I bought a 2008 TL as my first car and was excited. However, owning this car is turning out to be more of a hassle and it's sucking the money out of my bank.

In less than 2 yrs, I have:

1) replaced a tire because there was a bubble on the side wall - I was told because I probably hit a pothole (I live in NYC) and warranty didn't cover. Paid ~ $200.

2) replaced the condenser because there was a hole in it - I was told because I probably kicked up some rocks while driving and warranty doesn't cover damage caused by road conditions. Are you kidding me? I've never heard of anyone having problems with their condenser until it's really old or condensers that break so easily. Paid ~ $675.

AND now,

3) will have to replace the rim because it's dented - again, because of potholes. So it's out of my own pocket to get that fixed too that will cost ~ $400 if I get it done at Acura, which I won't be.

Tell me Acura is not BSing me. I'm not a horrible driver and have never been in any car accidents in all my 15+ yrs of driving. This is just really frustrating to be spending all this money on repairs on a VERY new car.

 

1) That is not the fault of the car or Acura. That is the fault of the tire manufacture or you hitting something in the road.

2) Rocks will damage condensers all the time. Stop tailgating people. Again not the cars fault but the driver.

3) Again DRIVER. NOT Acura, or the wheel or tire problem. Learn to not hit things.

Seems to me your Acura has been problem free other than issues you caused.

Warranty means problems with the car that was a hardware defect and not by abuse or damage that you caused. No manufacture would warranty the items you mentioned. Now if you got the TIRE/Wheel Road Hazard for the extra $500 or whatever it is, they would cover it.

 

Anything that is tire or wheel related is NOT the car's fault nor the dealer's responsibility. They're the same rubber that is on everyone else's cars. I have hit many potholes the past two years and have thankfully not bent a rim or blown a tire. But if I did do damage, I could only blame myself for not paying attention to the road conditions.

If you bought the car brand new from the dealer and the tire had a defect, then they should have helped you out... it's really up to the dealer,though. My gf has had her tired replaced under warranty(by pontiac, before they went under). They said it was "out of round."

As far as the condenser goes, I have never heard of anyone having that problem on these cars... so, it doesn't sound like a common issue or design flaw. Although, I DO feel your pain on dropping the $$ on it.

Sounds like you've just had some bad luck.

 

pimpin-tl beat me to it... good luck in these upcoming winter months. For those of us in Chicago and New York, especially.

 

Another thing that doesn't add up. How can this be your first car if you have been driving for 15 years?

 

Parents cars, gf's cars, rental cars etc maybe. Or maybe he meant first new car.

 

All driver error. Thats like me trying to go into the dealership expecting them to change my front windshield after this semi chucked a massive rock at me....not going to happen.

 

First of all, I'm a she.

And second, it's my first NEW car so I'm still learning the ropes of owning one and taking care of it. Help me here!!

Considering the number of potholes in NYC, I actually did get road hazard protection after replacing that tire from Firestone for $120 for all 4 tires.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Altho Izzy, I'm not an unreasonable person. Your comment is not appreciated.

 

Regarding the tires and wheels...it's gonna happen seeing as your in NYC. Just drive slow and don't hit things...but when you do hit things, hit them slow. You can probably get a new rim (or new to your car) rim for a steal on ebay or even the black market here.

The A/C condenser seems a little gray to me. Maybe your dealer was being stubborn or they weren't approached the correct way. Either way, it sucks. Cars are money pits sadly.

 

Condenser could have been claimed under car insurance policy, similar to a broken windshield. The wheels on the TL are certainly not the strongest and most durable as you have found out, and I have too, bent two after hitting a pothole that was in the shade under a bridge.

Watch out for curbs when street parking. Those rims don’t hold up very well when rubbing against the curb.
Good Luck and be careful.

 

Next time, go oversize in your tires, to 245 or 255, they'll bulge out slightly over the rim and protect it. I put 255's on two tire changes back and I haven't had a rim strike since. Besides, they look better on the car. Won't help with holes, though. I bent a rim because somebody forgot to backfill or cover a utility cut in the road that you couldn't see until you were right on it.

 

Sorry to hear about your disappointments. Sounds like your expectations
exceed reality a bit.

A few hours reading the warranty and owners manual will work wonders.
The warranty is a good thing but can't cover any and everything. I hope your
luck changes and you get to enjoy your car more. All cars are expensive if you
drive them and take care of them.

 

Any car with Large rimss and a big offset runs the risk of bending them. I have 2 of them on my CL-S. Paid $278 each to replace them. My dealer told me straight up that they see this problem all the time and that it's really bad on the 04+ TLs

Think of it this way

width of tire
**************
**************
\----------------/
|
|
|
[
|
|
[
|
|
|
/----------------\
**************
**************
^^^^^^^^^^^
Force applied at the right end where there is no support and bam, bent rim

[ = lug nuts
* = tire
| \ / - = rim
^ = force from pothole



As for the condenser I would have asked them to SHOW ME where the the rock hit was...that way there can be NO DOUBT as to what really happened..Some dealers are shady and will take advantage of ladies and you have to be smart when dealing with them if you think something is up

 

Hey, well I didnt mean you were unreasonable but trying to get the dealer to take care of these things is not going to happen. Of course they watch their numbers closely, especially with slow sales so they will chuck off as much driver created things as possible. You do have to know whats up when you go into the dealer, dont let them bully you but watch the road, Chicago is horrible cant imagine NYC. Good luck!

 

The truth hurts. Izzy is right. Blaming these problems on the car is extremely unreasonable.

 

let's give the lady a break here,
1: she's a newbie- let's cut here some slack and welcome to AZ
2: Women tend to get screwed by mechanics and dealers more often(for repairs that is) due to the notion of them not knowing anthing about cars,
3: The tires and rim repairs are unfortunatley results of poor roads, (they're even worse here in Montreal), just be careful and look out for the potholes on the road!

So some advice if I may, if you have a repair to do before going to get it fixed come to AZ and ask some questions so you can be well more informed and then they might not take advantage of you girl.

Peace!

 

TonemanTLS...I agree thats why I was a little nicer in post 14. I thought it was some dude driving like crazy beating on a precious TL but it is a girl who has been through some rough roads thats all. AZiners are here to help

 

Izzy not slamming you at all, my first impression was the same, just trying to be nice, TL-S rule!

 

i hit a really bad pothole like 2 days ago thought for sure there was damage not a dent scratch nothing now i learned my lesson driving will deff be more carefull

 

None of those problems sound like the fault of the car or it's performance. I also never had any of those issues when I owned a truck.

 

I agree with everyone else, but would like to add my in regards to the condenser.

It isn't exactly common to see them get damaged, BUT, they are located right behind the bumper, and infront of the radiator. That said, take a look at any condenser on a car, that's exposed. You'll see all sorts of debris and minor damage (bent fins, etc). Additionally, small rocks/stones/etc can, and will, damage them enough to cause a hole and leak if hit with enough speed, the right angle, etc. Hell, one time we had a bird that hit one so hard it caused a leak (and the bird died and was still stuck in it )

That said, this is def not warranty work/factory defect, but I won't hammer that point anymore.

 

I don't know if she'll be back, 2 posts might be it.

If you do come back, if you primarily drive the city, you could consider talking to a tire expert to see if there is an alternate tire size that would be less prone to bottoming out on the rim.

Also, make sure your tires are correctly inflated. I know you've got TPMS, but if you are running on the low side, that could be the problem.

Other than slowing down, there's not much else you could do.

 

That's it in 2 years? Sounds like you've gotten off easy.