Dirac

Hey, in Picture 3, are those the all-season (rubber) floor mats? I was wondering what they look like.

beeTLe

We'll, I have plenty of positive comments! ...but this thread is for problems. I feel pointing them out helps other owners better describe them out to the dealer for fixing. I'm not rating (or ranking on) the car. This is one smooth, powerful ride. I just sold my WRX, so I'm used to some serious HP and torque. I'm not disappointed with the TL - it has plenty of power and features to keep me happy - and, I think it's the best value in it's class.

...and yes, those are all-season mats. The black rubber definitely goes will with the ebony interior.

jgrahamiii

I thinik I have posted, I have no real rattles. Other minor problems, but just minor. I actually looked for the sunroof rattle today, and everything appears to be seated very well in there. Definitely no rattle there.

mjhorwitz

My seat memory problem is all that's wrong with my car; no rattles or vibrations. If it was taken away from me, I'd go get another without hesitating.

need4spd

I had both of these fixed already, Noise 2 was broken mounting clips acording to the dealer, Noise 3 was fixed by moving the striker for the glove box in a little so that the door rested on the rubber nubs a little harder. I do not have Noise 1 (yet).

Good luck!

lsbuffs

Anybody have a rattle from the center dash speaker cover? Mine is annoying as heck..when I press down on it lightly it goes away. I tried to gently pry the cover off with a very small screwdriver. Can get it part way up, but not off. Didn't want to cause any marks or scratches, so gave up. Hate to think of the dealer screwing with my dash, but can't deal with this rattle much longer.

HacksawHilliard

Mine is going in tomorrow to have the hood adjusted; the alignment is slightly off, one side sits lower than the other. Can't really notice it unless you're in the driver's seat.

Also, behind the rear seats, I noticed when looking in my rearview mirror that the center speaker seemed to be slanted instead of flat. Upon closer inspection, one side of the matting seems to be higher than the other side. I'll have them check the FE alignment while it's there.

Rock Dog

Here is my current list. Have not been to the dealer yet.

1) Memory seat keeps going out. Have to reset (relearn) it about once a week for both seats.

2) Just today- Lost the blue tooth function. The little phone icon (phone paired) is not lighting. When hitting the MIDs select/reset button, in Wireless mode. The display says, "BOOTING" but nothing ever happens. The steering wheel controls for the phone do nothing.

3) Steering wheel off center (to the right)

4) Car has vibration like others state. I've found that large dia. (17" and above) really needs to be balanced using the Hunter Road Force Vibration Balancer. I'll see if that helps.

5) Pulling to the left.

6) Carpet sticking out of drivers door floor trim, it's bubbled. That same piece of trim is all scratched.

7) A-pillar (driver's side) the roof liner is buckling, sticking out where it meets the A-pillar trim. Not so on the Passenger side.

8) Hood is misaligned. Much larger gap between passenger fender and hood, than driver's.

9) I guess I'll count the rear deck rattle. But it happens mostly on heavy bass. I still contend that ANY sub is going to cause vibrations in the trunk/rear deck area. Then again, I'll have to agree that if Acura decided to put in a sub, they should have put more deadening material back there.

10) The Nav background color thing is a joke!

I think that's it. The electrical bugs a really starting to piss me off. But again, it hasn't been back to the dealer yet. I'll call when I get home to set an appointment.

mengle

1) Memory seat keeps going out. Have to reset (relearn) it about once a week for both seats.


Please let me know if you find anything our regarding this seat memory issue. I have had mine into the dealer twice and still no resolution.

Thanks!

sfintel

That happened to me once, but it turns out that rebooting the phone (a Sony Ericsson T616) fixed the problem.

DaveyCrockett

My wheel was first misaligned to the left, the dealer supposedly fixed it and now it is misaligned to the right.

gregory28

Memory Seat Problems:

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but did you know that if you adjust your driver's seat or side view mirrors even slightly the storing position will be canceled? This could easily happen by accident or could be moved by your wife, kids or dog.

RJC RSX

it shouldn't cancel though unless it's over written by saving a memo over the last programmed position

need4spd

Unfortunately, if you do push the button where it was stored, there is nothing there, gone, poof. The whole idea is that when someone moves you seat, you can push the memory button to move it back, but you can't as it is gone!

need4spd

OK, with all the trany issues I have read, I am hyper sensitive to abuse on the trany, so when I saw that the car kept resting on the auto every time I parked it on a hill and used the parking brake I investigated further.

Here is the test:

1. stop car on hill with nose of car pointing downward.
2. put foot on brake and put car in neutral
3. Apply parking brake while foot is still on brake.
4. While still in neutral, take foot off brake

Now, if car rolls slightly forward before grabbing, you may have the same problem I am having.

Do the same thing as above, but first put in drive, then put it in PARK this time instead of neutral, then apply parking brake and take foot off brake, does the auto shifter shake as you take your foot off the brake?

If yes, the car is resting on the auto park gear, instead of the parking brake (e-brake). This is not a good thing as it puts stresses on the drive line.

Dealer said they tried it on anouther car and found the same thing.

Not sure why, but it seams there is a lot of play in the e-brake, now I move it to neutral and set the brake before moving to park when on a hill.

Anyone else having this issue?

gregtomash

"Memory Seat Problems:

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but did you know that if you adjust your driver's seat or side view mirrors even slightly the storing position will be canceled? This could easily happen by accident or could be moved by your wife, kids or dog."
I can't believe it!!! As need4speed pointed out that's what memory is for - to remember what your position was when somebody moves it! Could somebody explain in details what the problems is? I just can't believe that Acura made such an idiotic mistake!

mengle

Here is how my car loses it's memory settings:

When the memory settings are working properly, the small light next to the #1 positon is always lit. However, I find that that every so often, I will look at the memory button (ie- #1) and the light won't be on. IF I then move the seat while this light is not on, the settings are LOST. I push the button to have the seat return back to it's position, nothing...no light or beep. This is not just #1, but both.

These settings were lost alot during the first month I owned the car because everyone wanted to drive it.....but now I just tell them NOOO!!!

No resolution from Service...they are still working on what to try next.

need4spd

OK here is the detailed problem.

The way the Acura seats are supposed to work are as follows:

1. When the memory positions are set, they are supposed to return the seats to the memorized position no mater where the seats (and mirrors) were moved to when you push the memory button (1 or 2). Seats and Mirrors move back into position.

2. The key fobs are coded, 1 and 2 and correspond to memory positons 1 and 2. When you open the door, the seat is supposed to move to the correct position and beep, if moved since the last time you were in it. Plus, the MID shows Driver 1 or Driver 2 in the screen when you un-lock the car.

3. The green indicator light on the memory switch is lit based on if 1 or 2 is selected, or based on the key fob (if linked, which mine is).


Here is the problem:


You set your memory position say number 2 for example, the light is lit, so all is set.

Problem 1 -

It works for a few days, and then anouther driver moves the seat (and does not reset the memory seats).

You go to get in using the key fob, and nothing happens (MID does display Driver 2) but the seats and mirrors do not reposition.

If you push button number 2, nothing happens, and the indicator light does not work!

Problem 2 -

After a few days without moving the seat, the light on position number 2 (or 1) no longer lights when when you use the key fob number 2. You push the botton and still no light, you move the seat and try the botton, and still no light. actually if both positions are set, neither one works.


You reset the postion and push the memo button and memory position buttons, and things work normal again for a few days/hours.

Basically, the memory seat / mirror buttons clear themselves without someone doing it for you. I know that it is not someone else as it is weeks before my wife drives my car.

Hope this helps explain the issue.

jgrahamiii

The light on the memory seat button is supposed to be on when the seat has last been set via the button (or via the remote). If you move the seat from this position while the light is on, it should go off, since it is no longer is the position. I've been playing with the mirrors and the seat a little lately while driving, and did not have a problem, though I did lose memory for both spots in the beginning for reasons I have not been able to duplicate.

Mengle, can you describe an exact sequence of what you need to do to lose the memory? I think you may need to be detailed as to whether you were in park, and what status the key was in order for all to duplicate. If everyone has this problem, I think we will have a better case with Acura than if it is limited to just a few.

mengle

The exact situation was described above by need4speed.

This can ONLY be duplicated if the seat memory light is not on. So....I use the remote (#1) to open the door. The MID displays that Driver 1 is detected. However, the seat memory light is not on. So, if I then move the seat to another position (while in park), drive for a bit, return to Park. Then, I touch the number 1 button and nothing happens. In fact, both settings are lost.

So here is what I know:

IF the seat is moved when the seat memory light is NOT on, the settings are lost and the seat will not return to it's proper position. However, if I do not move the seat when the light is off, the next time I get in the car, the light may be on and all is well. It ONLY happens when the seat is moved and the light is off.

Hope this helps.....

jgrahamiii

Ok, so it appears from my experience today, that if the light is on when you first get into the car, but goes off BECAUSE you move the seat, then that is not a problem. But, if this light is not on when it should be on, and then you move the seat, you lose the settings. This indicates that the bug starts when you first get into the car, not later on. I think we all had better pay close attention to when this light is on and when it is not to see if there is any pattern.

mengle

jgrahamiii,


But, if this light is not on when it should be on, and then you move the seat, you lose the settings.


This is EXACTLY right!

jgrahamiii

I needed a quick break from the daily grind, and went an played a little. Keep in mind that I did lose my memory once, the first week I had the car.

When I first unlocked and opened the door, the light went on. If I moved the seat at all, the light went off. If I interupted the movement of the seat to the position by touching a seat control (or even a memory button) the light went off. Most importantly, if I closed the door and waited 15 seconds, the light went off. In each of these events, I could move the seat around and when I hit the memory 1 or 2 button, the light came on and the seat moved into the correct position. If the door was closed when I pushed a button, the seat moved to that position and the light went off in about 2 seconds. Note, the light flashes as the seat moves. I also noted a couple of times that while the seat was merely sitting there in position, the light would go off for a split second. I could never duplicate this regularly, and it was for no longer than a blink of an eye, so who knows.

That leads me to believe that it is only the case where the seat is in the memory position, but the light does not come on when you first open the door that you have the issue. I'll be watching for that case.

brahtw8

Just got off the phone with the dealer, who has been doing a lot of work and research to ge this thing resolved, and who continues to garner my respect and admiration.

They replaced first gear only, both main and counter shaft.

Unfortunately, this did not fix the problem and the car still jumps out of first.

The large cut gears on 1st are fine, but the small teeth in first gear are 2/1000s of an inch taller on the gear than they should be, which causes the gear to jump out.

Apparently early production cars have a 1st gear with the above problem. It should have been corrected in later runs, but I don't know for sure. My dealer has grounded all early production six speeds until this is resolved and has been dealing with the engineers involved in designing the part.

I don't know what I am going to do. I can wait a week for 'my' car and they will open up the tranny again and put in a new, correct gear. Then I have to determine if an extended warranty, free service, and a yet to be determined discount are enough to take that car.

Otherwise, I can get an Anthracite/Ebony w/o Nav on 12/10.

I'll be taking another look at a local 2001 540i tonight as a potential alternative, and will probably track down a few E46 330s and an E36 M3 for good measure. Either that or buy a cheaper, winter beater and get an old M5 or M6 in the Spring.

Decisions, decisions.

HacksawHilliard

Yes the leather seating on the DS is looking to be a persistant issue. I was told it was normal. They didn't have a comeback when I told them about my '02 TL that didn't have the same problem.

MikeRadio

Please keep us up to date on this.... I took mine to the dealer for something else, and they really messed up the seat settings... and then when I got the car back, they were gone.. nothing would happen when you pressed the button.

I had to reprogram again.. the other keyless settings were fine and driver 1 detected same as you guys.

I did let the dealer use the valet key, but that shouldn't have mattered.

This needs to be fixed.. it took forever to get the seat settings and mirror settings right.

Is there anyone at Acura that can be contacted about this? I never had a defect like this (or a car with this much "stuff"... how can this be fixed?

Mike

Scott GN231

They like you to deal with the dealer as the main contact, but Acura Customer Service can be reached at (800) 382-2238 (see CS page at: http://www.acura.com/about/abo_cust_index.asp ).

Now that this thread has 100+ posts and 7,500 views I'm going to send it to Acura along with a request for information about how they plan to address several of the more pervasive items like seat memory and the seat cushion problem. They do not list an email address so it will have to be by snail mail unless anyone has a working email address for their CS department.

Thanks for keeping this post fresh and interesting.

acbrisker

I've got an '03 RSX Type-S ... want to get something larger next year ... will keep the RSX for the wife ... and get the new TL ... i'm not going to be able to afford a new one, will have to get an '04 with about 10-12,000 miles on it ... what VIN's should I avoid?

Thanks,
Alex

MikeRadio

Thank you.

I just want to make sure they are aware of these problems.. The seat memory issue and the wheel alignment issue seem to be universal.

The wheel alignment issue can be corrected but the seat memory is going to require some sort of electronic fix.

Mike

need4spd

Scott GN321 -

Read your PM.

Also, I got a call from a Quality Services person at Acura, I refered him to his thread (he went on line as we spoke) and I hope they are reading these issues.

Also, from a letter from Acura on the mistakes for the window sticker, their fax number in Torrance is 310-783-3900

You can write to Richard Colliver, Executive Vice President.

It would be nice if they had a rep comment on our problems and answer on-line.

GCool

I have both kind of vibrations - one high frequency vibrations at all speeds and the other vibration (& slight grinding feel from the engine/axil) when I speed up to 50-55 mph And these happen even when the car has been driven for an hour.

The first problem might be a wheel balancing or other tire related issue or brand of gas usage issue. But the second definately seems like it shifts up to the 5th gear earlier than it should.

I have a appointment with my dealer on 12/1/03. I will be putting on about 1000 miles during the Thanksgiving weekend and am worried that driving so much with the up-shifting problem may cause some permanent damage to the engine/transmission Do you guys think I should not drive that much before getting the problem fixed?

Also, has anybody been able to get this problem (vibrations at ~ 55 mph) fixed?

________________
2004 Acura TL Auto w Navi - Anthracite with Ebony (with about 750 miles and last four digits of VIN are 9099)

LGG

What pervasive wheel alignment issue? I did a find for "alignment" on every page of this thread and found two posts complaining about alignment issues (not counting one on a glove box door).

LGG

That'd be a lose-lose choice for them. If they say X is a problem here, they've admitted liability for a problem which automakers hate to do; if they say X isn't a problem, lots of posters jump in their mess kit.

And then there are issues about what's a problem (in the sense of not designed to do it and causes problems or makes something not work as advertised/specified/documented in the OM) vs. what's a problem (in the sense that some owners just don't like the way something was done). I'm thinking of the great wrinkling leather "issue". How can they win or even draw on that one by popping in here?

Don't hold your breath.

need4spd

LGG - see your point.

MikeRadio

The one where the steering wheel is off to the left because the car pull so the right.. lots of people talking abou it on here and another thread.

2x at dealer and not fixed right yet.

fsconsult

But I am pretty sure that they do have someone in either Marketing or QC looking at various forums.

This will give them valuable feedback on the "Customer Experience" Alot of fortune 500 companies pay Big Consulting firms tons of money for that type of info.

If Acura was smart, and I'm pretty sure they are, they would monitor what the customers and future customers are saying.

And of course, they know from experience, some posts are to be ignored and dismissed, but in general, forums contain a wealth of info / feadback from its customers.

Though, I agree, no company will directly respond to a post.

LGG

I don't doubt they might look. Pop in explicitly? Fuggedaboutit.

supergreen

my car goes in monday for...
vibration issues
steering wheel points to left while car tracks straight
paint defect in front bumper (will start to flake off soon)
ding in rear bumper (caused by dealer)
minor rattles
memory seats

what's up honda??

jyg tl 3

on a dailly basis, give some placating response to call and BMw will assist you. of course they send you back to dealer, but they do monitor board,In fact my dealer told me BMW was aware of my critical posts concerning thenew 7 seriies. they even check formy real name and knew it, We have a habit of not posting
things like I overreved my engine,so BMw can't disqualify for repairs, BTW bmw engine computers will record abuse such as i=overrreving . Be careful of what you wish,

bigdomer

No fix yet for the memory seats according to dealer today. He acknowledged lots of complaints on file.