Long story short, I’m on my second set of rear struts in my 2013 TL. Both sides are making noise again. Mind you, this set was replaced less than one year ago and less than 10K miles ago. Ray Laks Acura in Buffalo denied the warranty repair and said they would contact the regional manager to see if it could be good willed. Never heard back from Ray Laks (nice) so I called them today to find out the warranty repair was denied. This blows but whatever. So, I took it to my trusty local mechanic who inspected both sides. Neither shock is leaking and they both look like new. He played around with the shocks for awhile and, miraculously, identified the issue. Newsflash, the hardware on top of the shocks does not hold the shocks snug. He said I could try another set of shocks and recommmended a couple aftermarket brands or live with the noise. I decided to live with the noise for now. Anyone else just living with the noise? The dealer said “this is the first TL we’ve ever seen with rear shock issues.” Hum. Hard to believe. As the owner of a 2013 MDX, a couple Accords and Ridgelines in the past and two Odyssey minivans, this guy will be at the Lexus or BMW dealer when this car goes to the kids. Not just because of the shock problem, but Acura just seems to be missing the mark for my demographic (middle age guy looking for a larger mid size w/ 350+ HP, $50K-$60K, AWD sport sedan where I can row my own gears that’ll fit 2 kids and their gear in a pinch).

Oy - didn’t realize all the automakers were discontinuing the manual. What a shame. I can’t get a 6 cylinder Acura with a 6 speed stick but I can get a 4 cylinder Accord with one? Ug. Talk about misguided. The 5 series is gone. No Lexus GS. What’s a guy like me to to? Looks like maybe Audi might have a car to look at.

Ive thought about the RL, but just can’t get past the rear electric motors. But I’m the same guy that wanted the “old” 3.7 rather than the “new” direct injected 3.5 in the MDX. Call me old fashioned. Next thing you know I’ll be driving a Buick Roadmaster. Or maybe I could go full late mid life crisis and buy a WRX STi. That’d be great for business meetings.

So the final message here is this: if you plan on putting a hitch for your bike rack on your TL or TLX, Acura will deny warranty claims. So your bike had better fit in the truck of get a roof top carrier. That’s how my story with Honda and Acura products ends. Off to Lexus, BMW or Audi.

Yes. It was CPO. Acura Care has replaced the shocks less than 10,000 miles ago. This would be the third set of shock going in. The first set was replaced before I purchased the car. The second less than a year ago, less than 10,000 miles ago. The hitch for bikes was put on last summer, after two sets had already been replaced. The car has 58,XXX miles. The hitch was the reason given for the denial. Other than the shocks, it’s been a good car. But now I’ve got such a bad taste in my mouth about the dealer and Acura Customer Relations, I’m just going to trade it in and pick up a new Audi or BMW. Life’s too short to be stressed about these little things. Honestly, these are the kinds of issues I’d expect with a BMW or Audi, not an Acura. I had a Benz E300 in the past and I can still remember the service manager’s name I saw him so much. Lol