AcuraZine - Acura Enthusiast Community

AcuraZine - Acura Enthusiast Community (https://acurazine.com/forums/)
-   6G TLX (2021+) (https://acurazine.com/forums/6g-tlx-2021-466/)
-   -   My TLX SH AWD A-Spec loaner experience (https://acurazine.com/forums/6g-tlx-2021-466/my-tlx-sh-awd-spec-loaner-experience-1001030/)

ELIN 11-03-2022 07:34 AM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16852957)
Went to get my plates today. I put the X3 in Sport Plus and hit the throttle on short entry highway ramp. Never once did I fear for my life like I did doing the same thing on the TLX in Sport mode. I'm sure the Type S would have been a different story but it wasn't around in the Fall of 2020.


Originally Posted by KrylonBlue (Post 16852983)
I don’t understand this at all. I drove the ASPEC in Normal/Sport modes and not once did I feel the brakes were unresponsive or “scary”. This is after driving the Type S so that says something. My friend with an ASPEC doesn’t have any concerns either. So I don’t really know

You misread my post. This one was about acceleration and not braking. We have really short and tight entry/exit ramps in my area. Always a harrowing experience entering the highway with the TLX.

If I could make a video to show you what I'm talking about without getting pulled over I would. Maybe after I install a dash cam...

ESHBG 11-03-2022 10:38 AM


Originally Posted by PhilB81 (Post 16852943)
Thanks for your response, I’ll add some extra information about your points;

- the sound system, it was mostly radio, I admit, but I played some tunes from Spotify through CarPlay. The audio was a lot better than the TL that I have, but I didn’t feel like it was leagues above my 2011 Odyssey Touring Elite (elite has a better stereo than the touring). Perhaps it’s just my ears (I am no audiophile) but factory systems lack a little low down bass (by contrast finding headphones that are not bass boosted is a challenge). So, I will agree, you are right the TLX audio deserves better than “pretty good”. I will add as a reference that I had a listen to the Burmeister system in a Porsche and I didn’t get anything special out of it and I don’t fully understand the price of that option.
- regarding the gauges, do all TLX have the same colors? On the 3rd gen the TypeS has red and the base models are blue themed. As for the analog gauges that’s the only thing I had a hard time with, the lcd middle bit was crisp. I could adjust the dimmer to correct it, but it depended too much on light conditions. The rental didn’t have tinted windows, perhaps that would help? On my TL though the numbers are backlit white, I think my eyes just struggled with the red, I always needed half a second to regain focus. As for my age, well, I’m 41 years old physically, 11 mentally, and 80+ emotionally (permanently grumpy).
- regarding the brakes, when I wrote that, I wasn’t aware of other thread(s) discussing this topic. Is it something you can get used to, yeah probably. But it felt to me like the braking force was not just a factor of how far the pedal traveled but also how rapidly you pressed on it. I had another small event in the parking lot when someone was coming out from behind a utility van so I transitioned from the throttle to the brake very quickly (light press on both) but it felt like the car registered it as a panic brake and I basically chirped the tires from 5-6 mph to a dead stop. None of the cars I’m used to driving regularly would have done that.
- the lurching was when using the engine auto start stop, and it was in situations when the engine needed to restart before the light was green. It was like going from park to drive or neutral to drive in an older auto transmission. Even with your foot hard on the brake the car bucked forward once.
- good to know the boost gauge can always be there, I did mention it was likely me not exploring the menus sufficiently, I am glad you can display it regardless of driving mode, thanks for pointing that out.
- as far as the steering, that’s definitely something I would get used to quickly and I didn’t tweak anything in the individualized settings. I should have checked how many rotations the wheel does lock to lock, but it just felt like they were trying to get the same wheel turning angle by reducing the full steering rotation by 1/2 a turn (1/4 turn in each direction) so they sped up the last bit of the rotation. As you pointed out, the on center feel and small inputs was very nice, but without being too sensitive. It was just something new to me, the “daily” cars I have still have hydraulic systems, and the EPS cars I have (or have driven more frequently) didn’t do that.

Haha! I enjoyed the “another man’s meh” comment!
The TLX was better than Meh! I did say at the bottom that I would definitely cross-shop / consider a TLX if I was in the car / sedan marker. However, if my message conveyed that my thoughts on the TLX were “meh”, that’s on me. I should have been more clear.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how bad the TLX is or isn’t, at least it’s not an suv :tomato:.
(sorry I couldn’t help myself, too many nice folks with X3 in here, I had to throw in a dig :) )

thanks!

RE: the gauges no, the A-Spec is the only one with the white/red and the other trims are the regular dark background/light numbers scheme.

ELIN 11-03-2022 12:16 PM


Originally Posted by frainc (Post 16853001)
When someone is sorry about what they got, then you get something else that you are happy with. I'm sure ELIN is now happy but then don't come back and say this and that about the TLX that he had problems with. I very happy with my TLX and after 23,000 miles with zero problems.
He doesn't have anything good to say now about Acura so he should enjoy his BMW and input his love on their forums.

So when I started the TLX Owner's Thread everything was good because I was on the "correct" side but now that I no longer own an Acura I need to be shown the door?!!!

I really hope this is just a facade for the forums and not the real you. Life is too short to be chasing former owners on a virtual soap box.

Legend2TL 11-03-2022 12:52 PM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16852957)
Went to get my plates today. I put the X3 in Sport Plus and hit the throttle on short entry highway ramp. Never once did I fear for my life like I did doing the same thing on the TLX in Sport mode. I'm sure the Type S would have been a different story but it wasn't around in the Fall of 2020.

For reference, the TLX 4 cylinder is faster in the majority of acceleration testing by Car & Driver's testing than the X3 xDrive30. The X3 did stop 2 ft. shorter (175 compared to 177) than the TLX 70-0, but they're virtually identical in stopping

https://www.caranddriver.com/acura/tlx
https://www.caranddriver.com/bmw/x3


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16853097)
So when I started the TLX Owner's Thread everything was good because I was on the "correct" side but now that I no longer own an Acura I need to be shown the door?!!!

I really hope this is just a facade for the forums and not the real you. Life is too short to be chasing former owners on a virtual soap box.

Everyone is welcome to stay including you, no one is on the correct or incorrect side. All opinions are welcome :scrib:

KrylonBlue 11-03-2022 02:18 PM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16853097)
So when I started the TLX Owner's Thread everything was good because I was on the "correct" side but now that I no longer own an Acura I need to be shown the door?!!!

I really hope this is just a facade for the forums and not the real you. Life is too short to be chasing former owners on a virtual soap box.

You are more than welcome on these forums. Even if this is an Acura-centric forum many of us appreciate cars in general which means differing perspectives are always ideal.

frainc 11-03-2022 06:39 PM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16853097)
So when I started the TLX Owner's Thread everything was good because I was on the "correct" side but now that I no longer own an Acura I need to be shown the door?!!!

I really hope this is just a facade for the forums and not the real you. Life is too short to be chasing former owners on a virtual soap box.

It's not the real me as I am almost 76 years old and still love cars (esp. my TLX). Just some of your comments rub me the wrong way (like the last one "We have really short and tight entry/exit ramps in my area. Always a harrowing experience entering the highway with the TLX" and I reacted. I live on Long Island and the Southern State Parkway has some entering lanes as little as 50 feet and I never had a problem with my TLX merging into traffic or exiting. The TLX is not a slow car, not the fastest either, but for everyday driving it's very good in doing its job.

Just don't turn into a bear :biggrin:

ELIN 11-03-2022 08:34 PM


Originally Posted by frainc (Post 16853173)
It's not the real me as I am almost 76 years old and still love cars (esp. my TLX). Just some of your comments rub me the wrong way (like the last one "We have really short and tight entry/exit ramps in my area. Always a harrowing experience entering the highway with the TLX" and I reacted. I live on Long Island and the Southern State Parkway has some entering lanes as little as 50 feet and I never had a problem with my TLX merging into traffic or exiting. The TLX is not a slow car, not the fastest either, but for everyday driving it's very good in doing its job.

Just don't turn into a bear :biggrin:

I appreciate your honest response and hope you can appreciate someone else's experiences may be different from your own. I grew up driving in the streets of Queens/Long Island so that reference point is fully engrained in my head. I visited a couple months ago and the highways appear to get slower and slower, with speed cameras peppering strategic spots. You'll just have to take my word for it that Northern NJ is merciless to out of towners and speed is a welcome commodity (unlike NYC, speed cameras are not allowed in NJ).

When we hadn't heard from Bear for a while, I was genuinely concerned because I knew he was an older gentlemen. Many of us feared the worst but were relieved to find out he was still around.

When we eventually have to go and say goodbye to all our friends, will we be remembered for the good things we did or random postings on a forum?

mapleloaf 11-03-2022 10:26 PM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16852957)
Went to get my plates today. I put the X3 in Sport Plus and hit the throttle on short entry highway ramp. Never once did I fear for my life like I did doing the same thing on the TLX in Sport mode. I'm sure the Type S would have been a different story but it wasn't around in the Fall of 2020.

Could you perhaps enlarge on what happened when you went on throttle in Sport Mode? Also, how much "on throttle"? I don't usually drive that way, but I do get on throttle occasionally in Sport in an entry ramp and feel the grab of the SH-AWD, As I do in any other mode. Not being contrary, just curious. I am by nature, a generally safe driver but do enjoy some fun when safe:)

Tesla1856 11-03-2022 11:51 PM


Originally Posted by PhilB81 (Post 16852997)
hey! Stop derailing my thread! We are talking about computer games now!

Yes, the Test-Drive games were fun in the 80's and 90's on PC , but we had it on the Amiga also.

For arcade racing now, Asphalt-8 on the Apple-TV is lots of fun (for the whole family). You can use the Siri Remote (and it's gyro) as a "steering wheel". Also, it's easy to learn to Drift.


On the PC (Steam) I'm really liking Need for Speed Hot-Pursuit Remastered. Pretty easy to get Sony DS4 Controller (with Accelerometer) running in Steam's Big-Picture Mode. Forza Horizon 4 is also good.




ELIN 11-04-2022 06:56 AM


Originally Posted by Tesla1856 (Post 16853214)
Yes, the Test-Drive games were fun in the 80's and 90's on PC , but we had it on the Amiga also.

For arcade racing now, Asphalt-8 on the Apple-TV is lots of fun (for the whole family). You can use the Siri Remote (and it's gyro) as a "steering wheel". Also, it's easy to learn to Drift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpSG...annel=Gameloft

On the PC (Steam) I'm really liking Need for Speed Hot-Pursuit Remastered. Pretty easy to get Sony DS4 Controller (with Accelerometer) running in Steam's Big-Picture Mode. Forza Horizon 4 is also good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeRn...l=NeedforSpeed

I had an Amiga 1000 w/512k of RAM. It was an amazing machine for its time and you didn't need a separate sound card, graphics card, like later PCs did.

Ah the good old days...

ELIN 11-04-2022 07:17 AM

2 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by mapleloaf (Post 16853208)
Could you perhaps enlarge on what happened when you went on throttle in Sport Mode? Also, how much "on throttle"? I don't usually drive that way, but I do get on throttle occasionally in Sport in an entry ramp and feel the grab of the SH-AWD, As I do in any other mode. Not being contrary, just curious. I am by nature, a generally safe driver but do enjoy some fun when safe:)

Sure thing.

I pull up to the entrance on US 46 and come to a full stop due to a STOP sign (I've noticed there are way more STOP signs compared to YIELDS in NJ for whatever reason). As the entry ramp is typically at an awkward angle like 45 deg into traffic, I not only have to come up to full speed to enter 46, I have to angle back into the right most lane so that I don't accidentally enter the middle lane (see pic and remember the STOP sign is right where 46 meets the entry ramp). As I'm trying to enter the West-bound side of 46, I'm entering a portion where the drivers already on 46 are in a state of euphoria after having driven past the slowdown that is the 46/route 3 merger. In other words, they'll be making up for speed they lost and are typically zooming by at 60-80 mph. I get out of Normal/Comfort mode on the TLX by going into Sport mode. When I slam the throttle to the floor, there is a slight hesitation after a split second that makes me think "yup, I'm getting hit by oncoming traffic." I think we all agree that the 2.0 TLX has a bit of turbo lag. Eventually I got used to this hesitation, but going from 0-60 and trying to find an empty spot to join traffic has always been pretty dicey at intersections such as these.

Please let me know if this is descriptive enough to describe my issue. Note that the pictured entry ramp is considered "middle of the road" lengthwise. I've had shorter ramps that are only 1-2 car lengths again with a stupid STOP sign and similar angles.

norsairius 11-04-2022 09:36 AM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16853221)
Sure thing.

I pull up to the entrance on US 46 and come to a full stop due to a STOP sign (I've noticed there are way more STOP signs compared to YIELDS in NJ for whatever reason). As the entry ramp is typically at an awkward angle like 45 deg into traffic, I not only have to come up to full speed to enter 46, I have to angle back into the right most lane so that I don't accidentally enter the middle lane (see pic and remember the STOP sign is right where 46 meets the entry ramp). As I'm trying to enter the West-bound side of 46, I'm entering a portion where the drivers already on 46 are in a state of euphoria after having driven past the slowdown that is the 46/route 3 merger. In other words, they'll be making up for speed they lost and are typically zooming by at 60-80 mph. I get out of Normal/Comfort mode on the TLX by going into Sport mode. When I slam the throttle to the floor, there is a slight hesitation after a split second that makes me think "yup, I'm getting hit by oncoming traffic." I think we all agree that the 2.0 TLX has a bit of turbo lag. Eventually I got used to this hesitation, but going from 0-60 and trying to find an empty spot to join traffic has always been pretty dicey at intersections such as these.

Please let me know if this is descriptive enough to describe my issue. Note that the pictured entry ramp is considered "middle of the road" lengthwise. I've had shorter ramps that are only 1-2 car lengths again with a stupid STOP sign and similar angles.

I think I get what you're saying. The TLX will sometimes have massive hesitation when I roll up to a roundabout and then hit the throttle to go through. This happens in situations where I don't come to a complete stop and in the transition from slowing down to quickly needing to accelerate again. I've found it's due to clumsiness with the transmission and for what it's worth, I've experienced this hesitation in other cars (2018 Mazda CX-9 with a 6spd auto and 2019 VW GTI with a 7spd dual clutch auto come to mind).

The 10-speed in the TLX is better than I expected it would be, but it's still a weak spot in the powertrain/driving experience and not as responsive or snappy as the ZF 8-speed that BMW and so many others use. I think the ZF 8-speed is probably the best automatic on the market today barring maybe dual clutch transmissions that may make a difference for the track enthusiasts out there.

ELIN 11-04-2022 09:40 AM


Originally Posted by norsairius (Post 16853245)
I think I get what you're saying. The TLX will sometimes have massive hesitation when I roll up to a roundabout and then hit the throttle to go through. This happens in situations where I don't come to a complete stop and in the transition from slowing down to quickly needing to accelerate again. I've found it's due to clumsiness with the transmission and for what it's worth, I've experienced this hesitation in other cars (2018 Mazda CX-9 with a 6spd auto and 2019 VW GTI with a 7spd dual clutch auto come to mind).

The 10-speed in the TLX is better than I expected it would be, but it's still a weak spot in the powertrain/driving experience and not as responsive or snappy as the ZF 8-speed that BMW and so many others use. I think the ZF 8-speed is probably the best automatic on the market today barring maybe dual clutch transmissions that may make a difference for the track enthusiasts out there.

There is truth in what you're saying. How many of us come to a complete stop at a STOP sign other than during the road test to get a license? LOL.

fiatlux 11-04-2022 10:13 AM

Ah yes the dreaded lag when you stomp on the gas while rolling at a slow speed. For whatever reason, it seems to be totally inconsistent between cars. On my initial test drive, I found it to be really bad. We ended up test driving four different ones on the lot and found that two of them suffered from this hesitation while the other two didn’t. Chalk it up to poor QC maybe. In any case, forcing the car into the right gear before smashing the gas pedal fixed it, so I suspect it has something to do with the kickdown logic to protect the drivetrain.

https://acurazine.com/forums/6g-tlx-.../#post16665721

leomio2.0 11-04-2022 10:45 AM


Originally Posted by fiatlux (Post 16853253)
Ah yes the dreaded lag when you stomp on the gas while rolling at a slow speed. For whatever reason, it seems to be totally inconsistent between cars. On my initial test drive, I found it to be really bad. We ended up test driving four different ones on the lot and found that two of them suffered from this hesitation while the other two didn’t. Chalk it up to poor QC maybe. In any case, forcing the car into the right gear before smashing the gas pedal fixed it, so I suspect it has something to do with the kickdown logic to protect the drivetrain.

https://acurazine.com/forums/6g-tlx-.../#post16665721

Probably just the transmission programming honestly. My RDX will sometimes have this massive lag, and other times will be in the right gear and take off immediately. An Explorer ST I drove also had some weird behavior during these conditions, where the engine would rev while the transmission pondered which gear was best, and then violently bang into the gear it chose. This is one of the main drawbacks of having too many gosh darn gears.

Tesla1856 11-04-2022 11:19 AM


Originally Posted by fiatlux (Post 16853253)
Ah yes the dreaded lag when you stomp on the gas while rolling at a slow speed. For whatever reason, it seems to be totally inconsistent between cars. On my initial test drive, I found it to be really bad. We ended up test driving four different ones on the lot and found that two of them suffered from this hesitation while the other two didn’t. Chalk it up to poor QC maybe. In any case, forcing the car into the right gear before smashing the gas pedal fixed it, so I suspect it has something to do with the kickdown logic to protect the drivetrain.

https://acurazine.com/forums/6g-tlx-.../#post16665721

The 2021 TLX-2.0 Tech-shAWD that I test-drove did it, as did the 2021 TLX-2.0 Advance-shAWD . It ended-up being one of the first items on the "bad cons" list for not buying the car (and start shopping elsewhere). I just could not imagine paying over $45,000 for a car and living with that hesitation for 6 or more years.

I always felt it was firmware and/or programming (like to transmission, engine, gas-petal, etc.). Reportedly, some other cars didn't suffer from it. My only explanation was maybe they were running a different version of firmwares, and since Acura didn't acknowledge the problem, the other cars never got rolled-into Service for checking and/or application of all the latest firmwares.

ELIN 11-04-2022 12:50 PM

If not every 2.0 TLX suffers from this hesitation, then I was completely justified in moving on to something else!

mapleloaf 11-04-2022 11:51 PM


Originally Posted by ELIN (Post 16853278)
If not every 2.0 TLX suffers from this hesitation, then I was completely justified in moving on to something else!

Yoou don't have to justify moving to another brand. The heart wants what the heart wants, especially if you had issues with your car. Thanks for the explanation. That is one strange entrance ramp!! I was a little worried about the 10 speed as I came out of the 4 cylinder 2018 TLX ASpec with the delightful 8 speed dual clutch with torque converter. It was as good or better in my opinion than the Audi 7 speed and BMW 8 speed I drove for comparison. However, the 201 HP was obviously somewhat less power than it's equivalents, although it served my needs well and was a fabulous highway cruiser as well with remarkable fuel economy. I have found the 10 speed to have exceeded my expectations and don't notice any siginificant lag, either off the line, or when passing at high speeds, but I rarely mash the petal. But then I drive in midwestern Manitoba for the most part, without the traffic density of NJ or large canadian cities.

On a related note, I always loved the 3.5 Six Cylinder TLX motor, unfortunately the 9 speed ZF drove me back to a 4 cylinder TLX. I enjoy the 2.0 turbo but would be interested if Acura went back to the 6 in the TLX, which won't happen. I just finished a day+ with the 2022 MDX with the 10 speed amd 3.5 engine. That is a pretty tasty combination. Very smooth and seamless, not the power obviously of the MDX Type S which I had the pleasure to drive recently as well. The 25 speaker ELS in the Type in the Type S Ultra is outstanding, btw.

ApexBlue 11-05-2022 09:40 AM

My guess is this hesitation is torque management programmed to be over protective of the SH-AWD hardware. I noticed this with my 21 TLX A-Spec SH-AWD and to a lesser extent in my 22 TLX Type S, but not in the Accord Sport (with the same engine and transmission as the A-Spec) I had test driven a year or so ago. I did have a Ktuner tune on the A-Spec for a while and that definitely reduced it quite a bit but didn’t eliminate it completely.

I’m sure Acura is doing this for reliability reasons, though I wish they would just beef up the hardware instead. I’m not someone that floors it from every stoplight, but if you drive a car with AWD, especially a performance oriented AWD, the occasional hard launch should be part of the fun 🙂

mike03a3 11-05-2022 05:02 PM


Originally Posted by PhilB81 (Post 16852963)
what a boring car, where is the thrill that your life can end at any moment? That was the beauty of an old Countach for example, you’re missing out :)

I used to ponder that from time to time when I raced a Lotus 18 back in the days before the dinosaurs died. Considering the dry sump's oil tank was nestled between the back of my seat and the firewall, while the fuel tank was directly over my legs, all the flammable stuff was on my side of the firewall. I often wondered how well the Nomex longjohns and suit would hold up.

PhilB81 11-05-2022 11:08 PM


Originally Posted by mike03a3 (Post 16853438)
I used to ponder that from time to time when I raced a Lotus 18 back in the days before the dinosaurs died. Considering the dry sump's oil tank was nestled between the back of my seat and the firewall, while the fuel tank was directly over my legs, all the flammable stuff was on my side of the firewall. I often wondered how well the Nomex longjohns and suit would hold up.

ok, maybe that’s a little too far. You mention firewall, did you mean aluminum foil? Also, I don’t think you wondered about how the nomex would hold up, you knew the answer, you just pretended you didn’t.
with that said, cool car!


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:29 PM.


© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands