City.

Would I buy again – maybe – I might have purchased the Accord EX instead, but I really hated the color selections.

 

Over-all I like my car but have had some problems... As soon as I drove off the lot I noticed a ticking sound in the engine. I drove back and was told they wouldn't give me a new car but had to make an appointment to have it checked. Well 27 days later and I ding I couldn't prove they put there (apparently it could have gotten there the 5 minutes I drove off the lot) I had a rebuilt engine on my brand new car! As much as it sucks it is working fine now but I am taking it back in for rattles in the interior. Service sucks when you really need something done, otherwise they kiss your ass and send you about 5 surveys. Like I said I like the look of my car, it has decent power, good handling and the price is good compared to similar cars like the BMW. But it would be nice if they stand behind their work and admit when they are wrong…even if it costs them money. So you’ll like the car but be very lucky if you are not getting things fixed 3 or 4 times.

 

Got my 2007 TL S a month ago... after 1,700 miles, I have zero quality complaints. Came out of my 2nd Infiniti FX35, which was great quality... neither FX needed to go back to the dealer for anything warranty related. But after 6 new Nissan / Infinitis in 12 years, I gave up on the terrible customer service with Infiniti Financial (I do not speak Hindi well) and told flat out "no you can not speak to a manager".

The dealer experiences at sales times were tragic, and when my 05 got hit in December and I went to trade it in, the Infiniti dealer did not want to be bothered to take the insurance check and the car and put me in a new one. They said "come see us when you get that all resolved".

In all honesty, Acura dealer experience has not been stellar either, but I figure if I get a quality car, it is a moot point.

Anyway, I am very pleased with the looks, the performance and the comfort of my new TL Type S. The only alternative would have been a Lexus IS 350 but a 3.5 Nav car was over $44,000. German is out of the question, I hear terrible things from my friend with an ML and CLK convertible about non-covered warranty repairs like condensation in the mirror signals, non warranty-covered bolt replacement to adjust alignment, and Mercedes USA said "that's how it is". Still, he continues to buy MB.

Not me.

Very pleased with Acura, as I suspected I would be.

 

After 3 weeks in my 07 TL w/NAV, I am extremely happy. This is my fourth Acura, (two MDXs and one RSX previously bought) the dealer is pretty good as far as meeting my needs. Now that we have another dealer in Vegas coming on board this month, I expect even better service; finally , some competition!

Overall, the TL is just about the best car for the money that's out there. I know folks who have the Beemers and MBs and they spend more time in the shop then they do driving the damn things. Honda/Acura is rated highly by JD Power, Consumer Reports, and other pubs for their quality.

 

Very happy. No major problems. Lots of fun modding.

 

Just got my new 07 TLS today, so this is not a good thread to read. However, I did my homeowork and absolutely love the car I drove off the lot this afternoon, and am hoping we'll have many safe, happy miles ahead.

 

I had mine 4over a year now w/no problem so far.

 

Got a new '05 in April '05 and have loved every minute driving the car, even with the auto tranny (spouse's requirement ).
It's faster than I can drive, handles well at 8/10ths (haven't tried more extreme driving), is quiet, feels refined and has a nicer interior than everything else close to its price range with decent performance. I expect a car to be rattle- and trouble-free with no more than one warranty visit to the dealer for any car I consider; haven't had a warranty issue yet with the TL. Great mileage at speed on the freeway.
Oh, and the stock TL is a great looking car too, although exterior style was not high on my list of priorities (I seriously considered getting a TSX and a Mazda RX-8 too... ...before spouse asked for an auto transmission...).

 

As a follow up and shorter answer, I find it to be slightly above average. I owned a 04TL, 06TL and now an 07 TL. 04 was horrible for fit.finish issues. 06 was very much a solid car. The 07 is fairly solid except for a few creaks and rattles. I have 2 fixed and 2 to go. The remaining creaks rattles are minor, small back deck vibrations under certian heavy bass. And the passenger seat creaks during acceleration/deceleration (stop if it is moved almost all the way forward or someone sites in it) that appears to be comeing from the mounting/track system.

 

Wow! Man, after reading some of these horror stories, I am glad I bought my '06 TL - BEFORE I read all of this!!! I might have went IS or G and missed out on a wonderful car! I absolutely love my car!!! It's NBP and when cleaned up it is easily one of the best on the lot where I work! I love the performance and I am constantly learning new things about what it can do as I drive it. I bought mine in November of 06. I have owned 3 Acuras: '92 Legend L, '03 TL-S, '06 TL. I still own the Legend and the present TL, and traded the '03 for my daughter's '07 Mazda3 (which is a hella good car for anyone with a teen/college student!).I also love this forum! Very informative for mods and service issues!

I know that there are a lot of people on here with problems. But I also know that I am not alone as being one with a good one either! There will be problems in any batch of "mass produced items", and cars are no exception. The same can be said of service. That's why they have ratings. You go to some places and they are shitty and make everything out to be your fault. But Rosenthal where I live at has consistently been very helpful in making me a happy Acura owner. They took care of a warranty issue on my 03 TL-S when the warranty had expired (time wise) and they didn't have to. They would always give up the complimentary car wash and were very informative about all problem issues. I'm very happy with my dealership! By the way, remember that Mazda3 I mentioned I bought for my daughter? I got it from Brown's in Alex., Va and I just wanted to say THAT IS A DEALERSHIP THAT SUCKS!!!! Ok, I got that out...I'm back now...where was I? Oh yeah...

I LOVE MY '06 6MT NBP TL!!!!!!!!!

 

Hehe, I came from a Mitsubishi Eclipse and a Jeep Wrangler. I had to take my TL in for service, there was some kind of sheild that was rattling around the right front half-shaft. I've been around cars my whole life and honestly i had problems placing the noise and they found it. The driver rear marker light adhesive came loose, they fixed that. Oh recently one of the plastic adjustment switch covers on my seat broke. Its like a $2 part.

I have 20k miles on it in 1.5 years. I really like the car a lot. Service wise, the only thing I can come close to complaining about is i had to take it in twice for the alignment. When I got a rental, I was offered a cavalier or some low end crap car and I had to pay for the upgrade to something else for 5 days. (The shield thing that was rattling had to be ordered)

Seriously, my eclipse started to fall to junk after 21k miles. My jeep went through 2 rear ends, 2 trannies and 1 transfer case before its warranty was up. Ok, i was a little hard on it but still! The Acura has treated me well. I'm happy.

 

Oh i meant to say something about this too. I completely agree, I had a 97 jeep wranger. Was the first year of the new style "TJ" with coil suspension and such. It had plenty of problems. The first model year of cars where its largely a redesign, always have the most problems. So were going to start over again in MY '08

 

I am the second owner of my 04 tl. I got in November of 2007 with 52000 and it's just now july with 62000. I have had a resistor replaced in my ac unit which was causing my ac to blow super super slow. I also have had a battery and battery cable replaced. My power steering is horribly loud in weather below 55 degrees. My car also shakes just before I get to fourth gear. Rattles are common, especially in the cup holder area as well as the rear deck. Other things aside, I am still happy with the car.

 

Don't you think its a pretty stupid design to make the customer have to count gas cap clicks to be sure its closed?

 

At age 65 I have owned more cars than most of the members here. I thing the Acura is a pretty damn good car. I have an '01 and an '07. I just came off of three Maximas in a row that I put between 103,000 and 155,000 miles each on. My '01 TL has 115,000.

Some comments on previous posts. One noted a noisy strut problem. I got my '07 TL used. I have a noise diagnosed as a noisy strut. It has been ordered and will be a warranty item, as well as a wrinkled rear seat.

Acura service? Excellent at my local dealer. Not all dealers are good, no matter what the brand.

If you come to forums for information, one should be advised that many come to forums just to bitch about things. It's a fact of forum life and should be understood.

Love my TL's!