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I’m considering getting back into Acura’s and am looking for a little feedback since I haven’t owned one in a while. Four years ago I totaled my 03’ CLS 6 speed and I haven’t been in an Acura since, but I sure do miss that car. I’ve found a 2018 TLX Sh-awd a-spec, 48k mikes, in very nice condition and I love the way the car looks and drives. I was looking at the service records (All done through an Acura dealer) and noticed that the previous owner was going an average of 8k miles between oil changes, at one point going 11k. Maybe my thinking is old school and I need to catch up with the times, but the long intervals between oil changes kind of bugs me. I just don’t want to spend 30k on a car that’s nearing the end of the factory warranty and have issues arise.
Any feedback is appreciated, Thanks in advance. Here’s a pic
Is this a CPO car? I think that the maintenance minder will allow you to go up to 8k on oil changes it it is primarily highway miles, but 11k does seem like a lot. I have a 19 Aspec and have been very happy with it. I don't like that oil change interval, with the new ones out, you could look around to see if you can get a better example if you like this 1st generation model. I have no intentions of selling mine, I refer the v6 over the turbo 4.
They are selling it as is. I’m pretty set on getting a 1st gen A-spec, problem is they rarely show up for sale in my area. My current DD could die any day now, so if I can grab one now I might as well
Not sure if you have driven it, but spend some time doing that, more than a few miles. Some have complained of shifting issues with the ZF9 and you can also find some complaints about vibration. Seems to be gone in newer years mostly, but verify on that particular car.....
Have over 10,000 miles on our 2019 V6 ASpec SH-AWD (that’s a lot of acronyms) and have not experienced any issues with the transmission nor vibrations from the drive train. Good luck and enjoy!
It all depends upon your driving, highway miles, vs city, etc, but I routinely get 9K plus before I get to 5-10 percent oil life on my 2018 2.4 ASpec, and a little less on my 2015 3.5 TLX, around 8.5 K. I would estimate that 80% or more of my miles are suburban or city. Always good to drive the car sufficently, as mentioned by others. Good luck!
Last edited by mapleloaf; Oct 12, 2020 at 12:30 AM.
I’m assuming whoever had the car did a lot of highway driving considering he racked up 48k miles in 2 years. I appreciate the feedback, I’ll see if maybe they’ll let me take the car for a day to really get a feel
8k is not abnormal...11k is pushing it. Maintenance minder usually comes on between average 5000-7000 miles. So there's probably lit up and they neglected service for a few thousand miles
I personally do oil change no more than 5k, even if its not "ready for oil". But I also don't drive much, so thats a 1 year mark for me so it needs to be changed due to time, no miles.
If its CPO I would say your fine because it has a 100K warranty. I would personally look just for a CPO TLX.
When living in NYC, I used to get 4k miles between oil changes. Now living in SC I get 12k between maintenance warnings. It all depends on driving conditions. I would say I drive 95 percent highway (50+ MPH) now that I live down south.
Yeah I don't think 11K is pushing it all that much under certain conditions and their service records indicate to me that they were just going by the maintenance minder, which is what I do in my TSX. And like another poster said that kind of mileage on an '18 sure seems like they did a lot of highway driving, which also helps to support the longer intervals between changing.
Just be sure to get a good deal, they're practically giving these things away in my area.
Find a smooth highway and see if it vibrates between 70-80 MPH. I had to get rid on my 2018 A-SPEC because of it.
THIS is exactly why I got PAWS when I otherwise would have wanted SHAWD. That is the most popular highway cruising speed, making highway trips impossible. I dont get winter so not a deal breaker.
THIS is exactly why I got PAWS when I otherwise would have wanted SHAWD. That is the most popular highway cruising speed, making highway trips impossible. I dont get winter so not a deal breaker.
Again, this is not a wide spread issue with 2018-20 MY ASpecs (no sure about the 2018-20 TLX line as a whole). I feel bad that guy experienced it, but it's mainly a 2015-17 issue from all I've read on this forum. In 3+yrs of ownership, I've never had a vibration on the highway, from ramp up in speed towards 100mph, or when cruising between 65-80+mph.
Again, this is not a wide spread issue with 2018-20 MY ASpecs (no sure about the 2018-20 TLX line as a whole). I feel bad that guy experienced it, but it's mainly a 2015-17 issue from all I've read on this forum. In 3+yrs of ownership, I've never had a vibration on the highway, from ramp up in speed towards 100mph, or when cruising between 65-80+mph.
First, he goes "it's not a widespread issue," then in the second sentence clarifies that his expertise on the subject comes from "what he's read on this forum." Facepalm. Careful listening to people like this. It doesn't matter if he's driven his car for 3 year or 3 decades. If it doesn't vibrate on day 1, it won't vibrate on day 1,000. It's a powertrain issue. There are consumer reviews on Edmunds as late as 2019MY complaining of the 70-80mph vibration.
If you really want to buy any 1G V6 SHAWD TLX, you absolutely must drive it on the expressway to feel for the vibration before signing the paperwork. If it's there, you will know. The whole floorboard and steering column shakes. If it's not, it will be smooth as glass and should be fine forever. No one with the problem ever got it fixed except CHB31 (or whatever his screenname was) who got a new rear differential. If you have an okay TLX, then experience vibrations after swapping tires, road force balancing should eliminate it.
I talked to my Honda specialist about the vibration, trying to dyno my TLX with vibration sensors, removing the prop shaft and removing the rear axles. He said he had heard other TLX customers complain of the same thing I did and would only charge me $75 to experiment, but I decided not to because I didn't want to pay for a FWD car when I bought an AWD car.
I talked to my Acura dealership about it too. Complained every time I was in there for service or other repairs. They did the prop shaft rotation and the rear suspension stiffening TSBs, but wouldn't go any further than that. I asked specifically about rear diff replacement and he said "Acura won't do that - a vibration is not a defect." Which is along the lines that everyone else heard about the vehicle performing within specifications or whatever jargon Acura told them to use. My story is consistent with dozens of others on this forum. I don't know "what you've read" here, but it clearly wasn't much on the vibration. And why would you? Yours doesn't vibrate.
You're obviously are not an expert. Neither am I. I don't work for Acura R&D, but I am an engineer and I've done my homework on this. Don't mislead people into making a costly mistake on buying a vehicle that will vibrate their soul until they have to decide whether to continue tolerating it or trade it in at a huge loss for a Euro or Lexus.
Last edited by someguy11; Oct 14, 2020 at 09:40 AM.
I have heard that those vibrations on Sh-AWD Tlxs were mostly from 15 to 17 years. I got mine in 2019 a 2019 TLX Aspec Sh-AWD and after more than year ago with 10k miles now it is smooth like water. I also test drove a 2018 TLX aspec Sh-awd used for 48K miles and even that car was very smooth no drama of vibrations.
I talked to my Honda specialist about the vibration, trying to dyno my TLX with vibration sensors, removing the prop shaft and removing the rear axles. He said he had heard other TLX customers complain of the same thing I did and would only charge me $75 to experiment, but I decided not to because I didn't want to pay for a FWD car when I bought an AWD car.
I talked to my Acura dealership about it too. Complained every time I was in there for service or other repairs. They did the prop shaft rotation and the rear suspension stiffening TSBs, but wouldn't go any further than that. I asked specifically about rear diff replacement and he said "Acura won't do that - a vibration is not a defect." Which is along the lines that everyone else heard about the vehicle performing within specifications or whatever jargon Acura told them to use. My story is consistent with dozens of others on this forum. I don't know "what you've read" here, but it clearly wasn't much on the vibration. And why would you? Yours doesn't vibrate.
You're obviously are not an expert. Neither am I. I don't work for Acura R&D, but I am an engineer and I've done my homework on this. Don't mislead people into making a costly mistake on buying a vehicle that will vibrate their soul until they have to decide whether to continue tolerating it or trade it in at a huge loss for a Euro or Lexus.
Like the ZF9 issues, I respect that people have dealt with real issues, and the knowledge of how they were resolved is priceless. Those that complained loud enough to get Acura to acquiesce and fix the problem helps all owners. But, to categorically saw all vehicles of a certain run (e.g. equipped with SH-AWD) are afflicted is simply not true.
Who gives a shit about being right?
It's a problem and there's an easy way to find if the car has that problem, if I'm understanding correctly.
Good advice but ego is a hell of a drug.
a thousand miles for $37K sounds like a better deal on a 2020 model though
Like the ZF9 issues, I respect that people have dealt with real issues, and the knowledge of how they were resolved is priceless. Those that complained loud enough to get Acura to acquiesce and fix the problem helps all owners. But, to categorically saw all vehicles of a certain run (e.g. equipped with SH-AWD) are afflicted is simply not true.
Maybe the disconnect between us is the definition of widespread? Shrug. Widespread means across the entire production. It's happening to some TLXs in Canada and US. That doesn't mean all SHAWDs exhibit it. That doesn't even mean most SHAWDs exhibit it. From what I heard, read here and who I talked to, my best guess is that roughly about 10-25% of SHAWDs were affected. Could be more. Could be only 5%. There is no rhyme or reason, except SHAWD. Not certain color. Not certain geographical area. Not certain tires. It's not like Acura is publishing the number. My advice to anyone like OP considering a SHAWD is to test drive it to make sure you don't buy one with the vibration, because there is no fix.
Maybe the disconnect between us is the definition of widespread? Shrug. Widespread means across the entire production. It's happening to some TLXs in Canada and US. That doesn't mean all SHAWDs exhibit it. That doesn't even mean most SHAWDs exhibit it. From what I heard, read here and who I talked to, my best guess is that roughly about 10-25% of SHAWDs were affected. Could be more. Could be only 5%. There is no rhyme or reason, except SHAWD. Not certain color. Not certain geographical area. Not certain tires. It's not like Acura is publishing the number. My advice to anyone like OP considering a SHAWD is to test drive it to make sure you don't buy one with the vibration, because there is no fix.
I'm so ticked with Acura that the problem was as widespread as it was and that they allowed lousy rear differential QC to span the entire production life AND offered no resolution. Had Acura resolved this, I would have EASILY gotten SH-AWD and would have been enjoying every aspect of the vehicle.
That said, my buyers remorse would have been so much worse had I bought a SH-AWD and had the vibration problems. My buyers remorse with my 9G Accord was terrible as the seats were so incredibly uncomfortable they caused back problems, but I couldn't take the financial hit on a trade at the time.
I've always liked the 1G TLX, both exterior and interior. Had Acura resolved the SH-AWD issue, I would have not even thought twice about getting one, and I'd most likely love the TLX as my favorite vehicle ever owned and find it fun to drive.
I really wanted a TLX when I bought the Accord but hated the ZF9 and needed full Acura Watch for my then long highway commutes at 5am. I would have bought a 4cyl TLX had Acura offered full Acura Watch then. Acura only offered that in the Advance ZF9 until the 2018MY. Honda had in the 2016MY.
Last edited by AcuraGuy2016; Oct 15, 2020 at 09:05 AM.
I'm so ticked with Acura that the problem was as widespread as it was and that they allowed lousy rear differential QC to span the entire production life AND offered no resolution. Had Acura resolved this, I would have EASILY gotten SH-AWD and would have been enjoying every aspect of the vehicle.
I've always liked the 1G TLX, both exterior and interior. Had Acura resolved the SH-AWD issue, I would have not even thought twice about getting one, and I'd most likely love the TLX as my favorite vehicle ever owned and find it fun to drive.
Yeah, I spent a lot of time researching (albeit not on forums) before my TLX. It was the perfect car on paper and the exact one showed up when I was ready to buy. It was a white TLX SHAWD with greystone interior, Advance Pkg and Aero Kit. I couldn't have built myself a better car off the assembly line. I test drove it around town, liked it and bought it. Within the first year, I got the ZF9 replaced due to the 2-3 jerk and survived with the 70-80 vibration as long as I could. I welcomed anyone who doubted this issue existed to come drive mine before I traded it in. To be fair, I don't think Acura wanted to pay $3,500 on a widespread rear diff replacement program. They'd rather test your mettle.
I still say these are phenomenal cars on paper. It's like a SuperAccord. In fact, I doubt there is a better looking sedan on the road than the one in the OP - the white Aspec. I still stare those down whenever I see them. I absolutely love it. For me, the V6 power was great and SHAWD was remarkable off the line and around corners, but the strings attached to that model with the ZF9 and the vibration obviously weren't worth it. Plus I had to muzzle the VCM to un-neuter the V6, my ACC worked intermittently, my LKAS was a basketcase and I had the speaker rattle, pulley squeak and door pop TSBs that the TLX ended up being simply a disaster. Not sure how my car was ever produced by Hondacura. Great way for the brand to lose me to Lexus for life (my GS is still amazing). Just know you may have dodged a bullet and OP should be careful too. It's a car you can't just fall in love with the looks and buy based on what you read in Car & Driver. You must test drive extensively. That's all I'm saying.
Last edited by someguy11; Oct 15, 2020 at 09:58 AM.
Yeah, I spent a lot of time researching (albeit not on forums) before my TLX. It was the perfect car on paper and the exact one showed up when I was ready to buy. It was a white TLX SHAWD with greystone interior, Advance Pkg and Aero Kit. I couldn't have built myself a better car off the assembly line. I test drove it around town, liked it and bought it. Within the first year, I got the ZF9 replaced due to the 2-3 jerk and survived with the 70-80 vibration as long as I could. I welcomed anyone who doubted this issue existed to come drive mine before I traded it in. To be fair, I don't think Acura wanted to pay $3,500 on a widespread rear diff replacement program. They'd rather test your mettle.
I still say these are phenomenal cars on paper. It's like a SuperAccord. In fact, I doubt there is a better looking sedan on the road than the one in the OP - the white Aspec. I still stare those down whenever I see them. I absolutely love it. For me, the V6 power was great and SHAWD was remarkable off the line and around corners, but the strings attached to that model with the ZF9 and the vibration obviously weren't worth it. Plus I had to muzzle the VCM to un-neuter the V6, my ACC worked intermittently, my LKAS was a basketcase and I had the speaker rattle, pulley squeak and door pop TSBs that the TLX ended up being simply a disaster. Not sure how my car was ever produced by Hondacura. Great way for the brand to lose me to Lexus for life (my GS is still amazing). Just know you may have dodged a bullet and OP should be careful too. It's a car you can't just fall in love with the looks and buy based on what you read in Car & Driver. You must test drive extensively. That's all I'm saying.
Well it got me put of a car that I could never get comfortable for years. Fun launches are nice but <2% of the time I'm in the vehicle. Uncomfortable seats, which the Accord had, are 100% of the time. The seats in the TLX are great. I still think better tires will help with the launch. It will provide more grip, which is technically what SH-AWD is able to do with the stock tires at launch. I don't really care much about high speed cornering - just better launches.
I'm so ticked with Acura that the problem was as widespread as it was and that they allowed lousy rear differential QC to span the entire production life AND offered no resolution. Had Acura resolved this, I would have EASILY gotten SH-AWD and would have been enjoying every aspect of the vehicle.
That said, my buyers remorse would have been so much worse had I bought a SH-AWD and had the vibration problems. My buyers remorse with my 9G Accord was terrible as the seats were so incredibly uncomfortable they caused back problems, but I couldn't take the financial hit on a trade at the time.
I've always liked the 1G TLX, both exterior and interior. Had Acura resolved the SH-AWD issue, I would have not even thought twice about getting one, and I'd most likely love the TLX as my favorite vehicle ever owned and find it fun to drive.
I really wanted a TLX when I bought the Accord but hated the ZF9 and needed full Acura Watch for my then long highway commutes at 5am. I would have bought a 4cyl TLX had Acura offered full Acura Watch then. Acura only offered that in the Advance ZF9 until the 2018MY. Honda had in the 2016MY.
Well you should have test driven the sh-awd on the highway. The vibration isn't something that develops over time. By all accounts on the forums the car either has it or doesn't from day one. I thought that was pretty common knowledge by now.
Sounds overpriced at $31K. You can pick up a brand new SH-AWD A-Spec today for well under $40K, and likely more once they start stagnating on dealer lots. I can't imagine that 2 years and 48k miles is only worth 20% depreciation.
