When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Almost 2 weeks ago, I was driving down a street (35mph limit) 2 blocks from my home. Street is one lane each way, with parking on either side. Suddenly a car coming the opposite direction decides to pull a U-turn 3 or 4 car lengths (estimated) in front of me, apparently to pull into an open parking space. All I could do was lay on the horn and stand on the brakes. I was unable to fully stop before hitting the car's right rear bumper. Body damage, fortunately, was less than I expected from the sound of the collision. The driver said she didn't see me - it was broad daylight, no rain. The bumper, all grill parts, the trim piece between the top of the grill and the front edge of the hood need to be replaced, and there's a small deformation at the front middle edge of the hood which can be repaired without replacing the hood. Body shop says the radiator wasn't damaged, and the car is drivable, except that the seat belt retractor locked up and now can't extend enough to be usable. The body shop has had the car for a week. The car needs the seat belt sensor and the belt retractor replaced. Those 2 parts are apparently on nationwide back order with no current ETA.
Unfortunately I didn't have rental car coverage, but at least the insurance company got me their discount rate with Enterprise, which I'm paying out of pocket. The other driver had no insurance, so no hope of being reimbursed for the rental. The body shop offered me 3 choices: I can leave it there until the parts are available, or I could pick up the car and drive it without a seat belt until the parts are available, or they could contact the insurance company and ask if they would be willing to total the car, since it's currently undrivable safety-wise, and cut me a check. Without them removing the grill and bumper, they estimate for parts and labor is about $3500. I love my car, it's in otherwise excellent condition with only 53k miles on it, and had the oil consumption repair done under the extended warranty. I could never find an equivalent used TL to replace it, nor do I want to. I don't want to drive it without a working seat belt, and I don't want to have it totaled for damages that are only quarter of it's trade-in value, even though I'd get a check for the trade-in value. So for now I'm just going to leave it there, eat the rental car cost, and hope the parts don't take months to get there. I'm pretty pissed off!
Pics taken right after being ceramic coated. I had the front shield piece around the badge, and the rear trim piece at the base of the trunk lid wrapped with gloss black, but I can't find those pics now.
Therefore, your problem here is not a problem at all, but a solvable issue.
I told the body shop to check online Acura parts dealers, particularly oemacuraparts.com. They called back later and said even the online dealers don't have them. When I looked for what the expected replacement parts cost, prior to the car getting to the body shop, the parts list doesn't indicate that the seat belts are out of stock. I didn't check for the sensor. I didn't put an item into a shopping cart so I don't know if any backorder issues are stated there, either. I have no doubt the body shop believes them to not be available - they would like to get my car done and paid for if they could.
I'm not a DIYer, so any parts would have to be new since the body shop won't install used parts.
If you know of an Acura dealer that has the seat belt, please post a link.
Sorry about the accident but glad you weren't hurt. Had the exact same thing happen many years ago, likewise by some idiot with no insurance.
Your car looks great and has low miles -- don't total it!
Hope you can find a solution. You probably have already done so, but have you asked your Acura dealer parts guy to do a dealer search for you? Sometimes they can find a dealer who has the part in stock.
I told the body shop to check online Acura parts dealers, particularly oemacuraparts.com. They called back later and said even the online dealers don't have them. When I looked for what the expected replacement parts cost, prior to the car getting to the body shop, the parts list doesn't indicate that the seat belts are out of stock. I didn't check for the sensor. I didn't put an item into a shopping cart so I don't know if any backorder issues are stated there, either. I have no doubt the body shop believes them to not be available - they would like to get my car done and paid for if they could.
I'm not a DIYer, so any parts would have to be new since the body shop won't install used parts.
If you know of an Acura dealer that has the seat belt, please post a link.
Due to issues at the original body shop, my car has been at a second body shop (both insurance co. preferred shops) since late January. New body shop also confirms that the crash sensors and seat belt assembly are on nationwide back order. I have no idea how long the wait for the parts will be.
I briefly considered buying a beater, and even searched for nearby cars being offered for sale by owner. I decided there's no reason for me to have to drive a beater indefinitely when I can afford something better. So I decided to look for a car, that if my TL had been totaled, I would want to replace it with, and that would provide at least as good an overall driving experience as the TL. After researching, I decided to look for a 2019 Audi A4 quattro, not a black exterior or black or dark color seats, preferably one that came off a 3 year lease, has low mileage, some of the final year of the 4 year factory warranty left, and was being offered as a CPO (Audi CPO warranty was changed last summer from 1 year to 2 years). The car mags love it, and so does CR. I searched online every dealer's inventory within 100 miles, and found one that met the above requirements about 75 miles away. Most of the dealers included the original equipment sticker with the car info, so I could see what was included in the various trim levels, and what options were on them. Test dove it on a Saturday and went back to get it the following Tuesday. Premium Plus with the Sport Package (too bad the Sport Package on the A cars doesn't include their sport differential). It had just cracked 12k miles. It's a very nice car. It's quicker 0-60 than the TL (per C&D tests, quattro 7DCT 5.2 seconds vs the 6AT SH-AWD 6.2 seconds). For me, the best improvement mechanically vs the TL is the 7DCT transmission. Best AT I ever had in a car. Shifts, both up and down, are instantaneous, whether using right foot or paddles, and noticeable only by change in engine sound or tach. The car also has launch control. It's very quiet inside, and the ride is firm but well damped. The car feels solid as a rock. Ride quality isn't an apples to apples comparison though. My TL is almost 10 years old and has 4 times the mileage on the suspension, and the A4 has the OEM Pirelli Grand Touring all season class tires on it, and my TL has Pirelli UHP all season tires.
The Audi seems to handle about as well overall as the TL, even without the sport diff, at least as hard as I've pushed it so far which isn't very hard. It apparently applies some braking to the inside wheels during hard cornering to help with rotation.
So plusses for the TL - SH-AWD, the ELS sound system is better than the base Audi system - my car doesn't have the optional $900 19 speaker Bang & Olufsen system, the TPMS - the Audi has the second class type - no real time pressure readout, just a warning light if a tire falls x lbs. below what it was set to, and says which tire. So I have to check each tire's pressure with a gauge, and after resetting the pressures it has to be saved into the settings. PITA. I also prefer the styling of my TL a bit more, and the color it happens to be. I still occasionally get admiring looks from other drivers or pedestrians in the TL. Unlikely for the Audi, as it doesn't look a whole lot different from the previous generation A4 which started with the 2009 model. The Audi does have clean, understated, German styling, and I like it.
For me, at this point the Audi is equal to or better than the TL otherwise overall. Gas mileage is considerably better, and the interior is more upscale. The front sport seats have larger side bolsters than the base seats, though not as large as the SH-AWD seats, and the front section of the seat cushions extends for better thigh support. The virtual cockpit is cool. One thing I was concerned about with the Audi was CR rating the LED headlights as a 1 out of 5, and the TLs HIDs as a 4. The dealer closed at 6pm so I couldn't test drive the car after dark. I had asked on an Audi forum about the lights - a few said they were ok, but one guy said the low beams on his first A4 of this generation (2017 on) were aimed too low and had to be corrected, but that his second A4 was ok. First time I drove it after dark I was very disappointed with the low beams (high beams are ok). The LED lights are very bright and white, but clearly were not aimed properly. I felt like I could outdrive the lights. So after a couple weeks I made an appointment at my local Audi dealer and complained about the poor aiming. The service rep took it to the service area himself while I was sitting there, and came back and said, yeah, they seem to be a bit low. When I returned to pick up the car it seemed like he was trying to lower my expectations as to how much better the lights would be, saying they weren't off all that much but he had the tech raise them a bit above spec. When I drove the car after dark that night I was very happy to find that they were now throwing light down the road as far as the TL lights, and nobody was flashing me. Seems to me that at least some of them must come from the factory like that, and maybe some drivers don't notice or care. Modern car headlights don't go out of alignment on their own.
I've put about 700 miles on the Audi so far. I've mostly gotten used to the MMI controller and the steering wheel controls for the virtual cockpit. When I eventually get the TL back I'll have to decide which car to keep, as I don't need 2 cars and don't want to insure and maintain both. Much as I like my TL, most likely I'll keep the Audi, as I'd lose money selling the Audi (sales tax, plus I'm unlikely to sell it for as much as I paid for it, though the CPO warranty is transferable). It has a few small things I wish were better, but so does the TL. No car is perfect. The 4 year factory warranty will expire in September.
Nice looking car; sorry you continue to have such issues getting your TL repaired. I don't know if you've owned Audis previously, but I'd recommend you strongly consider offloading it once your warranty expires. Good luck with both cars!
Nice looking car; sorry you continue to have such issues getting your TL repaired. I don't know if you've owned Audis previously, but I'd recommend you strongly consider offloading it once your warranty expires. Good luck with both cars!
Thanks.
CR's current reliability ratings have the 2019 model as much better than average. The lowest reliability rating for other years for the current B9 generation is average, so hopefully mine will not have expensive issues.
CR's current reliability ratings have the 2019 model as much better than average. The lowest reliability rating for other years for the current B9 generation is average, so hopefully mine will not have expensive issues.
I've never owned one but have several friends who have (A4, A6 and SUVs). They generally do OK ("average") in the first few years. After about year 5, strange things begin to happen. One of my partners owned an A6 that was about 6 years old and looked great and ran well. The problem is that it developed multiple leaks from various sources. Several mechanics told him he'd be better off trading and getting something new rather than trying to chase all the leaks. Another friend with an A4 had some sort of catastrophe occur under the valve cover -- I think it was a mechanism used to run the fuel pump that broke and sprayed parts under the cover. Long story short -- lots of metal parts damage and a 3K repair bill. Another partner with an A4 had his car develop an intense and intermittent jerk in the DCT transmission -- it was so severe that it would slam your head into the headrest when it randomly occurred.
Sorry, I don't mean to rain on your new car. It does look very nice, and I'm sure drives well too. Just passing along a thought for you down the road. With any luck, VAG has weeded these issues out of the current cars.
Your experience with your TL has me worrying about my 13 year old car should it ever need body repairs. It has very low miles on it and I still love it, but your experience poses a cautionary tale.
I've never owned one but have several friends who have (A4, A6 and SUVs). They generally do OK ("average") in the first few years. After about year 5, strange things begin to happen. One of my partners owned an A6 that was about 6 years old and looked great and ran well. The problem is that it developed multiple leaks from various sources. Several mechanics told him he'd be better off trading and getting something new rather than trying to chase all the leaks. Another friend with an A4 had some sort of catastrophe occur under the valve cover -- I think it was a mechanism used to run the fuel pump that broke and sprayed parts under the cover. Long story short -- lots of metal parts damage and a 3K repair bill. Another partner with an A4 had his car develop an intense and intermittent jerk in the DCT transmission -- it was so severe that it would slam your head into the headrest when it randomly occurred.
Sorry, I don't mean to rain on your new car. It does look very nice, and I'm sure drives well too. Just passing along a thought for you down the road. With any luck, VAG has weeded these issues out of the current cars.
Your experience with your TL has me worrying about my 13 year old car should it ever need body repairs. It has very low miles on it and I still love it, but your experience poses a cautionary tale.
Yes, some early years of the previous B8 generation had reliability issues, but they seem to have improved after that. So hopefully issues like you mentioned have been fixed in this generation.
Yes, some early years of the previous B8 generation had reliability issues, but they seem to have improved after that. So hopefully issues like you mentioned have been fixed in this generation.
Are you sure about the veracity of this resource? For example, if you go to carcomplaints.соm , then you will be surprised that Audi owners almost never write complaints, they just sell their cars and after that the statistics say that Audi is many times more reliable than Acura, but we all know perfectly well that this is nonsense.
Are you sure about the veracity of this resource? For example, if you go to carcomplaints.соm , then you will be surprised that Audi owners almost never write complaints, they just sell their cars and after that the statistics say that Audi is many times more reliable than Acura, but we all know perfectly well that this is nonsense.
By "resource", you mean CR? AFAIK CR is the only resource that provides non-biased vehicle reliability ratings. They survey their subscribers about their ownership experience and problems with their vehicles (I've received and filled out the survey a few times myself). The link I provided above only shows overall ratings by model year. If one digs into the ratings for any model year vehicle, multiple potential trouble areas are covered and rated from much worse than average to much better than average, to arrive at an overall rating.
I think it's pretty unlikely that Audi owners overall would be less inclined than owners of other makes to post complaints about their cars. There's more than one Audi owners forum, and folks there are not shy about complaining about issues with their cars, just like folks do here.
By "resource", you mean CR? AFAIK CR is the only resource that provides non-biased vehicle reliability ratings. They survey their subscribers about their ownership experience and problems with their vehicles (I've received and filled out the survey a few times myself). The link I provided above only shows overall ratings by model year. If one digs into the ratings for any model year vehicle, multiple potential trouble areas are covered and rated from much worse than average to much better than average, to arrive at an overall rating.
I think it's pretty unlikely that Audi owners overall would be less inclined than owners of other makes to post complaints about their cars. There's more than one Audi owners forum, and folks there are not shy about complaining about issues with their cars, just like folks do here.
None of my friends would have thought to pay 10 per month to participate in such a resource. In 2012, it was sold - 33,000 Acura TL and 180,000 Audi A4, while TL on Carcomplain received 178 complaints, and A4 received 68 complaints, then if you follow your logic, Audi is 14 times more reliable than Acura, if you follow my logic, then the owner Audis just don't like to complain about their Audis. Judge for yourself which of us is right.
The CR subscription cost is either $39 or $59 per year. I doubt many people pay by the month. They rate all sorts of consumer products' reliability, not just vehicles.
I've never heard of carcomplaints.com. Consumer Reports has been surveying their subscribers about their cars for decades, and actually use scientific methods to compile their results, so I'll give more credence to their ratings.
Each of us, when considering a car purchase, is free to choose what resources to use. There's no right or wrong to judge.
None of my friends would have thought to pay 10 per month to participate in such a resource. In 2012, it was sold - 33,000 Acura TL and 180,000 Audi A4, while TL on Carcomplain received 178 complaints, and A4 received 68 complaints, then if you follow your logic, Audi is 14 times more reliable than Acura, if you follow my logic, then the owner Audis just don't like to complain about their Audis. Judge for yourself which of us is right.
I thought the sales figure you stated for the A4 was way off, and apparently it is. Three sources linked below have 2012 A4 sales between 35-37 thousand. So according to the website you are quoting, the TL actually has a much higher complaint ratio than the A4.
I thought the sales figure you stated for the A4 was way off, and apparently it is. Three sources linked below have 2012 A4 sales between 35-37 thousand. So according to the website you are quoting, the TL actually has a much higher complaint ratio than the A4.
Why are you only showing sales in the US when the website I showed complains from all over the world?
There were 141,000 cars sold in Europe. https://carsalesbase.com/europe-audi-a4/
Due to issues at the original body shop, my car has been at a second body shop (both insurance co. preferred shops) since late January. New body shop also confirms that the crash sensors and seat belt assembly are on nationwide back order. I have no idea how long the wait for the parts will be.
I briefly considered buying a beater, and even searched for nearby cars being offered for sale by owner. I decided there's no reason for me to have to drive a beater indefinitely when I can afford something better. So I decided to look for a car, that if my TL had been totaled, I would want to replace it with, and that would provide at least as good an overall driving experience as the TL. After researching, I decided to look for a 2019 Audi A4 quattro, not a black exterior or black or dark color seats, preferably one that came off a 3 year lease, has low mileage, some of the final year of the 4 year factory warranty left, and was being offered as a CPO (Audi CPO warranty was changed last summer from 1 year to 2 years). The car mags love it, and so does CR. I searched online every dealer's inventory within 100 miles, and found one that met the above requirements about 75 miles away. Most of the dealers included the original equipment sticker with the car info, so I could see what was included in the various trim levels, and what options were on them. Test dove it on a Saturday and went back to get it the following Tuesday. Premium Plus with the Sport Package (too bad the Sport Package on the A cars doesn't include their sport differential). It had just cracked 12k miles. It's a very nice car. It's quicker 0-60 than the TL (per C&D tests, quattro 7DCT 5.2 seconds vs the 6AT SH-AWD 6.2 seconds). For me, the best improvement mechanically vs the TL is the 7DCT transmission. Best AT I ever had in a car. Shifts, both up and down, are instantaneous, whether using right foot or paddles, and noticeable only by change in engine sound or tach. The car also has launch control. It's very quiet inside, and the ride is firm but well damped. The car feels solid as a rock. Ride quality isn't an apples to apples comparison though. My TL is almost 10 years old and has 4 times the mileage on the suspension, and the A4 has the OEM Pirelli Grand Touring all season class tires on it, and my TL has Pirelli UHP all season tires.
The Audi seems to handle about as well overall as the TL, even without the sport diff, at least as hard as I've pushed it so far which isn't very hard. It apparently applies some braking to the inside wheels during hard cornering to help with rotation.
So plusses for the TL - SH-AWD, the ELS sound system is better than the base Audi system - my car doesn't have the optional $900 19 speaker Bang & Olufsen system, the TPMS - the Audi has the second class type - no real time pressure readout, just a warning light if a tire falls x lbs. below what it was set to, and says which tire. So I have to check each tire's pressure with a gauge, and after resetting the pressures it has to be saved into the settings. PITA. I also prefer the styling of my TL a bit more, and the color it happens to be. I still occasionally get admiring looks from other drivers or pedestrians in the TL. Unlikely for the Audi, as it doesn't look a whole lot different from the previous generation A4 which started with the 2009 model. The Audi does have clean, understated, German styling, and I like it.
For me, at this point the Audi is equal to or better than the TL otherwise overall. Gas mileage is considerably better, and the interior is more upscale. The front sport seats have larger side bolsters than the base seats, though not as large as the SH-AWD seats, and the front section of the seat cushions extends for better thigh support. The virtual cockpit is cool. One thing I was concerned about with the Audi was CR rating the LED headlights as a 1 out of 5, and the TLs HIDs as a 4. The dealer closed at 6pm so I couldn't test drive the car after dark. I had asked on an Audi forum about the lights - a few said they were ok, but one guy said the low beams on his first A4 of this generation (2017 on) were aimed too low and had to be corrected, but that his second A4 was ok. First time I drove it after dark I was very disappointed with the low beams (high beams are ok). The LED lights are very bright and white, but clearly were not aimed properly. I felt like I could outdrive the lights. So after a couple weeks I made an appointment at my local Audi dealer and complained about the poor aiming. The service rep took it to the service area himself while I was sitting there, and came back and said, yeah, they seem to be a bit low. When I returned to pick up the car it seemed like he was trying to lower my expectations as to how much better the lights would be, saying they weren't off all that much but he had the tech raise them a bit above spec. When I drove the car after dark that night I was very happy to find that they were now throwing light down the road as far as the TL lights, and nobody was flashing me. Seems to me that at least some of them must come from the factory like that, and maybe some drivers don't notice or care. Modern car headlights don't go out of alignment on their own.
I've put about 700 miles on the Audi so far. I've mostly gotten used to the MMI controller and the steering wheel controls for the virtual cockpit. When I eventually get the TL back I'll have to decide which car to keep, as I don't need 2 cars and don't want to insure and maintain both. Much as I like my TL, most likely I'll keep the Audi, as I'd lose money selling the Audi (sales tax, plus I'm unlikely to sell it for as much as I paid for it, though the CPO warranty is transferable). It has a few small things I wish were better, but so does the TL. No car is perfect. The 4 year factory warranty will expire in September.
I have been waiting over a year for the same seatbelt shit I’m about to raise hell
01-13-2023, 04:53 PM
