erikdigital

Hello all. This is my first post here, so apologies in advance for any etiquette mishaps. I am considering a 2011 TL with the Technology package as my next vehicle. It's got about 93k on the odometer which is a little high for my liking, but the asking price seems reasonable for the car and it's included options (around $15k). I'm hoping to negotiate a lower price of course. I would like to get some feedback from owners of their experience with this car and what issues/maintenance I should anticipate at this mileage and beyond.

My family and I have owned many Hondas/Acuras through the years, so I have general sense of their reliability. I will be moving from a 2007 TSX auto with Nav and 184k on the odometer into something new (to me). Nothing wrong with the TSX. The TSX did have the AC compressor fail at around 100k and pretty much took most of the AC system down with it. Hopefully, that hasn't been your experience with the TL or any car for that matter. I'll be handing the TSX over to my son once he is licensed and ready to head to college. Looking forward to hearing your experiences and hopefully be in the drivers seat of a TL.

Thanks in advance.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that vehicle has an active airbag recall on it, not sure if that has any bearing on your decision.

I'd recommend flipping through a few pages on each section in here and see what applies to you, as an example one of the stickied threads is all of the TSB's for each year.

https://acurazine.com/forums/fourth-...letins-945433/

erikdigital

Yes, I've noticed that show up in the CarFax report. I'd be willing to limit my drive time in this car until the issue has been repaired. I saw an earlier post about the recall affecting the resale value of some of these vehicles. The asking price of $14.9k seems lower than the average for this car, so maybe the airbag recall has already been taken into consideration. Thanks for pointing out the TSBs.

CTNYC

Biggest thing that I'd like to point out is the 105k mile service is a big one.

Off the top of my head:
-Timing belt, water pump, drive belts, tensioner, (I paid $780 at a Honda dealer, my Acura dealer quoted me $1600, other Honda dealers quoted me $1000)
-Spark plugs ($120 labor, $40 parts)
-Coolant flush/exchange (was included in the $780 TB deal)

I'd personally go for one something 110k+ that already had all the work done and save a few more bucks on the purchase price, or pony up a bit more for something under 85k miles. I hate having to throw that much money into a car, especially right after buying it.

erikdigital

I was going to try to use the upcoming 105k service along with the airbag recall as bargaining chips, enough to offset some the cost of the service. I think I can do the spark plugs myself. I managed to changed them in my sister's 04 Pilot without removing the fans. Major pain. I miss changing plugs in my Integra. Probably the easiest car I have ever worked on. Thank you for pointing out how much you paid and what was included with your 105k service.

GhostTL09

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what part of the country you are or how anal you are about finding a great deal but I do national searches on vehicles and buy from reputable dealers, then I fly out, test drive and drive home if the deal is sweet enough. Just got mine out of Oklahoma and I'm in Georgia. Car was just as described. but maybe look into a national search and see what comes up. You may find an '11 Tech for 16 or 17k that has 88k miles on it. Haggle down to $16k out the door because of recall to a price and go from there. Just my .02

mossman77

I don't see how that is going to help any. They are already footing the bill for the airbag replacement and they are the only ones that can do it. What did you plan on doing? Telling them you'd let them replace your airbag if they give you a discount on the 105k service?

erikdigital

Purchased on Friday from a VW dealership. What I meant by using the airbag and scheduled maintenance as bargaining chips, was that I would have to be inconvenienced by having to go through the recall process if I purchased the vehicle. Not sure if the dealership toom that into consideration or if they even cared for that matter, but I was able to negotiate the price down so I am pleased.

Drei

iTrader: (2)

Congrats!

Post up some pictures!

erikdigital

Here it is. Nothing fancy. I ordered a set of clear overlays for the headlights and yellow for the fog lights from Lamin-X. I was having some buyer's remorse this weekend after noticing the dreaded vibration from the auto transmission while accelerating in lower gears. I went to my local Acura dealership to pick up 9 quarts of ATF and spoke to one of the service advisers while I was there. I explained the symptoms and he didn't try to play dumb about the issue. He looked up my VIN and suggested only doing a 1x3 fluid exchange, stating if that didn't help it would be wiser to just return the other 6 quarts and bring the car back in so they can service it and it would be covered until 105k or 8 years from original sale (as stated in one of the TSBs found on AZ). My experience at the dealership today was EXTREMELY reassuring. I was glad the service adviser was helpful without having to put up a fight. I expected some push back since I was there earlier last week for a test drive, but didn't end up purchasing from them because of a more severe transmission issue on a black '12 TL Advance model. He even started the order process for my airbag recall before I could mention it. It's the little things that can make the customer experience make or break. If you're in the Houston area and need to visit an Acura dealer, I'd highly recommend Gillman Acura of North Houston.

Also while I was there, I asked about the side window visors and the gentleman at the parts desk said they don't exists OEM for the 4G TL. Is that accurate? Other plans for this car will be the underbody spoilers, at least the front and sides. I'll probably prioritize this while they are still available. Later, some VLEDs for the license plate lights, a new passenger side foglight assembly since mine is cracked, 20" TSW Geneva wheels possibly and springs or TEIN Street Advance. I'm not 100% sold on the TEIN SAs. I had a set of TEIN Super Streets years ago on an Integra and though they were fine for that car, I'd prefer something a little softer for this car. Maybe I just had the dampening set too firm on the Integra. There interior is close to perfect considering the mileage (93k) so I don't think there's much I can do to improve it other than keeping up with regular cleaning and leather conditioning. I love having the option for Bluetooth audio and full iPod/USB controls. Coming from my '07 TSX with only an AUX port for external audio, this is a godsend.

csmeance

Congrats on the purchase! The 1x3 fluid should help but keep an eye on the issue! I'd keep the fluid and change it every other oil change for peace of mind.

Call or email acura relations and tell them about your great experience. Many folks complain but very few call to praise the awesome work of some advisors.

I'm not sure about the OEM visors but weathertech does make them for the 4G TL

You can buy the kit from a vendor here such as endlessrpm for quite the discount vs your local dealer. Installation is fairly easy for the sides and medium difficulty for the front.

erikdigital

Thanks for pointing out Endless RPM. I had browsed their site when I was 3G TL shopping and had forgot about them since. I ended up ordering a painted rear roof spoiler last night from eBay, one that has received good feedback here for $60 plus the vLEDs for the licence plate, reverse and vanity lights.

I'll report back with the results of my tranny fluid change this weekend. If it doesn't resolve or significantly improve on my trannny issues, I'll be quick to return to the dealer for service.