In my thread below labled "low oil pressure light", I stated that our 2007 TL-S has developed a low oil pressure problem. The low oil pressure warning light on the speedometer is now flashing like a turn signal indicator. It has only been in the shop for two days, but the dealer has no idea what the problem could be. They claim to be waiting on advice from Acura technical support, but have not come up with any answers. The more I think about this, the more it worries me. I feel that it is ridiculous to worry about these sorts of problems on a new car that cost us $38,500.

We have owned this car for slightly less than three months and have only accumulated 3100 miles on it so far. It made an alarmlingly loud screech one morning when started cold. It has only made this noise three times, and each occurrence happened during the cold start, the last time was yesterday morning, and the dealership service personnel witnessed it this time. The drivers memory system has reset or disappeared several times. The front suspension and rear suspension are both producing knocking noises, and they are getting progressively louder each day.

Do you guys feel that it is justifiable to ask the dealer for a replacement car, or should I wait for three attempts - 30 days to fix this myriad of problems, and then persue the lemon law? I really don't even want this particular car any more, and my wife no longer trusts it for even basic transportation.

Thanks for your help,
Lee

 

Sounds to me like you've got a few gremlins. Maybe it'll all work out. But maybe not.

Just in case, you need to find out the specific requirements of the Lemon Law in your state. You don't just get to walk into the dealer and ask for a new car. Do a Google on "Lemon Law YOURSTATE".

I say, CYA by inusring you comply with any required Lemon Law notifications now. If you wait, you might be SOL.

 

I have researched the Lemon Law for my state, and it states that a dealer must make three attempts at a fix, or the vehicle must be out of service for repairs at their facility for 30 days within the first year.

Several members here have suggested that I demand a new replacement vehicle, but according to the law here, I can't make that demand until the above requirements are met. I am just biding my time until one or the other occurs, then I will notify Acura via certified mail that I wish to persue the Lemon Law.

Since several members and friends have mentioned a new replacement vehicle, I thought someone may have actually been successful at obtaining one.

My dealer still has no idea what the problem is with the low oil pressure or the squealing noise.

 

WOW, I don't want to worry you but low oil pressure on a new unbroken in car is bad. I would demand a new car. I am worried about that screeching noise being rings or something internal. That really sucks. Get ahold of Corp. Acura. My nephew bought a new 07 Civic Si 2 door. He had a whinning noise up front. Long story short. They replaced the entire front drivetrain. Still noises. On the 4th visit they replaced the 6 speed trans! My nephews first new car. We were all very pissed. And I was embarrasssed telling him how good Honda's are. After a couple phone calls and a couple months, Honda gave him a 100,000 mile 7 year warranty on the entire car.

Heres the car

 

JD,
Thank you for your reply. I have built enough engines to know the consequences of a loud squealing noise on a new one. I have seen first hand the reasons why new engines make unusual noises, and none of them are good. I have seen the rod journals filed down so that new bearing inserts could be installed, and have seen Loctite used to secure bearings within bores to secure them after they have siezed. There is really no way to know what damage has been done to my engine without a complete teardown and inspection, and I have no doubt that the dealership will take the very cheapest way out to fix this problem. I have asked them to save any damaged parts for my inspection. Once I know the root of the problem, I will have a clearer picture of the possible consequenses for my engine.

The simple fact is that I really can't legaly demand a new car until the dealership has kept mine for a total of 30 days for service (within the first year), or has made three attempts to fix the same problem without success. Dealerships are in this business solely to make money, not to be nice to their customers. Big business and making big money have very little in common with bieng human or "nice", and they will use every tool at their disposal to rid you of your money, or to retain more of their money. They will not just give you anything unless required to do so by law, and even then an attorney is usually required to force their hand into doing the right thing. The owner of that dealership could care less if I had thumb my way to work, so long as their daughter gets that new horse she has been wanting, or his son gets that new dirtbike. Right now, I have no legal leg to stand on, and can only make things worse by losing my temper.

You better believe that I am pissed, but expressing my anger to Acura Corporate or the dealership at this time will not achieve the desired result. They would be much less likely to work with me right now if I fly off the handle and start yelling or making demeaning statements about the quality of their product. If the dealership is able to cure the low oil pressure and squealing, then I will at that time call Acura and ask for a greatly extended warranty term.

I will not hesitate to use the Lemon Law to my advantage when and if the opportunity presents itself. I have notified my attorney of this situation, and he is very willing and ready to take them on when the time is right.

 

Want to know something funny? My wife had the exact same color, si etc....in an '06. Within the first 30 days, that car was in the shop for more than 10 days. They had to replace the rear windscreen, had to remove the headliner to attempt to fix a rattle, had to re-tighten the fabric on the drivers seat (she only weighs 110).....really a disappointment....Got rid of it with less than 2,000 miles....

All this after her brand new '06 Honda Accord master brake cylinder failed at 1,800 miles...while she was going down a hill to our house...

 

Wow this is a little scary. I didn't mean to yell and get pissed at the dealer. Definately be nice, its not their fault. I just meant to make sure you get some type of extended warranty. My nephew was very calm, but reminded them about the lemon law. And told them if it doesn't get fixed the last time, they better order another new car. After everything was fixed, he contacted Honda and they took a while, but gave him a free long warranty. Even Honda's have duds. Good Luck cbronze07

 

cbronze .. i don't know what the finer details of your state's lemon law are, but in illinois, the problem also has to be a major driveability issue or a major saftey-related issue --> in order for the lemon law to be invoked.

My issue that I fought three years ago was my three failed transmissions in my TL-S... since it was outside the 30 day criteria for being in the shop, I invoked the BBB and invited them to help me arbitrate with Acura/Honda. They were effective in "getting Acura's attention." Because, up until contacting the BBB, Acura just laughed at my claims that my car was a death trap.

If your oil levels stay constant but the oil light comes on, that may not necessarily fall under at least MY state's criteria for invoking lemon law. best of luck

 

I had Mazda buy back a RX7 Turbo years ago and they discounted a few dollars for mileage used, which was to be expected.

Having said that, over the years I have found that dealers won't try to patch a problem on a new vehicle, or one still in warranty. It's easier and more benfecial for all concerned that if internal damage is evident, they will replace the engine as it's quicker and less aggrevation. Hopefully they will find the problem and rectify to your liking. Hey, no matter what manufacturer, problems occur, although we don't believe they will ever happen to us.

 

cbronze07 - What state are you in ? I just went through the Lemon Law process in southern California and won. California is a very pro-consumer state. It was painless.

All I did was fax over all my repair orders and 4 months later turned in my car and picked up a check. The law firm reviews the repair works and detrmines if they will take your case. They are cherry pickers so if they take your case, you most likely will win. Once I got the check, I swore of German cars and went 07 carbonze bronze pearl TL-S.

 

OC Acura,
I live in Tennessee. I have experienced the BMW monthly service dept. blues as well, and that is why I chose an Acura Carbon Bronze Pearl TL-S. For as much of a pain as the BMW 330ci was, it never treated me as badly as this Acura. I hope you have good luck with your new TL-S, because it is a very nice car.

The dealership told me that they are tearing in to the engine today, and will report back what they find. I really hope this is not going ot be a patch job.

 

I am happy to hear that they are tearing into the engine. MBZ just kept telling me it was the software and kept loading up new software and promising that the transmission was fixed.. I hope that they find something wrong so they can fix it. My attorneys just told me to keep collecting the repair orders and not to tell them that I was litigating. I was hoping that they would get it right because I really liked the car but MBZ could never get it right -

The law firm that I used does not cover Tennessee - I am guessing because the Lemon Law cases are bit more difficult to win there. They told me that if I were in Arizona that they would not have taken my case.

Good Luck. I am hoping Acura finds the problem with 100% certainty and remedies all issues.

 

What part? I'm from Knoxville.

I've only experienced the noisy rear suspension and some intermittent rattles...so far!!! I've not reached the point of no return on liking the vehicle BUT I did expect more from Honda/Acura. I had a tough time with Nissan and decided not to even give Infiniti a shot due to those problems...and I'm sure Infiniti has a similar forum with a similar thread somewhere...and probably Lexus as well.

Maybe we're just expecting too much from these cars. Maybe the American manufacturer simply can't make a quality, quiet, and reliable vehicle anymore...or ever for that matter. Maybe the Western work ethic has spread to the Asian communities and corrupted them too.

Doesn't stop me from LOVING the look of this car...I'll just have to LOWER my expectation levels to meet reality.

 

Well, after keeping our TL-S for 14 days, the dealer service dept informs us today that our car is finished. I asked them what they found, and they said nothing was wrong. They had a factory rep listen to the squeal, and they replied that it was not unusual. I then asked about the low oil pressure light, and they said that they never saw it. No parts were replaced or repaired ( except for the crank case oil), and no real work was done. I will pick it up this afternoon, and will take it right back if the noise is evident, or if the low oil pressure light returns.

This seems to be turning into a nightmare.

 

save all documentation - This counts as a failed attempt to repair.

Hopefully, the noise is evident and the light comes back on, so you can build a rock solid case... it sucks. With my last car, I always happy when they took 7 days to fix the car and told me it was fine. I would drive it for 5 days and realize that it was not fine. back at the shop, more documetation for my case.


I do no mean to sound synical but once a car has issues, it is tough for the dealer to fix it right..

 

They should have tested the oil pressure with a seperate guage to ensure all is well inside.
And then documented the results- that's mechanics 101
They should also have a boroscope inspection camera that goes in the spark plug hole and looks for damage like scoring
What does the receipt actually say??

You could easily have a failing oil pump, and when it lets go- well like above post said, you have documentation of failed attempt at repair

 

We went to the dealership and picked up the TL-S this afternoon. They refused to let us have the documentation on the service work performed, and said that they were going to keep the "case" open for a few more days. The service manager told us try the car out for two or three days and see if it was "OK" before the "case" was closed. No parts were replaced, and no repairs were made. He also said that they were fully prepared to replace the engine, but the Acura rep would not let them do it because they could not find any physical damage.

The dealership personnel also damaged the left rear wheel somehow. There is now a large black streak on the wheel rim where the paint used to be. They denied any responsibility for the damage, and the service manager said "I just cant imagine how we could have done that". They put 100 miles on the car, and the interior was filthy with grease stains on the taupe leather (door panels, console lid, and seats). I spent over an hour just trying to get the stains off the drivers seat, and my wife ruined her new pants by merely driving the car home.

We are both very angry about this experience.