FRST4DR

Yeah I wasn’t mean or rude. She almost sounded like it was her first day on the job. I will call back in the morning and give it another shot.


I'm trying to, this is the only thing that bugs me about the car, if this was fixed I would be content

harddrivin1le

Do your front brakes "groan" just prior to coming to a stop or just after you release the brake to go again?

Mine do- especially when they're cold.

FRST4DR

Very little, and it's not all the time. If I have the radio on at all, I don't hear it.

harddrivin1le

So they do groan, though....?


Is yours a TL-S?

I'm trying to decide whether or not to even bother having the dealer "fix" the brakes if they all do this...Id' be better off replacing the pads once someone comes out with some good ones for the car.

FRST4DR

Right when the car stops and when I let go of the brake they make a groan noise but not all the time and yep I have a TL-S

I hate cars

Seriously, with the quality of work from the dealership and other mechanics, your better off doing it yourself. I replaced my battery myself when it would've been free under warranty because they would've found some way to screw my car up and cost me in the long run. If I can do it for under $500, I'm doing it myself. I'm reserving warranty work for major problems like transmissions.

harddrivin1le

Sad, but often times true.

The local Chevy dealer did a lot of good warranty work for me with the Camaro, though...

Do you have an '07 - '08 TL-S? IF so, do your front brakes "groan?"

I hate cars

No TL-S yet. I'm waiting for the dealer to see things my way... 06 AT with the little warped brakes here.

Chevy always seems to do good work. I had a friend with a 99 Camaro that had a 175 shot and did a 5K clutch drop on drag radials with 4 people in the car. The rear end didn't like that too much. I remember pushing it into a parking lot, stripping the nitrous off and sending it to Chevy. Happened 3 times and all 3 times it was covered and done right. I don't think Acura would do anything as technical as that seeing that they replace transmissions at any sign of trouble instead of repairing/rebuilding.

harddrivin1le

The 10 bolt rear was the weak link in the Camaro's drive train. The positive part was that it's much lighter than a 12 bolt (even more important with a solid axle) and was "fully adequate" for up to ~ 430 FT-LB of engine torque. (The 175 shot brought peak torque way above that.)

That Chevy garage is now a Toyota dealership (a sign of the times).

It's too bad - they even installed my JBL shorty headers for me, my SLP cat-back, my EBC front pads and several other aftermarket items. I'd hand them the parts and they'd be installed - properly - when I picked the car up...

Your earlier reply was enough to make me cancel the appointment to have the dealer "fix" by groaning front pads. I'm going to wait until some aftermarket pads are offered and install them myself. (I just got the Acura manual for that procedure on-line and it looks pretty easy.)

I hate cars

I'm actually surprised Chevy didn't use the 8.5" 10 bolt like the GNs used. I've got a few 1.5 sec 60' times on the stocker and hundreds of 1.6 second 60's without a failure. Only thing I've done is add an Eaton posi. Then again, I'm running an auto without a transbrake so there's probably less shock than a stock LS1 6 speed.

In my early days, I worked at a Lexus/Toyota specialty shop and it was the typical slave driver owner. I argued daily that I couldn't produce quality work up to my standards in the time I was given so I was replaced with a $10/hr kid who only knew how to remove and replace parts but no technical background.

What really got me to realize how little dealership people know was a class I took at the local JC here. Title was "Advanced Computer Controls 2" which consisted of electronics, emissions, and drivability. Very good course to take. The teacher didn't want to let me in because I hadn't taken the two classes under it. After a little argument, he let me in. It was me and all career dealership people mostly from Cadillac and Nissan. After a couple weeks I swore I would never take my car to a dealer if that was all they had to offer. I aced the class and a few of the career guys failed.

Later, right before I got out of the mechanic business, I worked for a friend and engineer that holds a couple land and water records. Working with someone with an engineering background was such a refreshing change. I felt like I should be paying him instead of him paying me for every thing I was learning.

harddrivin1le

I'm a mechanical engineer and I can (and do) learn many things from mechanics and machinists...

The dealership tech stories are sad and undoubtedly true. Like I said, I'll replace these front pads myself once a decent aftermarket pad becomes available for the TL-S.

I always thought a 12 bolt with an aluminum carrier would have been a good choice for the F-body. Either way, I got 80K miles out of mine without having any rear end problems before I sold the car. I'm not a 60' foot guy, though. Most of my hard driving was from speed/open road stuff.

The TL-S should have used the RL's brakes (12.6 F/12.2 R with less aggressive pads for reduced NVH). That's my single biggest gripe about the car - so far. The whole engine "pinging" thing makes me sick, although mine hasn't done it. ( I worry that I may be running a retarded spark without knowing it, though.)

I see all of these newer, high content cars as being 4 year/50K cars, provided that the warranty goes for that long. They will be a maintenance nightmare and a bank-breaker as the miles and years role on and I'm at the point where I don't feel like screwing around with DIY repairs anymore.

Didn't the '70 Stage 1 Buick also uses the 8.5" 10 bolt? I always thought that was odd, since my grandfather's '69 350 Impala came with a 12 bolt despite making much less torque (and power).

I hate cars

I'm assuming all TL-S's came with the same programming. I've learned from having my laptop hooked up to the other car that I can't hear pinging until I've got nearly 12 degrees of retard. On that particular car, more than 2 degrees is new headgasket territory with the mods I have. We'll know in a few years when the mileage gets up there and the TL-S's are having headgasket and rod bearing isssues if there continuous slight detonation.

Not sure about the GS's. The 8.5" 10 bolt is nearly bulletproof. No one bothers upgrading until low 10s. Even at that level, the axles twist but the ring and pinion hold up well. So far so good with 620lbs of torque but most of the miles are on drag radials which don't hook well enough to break anything.

I've never looked very closely at the 7.5" 10 bolt in the Camaro/TA twins but I wonder what the difference is other than 1". My friend's car used to break the ring gear stock but when he put 4.11s, the pinion started shearing instead.

harddrivin1le

The factory must be using several different examples of the same device to download the ECU software. I suppose it's possible that some (but not all) of those devices contain(ed) "bad" code.

We both agree that I (and others who aren't hearing the "pinging") could still be running a retarded spark...

I plan on bringing mine in for any TSB/recall that's issued to address this problem, since not hearing the "pinging" doesn't necessarily equate to a properly running car.

It's a fair bet that you are correct that and that ALL of the cars are affected. That being said, it's hard to believe that some could be hearing a lot of pinging with 93 octane while others here none with 91 octane. (That assumes that the retail gasoline outlets are selling fuels that actually meet their minimum rated octane levels, of course.)

joelsaxton

I'm not surprised that lots of TL-S owners have not heard the pinging. It is a very quiet car. A couple times I've almost turned the key because I thought the car wasn't running, since it idles so smoothly and quietly.

I can hear it most clearly with the windows down when I am driving alongside other cars, or near a wall where the sound of the engine has something to bounce off of. But I also hear it sometimes in normal driving with the windows up, too.

harddrivin1le

I wonder if Acura's long term approach to "the pinging problem" will be to pretend that it simply doesn't exist.

If that's the case, I will pretend that Acura simply doesn't exist the next time I buy a car (which will be sooner than I'd originally anticipated, based on what I've experienced and read on here so far).

I've had this car for about 10 weeks now and haven't heard a thing from Acura. No survey, no "Welcome to Acura" B.S. - NOTHING. I can promise them an eye-full if I ever do receive the survey.

joelsaxton

they didn't at least call you?

harddrivin1le

NOTHING.

No call...

No mailings...

NOTHING.

It's almost like they're saying, "You're stuck with it now. So long sucker."

I am keeping this car until it's paid off (34 more months) and I am either going to sell it outright or trade it for a Lexus at that point. I don't have enough confidence in it to own it past the warranty period and most definitely don't want to get stuck with paying for what could break after that period expires.

I don't "hate" the car (and I like it in many ways), but there are simply too many issues going on with TLs in general and Acura's customer relations CLEARLY suck.

My salesman went out of his way to kiss my ass (buying me lunch, etc.) and I can't fault the dealership there. Everything after that has been average to disappointing.

awilson529

Ugh. I received no call either.

harddrivin1le

Acura doesn't care...

Acura can't figure out why people don't view them as being on-par with Lexus. How could people view them as such, given the lack of customer follow-up, their unwillingness to address serious, legitimate issues (e.g. engine "pinging"), etc.?

I bought a Mazdaspeed 3 just before i bought this Acura. Mazda sent me a big survey in the mail, a card thanking me for my purchase, etc. That was frickin' MAZDA! Yet Acura does NOTHING!

joelsaxton

Seems that something must have gone wrong, then. I got a couple calls and some stuff in the mail. I am pretty sure this is not "standard operating procedure".

My only serious gripes: the pinging issue, and Acura's defensive stance when I called in to report the issue.

joelsaxton

No mail, either? That is really weird if they didn't mail you anything. I got all kinds of crap in the mail from them.

If I were you, I'd call them and ask them what's going on.

Bearcat94

Not sure if it is "weird", but I don't know the normal procedure for Acura (or other manufacturers).

Seems to me they don't need to survey every sale. They're selling ~80,000 TL's per year. A good sample will give them a statistically significant population. Anything beyond that is just a waste of money - sending, responding and coorelating an uncecessary survey.

I've NEVER been surveyed for ANY the "Big 3" cars I've owned - 5 all together. I don't recall being surveyed for the 2002 TL-S I purchased. I *was* surveyed for the 3G TL I recently got.

If surveyed for this car again, I'll let 'em know about the pinging. Otherwise, I'm content to figure that they've surveyed enough TL/TL-S owners and, statistically, they don't need my response.

For anybody that didn't get a survery and feels cheated, let down, over looked or ignored - don't you have more important things to worry about? Get over yourselves, huh?

awilson529

No mail, no phone call, nothing. I've had it with Acura. I bought an '07 TL-S 6mt. I've had more than several problems with it and I've had it less than 3 months. I'm dumping it in the spring and going to back to Subaru and getting another STi or I'm getting a TRD edition supercharged FJ. I've not been impressed with Acura quality. Not to mention I've been hit twice in the 3 months I've owned it (not my fault either times). The car's cursed.

<<se7en>>

I received one for my 2001 Xterra AND my TL-S. Agree though that not everyone will get one.

Ouch! I think most folks just want more than they've actually received for their money. I have a love/hate relationship with mine. I hate it becuase of all the rattles, rear strut issues, and valve chattering...yet, every other time I'm at the gas station, someone talks to me about how good the car looks, which puts a huge smile on the face and feels a person with pride.

Love / Hate!!

harddrivin1le

Any buyer of a "luxury brand" DESERVES some kind of "Welcome" packet in the mail. A survey should accompany that - assuming the company gives a damn.

Mazda sent me a detailed survey and a "Welcome to the Mazda family" card for my Speed 3.

HONDA sent me surveys for both my '04 and '06 Accords.

I like this car for the most part. What I DON'T like is Acura's "attitude" - particularly when it comes to not addressing this engine "pinging" issue.

joelsaxton

It was the look of the TL-S that seduced me.. I have also gotten many compliments, including a young lady who rolled up next to me, rolled down her window, and said, "nice car!"

<<se7en>>

Was she HOT?

joelsaxton

But still made my day.

Bearcat94

You're right. I appologize to everyone I may have offended ( ) ....







.... Unless you actually believe you DESERVE to be surveyed. :evilgrin:

jay0k

I agree. Land Rover sent my wife several things. The salesman and the GM both sent thank you cards. The dealership sent a nice gift basket from Williams & Sonoma valued at $60. We also received a follow up call from the dealer a week after purchase to make sure everything was good. Land Rover corporate sent us a survey too.

Bearcat94

WOW! That's a nice touch. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Acura step up their game across the entire dealer network and I understand that the buyer would like a little "Thanks, for Buying an Acura" recognition.

I'm just saying that there's a difference between wanting that as a buyer and actually requiring that as person.

IIRC, we did get a $25 gift certificate for the dealer parts store and a dealership "to go" coffee mug. We did get a follow up card from the dealership and/or salesperson. And we have been surveryed (actually more than once). I don't recall what (if anything) we got from Acura Corporate (maybe a "new owner" post card, but I am not sure).

I'm not sure I DESERVED a $25 gift certificate and a coffe mug. But, you guys are right, it was sure nice of them.

Will Y.

Santa Monica Acura sent me a gift basket (with coffee mug) at my work. The salesperson sent a card two weeks later, and the dealership also called by phone somewhere in the first month.

Acura also sent a me survey several months later; then I received a survey from JD Power.

They are so annoying I may have to switch to Saab, which wouldn't even talk to me at the dealership.

I hate cars

I got the survey along with a free trunk liner FWIW.

Bearcat94

I got "surveyed" again today. Via telephone regarding a recent service visit.

They must like me.

sonytl

what does this have to do with the issue?

joelsaxton

It is peripheral. The main issue, as you know, is the engine spark-knock problem in the TL-S - and Acura's apparent failure to address this problem. As this relates to customer service, we were comparing stories to see if Acura's customer service sucks in other areas.

Personally, I have been treated fairly well - with the notable exception of the spark-knock issue, for which Acura's inaction has been pretty disappointing.

joelsaxton

..but if you happen to have any news about what Acura's doing to address the ping problem, we'd all love to hear it

Bearcat94

ayah. Still hoping for a TSB. When Acura called the other day, I was actually hoping it was about my case. Maybe to see how CS handled my call, etc.

I've been thinking about giving it a few weeks and then calling them to follow up.

joelsaxton

Please do. I will call them as well.

Bearcat94

BTW - not hard to figure out who doesn't have pinging and has pulled this thread OT 3 times in 3 pages.

I apologize for any complicity on my part. I'll do better.