neuronbob

A couple of neato features I noted.

The remote can open all the windows and the moonroof--press the unlock button once, then press again and hold it. The remote cannot close all the windows and moonroof.

You can accomplish the same by placing the key in the keyhole: turn once all the way clockwise (it's about 1/8 turn), release, then repeat and hold. You can close all the windows and moonroof by turning the key COUNTERclockwise, releasing, then repeating and holding. Really cool to see, but applications are limited.

One weird feature: There's only a keyhole on the driver's side. There isn't one on the passenger's side. This is the first time I've seen this in a car, and I did a double take when I saw this. I guess Acura figures that a) most cars are driven by one person, b) even if there are two people in the car, it's usually the driver who uses their key, and c) if you've got a wireless remote, who uses a key to open the door anymore? I don't.

For Emumessenger: I spent a good 1 1/2 hours playing with the navi today, and read the insructions from the manual (93 pages including the index!!!). No trip computer to be found.

elbodude

Startup. When you step into the car, the multi-information display (MID) states, "Driver # x" (x=1 or 2, depends on what key fob you've got).


What if you have both FOB's in the car at the same time. You have one and the passanger has another?

thanks!

princed

Quick question for you, neuronbob:

Can you summon any of the MID functions with voice commands? I am hoping that if the MID is displaying the phone info and you quickly want to check avg. speed, mpg, etc. you can just hit the talk button and say "trip computer." Any such feature?

Thanks...

jwaters943

Not so weird really. Many German cars are the same. Neither my VW Golf or Passat have key holes on the front passenger door.

princed

I think it only displays the driver that actually unlocked the car. So if you and your passenger both have keys, whichever key fob unlocked the car will be "detected." If both parties attempt to unlock the car simultaneously, a fail-safe mechanism shuts down the MID and must be reset at your nearest Acura dealer...

Raheel

I think it says the Driver Number of the fob, which you use to unlock the car..

So it says it when you press unlock on the fob, and that is the fob that it refers too

lamster

I thought the car would detect which driver (1 or 2) only when you started the engine? Or does it detect by which fob/key was used to open the door? I never had a car with setting memories, so sorry if my question sounds silly.

Raheel

A while back I read somewhere that the TL also closed with remote, I was so happy, that is so cool!
but I realized it was a misprint, I was vary of this option because of safety reasons, I would really love it, if the car did that, but its the same thing as the Accord

They made the Accord way too similar in features to the TL..

The new Accord even gets the new Solar Sensing Auto Temperature, that changes the Temperature according to the direction of the sun..

If they ever put Xenon Projector lights in the Accord, than you know for sure that TL will lose many customers

princed

If they made the EX-V6 sedan with navi AND a 6-speed, I would have purchased an Accord 3 months ago. I actually made an offer for a SSM 6-speed V6 coupe w/ navi, kit, spoiler, and a few accessories. The dealer and I were off by about 800 bucks, though, so I reconsidered and ended up going down the TL route... There were only a few things that I really wanted -- navi, a V6 (which ruled out the TSX), a sedan (not an absolute, but ended up ruling out a higher offer on the Accord coupe), a 6-speed manual (no IS300 or Accord sedan), and a nice interior (no G35). I have to say -- in my eyes, the new TL is absolute perfection (well, it will be after I add aftermarket rain-sensing wipers).

ProZach

Don't know if you know of this place or not, www.raintracker.com .

EmuMessenger

This is so exciting. I decided today on Anthracite/Quartz 6MT-Navi. Hope to see it before Thanksgiving.

princed

Thanks for the reply, ProZach. This is actually the site that got me interested in upgrading the wipers. They recently changed their product line, though. Now, they have only one product, the RT-50, which requires an extra switch in the dash as well as this hideous blue knob to change the sensitivity. They used to have an M1 which replaced the INT setting on the wiper stalk with rain-sensing mode and used the variable delay knob to adjust the sensitivity. For anyone who may be interested, I e-mailed the company and this product is still available by special request, although it is no longer listed on the website. I'd much rather have the controls replace the INT setting than to have to install a switch and knob in/under the dash...

Does anyone have any personal experience with Raintracker's products?

neuronbob

Verified (and it makes sense)--the car reads the person whose key unlocked the door, either by remote or insertion into the keyhole.

The car detects the driver as soon as the door is unlocked, not when the car is started. At the same time, that driver's seat/mirror memory settings are activated.

When I looked in the navi manual, there is mention of a "trip computer" command in the list of voice commands. There is no other mention of a trip computer in the entire navi manual, or the owner's manual (other than in the MID). When I tried this voice command, the air conditioning came on. I don't think it's a glitch in the system, as most of the other commands work well. I think it may simply be unimplemented on this version of the navi software. This is an inconsistency I'd like to transmit to Acura so they can fix it. I also wish there were a way to accurately train the system to my voice.

It's about time, man! What took you so long?

karno

I test drove the new TL today. The ride was exquisite! Acura has a true winner here. My only disappointment was with the sound system. I found it quite distorted and muffled. As bad as the previous TL's sound system was, this sounded worse! Other than that, the car looks and rides beautiful. Neuronbob, did you find out if the navi will play dvd video discs while being in park? I read that this was one of the enhancements of the new TL's navi system.

sithmaster12

Bob,

How does the 2004 TL hold up in the NVH department? Compared to the 2003 TL and the 2004 TSX?

VtecMW

Emu, can you define what exactly you're looking for when it comes to the trip computer? Does the TSX have trip computer functions that the TL doesn't? Just curious.

larchmont

You'll find a lot about this over here:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=3069


......and also eventually on this thread, which asks about this more specifically but doesn't have any replies yet:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=3124


BTW, for other board members who may not know: I'm assuming NVH means "noise, vibration, and harshness," but I'm not 100% sure. (Am I right??)

Soze75

time for bed larch!

larchmont

Make you a deal: I'll go to bed if you change back your title.

Soze75

Being done right now mate. I felt I wasn't living up to expectations, like responding to any question asked about Canada.

larchmont

No, Soze -- no, no, no.

It needs to be just like before. Capital P, small r, small e, small s, small i, etc. etc. whatever.

Off the subject, but I just realized you can take the letters of president and spell penis. Hmm.... let's see what's left after that: R, D, E, T, right? And what can you spell with that? Let's see.... terd! So..... president = penis terd.

Still wanna be president?

Soze75

OK. Back to the original!

I respect and value your input as usual. And because some dude mentioned that your hometown was spoken of on The Family Guy, an image of the father character appears in my head when I see your nick.

Rock on

larchmont

That's more like it.

Soze75

G'night larch. I'm out

orange-man

neuronbob,

Great info the last couple of days. I pre-ordered mine and will get it in November.

I test drove it today. It is a wonderful car, just about perfect in every way.

I did have a few questions:

Did your car come with a demo DVD-audio disc? I was a little disappointed in the audio. It is surround sound to be sure, but it sounded a little muddy. What has been your experience so far?

Do you have a bluetooth phone? I do, but there were too many people waiting to drive the car for me to play with it and I was wondering how it works.

The dealer is offering me door guards, did you get them? The one they had on the demo looked like it came from the factory this way.

I also own a Honda Odyssey and when I got back in it to go home I felt like I was sitting in a Ford Model T. I'm counting the days until I get mine!!

neuronbob

This was sorted out long before the launch of the car. It doesn't. I haven't even bothered to try it because others at the ride and drives have. Mark my words, though: someone will mod the navi, just like with the last one, and it WILL happen.

What Larch said. The car feels quite solid to me. Ask me that question again in three months when I've got 5000 miles on the car.

My car came with the DVD audio demo disk. You probably didn't get much of a chance to adjust the stereo controls on your test drive. This stereo blows the one on the old TL away, and the bass response is MUCH improved. You want to hear muddy base, I'll show you the POS Bose system (by comparison) in the previous generation TL.

I don't have a Bluetooth phone and won't until Verizon launches one in God knows when. I'm not changing providers because Verizon offers the best coverage (and I'd have to change the cell phone # I've had since 1995).

I think the door guards add too many lines to the car and are ugly. I'm thinking of other ways to protect my doors. Maybe if someone made transparent door guards?

BuddySol

Isn't that what WNP (Wireless Number Portability) is for? Sometime in November, you will be able to switch carriers without losing your phone number. Shoot, considering Sprint is charging $1.10 in fees, compared to the 60 cents or so other carriers are charging, to recoup the cost of setting up WNP, might as well make use of it. You can bet seeing some great pricing on plans/phones as carriers will try their best to keep their customers, while pulling away customers from competitors. I myself don't plan on leaving Sprint, with the T608 coming out, I think I'll be good until other cell manufacturers come out with BT phones for CDMA.

EmuMessenger

Hey VtecMW,

I am also waiting for my 6MT-Navi.

I am looking for the following calculations:

Instant MPG - Not there (In the Accord trip computer)

Average MPG - TL has it, but it rounds to a whole number. Is it rounding up or down? I don't know, but it shouldn't round. (Again, the Accord does this calculation and my wife to this point can see she has averaged 26.7 MPG since she had the car) The TL should also have a decimal point in the number.

Average speed: TL has it, Accord does not.

Distance to empty: Both have it.

Tire pressure monitor: Neither has it.

Overall mileage since last reset: Accord has it, unsure about the TL.

That is about it. I do not think it is too much to ask. My 97 Jeep Cherokee has all of those calculations, except the TPM.

That is about it. The hardware and software probably cost less than $10, IMO.

VtecMW

Strange that there is such variance between the different Honda models. I wonder why that is. The MDX has a Tire Pressure Monitor. It makes no sense that the TL doesn't have it. Maybe it's an SUV thing. After reading about the TPM in the Audi A8 L, which has a TPM for all wheels, including the spare, I'm disappointed that the TL doesn't have it.

Oh well, guess we can't have it all. I'm just glad that Acura has produced the car that I've been looking for.

EmuMessenger

The car is great, just wish it had the a computer comparable to other Acura/Honda models.

Oh well...

04TLToBe

I agree that I'd like to have all of the options possible, but realistically in the past with cars that show a "running mpg," it usually isn't something that is altogether that accurate or useful (to me at least it is not that useful, I should say).

Also, from people with the Tire Pressure Monitors, I've heard that it can be kindof a pain and alot have turned theirs off. For example, if you pull out of your garage into cold weather it can go off, or start driving a cold day that gets warm. If it were "smarter" so that it could know what the variances are and just tell you when you need to add air, that would be great. But the limitations of current technology likely means it would be another annoying beep going off.

JeffPhx

Maybe they are saving it for the RL on the sedan side and the TL will get it in a year or two?? Also, they might be trying to keep costs down too.

VtecMW

Yeah, the TL is packaged with enough. I'm happy about the Bluetooth feature, so long as it lives up to Acura's claim. I also like the fact that it has a center speaker and Brembo Brakes.

Booyah

One thing I could not get the Voice nav to do is change the A/C temp for the passenger?? I could get it to change the temp for the driver side, but when told to change temp for passenger it always changed the drivers! Granted I didnt look at the voice commands but I tried a few that I thought would work?? So someone with a navi see if you can figure it out?

Acuman

It seems that there are times when it can be useful, but equally times when it is not - such as at a stoplight. 0 MPG displayed is not much fun.

Just my 2 cents

Acuman

EmuMessenger

True, to me it is much more about fun than function!



For the passenger temp question, have you tried:

"Climate control, passenger temperature x"

That does it in my wife's Accord.

neuronbob

Navi manual sez:

"Passenger temperature x", where x=57-87 degrees F.

Am I the only one who actually reads the manual when he buys a new car? I guess I'm overly detail-oriented in this regard, but then again, folk in my field tend to be this way.

talon95

neuronbob...

Thanks for all of the info...

I went to my local Acura dealer today and they had 4 TLs on the lot. That is one nice looking car! I now officially envy you (although I like my 2003 Accord EX V6 a lot, too...)

One of the TLs was parked in front of a 2003 TL, so I could compare the profiles. That really made the more aggressive styling of the 2004 stand out. Looks good from every angle.

The interior looks great as well, although the look and materials seemed a bit closer to my Accord's than I would have expected. Maybe because they upgraded the Accord so much last year, especially the EX-L? The center stack did look quite a bit more upscale, as well as the shifter for the auto. The wood looks pretty good... much nicer than the really fake looking stuff on the new MDX.

Question for you... what is the MAX control by the instrument panel dimmer control? Does it boost the panel lights to max with one push? And is it an actual adjustment or an override? In other words, is there a way to get it return to the previous illumination level?

The reason I ask is that as much as I like my Accord's LCD instrument panel, I have it set to a lower "lights on" level, because the full illumination is too bright at night, although it's necessary during the day. The only time that this becomes a bit of an issue is on an overcast day when lights are required. During the day, the lower lighting level is too dim, so I have to increase it to max, and then turn it down again the next time I drive at night.

Thanks, and have fun!

Booyah

I dont have mine yet, but when I test drove it I could not get it to change?? I swore I said the exact thing you are stating and it changed the drivers??

EmuMessenger

Yes.