I love my 2009 TL-Tech, but I've noticed that it's a rougher/choppier ride than my 2002 TL. The tire pressure is set to 33 psi (cold) so I don't think that is a major contributor. I drive some rather poor roads in Baltimore City, but I would still expect a better ride from this near-luxury car. Does anyone else notice that the 2009 suffers from a rough ride on roads that are not perfect? Or, could there be something wrong with my car?

 

Didn't you take a test-drive prior to your purchase? There's nothing wrong with the car....the 4G is supposed to have a sportier ride than the previous generation. If you think the FWD is stiff, the SH-AWD is even sportier. If you wanted something cushy, you should've gone with a Lexus.

 

I did take it for a test drive. As a matter of fact, I had a 4G for 5 days while my 2002 was in the shop getting a new transmission. The ride did not strike me as harsh on the test drive or while driving the loaner. I have had the car for almost 2 weeks and it's only been over the past couple of days that I've noticed the roughness. I think I noticed it after driving my 1992 Toyota Celica the other night. The Celica handles better than the Acura and the ride is definitely more forgiving. That really surprised me.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love the car. I typically won't be driving it during the week since I prefer to use the old Celica while driving through the city. I just can't get enough of the Acura right now since it's new so I'm driving it more. The rougher than expected ride is not a big deal. I just wanted to make sure that this was what I should expect...

 

Baltimore city's roads are definitely rough (killed my last car's shocks I think), but not sure why the old Celica would outperform the 09TL. I don't think the FWD TL is rough at all and I drive SF 50% of the time, very nice balance with the blow-off valve. I highly doubt you've blown all 4 shocks already but if it's really bugging you just take it back to the dealer and have them take a look.

 

yee my ride isn't rough at all, it's actually really smooth (i have the fwd). if it's bothering you take it back to the dealer and let them check it out.

 

The ride is firmer on your TL vs. your Celica.

Since the TL weighs more and quite frankly is a taller vehicle, it needs stiffer shocks to keep the body roll down.

I have a '91 Prelude that handles well and frankly has a smoother ride than many newer vehicles. Once again, low vehicle and less weight to 'fight' results in a softer suspension without compromising handling.

 

I actually think it's better than the 3G, I came out of a 2007 Base TL, which I was satisfied with the ride. But the overall package of the 4G feel more "luxury" to me when I take into account the appearance, ride, and overall feel of the car.

 

You are correct, the ride is firm...very firm (and I'm talking about the FWD car...the SH-AWD is absolutely punishing in my view). It's well controlled, however, and will never really jolt the car because the shocks are so good. But it's definitely strung on the 'firm' end of the automotive suspension spectrum.

As I've said before, if you lived in Nevada with glass smooth roads, the AWD car might have been an option, but living in NYC I think you'd have to be insane to even consider the AWD car.

Just my opinion.

 

I agree, the ride is rougher than many cars in market, I narrowed down my choice before buy the TL to TL and Passat CC 4Motion and CC obviously had smoother ride by comparing to TL even if it was equipped with sport package but I summarized the pluses and disadvantages and ended up with TL, I believe after a while you get used to the roughness (Sportiness)…

 

I have a 4G SH-AWD, a 3G TL before that, an `03 Accord V6 Coupe before that and an `00 Accord V6 Coupe before that.

The 4G SH-AWD's ride is stiff, but the ride of the 4G base's ride is almost lumpy/cushy/awkward by comparison. Almost like riding on the back of a lumbering elephant. Take each for a test drive and hook the base around a curve then the SH-AWD around a curve and you'll feel what I mean.

The SH-AWD is (obviously) more responsive and comes out of the curve almost perfectly balanced. (Though with plenty of nice "throw-the-passengers-to-the-side G's!) The base model rolled from side to side which didn't make me feel at all comfortable with the handling of the car, especially had it have been on a wet road.

If you want a luxury ride, go with the base model. If you want a sporty ride, go with the SH-AWD. But compared to my prior TL and the Accords, the 4G SH-AWD is like buttah!!

Hands down the most fun-to-drive car I've ever had!

 

I've had model years 01,04,06 Accords and I don't think it rides much better than they did. Kind of disapointed how the road noise goes from whisper quiet to howitzer sounding when I hit the smallest pot holes.

 

PsychDoc, I totally agree! test drove both TL's, in New Jersey; Garden State Parkway; I knew, then, that the SH/AWD, was out of the question for Brooklyn, or anywhere in NYC. The suspension permits the SH/AWD to perform much better; but the BQE, & the Cross Bronx Expressway, say NO WAY!
I figured, for the 3 or 4 snow days we get a year, I can live without the AWD; not to mention, that the lease payment was $140/month/, 36/months,more.
To me the Tech upgrade, especially the music , & nav., were most important.

 

I do feel it's roughness a bit when you go voer bumps but overall..sweeeeeet car

 

There's no way this car's ride can be characterized as "luxury". And in my own opinion, it's unnecessarily stiff. The car's handling could still be sporty with a less-punishing ride.

And spare me the snobbery - "go buy a Lexus if you want a cushy ride" is childish, since a car doesn't have to bang into bumps to handle well. (By the way I DID go buy a Lexus. )

I'd say the harshness of the suspension is the only complaint I have about the car. I don't know who Acura thinks they're playing to when they try to market a car as luxury, but then give it an unsophisticated suspension system. It's not a complete deal-breaker, but I wish they offered the stiffer suspension as a Sport option, and gave the rest of us something that didn't aggravate the back problems. In fact, a TL with a Lexus-like ride would be AMAZING.

In the meantime, rhiannon, drop your cold tire pressure to 30 psi ... it helps take the edge off the harsher bumps.

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Right on!!!

As to the "need" for such a stiff suspension I, too, have to question that. I've driven both a 535xi and a (current generation) E350 and they both rode noticably smoother (and I'm talking here about my FWD car) with no apparant compromise of handling or nimbleness.

I tend to agree with the OP who suspects that Acura designed in the harsher ride as more of an affectation to give the appearance (feel?) of "sportiness" while, at the same time targeting the car to a luxury buyer demographic.

Having come from a Lexus ES350 I can certainly agree that it was sprung way too soft, but I do wish that Acura had provided a more complianbt ride with the 4G-TL.

 

I came from an 07 Type-S, and my SH-AWD w/ Tech Pkg is like riding on glass comparitively. I think the TL is the perfect blend of comfort and stability. Now if they could just give us a little more road feel with the steering wheel....

 

I feel a lot better that others are experiencing the same stiff suspension. I'm not sure how I missed it for the first week or so of owning the car. I guess I was just so mesmerized by all of the tech stuff that I totally glanced over the suspension. I was also driving it on better paved country roads during the first week which would not have highlighted the stiff ride. By the way, I don't think this car has signficant roll on curvy roads. It doesn't hold as tight to the road as a sports car of the SH-AWD, but I certainly don't feel that it is unstable in anyway.

Mike_TX mentioned that the stiff suspension might aggravate his back. Ironically enough, I had injured my back just before purchasing the car and was in significant pain. One of the selling points for me was how comfortable the seats were in the 2009 TL. As soon as I got into those seats, all of my back pain went away. I don't think I have ever sat in a car with more comfortable seats.

So I'm now curious. How does this car compare suspension-wise to a G37? I drove one several months before buying the TL. While I loved that car, it was just too small for me. It seemed to me that the suspension was not as refined on the G37. I also looked at the IS250, but again it was too small for me. While I could have afforded a more expensive car, I drew the line at under 40K. The TL-Tech just hit the mark!

 

Rougher than a 02 TL? Wow I'm not sure how a 2G TL rode, but I found the 09 TL FWD to be very soft and Lexus like almost compared to my 08 Type-S.

 

You guys with the TL-S's surely know it got a stiffer suspension than the "standard" TL, don't you?

I will say the ride in the wife's '09 TL seems a little more forgiving than my '06 TL. And on the open interstate it's sweet. But serve up some potholes and/or fractured pavement and it slams into it with nothing resembling luxury.

In the past I've owned several BMW's, and I know for certain it's possible to have both a sporty, firm-ish ride and a compliant ride in the same vehicle. My Bimmers - especially the 540's - cornered flat and firm but took the rough stuff with style. Maybe it's a matter of a good suspension just costing too much.

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Dude, I owned a Lexus ES350 for close to three years before buying my TL and I can assure you that the FWD-TL is MUCH harder riding than the ES. Not even close. To be fair, I thought the ES was strung way too soft and had a ridiculous amount of body lean in turns. That's one of the primary reasons I went to the TL. But as the OP said, I've driven both M-B's and BMW's and they manage to find the "sweet spot" in balancing sportiness/firmness with the ability not to jolt you on the rough stuff. To be completely candid, the TL still has a ways to go in this department.