*Sorry for the long post - I want to provide as much detail so someone may be able to help me*

A little over a month ago I turned on my car and was greeted by a series of warnings; Check Engine, Check Emissions, Check VSA, Check SHAWD, Check Hill Start Assist. I brought my car to my local mechanic who diagnosed a cylinder 3 misfire and changed the spark plug and coils. That same weekend I turned the car on again and all the warnings came back. I took the car back to my mechanic and he called me within an hour to say I should bring it to an Acura dealership.

I brought the car to Acura of Boston and they told me they needed to take the head off the engine to see what was causing the misfire and low compression. Turns out the aluminum sleeve in cylinder 3 is cracked.

They told me it would be $10k to replace the short block or $7k to put in a replacement engine.

I also called Acura Corporate and was able to start a case one week after I brought my car to the dealership due to the known oil consumption defect with these J motors. I had to call two days in a row to actually be assigned a case manager as they kept transferring me back ad forth between customer services and the recalls department.

Two weeks after being assigned a case manager I finally got a hold of my new case manager yesterday. I had left my original case manager a message at least 2x a week since I missed her initial call. I never received a call back. I had to call into the main support line and be transferred to my new case manager, as apparently my case manager was switched after nearly 2 weeks of no action, and I was not informed.

Within two hours of being connected to my new case manager, he called the dealership and called me back to say that the dealership can't say definitively that my cracked cylinder is due to oil consumption issue and that Acura's position is I am on my own.

I explained to the case manager that I think due to the oil consumption issue that is what caused the engine damage. He agreed with me! And then proceeded to say there is nothing that can be done about it and he will be closing my case.

I've reopened a case with Acura Corporate and what my options are. I just purchased this car in October (~8 months ago) and it only has 80k miles on it. I owned a Honda Accord before this, and my family has owned half-a-dozen Honda / Acura products over the last 10+ years.

Has anyone had a similar issue with Acura not wanting to take responsibility for this manufacturing defect?

Any help is very much appreciated.

Thank you,
RLFH

 

I don't have personal experience but I had best responses when I made my complaint and how I was being treated public via twitter.
I am not one for bullshitting but when it's a known manufacturing issue...I won't be told to go pound sand. Expect to pay "something"
out of pocket but be reasonable and figure out what's fair...a replacement engine would be my first choice although if it's a time bomb
too I wouldn't be too happy about it. Was your oil low?

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-p...no-fix-925457/

 

The check oil light wasn't on. Every mechanic, a VW dealership, and the Acura customer service rep all agreed with me that the issue was probably caused by lack of oil to the cylinder.

 

Some people have been denied, and some people get the goodwill gesture of total replacement or partial cost of coverage.

There is no magic wand here. Only the luck of the draw with your particular dealer.

 

What is known; Acura isn't going to be forthcoming about the issue, so you're going to have to fight.

What's the fight worth to you?
Civil suit?
Years and years of time?

Acura has moved on and stopped producing the 3.7l

 

I think persistence is going to beat luck.
Get on social media and publicly ask @acura for help.

 

Contact
The Margarian Law Firm
801 N Brand Blvd, suite 201
Glendale CA 91203
818-553-1000
info @margarianlaw.com

Class action lawsuit against Acura for vehicles that exhibit excessive oil consumption. This is for people that have had to spend money to get their car repaired. You might have something here since they are denying your repair. But, time is running out soon. All the dates I see mention May 2020.

 

RLfromHell's 2013 TL SH-AWD falls within the VIN range for TSB 13-024 - MIL Comes On With DTCs P0300 Thru P0306, so the TL could have the possible manufacturing defect with one or more of the cylinder bores being out of round, causing low compression. Sticking piston rings and oil consumption may also be a contributing factor.

RLfromHell is aware of the TSB and will pursue the potential issue with the dealer and Acura.

 

Concigliare!!!!

 

Thanks All, and THANK YOU EE4Life for introducing me to TSB 13-024.

I see two separate issues here:

1. Acura manufacturing defects
2. Acura of Boston would have had a pretty good idea what's wrong with my car before they suggested I take the head off to look inside

Are these blocks have any known issues cracking?

Thanks,
RLFH

 

Hi All,

As an update I did end up fixing the TL. I spoke with several dealerships, repair shops, and even auctions. It made the most financial sense to fix the car.

Thank you for all your help and advice.

Cheers,
RLfromHell

 

How did you go about the fix? Dealer/new motor? New motor/independent shop? Used motor/independent shop? Did you inspect the old motor yourself afterward?

 

Well I feel like a complete Moron 🤦‍♂️.......I was going through my mail and saw this FML

 

errr, why do you feel like a moron?
some back story is needed


you cant just post a letter from acura,
did you replace your engine or what?????????????

 

I'm an OTR truck driver so I'm gone away from home a lot. I was going through some mail and found this. I opened it up and saw that Acura was fixing the oil consumption problem. I said FML because the cutoff date was 9/1/2019.....so I guess I'm F on getting the repair done by Acura.