StuartMMVITL

iTrader: (1)

Finally got to take the TL on a nice long road trip of about 4000 miles a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd share my experiences along the way.

We drove from Denver to Salt Lake, across Nevada on US 50 (the loneliest road in America) to Napa, CA for a few days in wine country. From there we drove up the coast of Northern California along SR1 & US 101 (an awesome drive!) into Oregon and Crater Lake NP. Then we drove across Oregon and through Idaho, stopping at Yellowstone & Grand Tetons NPs for a few days before heading back home to Denver. I minimized using any interstates, as I can't stand driving on them and stuck primarily to the 2 lane US highways & state highways. Which IMO is a much better way to travel and a lot less traffic and minivans along the way.

Overall I'm very impressed with how the car performed, as we ran across every kind of weather, from hot desert sun to below freezing snowstorms and pretty heavy rains. The SH-AWD performed flawlessly throughout. We averaged around 500-600 miles a day on the driving days and I never felt worn out or fatigued to point I had to stop driving. I was also able to record some pretty decent MPGs, with an average for the whole trip around 27-28 MPG and a high of 30 on one tank. Not as good as the '06 TL 6MT, but I thought it was quite respectable. Although one tankful was a bit sub par as I was testing the top speed and managed to get just shy of 145 mph on deserted stretch of highway in the Nevada desert.

While in the Napa area, the service indicator came on for the A1 service the day we were planning the to start the drive up the coast. It was showing about 10-15% oil life left and I knew I couldn't wait until getting back home to perform the service.

Having used the Nav system to show any Acura dealers along the route, I decided to stop in at Prestige Acura in Santa Rosa, CA. We pulled in and spoke with one of the service advisors, Greg, and asked if it was possible to get the service performed. I explained we were on vacation and would like to get the service done, but didn't want to wait around all day. He checked and said that there wouldn't be a problem, that they could get us out in about an hour. It turned out even better than that, as no sooner had we settled down in the waiting area, Greg was back saying the car was ready to go, in just over 30 minutes. Another pleasant surprise was the cost which was only about $80, which is considerably less than the Denver area dealers charge for the same service.

Greg and the whole service team at Prestige Acura made us feel welcome and comfortable the short time we were there and they did high quality work as well. If I didn't live so far away I wouldn't hesitate to bring the car back for service at Prestige Acura.(Might make a good excuse for another road trip though )

Once we got home I had gotten a coupon from Acura, that's good for either a complimentary A1 or B1 service. I don't think I'll hit the service interval before it expires on July 31st, but I'll bring it in for an extra early service as it's no cost. I'm wondering if anyone else has gotten a similar certificate?

I'm really pleased with how the car performed and I'm glad i made the move for the '06 to '10 SH-AWD. Just can't wait for the nest road trip!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Great story, Stuart!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

You should now change your SN to: StuartMMXTL.

MurkyRiversTL

Awesome experience, thanks for sharing.

tmnhs81

Good to hear about your experience and if I am not mistaken Prestige Acura is also a sponsor/vendor on AcuraZine. Post pics if you have any. I've been to Napa wine fields, its beautiful.

2010_TL

I got the same coupon in the mail a couple weeks ago.

2010_TL

Oh btw great story! lol

chinolatte

I don't want to be that guy, but the A1 service is just an oil change (no filter change) and sometimes a tire rotation. You overpaid.

mugen_kid

Great story, thanks for sharing

StuartMMVITL

iTrader: (1)

Normally I'd agree with you, as I take care of the service myself when at home. Being on vacation it was worth it to me for the convenience, and price wise it was a lot less than you would pay here in the Denver area.

It was an A1 service, but they included a filter with the oil change, lube, tire rotation and rebalancing as one wheel required some additional wheel weights.The labor cost was about $60 and the parts about $20.

I'm still pleased with their service and the cost, but if I was at home, I would have done it myself.

chaiwala

changing the oil without the oil filter is like taking a bath and wearing the same dirty underwear...I know this is what Honda recommends, that is changing the filter every other oil change and I understand why they do this as well but I can never get myself to do it. Actually I just changed my oil today with 5 fresh quarts of Royal Purple 5w20 and a Royal Purple Oil filter.