I have a pearl white 2005 Acura TL 5 speed automatic with 75,000 miles. I will go through the last month of issues, problems related with the car, and solutions to the issues I have had. I bought this car due to the fact it is Japanese, and it is supposed to be a reliable/long lasting car with great resale. It has not been reliable at all.

Problem #1-Cracked Dashboard-My dealer-Esserman Acura replaced this under warranty last week even though my car is out of warranty. I was very happy with this as it was an eyesore every time I got into the car. When I drove it at night, I realized that several lights are now not working in the buttons adjacent to my navigation which they should have checked after they put it back in.

Problem #2-Warning light for airbag-While it was in for the dashboard, I told them that the airbag light was on. Mechanic replaced a seatbelt sensor which was supposed to be the issue. Got the car back, drive it down the street and sure enough the airbag light went back on.

Problem #3-Excessive road noise (Sounds like I am driving with bad tires) at any speed over 10mph. Especially when making a sharp right turn. I had directional tires on the car which the dealer said is a big no-no, so I thought that was the issue. I spend $500 on brand new Sumitomos, get on the highway, and it is STILL THERE! So when I took the car in for the dashboard, I told the service writer. He told me his mechanic could check it out, but they have to charge me $150 which will be refunded if I have them fix my car. I had a feeling it was a bad wheel bearing, but I wanted to be sure, and I figured if it is a wheel bearing, they will charge me amout $150 to fix it so no problem, right? WRONG. The service writer calls me back and tells me the front left wheel bearing is bad, and he also needs to change the hub if you have a bad bearing. I say OK how much. He says $575+tax for each side, and he knows the left one is bad, and thinks I should change the right one too just in case. So $1150+tax. I say I will call him back. I check online, and the parts are $220 retail for BOTH! I called him back and tell him I found the parts for this amount, and there is no way I am spending that much in labor. He says well you should REALLY have an Acura certified technician to do a job like that. I tell him my fathers best friend is the pit captain for an ALMS protype car, and he will have no problem working on my car FOR FREE! They are fixing it now. The wheelbearing was FROZEN into the socket. They almost had to cut it to get it out.

Problem #4-Whining (Sounds like a bad power steering belt or pump) on really cold days at startup. Goes away after about 10 minutes of hard driving. I read somewhere on this site that it could be a power steering O-Ring?

Problem #5-Headlights are very foggy-having that fixed today for free

Problem #6-Clearcoat is peeling on the front bumper and a little on the hood which is odd due to the fact I get my car waxed once a month, and washed once a week-every 2 weeks.

Problem #7-My belt (black) wore a stain into the drvers seat which sux (Tan seats).

What a miserable experience with this car.

 

Shit, just found out while my car was up in the air today that one of my wheels is slightly bent

 

WOW! What a huge difference. The wheel bearing was frozen in the knuckle, and took some time to get out. Had the Acura dealership done it, they would have had me replace the whole front left suspension to avoid getting the bearing out. The car rides like a dream now. The headlights look great, even though I know I will have to get them redone every year.

 

99 cent fix....less than 5 minutes to replace.

Here's the P/N:

91345-PAA-A01 (should be orange) #13 in diagram

 

Yup. I will be ordering the part soon. I had the PS flushed for now, and put fresh fluid in.

 

go to the dealer and get a O-Ring for 96 Cent's Including taxes! It's a red one. lol When I and my mechanic changed it in 5 minutes next morning it was gone ;-)

 

Hopefully he's fixed it by now lol.