graphicguy

Have a good friend who's a Benz whore....has had C, E class and whatever SUV they make. He loves their vehicles but is constantly bitching about how much routine maintenance costs. But, you're right. I don't hear much from him regarding it's reliability or functionality.

All that said, I've driven his E 350 4matic (2012?). It's probably closest to the TL SH AWD. Solid? Yes! Unexciting with confounding tech? Absolutely.

Test drove a C350 4matic coupe last year. Almost pulled the trigger on it. Gorgeous car. I don't think they make the c350 4matic coupe any more.

But, it was more cramped than my E92. Plus, it was slower and the tech, as mentioned, really doesn't match well with the TL.

012TL-GLM

Sounds about right, our County Treasurer always drives a used Benz - she's only had 2 in the last twelve years, and both were over 10 years old when she buys them lol. She hasn't said much about maintenance cost, but its never in the shop, drives it to work every day 60 mile round trip.

I look at Mercedes every once in a while, but the look just isn't me. Too much luxury, not enough sport

Back to the A/C noise we seem to be split on in this thread - for those of you that haven't noticed it, you probably have your music loud and/or are very rarely in stop/go traffic. The fans don't run nearly as often on the open road. I only have my experience to build upon, so I went and took a test drive in a 2013 - it behaved the same way.

At highway speeds the fans hardly ever kick on, at least not that I could tell. I'm guessing the car is programmed to run them often in stop/go scenarios to keep everything under the hood nice and cool. If you have passengers often, you likely won't have your music loud, and that's when you'll hear those fans kicking on. Especially in a busy Portillo's drivethru. Everyone around you with the windows open is probably wondering WTF is that noise!!!!

dwest1023

its not that noticable on my 09 and I drive in the city.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I checked to see how loud they were and have to agree that they're extremely loud in regards to what I'd consider normal. I tested it by have the A/C on the coldest setting and fan speed 2 while the car was in park. It was annoying to hear it when outside the car but from the inside I couldn't hear it with the windows/moon roof closed and music off.

graphicguy

Brings up another point....see how much noise you hear when passing another car. TL noise isolation is very good.

012TL-GLM

When the car is closed up the noise is definitely minimal, but I like to roll with the windows open quite a bit Its just an annoyance really, doesn't take that much away from my enjoyment of the car, but it is my top complaint. If they released a software fix for it I'd be first in line - I would think those fans could run once every 3-5 minutes instead of 2 or 3 cycles per minute

Devil Dog 21

2 years into owning my 2010 SH-SWD and I'm still in love with every aspect of it, even the beak that most loathe. I have had very minor problems, like the turn signal sticking, and a rattle in my driver side mirror but all else has been very solid. Over the last several months a co-worker of mine has been car shopping and was looking to spend around $40k. After all of his searching he kept coming back to the TL for best value, but refused to buy one since I already have one He went ahead and blew through his original budget and picked up a new A6, but the point is the TL remains a fantastic value even late in the 4G model's life.

mynameisjacob

If one of the major complaints with the car involves how loud the AC condenser/radiator fan sounds... it must be one solid ass car.

jim_c

Perhaps I am preaching to the converted, :-)
but I think the nose (beak as you say!) looks fine.
I have the '10 also. If you study other cars you see that there are many which look dull and boring, some look silly, and very very few look distinctive and attractive.

mynameisjacob

I agree with this. The grille by itself looks over-sized but when you put it into perspective with the design of the entire car... it fits in nicely and distinguishes the car from anything else on the road.

I get really amused whenever I read car blog & magazine articles about the '09-'11 TLs and their reader comments. Most seem passionately disgusted over the 'beak' and even the rear design... some even comparing it to the Pontiac Aztec. It's very perplexing to me as I always admired the design for being so bold. I guess it really speaks to the diversity of human preference.

All I know is... I can frequently catch pedestrians turning their heads to check out my TL as I drive past them on crosswalks (I tend to peek at my rear view mirror from time to time). It's mostly dudes and they're not looking at it with disgust. It makes me feel like I'm in a car commercial.

keith7120

Yes I'm griping about the A/C fans. Its not a deal breaker but more of an observation. I'm not new to the TL I have owned all previous generations and I have had an 09 SH-AWD and now own a 13 SH-AWD. I have the right to bitch about the fans if i wanna. IJS.

Devil Dog 21

Good to see I'm not the only who likes the beak. Personally I have more dislike for the DRL's than anything else. The car's entire styling is bold and not like anything else on the road until you see DRL's that look like they belong on top of a Jeep Wrangler.

gkon

Ya gotta love Portillo's!

^^ I still love that beak too.

Devil Dog-I'm with you, I love the beak, but the DRL's are very weak.

We had a 5 series wagon for about 15 months. All I can say is thank goodness it was a CPO. In those 15 months, we would have had about $10k in repairs, if they weren't covered by the warranty. Rear hatch went out, iDrive/Navi had to be replaced, and the entire sunroof had to be replaced + several electric modules. Got our car back & literally went to the Acura dealer to pick up a 2010-SH-AWD & haven't regretted it; the wife, a little bit !

mynameisjacob

Just pull the DRL fuse. No more yellow daytime running lights. Problem solved.

TeamAcura

DRLs can easily be replaced with LED DRLs for under 60 bucks.

012TL-GLM

Well I'll get my first Acura warranty experience tomorrow - one of the power window buttons broke on my driver's control panel. Never had that happen before over the span of several vehicles, we'll see how Muller's does

kewlblu

Appreciate the review. In a couple hours my wife will be replacing her 2005 TL with 155k miles with a 2013 TL. In the last 5 weeks we've put over $1k into the 2005. I could have performed all the MX. However I'm currently overseas, so she's relying on on the dealer. Rear brakes and rotors, rear O2 sensor and A/C work. She called me early this week with starting problems. Towed to the dealer where they said it was the starter. $600 to replace. It's coming due an alignment. The last time it was there the technician could not adjust the right rear due to one of the cams being frozen. It wasn't out enough to worry about. When it is the entire arm will need to be replaced. We both thought it was time to replace it. We looked at a few TL's on CarMax. Elected to go with a new one. After reading the review, I can't wait till I go back home and get behind the wheel.

012TL-GLM

After a snafu with ordering the new power window switch Acura got the right part in and installed this morning. No complaints with the service department at Muller - I can't believe the traffic that goes thru that place. The waiting room is comfortable, lots of free beverages, and I like the windows looking into the garage. Got to watch everything they did to my baby.

Our drive today reminded me how bad the stock tires are. I think I'll be replacing them sooner than expected. Only 20K miles and they are just horrible. I've noticed in the past week stopping distance has worsened, and I've had to apply more pressure to the brakes on hot days. The majority of my driving is stop/go, and I think these tires have outlived their usefulness. They are no longer inspiring confidence in the hang on to your hat driving style I've adopted since owning the car

slick316

In a few weeks, I will have officially owned my 2012 TL for 2 years. With 42k miles on the car, I have driven it a lot.

I really like the car a lot. I have test driven other cars since buying the TL (like the new IS and the Cadillac ATS and the 2013 3 Series) but even after driving them, I never felt the need to get one. Don't get me wrong, they are all very nice, but I'm not wasting my time trading my car for something thats not leaps and bounds better.

With that being said, I doubt my next car is an Acura. I don't like the fact that my Acura dealership feels like a Pep Boys, very pushy about doing services that are unnecessary. I also haven't been able to get them to take issues with rattles in my car seriously. I have had better experiences at my Honda dealer. I have friends with BMW's and Lexus's and they all rave about the dealer experience with simple things like oil changes (none have issues with their cars, yet). Two of them are former 3G TL owners. They, like me, loved their car, but hated the dealer.

Unless Acura can wow me with the TLX, I'll be looking into Lexus for me next vehicle purchase.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

^^

Unless that's the only dealer around you're area and it sounds like your problem can be easily remedied by changing dealers. Where are you hearing the squeaks and rattles?

slick316

Next closest dealer is 100 miles away I believe. The rattles and squeaks are in the doors and possibly center console. Faint ticking sounds from the sunroof as well. None are that big of a deal and if I get some time and the weather is nice, I can fix them myself.

Just annoyed that my dealer experience was pretty crappy from the day I picked my car up. I expected more from Acura.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Just don't expect the same top-notch Lexus customer experience from your Acura dealership.

slick316

Definitely not expecting luxury car dealer experience from Acura, but I honestly felt as though I've been treated better at the Honda dealership, and I'm thinking its because there are a few Honda dealerships around and that competition is delivering better service.

I would still consider a TLX if its nice despite my negative feelings towards my local Acura dealership.

JM2010 SH-AWD

This seems like a gross over-generalization. My dealer sells Acuras right next to its Lexus dealership. Both provide a very high level of service. Other than a nicer, newer building, I'm not sure what more their Lexus store could provide to me. If you're saying Lexus dealerships are more consistently good, you might be right (but I don't know). But I don't think there's truth to the proposition that no Acura dealer provides the same level of service as a Lexus dealer.

BTW, the car that the owner of the two dealerships most often picks to drive as his own car: TL AWD.

Devil Dog 21

+1

Jay Wolfe Acura in Kansas just remodeled their facility everything is top notch including their service (which always has been). They have a full menu of breakfast and lunch food that you can order while you wait and a more snacks than you could possibly fathom. Heads above any dealership experience I've had, and I can't imagine what else you'd want besides maybe a shoe shine.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

The two Acura dealerships I've been to for service and warranty work have both been excellent. Of the two one I prefer is far anyway and in a small town.

012TL-GLM

I'm confused why one would think Lexus would treat you any better or worse than Acura - both are upscale brands. I've had great service from Toyota and Pontiac dealerships over the years - it doesn't matter how much the car cost, its all about how the upper mgmt wants to run the show

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

It's true that both are upscale brands, but Lexus is another step up than Acura at the luxury/premium scale.

Lexus is a recognized true-luxury auto brand, but Acura still isn't.

There shouldn't be any confusion when the satisfaction index data is collected not just on you or me, but over thousands and thousands of automobile owners.

"Lexus Ranks Highest among Luxury Brands for Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service for Fifth Consecutive Year; GMC Ranks Highest among Mass Market Brands "
http://autos.jdpower.com/content/pre...-csi-study.htm

Booya4139

My dealership experiences have been mediocre. They will err on the side on benefitting themselves unless pressed. I don't hold it against them but I won't praise them for it either. Inside it is marginally better than a Honda dealership.

Kahta

By small town, you mean a medium size city, right? haha