Tripp11

Not only should you call your dealer and talk to your service manager if you're displeased with the tires/vibration, you should also call ACS and start a customer complaint file on your VIN. The key is documenting the complaints and having a record....that is if you haven't done this already.

Lore

At the end of my conversation with ACS on Friday (spoke with someone named Lane), they told me that currently the only recourse for customers who are sick of waiting for the proposed fix to come through the pipeline is to have the service manager @ the dealer contact the district manager and ask for a one-time goodwill tire replacement.

neversat

Good luck- I tried this several times with all parties very aware of the problem.

Tripp11

Not that anyone cares but my plan relative to the tires is as follows:

At first, give the EL42's a try when I pick up my car Feb. 6th and see if any vibration issue exists. Plenty of forum members here are rightfully complaining about the tire; however, there are a large majority of people who probably think the tire is fine as is. Plus, I'll make a judgment on whether the tires are suitable for driving conditions here and my driving style.

If they don't work well or aren't up to par or have the vibration, I'll start my complaint log with ACS and my service department.

Then I'll take my happy arse down to a tire store and put on either the Continental Conti-Extremes, Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S's, or the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's.

As I'm leasing the car, I'll just store the EL42's away and put them back on the car a few months before I turn my TL back into Acura.

godfreyl

I had Acura CS tell me last week that something is in the works on the tires. But, the guy I spoke with wanted to make sure he had my VIN and spedific complaint. Made me wonder if this is strickly a case by case recall?

Lore

And what were the results of these conversations?

neversat

The results were as follows: Acura Dealer said Acura regional has sent out a memo that states not to replace any customer tires due to this issue and that Acura will be replacing the tires of these vehicles soon. I was told that it would most likely be a BS tire and my guess is that it will be the same tire with some sort of update or "fix".

Lore

That's interesting -- which dealer was this? I'll follow up with my dealer soon enough.

neversat

Marin

rhaas

I've got a set of EL42's in the garage if anyone wants to buy them..........LOL

Seriously, mine are stacked in the garage waiting for some confirm that Acura will replace them and/or reimburse. If replacement is the option, I will take my EL42's to the dealer for a swap out and also for a reimbursement of the $60 that my dealer charged me to mount/balance my Pzero Nero's. Then the replacements will be headed to eBay assuming they are Bridgestones.

The EL42's are garbage!!!

Ryan

Lore

I heard from my service manager (Oakland) that the district managers are different for the Peninsula and the East Bay dealers. That said, who knows, maybe the district manager will go ahead with the goodwill replacement.

neversat

The guy I met with covers all of CA and Hawaii.

Lore

Okay, I talked to the service manager at Oakland.

He said that the district manager called him up this weekend to ask if he had any customer complaints about the tire flat spotting/vibration problem. And of course, I was the first official complaint at Oakland Acura so the manager shared this with the regional manager. The regional manager had never heard of it before, but he got some information from Acura about a special program through each of the dealers to replace the tires. Beyond, that there's not a whole lot more information.

Of course, we all know that this information has been announced over and over again, and all I'm really doing is confirming the announcement. So as soon as I hear from the service manager (he's supposed to get back to me when he hears more from the DM) I'll post here.

mrtech

Lore - I complained about the slight vibration also (in Oakland and in Concord). They both did not find any issue as mine is very slight and normally is negligable when tires are warm. Although I did not talk to Jim, the vib issue is on record.

hdrasin

As was kindly suggested, I called Acura today to file a complaint. They said they are aware of complaints about EL 42 tire, but they stated that, this was a "normal product characteristic." He further stated that there is no recall planned at this time, but their engineering staff is reviewing the matter.
I told him I will give them a week before I replace the tires on my own. I also made it clear to them that spending $1000 for a new set of tires would make me VERY angry. Any suggestions on good replacements that dot't vibrate as much?

dcarlinf1

According to my dealer the following WILL happen.

1. Beginning Feb 1st all TL's will come equipped with a new tire that doesn't flat spot. I don't know what tire that is.

2. Beginning Mar 1st Acura will replace the tires for the people who complain about the flat-spotting problem. I am first on my dealers list to get new tires I don't know what kind of tires yet. He left me a voice mail and didn't include that information. I will call him later today.

3. Parts are on their way across the pond to repair the seat memory loss problem. I am on that list as well No ETA, but sounds like it will be soon.

So, be patient on the tires/ memory loss issues and call your dealer to get on "the list".

daveinmass

I'm in Massachusetts, west of Boston about 40 miles.

My dealer could not have been more professional in dealing with my tire vibration issue. Dealer is Acura of Auburn. They replaced the Bridgestone's with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's after I had about 2000 miles on the car. No hassles, no arguments. I was told that Acura Corporate is well aware of the problem and that the Region Acura representative had the same problem on her TL.

Was also told that Corporate has a fix coming, supposedly in February, to replace the tires with other Bridgestones. I was offered the choice to wait for Bridgestone's or go with Michelin. Easy choice.

I didn't rant and rave at the dealer, demand satisfaction, or anything like that. I suspect I'm a hell of a lot older than virtually all here (57) and learned long ago that the professional approach works far better than anything else.

Did the Pilot A/S's cure my vibration problem? Yes, completely. Do they perform well. Yes. They're great.

Am I happy - completely.

Tripp11

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - approx $199

Continental Conti-Extremes - approx $115

Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S - approx $125

plus mounting and balancing

Tread

Hey, I remember reading that the continetnal's ALSO FLAT SPOT! (per a person from MN, NY and somewhere else).

So if flat spotting is an issue for you, don't get the conti tires.

bigdomer

Tread is correct...the Conti Extreme Contacts do flat spot (or at least they did on the BMW that I traded for my TL). However, this is a semi-performance tire, not an all season radial. The Continental Conti Sports do not flat spot and are an all season tire.

Tread

Bigdomer, I think you have it reversed:


--------------------------
Contisports = summer only tread


-------------------------------------




---------------------------------
contiextreame contacts = all-season



----------------------------------


See this link at tirerack for classifications - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/conti/conti.jsp

Tripp11

My friend has a 330i with the Contisports and he can't move in light snow....they look like a high performance summer tire to me.

Tread

You are correct, they are summer!

nxtr

Check out the Yokohama AVS DB S2 http://yokohamatire.com/TireIntro.asp?TireID=8 look at the pdf specs http://yokohamatire.com/pdf/avsdb.pdf it is recommended the the Acura TL

Acura recommends the AVS ES100 which I have and they suck, I am going to switch to the AVS DB S2 245/40ZR18 larger load capacity and better treadwear.

V/R,
Nick

neversat

Do you have any new info as to what the tires will be?

LED Master

Agreed, this is big news, don't keep it to yourself if you know what tires will be used!

ramilford

Somebody told somebody that something is going to happen someday. This isn't news. We have been reading that here for weeks. I HOPE I'M WRONG, though! I want some great tires on this great car just like everybody else.

dcarlinf1

Believe me, if I knew I would tell you all. I asked and he didn't know....yet. He also said it would probably be 2 weeks before he had additional info. To me it doesn't matter so much what tire Acura chooses. What matters is that I get Michelin's. I've already told my dealer that I really don't care what tire they choose because I want Michelin's. He doesn't see a problem with that. I will continue to ask my dealer and pass along anything that I learn.

dcarlinf1

My dealer told me, a TL owner, that new tires will be on my car in March. This is rather specific. The only question mark is what tire will I get. I understand the skepticism. But, this is not a rumor. He called to tell me what he knows at this point. More info to come in 2 weeks.

VTEC=happiness

Went to have some warranty items fixed on my car yesterday and was told the following:

-Acura has no plan/know intention to change out the tires.
-The road noise and rougher ride is inherent in the car due to sporty suspension (I wanted to punch the guy when he told me that...what a cop out)
-The tech than rode around with me in my car to check some of the problems said "you people need to decide whats more important to you...a nice quiet, smooth ride, or sporty tires....I said, how about both. He giggled.

Gotta love the service...a bit questionable at times.

hdrasin

After talking with my local repair person, who I highly admire, and his tire dealer, I have learned the following: many of the new low-profile cars should not be driven by those over age 40. The problem is the tires in part but also the design of the car. The tire expert suggested the Michelin Primacy tires, which are not all-season tires, but which will have a more favorable, less noisy profile. He states that the trend pattern on my EL 42 use is just too noisy. The other problem is the size of the tire. Something like a larger rim and a smaller tire might help. Something like switching to 16 in. tire and changing the rims might help the ride and the tire would have a thicker sidewall. All of this would have to be done with the permission of Acura, or it might invalidate the warranty. These local experts have heard many complaints from people over the age of 40 about new low-profile cars regarding the unacceptable quality of their ride. That's no big deal for younger people, but a problem for those of us who are over 40. The local dealer service manager said there was nothing he could do, and he referred me back to Acura.
The fact is, I may need to return the car if the ride cannot be made acceptable. It was suggested that car companies should have two different performance packages, one with better cornering and handling for younger people, and another with an acceptable ride quality but slightly poorer handling for older people.
I should hear from a case manager at Acura in two to three days.
So much for the fun of buying a new car!!!!!! I guess I should not have put Lo-Jack in the car.

svtmike

You're joking, right?

dcarlinf1

hdrasin,

Sounds like you want a Lexus and not a TL.

LED Master

hdrasin, boy did they give you a load of crap.

1, the Michelin Primacy are even worse than the EL-42 in terms of tire noise, you can read many stories about this including in magazines, the auto makers that used those tires have stopped!

They may be quite at first, but after 5k or more miles the asemetrical tread patern really starts to hum. That person really does not know his a$$ from his elbo.

2. I had a car before this with 235/45-17 tires, they were yokohama summer tires which are even stiffer, the car road great and solid as a rock, no flat spotting (it use Rayon vs Nylon belts, and michelin uses polyamide vs nylon in the BS tires).

3. While I agree the ride is not couch smooth, the big problem is the tires, those who have switched to Michellin, Perrilli, toyo or Falkons have nothing but good things to say, so it is not the car, but the tire!!! Some of those people are over 40 by the way.

4. Also, many here are over 40. Personally, I love the ride, hate the vibrations caused by the tires!

Sorry they gave you a good line of crap, it should not be this way!

Good luck with your case worker!

csrx

I was about to say the same thing.

huskerfan

If you didn't want a sport sedan, why did you buy the TL? I'm way over 40 and don't want a car that doesn't handle well. That's why I bought the TL over Lexus or some american made battleship. Additionally, the older I get the better I want my car to handle since reflexes slow with age.

eneg

or medication in your coffee!!

Eneg

bayarea2004

From what I gather this is only an issue with the all-season tires, not the summer tires... is this correct?

Yaaro Dhana

The issue is not low-profile tires in general. The problem is with the EL42s specifically. Though your ride is going to be stiffer with the TL than, say, a Camry/ES330, it is definitely not annoyingly so. This is evidenced by the fact that the ride becomes quite smooth once the flatspotting is gone (and for speeds < 80mph or so for folks who have had some high speed vibration issues).

Also, I do not believe that 16-inch rims can void your warranty. I would think that the onus would be on the Acura to prove that they caused damage if they were to deny warranty on this account (also: the spare is not 17"/18" either).

dcarlinf1

Just the thought of 16" wheels and tires on a 04TL makes me sick. Absolutely no reason to do something like that.