Hi,
As of right now I have a 2nd gen TL-S (planning on doing the AV6 swap), and was wondering if an Automatic 3rd Gen TL-S has as many transmission problems like the 2nd gen does. If not, would any of you recommend it as a daily? And what does the maintenance/reliability look like all around?

Thank you

 

I'm pretty sure they fixed most of the transmission issues in the TL-S as it came out in 07-08 after they switched the transmission design up from the previous more flawed 04-06 transmissions. As for general maintenance they are a 18-19 year old car so some stuff will obviously be aging out but in general they seem pretty reliable at least on the major axes. The main things I have found to fall apart are suspension components (ball joints, lower bushing, struts, engine mounts) and sometimes some of the timing components will wear out (mainly the tensioner). They also like to develop an oil leak from the valvetrain gasket. One other thing to note is that these cars have a lot of electronic/luxury features and these seem to often be the things that break down over time. Nonessential things such as the mirror actuation, dimming mirrors, and the navigation unit/lightbulbs/memory seats/bluetooth will slowly degrade over time and will likely be nonfunctional in some capacity on any 3rd gen you buy.

 

Get an 07/08 Base or Type S and you'll be set for a while