just for perspective on our issues, here is a quote from another forum regarding another mfr's products:

Our issues seem less pressing when we look at other products and the problems they are having. :wink:

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^^ YIKES!

Sadly though, people very remember the "perspective" aspect of life. I am not one that dwells on the things I don't have or the body I wish I had, rather, I focus on the fact that there are always people worse off than I am and that I should keep that in perspective - That is what makes me enjoy life to the fullest and not sweat the little stuff.

 

I'm sure if we were to troll all the forums out there, they would all have their fair share of issues. Some cars are truly just poorly made and some are just the victim of certain poor components. There's no "perfect" car, and some people expect the car to be, but all we can hope for is as close as possible.

It's been said that if you're happy with a product you'll tell 2 or 3 people, but if your dissatisfied you'll tell 10. By that logic, and I believe in the concept, you'll hear more on forums from people having problems than you'll hear about from people who aren't.

But with that said, that sounds like some pretty major flaws with those FCA cars.

 

In defense of the article, most of the complaints listed are cosmetic. Whereas the biggest complaint threads about the TLX are transmission related. I think transmission related issues are a lot bigger deal than paint issues (as mentioned, the car could be completely repainted to fix it.....the new gen Corvette had similar issues in its first few months)

I have a TLX loaner right now and after driving it, the first thing my wife commented was "why do I have to give it so much gas to get it to go?" After riding with her again, what she is feeling is definitely the lag on take off. I drove it myself and if you dont give it a good amount of throttle from the start, it seems to start off a lot slower. And this is a loaner car with 68 miles on it, so I cant exactly say its happening after a few K miles on the car.

After driving it myself a few other times (without wife in the car) I have to say....the transmission really feels like its holding the car back. Even in Sport+ mode without manual shifting.

I love the tech stuff and how its implemented, but not thrilled with the drivetrain right now. And it seems at least a little smaller inside than the 03 TL it would be replacing, a negative in the wife's book (it would be her car)

 

^ Is the loaner an i4 and can you get wheel spin on hard acceleration from a stopped position when in Sport mode? Or is there just a delay in getting the car moving? I do not have these problems with my V6 FWD.

There are very minor size differences to an '03 TL but overall it feels bigger to me.

 

The loaner is a V6, AWD.

Drove it again and noticed that if I hit the gas hard off the start the car really acts like it should. But if you dont do that it feels like it shifts into 3 or 4 pretty quickly....then if you want to get back on it it takes a bit to downshift.

Ive driven my 7 speed auto G37 for a while now and was able to figure it out. The TLX, not so much (at least so far).

As far as size, my SWAG showed the TLX had basically the same rear legroom as our TL, but the reality seems different. Once the car seat and my kids were in it, it felt smaller. Also parked in my garage the TLX seems a lot shorter (FWIW....I know a lot of that has to do with less overhang past the front and rear wheels)

 

So you will not get any well spin with the SH-AWD and it sound like your driving style with it should be in Sport+ with the paddles.

 

For me, yes. For the wife, not so much (its her car)

We were comparing it to an ES350 (I know, two different vehicles, but this is Acura's "answer" to the entry/mid luxury sedan) and she felt a lot more comfortable with the ES.

She did ask me, if it were a car for me which one would I want, and it would be the Acura hands down (her dad loved it too, her mom preferred the ES....maybe its a girl thing?). But this car isn't for me, so its up to her.

 

Were you in the ECON mode of the IDS? I have never really noticed any "lag" when I take off, but in ECON it is a little more reserved for economy reasons. I don't plan on drag racing my AWD V6 anytime soon, but it doesn't seem to have any problems accelerating for me. In the Sport modes it is definitely more aggressive, and I like to keep in those modes if I can really utilize it.

 

Never had it in eco.

Picked it up and it was already set to Sport.

Also played with Sport+ (with and without manual shifting)

*I* could probably have gotten used to it, but my wife is more of a "I want to start it up and drive it and do nothing else in between" so telling her to use paddles, etc would be out of the question.

Im sure it will get better over time, it was just disappointing to see a basically brand new car act like that. I get the notion of it "adapting" to "bad" behavior, but I would figure a 68 mile old car wouldnt have adapted to much of anything.

 

Was the parking brake on? Just kidding, but I'm very happy with the performance of my TLX and I've had some pretty quick/fast cars in the past and I don't feel like the TLX is a dog. I'm not sure why the performance was so doggy in your loaner, but we'd have to hear from other owners or people who've driven the TLX for more opinions.

If your wife decides to get a TLX I feel she'll be happy with it, but that's the best part of having so many choices available. She can get exactly what she wants and if it's not a TLX that's fine as long as she's happy because it's going to be the car that SHE drives not me or anyone else.

Best of luck with whatever she/you decide on.

 

Yeah it was really weird. I mean Ive read about the lag, etc but was not expecting it to be like that. My wife commented on it as well (I hadnt mentioned anything about the transmission to her at all, I wanted an unbiased opinion from her)....she said she felt like she had to "hit the gas so much just to make it go"

But at other times off the line the thing was really quick.

Maybe its missing the latest s/w update, or maybe there is something that needs to be "prepped" with the car that wasnt done yet. Not sure.

 

I've read about the lag, too, but my V-6 FWD car doesn't have it ... nor have any of the several loaners I drove.

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Hi Mike ,


I see that you own 2012 TL (AWD?) and I cannot think that you wouldn't feel the difference between TL and TLX. Myself I test few TLX and they all lagged compared with my TL.
The most annoying for me is the amount of gas pedal travel input in order to get a "response" which I can categorized as lag.
The TL it was a very "happy trigger" , just a small touch on the throttle and there you go.. ooo god how much I missed that now , but fortunately is just a 3 years lease..

 

Almost exactly what my wife said after her first couple times driving it.

 

I have noticed the lag with my wife's V6, and she has mentioned it, too. But, we have adjusted our style to the way the TLX behaves and have just accepted it - with 9 speed trannys that is the way of life.

 

I think Miner has it - welcome to the 9spd, which is mainly a function of meeting EPA and CAFE mileage standards.

When someone says "lag", I think of a distinct pause before anything happens when you hit the throttle, but I think some of you are just referring to a softer throttle response, where you don't get a whoosh of speed without pressing harder. The industry refers to that as "throttle tip-in", meaning how fast the engine responds to throttle input.

A sharper (or quicker) tip-in makes a car feel quicker and more athletic, but unfortunately it hurts gas mileage and emissions in EPA and CAFE testing. And with carmakers facing huge penalties for not meeting the mileage and emissions targets the government has set, they are backing off on tip-in and upshifting transmissions as fast as they can to get the best mileage and emissions numbers in the testing.

We all benefit from the higher fuel mileage and better emissions, but the price we pay is softer tip-in and clunky 9spd transmissions.

If any of you were around in the early 70's, you experienced this to a staggering degree. I bought a brand-new V8 Pontiac Grand Prix in 1976, following the worldwide gas crisis, and in the first year of the catalytic converter. That big V8 car was about as powerful as a Ford Pinto, and the accelerator felt like putting your foot into a bowl of pudding ... all thanks to a government clamp-down on carmakers requiring them to cut emissions and increase gas mileage. You talk about soft throttle response! Those were some dark years for car enthusiasts.

You want more whoosh? Push harder.

Just sayin'.



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While I like the overall idea of implementing mpg rules, what I dont understand about Honda/Acura's case is that they have very few, if any at all, vehicles that get anything that might be considered "poor" mpg.

The Ridgeline and the NSX (which doesnt exist yet) are the only 2 I can think of that might get mpg bad enough to hurt their CAFE approval. And even those probably arent that bad!

And if we want to talk about mpg and drivetrains, how can a V8 RWD sports car (Corvette) get such good mpg without anything more than 7 speeds, and even less than 7 speeds before that?

 

Mike , maybe you're right , but not all the manufacturers become "sluggish" .
I understand, if you want economy use ECO , but when I'm on Sport+ give the "that thrill" ...

 

I had a '72 Challenger 318 car, rated at a whopping 150HP... that little 2 barrel on top of it. Great little engine but detuned badly

 

Sad, wasn't it.

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If tip in such a huge issue, why not buy a sprint booster? It increases tip in so you get rid of the lag. Many folks with BMW's and other cars love to use them.

 

Im sure *some* of it is tip in, but Im sure some of it is also mechanical.

The TCU and transmission still need to "figure out" what gear to get into, and that takes time (we arent talking seconds here, but milliseconds when you are driving can make a difference)

With 9 speeds to choose from there are a lot of possibilities. Downshift a gear or two, downshift 3 or 4 gears, etc. I find it funny that just 10 years ago we had 4 and 5 speed automatics, now we have transmissions that are trying to downshift 4 or 5 gears at once!

 

Interesting. I wasn't familiar with the sprint booster.

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