Took delivery of a 2005 TL in late September (just a few weeks ago, silver/quartz with navigation.)

A week ago (two weeks after delivery), the odometer stopped recording mileage with about 500 miles showing on display. Immediately called the dealer and took car in, was told it was a speed sensor issue and it would have to be ordered.

Today, I took the car in for the second time to have the sensor replaced. The odometer is still not working. Service rep told me that two additional parts have been ordered, and I'll have to take it in for a third time.

Anyone else have a problem like this?

I like the vehicle. I like the dealer. I've done business with them before and probably will continue to do so. But I'm a little unhappy that an issue like this has popped up almost immedaitely after delivery. And I'm concerned about the impact of a malfunctioning odometer when it comes time to trade the car in....

 

Depending on your state, one or two more times and you have a nice little lemon.

 

you can sell it as ultra low mileage car for more money j/k

 

HeHe... If it were a broken speedometer.. get it fixed immediately. If it's a broken odometer.. It could always wait until next year... or the year after.

I mentioned an Oldsmobile I had in college in another thread. The digital odometer stoped working/recording for an entire summer! Car already had 100,000+ something miles on it so value was already in the crapper. Magically began working again in the fall of that year (I never got it fixed). And it actually started where it stopped. It's not like it was still working in the computer, but not displaying.

 

I've had the car for 22 days and it's been in the shop twice already. My work requires substantial travel. Also I have to track my mileage for work purposes, so it's got to work., and soon.

Of course, it's not just the odometer. The trip meters aren't working. The trip computer (miles per gallon/miles per hour) function isn't working. I question whether the service reminder function will work correctly.

In Florida, after "three attempts have been made to repair the same nonconformity" the lemon law kicks in. I've had the car to the dealer twice now, although the first time I took it in, they didn't do anything other try to diagnose the problem and order a part. The part was installed on the second visit, and the problem was not fixed, so other parts have been ordered (which will be installed on visit #3). Don't know if the three visits all count towards application of the lemon law.

Assuming that the problem is fixed on the next (third) visit, I'm not sure that the mileage shown on the odometer will be correct. My initial understanding is that it will reset to zero miles, and start counting from the repair. Therefore the actual mileage for the car will be unknown, and a potential problem when I go to sell or trade the car, because the incorrect odometer must be disclosed at the time of the sale. I don't know about y'all, but I would hesitate to buy a used car with an odometer issue.

 

A little more research and it looks like one of the parts that has been ordered is part #78100-SEP-A21 which is the "instrument cluster". The other is part #28810-PPW-013 which I have been unable to identify online, but it's the same part that was ordered and installed after the first trip to the dealer and it was described as a speed sendor. I'm not sure what it means that they have ordered the same part again.

 

It could be much worse....
Back in the day, my mom had a 1990 Cadillac Eldorado Biaritz and around 70k miles, the odometer started to add about 20mi./actual mile... So a trip that would usually read 5 miles was showing up on the odometer as 25 miles

Took it to the dealer and they, for the life of them could not figure out what the hell was going on Replaced part after part, when finally they decided to replace the entire 'brain' of the car which solved the problem, but not before the odometer was registering over 220k miles

Luckily, we ended up selling the Caddy to our long time mechanic who knew the issues we were having with the odometer.... He got a good deal on the car and we didn't have to go thru the hassle of explaining to another buyer what the issue was and take a loss on a "high mileage" car.

The next day, mom pulled into the driveway in a brand new Lexus

 

Tallahassee TL...I'm not gonna tell you to wait a year to get it fixed or some story about a friend of a friend who had a '88 X-Y-Z and the odo quit working, because I don't think that's what you came here for.

I do however think you have a legitimate concern in regards to odometer disclosure at time of sale/trade-in. Not sure, but do our TL's have an 'internal' odometer/memory module that continues to keep track of mileage in the event of MID failure? I would think so considering our 3G TLs are essentially 270hp (258 if you're going by the new SAE standard) PCs on four wheels. If I were you, I'd confirm this with Acura and see if when all is said and done...will the actual mileage "magically" appear or will it indeed start at 0 miles again? If the later, I would keep DETAILED service records from Acura and may even consider getting an affadavit from Acura corporate supporting the fact that the odometer malfunctioned. Would probably go a lot smoother at time of disclosure.

 

Part #28810-PPW-013 is identified as a "pick-up assembly" on an Acura parts website I found. I have no idea what that means.

As for keeping service records, I have copies of the service orders which include identification of the malfunction and a description of the work performed. They also identify parts ordered and installed.

As much as I like the car (and I bought it after alot of research including reading most of the posts on this site) I won't hesitate to pursue the lemon law option if it isn't resolved soon. I bought the TL because I assumed it would be as reliable vehicle as my previous MDX and several Accords/Preludes I've owned beginning the early 80's. I don't have the ability to leave the car with the dealer for warranty repairs on a routine basis. If that were the case, I'd have just bought a 100,000 mile warrantied Hyundai and saved alot of money.

Anyway, I appreciate the information (and the humor) because I'm feeling a little short of both right now. Thanks for the response guys.

 

Tallahassee,

Have you explained the mileage concern to the Service Rep? I would have asked for a loaner at this point (and a TL loaner to boot) as not to rack up erroneous miles on your TL. I agree with TL Fantasy about the inherit electronic gremlins these ever so technology packed vehicles have become. But being an issue of your business tracking and the potential stickyness of legal ODO issues, I would expect Acura to offer up a loaner. If that is a problem while waiting on the parts, there is FEDEX. Acura can afford that.

I do believe car manufacturers have loosened the quality control reigns in order to enter a technology race. I am just grateful I do not see a Microsoft sticker on the dash and the blue screen of death on my Navi screen.

Hang in there, the TL will be rewarding if this issue is an isolated one.

 

I agree 100% about the loaner being required under these circumstances, they should have offered it. You should also ask!

I had an odometer replaced by the dealer in a VW a few years ago. The new one did start at zero and they certified on my receipt what the final mileage was when the old one died. I was told that was the legal procedure. When I was trading it in, it was not an issue.

Sorry to hear about the problem with your new car. Hope they first give you a loaner and then get it fixed correctly next trip.

 

It's going back in on Friday. I'm getting a loaner. The odometer, which previously didn't register any new miles, now seems to be recoding miles when it wants to. Every now and then the mileage displayed will increase for a mile or two and then stop again. I've driven about 1000 miles this week and the odometer has increased from about 540 miles to about 590.

I've also noticed that the navigation system seems to be having some problems, perhaps related to whatever is causing the odometer failure. As I'm driving along, the screen seems to freeze and no movement registers. After a period of time ranging up to a few minutes, it starts to move, but of course, by then, I'm not in the same location, and it has a hard time figuring out where I am.

For example, today I was driving north on I-75 and then connected and headed west on I-4. The navigation system froze a few miles before I got to the 75/4 interchange, and then by the time it started to react, I was headed west on I-4 and had gone 2-3 miles. It took several minutes for it to figure out I was on I-4, and in the meantime, the map just sort of rotated around. Fortunately, I already knew where I was headed so it wasn't a problem. A few days earlier, on a trip to downtown Orlando, it missed a turn (that's when I figured out it wasn't working correctly) and by the time I realized what happened I was about 20 miles further south than I needed to be.

 

There is something wrong there. I traveled that intersection today with live Navi tracking. The only time I have seen my Navi get 'lost' was driving a new on ramp or a non digitized road in that area.

Lets' hope the issue is isolated and repaired so you can enjoy the TL. Share this info on the Navi as it may assist in the diagnosis. Let us know the findings.

Are you sure there is no Microsoft sticker on the dash?

By the way, Tallahassee, what you do that brings you Tampa way?

Cheers,

Mike

 

Mike,

I was in Tampa on business, a trip I make more frequently than I like. Thanks for letting me know that the navigation system behavior wasn't some normal occurence.

I'm assuming at this point that the problems I'm having are all related to a single cause that can be remedied, but I'm not sure I'm going to be keeping this particular vehicle for long. Failures in electronics are a concern to me because unlike mechanicals, it's hard to tell what's not working. And the long term reliability of the vehicle was one of the selling points for me.

It's a nice ride, but there are others out there....

 

Took the TL to the dealer today. According to what I was told when I picked it up, the odometer was replaced, but it didn't fix the problem. The navigation system issue is still unresolved. The dealer contacted the Acura tech line and Acura has suggested replacement of two (unidentified) sensors, but Acura's apparently not really certain of the cause, so the sensors may not resolve the problem.

The odometer now (incorrectly) shows about 600 miles. Actual mileage is apparently not being recorded elsewhere in the vehicle. The service rep acknowledged that the maintenance reminder system is mileage based, and so it will not be accurate. I was told that the warranty mileage is based on odometer miles.

I'm not sure how to proceed. Even if the problem is fixed so that future mileage is actually recorded correctly, the mileage displayed on the odometer will never be accurate. My "missing mileage" estimate is pretty loose. I'm not sure I noticed the problem the very instant it stopped functioning.

Maybe Acura should buy the car back and take it apart to see what the problem is. Has anyone in Florida successfully gone through a Lemon Law process that resulted in either a refund or a vehicle replacement? I've had the vehicle for less than a month and it's been in the shop three times for the same problem.

 

Just an update for those who were following this thread....

The TL was back to the dealer on November 2 for the fourth time. Whatever parts were ordered on October 21 apparently did not resolve the problem. No mileage is being recorded on the odometer, which now reads 603 miles. None of the mileage-related functions work.

According to the service tech, Acura's tech people started having the service tech swap unidentified working parts from other TLs into my vehicle in an attempt to "troubleshoot" what has actually failed. I'm assuming they are trying to determine whether a part has failed at all, or whether it is some other problem. At the end of the day, the dealer wanted to keep the car to keep "troubleshooting" but I declined and retrieved the car from them. It's pretty clear that whatever has failed is not something easily diagnosed and fixed. I had concerns about leaving the car to be disassembled a piece at a time.

I have nothing bad to say about the dealer or the service department's attempt to fix the car. The salesman called a few days ago to talk to me about it. I've enjoyed doing business with him, and his call reinforced my positive feelings about him and the dealership.

At this point, I'm pondering my next move....

 

Go to the BBB website and file a complaint, it will take them 1 week to get you the packet of information you filed out and the requests they need.

You should not have to keep this car and should be given one that functions properly.

If you dont feel comfortable with that contact a Lemon Law lawyer, your case is EXACTLY why they have those laws.

 

Another update (the last) for those who were reading....

The 2005 TL has been replaced. Although I didn't ask the dealer to get involved beyond attempting to repair the problem, after the last repair attempt failed the dealership contacted me and said they wanted to make things right.

If you've read this thread, you already know that I had a high regard for the dealer. The way they stepped in to deal with Acura on my behalf reinforced the opinion I already had. When you read through a lot of the posts on this board, it becomes obvious after a while that a good dealer makes a big difference in the sales and service experience. Maybe it's more important to deal with a reputable dealership than to save a few hundred dollars on the car purchase.

The reason for the electronics system failure was never identified, but based on my review of the Internet and Acura's inability to quickly identify the cause, it doesn't look like it's been repeated in anyone else's experience or is anything that should give pause to someone considering buying a TL....

 

Glad to hear it was resolved appropriately. As much as I like he TL, it is an imperfect machine. More importantly that affirming your suspicions that this was a rare / unique issue, is that the dealership stepped up to the plate and went to bat. Although it would have been ltoo ong for my patience, better to start anew with a another TL than worry more gremlins were lurking with your lemon. No car is perfect, but it good to hear a tale of an Acura owner done right.

Hopefully the new TL will reward you as the 1st one should have. Consider the 1st TL the 'practice' TL and all future aggrevations have already been spent.

 

I expect them all to have problems. The true measure of the transaction is how the problems are taken care of. You chose a great dealer. Hope you can now enjoy your new car!