tl_soso

I just got back in from a very unpleasant evening. I got a flat tire on my '04 TL. My first flat and I've had the car since March of this year.

So I go about attemping to change the flat tire. To my shock, there is no reinforced area to place the jack under. I ended up denting my rear right floor panel in attemping to raise the car to change the tire.

As if that wasn't enough, the jack that came with my TL does not raise the car to the appropriate height for a tire change. I had the jack at its max length and the tire would still not fit onto the wheel. I believe this could be that the jack is the incorrect size, or that the dent caused by the jack to that area decreased the height by a few inches.

I've had many cars before this one, and I have never had a problem changing flat tires.

So I finally called road side assistance and the guy who showed up was just as shocked as I was at the fact that there is no reinforced area to place the Jack under.

Now I am left with a severly dented floor panel, and I'm out 40 bucks, because acura road side assistance did not have "rights" to access the road I was on (I-95 in NJ).

Does anyone else have a similar experience? Can someone please give me advice on what my options are here.

thanks in advance guys/gals - this is a GREAT FORUM!!

Seotaji

i'm guessing you didn't want to rest the jack against a suspension part?

tl_soso

Well, in the owner's manual, it tells you to line up and place the jack under the arrow on the floor panel. I found the arrow, and thats where I put the jack.

The entire floor board/panels on the sides of this car have NO reinforcement over them, its nothing but fiberglass/plastic. I'm surprised if I'm the only one who has had this problem.

I'm going to be taking my car in on friday, since I already have an appointment for alignment problems (the car steers to the left after I had the tires rotated). So I am going to ask the service manager about this. If I did something wrong I will be extremely amazed at my stupidity. But it looks like a flaw in the way the car was built or improper directions in the owner's manual.

Novice

tl_soso

Let us know what your dealer says about this.

Mindworm

Interesting....post an update when you can. Anyone changed a tire successfully out there without having the interior carpet look like Alien is coming?

rets

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85473

1 day, move.

Ron A

I will have to admit that the manual is not very clear on this, but it says to "locate the jacking point", which "is pointed to by an arrow". This "jacking point" is a rectangular shaped metal bracket pointing downwards, and is where the jack is supposed to be placed.
When this is used, you will not do any damage to the car and it will lift high enough to get the wheel off.

This is not an "RTFM" reply! It is an attempt to clarify the manual so that others will not have the same problem.

pettydw

The car has a steel tab that sticks down near each wheel as a jacking point. Every Honda I've had (since '87) has had the same feature. I recommend every owner look for it and try out the jack at home, before needing it in the middle of a dark night.

All car jacks have an issue with extension if the jack is on soft ground or in a depression. If you are in the middle of nowhere and do not want to call the free Acura service, this is where you sacrifice your floor mats, a book, or similar to gain height and footprint on the ground.

Road Rage

The manual is entirely clear on this point, and anyone with some smarts can easily see the reinforced sections of the underside sheet metal crimps.

BTW, I bought some disposable coveralls* made of some superlight 3M material (Tyvek), and they roll up to a tiny small towel size you can stow in the trunk. If you get caught where you have to change the tire, they will allow you to crawl around and get the car safely and properly jacked without ruining your clothes.



*McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com)

part# 5231T37 $5.91 (with elastic cuffs and a hood, they are water resistant and breathable).

lstepnio

I have for years had a can of fix-a-flat, laytex gloves, wheel lock key, flashlight and a small container of handy wipes in my trunk.

Every single new vehicle I have owned in the past 5 years has been much like the TL when it comes to the jacking points.

mad_russian

I have noticed tlc label on driver side window
it's like TLC and then 800 number and it says Total Luxury Care - has anyone tryed ?
I asume it's "Luxury" AAA or what ?

rets

Yes, it's similar to AAA...

Neogeek

when i had to jack my car up when i got my flat in NYC, i had no problem jacking it up, however it took a long time, and someone who was having radiator troubles parked behind my car and helped me out with his pump jack, since i felt safer using that

tl_soso

Thanks guys, everyone here is really helpful!!!

So here's the deal, my '01 accord coupe, I changed two flats on it myself. Never had any issues.

With the TL, getting a flat at 1AM with no road lights around and using my flashlight as the only form of light, I am somewhat hesitant at calling myself completely stupid.

I guess its all about experience, people who have had cars with jacking points would not have gone through what I did. But not being used to them, I did.

The manual is pretty clear on this, as I read it the next day and it makes sense. But again, at 1AM in pitch black, you read locate the arrow and thats where I put the jack.

To make a long story short, my dealer's service agent was very nice about this and she said she would get it taken care of for me at no charge. So they ordered the new part, its fairly cheap and i am told when it comes in, she will call me and get it taken care of.

I am still surprised at their pleasant response, so I have my fingers crossed.

So thats my flat tire story.

Thanks guys!!!

On a side note. The rattling with this car is ANNOYING as hell. I had the TSX as the loaner and not a single rattle or noise in the cabin.

ONAGER

If you are going to lift from the side of the car, make sure that you are lifting it at the proper points. on our cars this is, as has been describe the reinforced metal area by each wheel, that hangs down. this metal is known as the pinch weld area and it part of the rocker panel (its where the rocker panel joins with the floor pan, they are pinched together, then welded, hence pinch weld) the rocker panels, along with the tunnel make up the back bone of the car. the floor boards are just that, flat sheet steel not designed to lift the vehicle. i havent looked at our jack but most normally have a notch in the top of it to slip over the pinch weld. look again under the car, closer to the edge then you might have guessed it less then 6-8 inches in for the service jack.... the floor buckeling is probably why you didnt get enough clearance to change the tire, as for every inch the floor bent, that was one less the car itself was being lifted

good luck with the damage hopefully it wont be to hard or expensive to repair