I spent the day with a '19 Aspect as my lease is finishing up soon.

It not clear to me what the consumer benefit is ( are) to the push button shift, but I didn't like it. I had to look down every time I shifted. Can it be seen at night? Where do you rest your right hand ?

The transmission itself felt like it was slipping as it changed gears.

There was no spare tire ? Dealer said I could buy one for $500!

Moving on

 

It not clear to me what the consumer benefit is ( are) to the push button shift, but I didn't like it. Fair enough. I am used to it and like it.

I had to look down every time I shifted. Can it be seen at night? Yes. The buttons are back lit. Where do you rest your right hand ? My fingers tend to run along the inside edge of the cup holders.

The transmission itself felt like it was slipping as it changed gears. Agree this is not a favorable characteristic but lucky for me I have not experienced this.

There was no spare tire? Seems to be the trend now adays Dealer said I could buy one for $500! If you feel its necessary for you next car Im sure one could be had for less than $500

Moving on. Me too at lease end (July 2020). Tell us what you end up with! I look at cars on the daily and I'm still not sure what to go with next time around.

 

When I leased my AWD A-SPEC, I made sure the dealer INCLUDED, the Donut spare, as part of the lease; as well as Tire insurance, All weather mats, wheel locks, & an Acura hat!
That's called negotiating!

 

It not clear to me what the consumer benefit is ( are) to the push button shift, but I didn't like it. I am used to it too and like it too, except with the pushbutton, Y turns are painfully difficult and rocking out when stuck in snow is impossible.

The transmission itself felt like it was slipping as it changed gears. The ZF9 does a lot of weird stuff. Mine does what you describe regularly. Out of every 10 right turns, 2 go normally, 3 are what you describe (the ZF9 rides the clutch creating this CVT sensation through 2nd or 3rd gear) and 5 are the ZF9 upshifting to 2nd and 3rd way too early bogging down acceleration.

There was no spare tire? Dealer said I could buy one for $500! Terdbath was right on about this. Plenty of other threads about lack of a spare. Odds are greatly in your favor that you won't need one in your life.

Moving on. Also interested in what you get next. What you described were problems exclusive to the V6. Did you try the I4? There is an Aspec in that too, but you won't get AWD.

 

I don't mind the pushbutton shifter. I actually like it, but since I only use the thing a couple of times on a drive, it's "whatever" for the most part. I do like the fact my backpack/laptop bag doesn't get snagged on the shifter, though. lol. I rest my hand on my lap or center storage compartment between the seats. And, yes, it's lit at night. The only thing I worry about more is spilling something onto it.
The transmission sucks, and since I have a 2015 that has the original transmission, it sucks even more. Its suckiness is documented here to varying degrees. Some of it depends on what you can tolerate, while in other cases, they can be ignored or may even be non-existent. There's very little consistency.
No spare tire seems to be more common nowadays from what I've heard (not sure). I don't have one. My next car will probably have it. I'm guessing part of it is because they can screw the customer a bit more on the price of the car (lol). Not sure how much it affects fuel savings.

 

once you own the push button shifter and then drive a normal shifter you realize how much more open the front console feels and no intrusive shifter. Compared to other brands implementations of push button I find Acura/Honda’s to be the most logical and intuitive.

 

Yeah it's fine. It's a button to push instead of a shift lever.

 

I rest my right hand on the steering wheel, which is where it belongs in my daily driver. push button tranny is a safety feature. I’m used to it now, anyway.

 

When I first saw the push button I wasn't very convinced, but after owning my car for over 3yrs now, I really like it. I've gotten used to it and don't even need to look down to change gears. It really does free up alot of space in the middle, so swinging my laptop bag across I don't have to worry about hitting anything. The hardest part was getting used to not having my hand rest on a shifter, but that was easy to adjust to.

 

It not clear to me what the consumer benefit is ( are) to the push button shift, but I didn't like it. I had to look down every time I shifted. Can it be seen at night? Where do you rest your right hand ? As others have said not only do you get used to it quickly, I actually find it better. In addition to having more space in the front seat, I never have to look down to shift, I can feel each button and know exactly where each one is through muscle memory. And when backing out of a parking spot, it is really easy to pull back on the R button with my index finger and hit the parking brake release with my thumb. Takes less than a second. It I had to go back to a stick and hand brake it would be really annoying.

The transmission itself felt like it was slipping as it changed gears. I don't feel slipping but with the 9-speed it takes too long to shift sometimes.

There was no spare tire ? Dealer said I could buy one for $500! Yes I agree, the car should come with one. Just another short sighted cost savings move. Especially since the car does not have run flats. Hate run flats anyway.

Moving on Not sure what my next car will be. That will be a few years. But with the exception of the transmission, none of the above should cause anyone to move on. Overall the car has served me well, I just don't like the way Acura has treated me wrt the transmission.

 

Nearly two years old and I love mine more each day. Is it perfect? Nope, but no other cars I've owned have been either (including 2-335is, 1- S4, 2-CTS, etc).

Push button transmission.....got used to it quickly. Now, it's like anything else in the car. I get in. Start it. Pull back the reverse button (which automatically releases the parking brake) and look at the reverse camera screen. Shutting down, I hit the "on/off" button (which automatically puts the car in Park) and pull on the parking brake. Easy-peasy!

Spare....Haven't had a flat tire in over a decade.

Trans....when shifting from reverse to drive it sometimes takes too long, or shifting into reverse pulling out of the garage it takes a split second too long. But, those are nits.

This TLX has been the most trouble free car I've ever owned. Cheap to maintain, cheap to operate.

Next car is already picked out. 2021 TLX (hopefully S-Type). Outside chance I may cheap out and get a VW GLI Autobahn edition. Have to admit, the KIA Stinger GT I test drove almost had me sign the papers. But....well.....it's a KIA and I had read the early models of those weren't quite sorted out very well.

 

I've had mine since Sept 2015. While I don't have the vibration issue, and I was originally fine with the transmission, I've learned to HATE this transmission with every fiber of my being, particularly since I picked up an S2000 last year and now realize what I miss about being able to dictate my own behavior for the tranny. When making turns, it definitely likes to ride out the torque converter rather than downshift and the 2-3 shift is like a kick in the back. The worst is wanting to pass on the highway. Pressing your foot down results in a 2+second delay while it tries to figure out what to do. Paddle shifters are not much help either.

But... it's paid off and virtually trouble-free, like every Honda/Acura I've owned. When I was originally shopping for this, I first drove the 2.4 DCT and was ready to pull the trigger. But I drove the V6 and fell in love with the power and AWD (it was new and the transmission hadn't yet learned to hate me). I don't regret my purchase... But doing it over I would have gotten the 2.4, if I had the chance to ask my future self my opinion.

I ended up buying the spare 3 years after my purchase... flat at Newark Airport in the parking garage at 11:00 PM when I arrived back from a flight. AAA wouldn't enter the garage, so I needed to drive it down on the flat and wait just outside of the garage toll gates. By the time I got home, I lost more time than it was worth just to have a spare and throw it on when needed in a pinch like that.

Overall the TLX is a fine automobile. The ZF is just a horrid choice... and know that tranny fluid changes are about $350 at the dealer since the fluid is expensive and they need to pre-heat it to change it. I'm going to find a way to pre-heat it myself and do it at home on my next interval. F'ing Germans and their brilliant engineering.

 

I bought a small 12V air compressor from https://www.viaircorp.com/ and keep it in my trunk. The few times I've had a nail or screw in my tire it was a pretty slow leak. A pump will keep you going most of the time. It also works well just to keep your tires inflated to the proper level. One lesson learned though, if you connect it through your 12V outlet in the cabin, be prepared to blow lots of fuses. I bought an adaptor so I can run it from the battery. Works like a charm.

 

The tlx comes standard with a compressor in the truck. It can be used in either compressed air mode or in sealant plus air mode. It should run off the lighter fine. I usually add air at home with my garage compressor but without that the stock TLX compressor can do it as well, just not as fast.

 

Was that due to a clearance issue OR a PANYNJ issue?

 

Yes, but somehow I just don't trust that emergency compressor for everyday use. But you are right, the OP could have used that compressor to pump up the tire if the leak was slow enough.