Speed_Racer

Just hit 4700 miles and still love the ASpec. Are there things I'd fix? Most definitely, but all in all it gives me what I needed for a pretty good cost. Was able to go to the San Francisco auto show last week. I was especially interested in the Accord with all the talk on here about it being the second coming. It did look better in person although I still can't get over the chrome unibrow. The grill didn't look as sparse to me as in the pictures. Interior was nice, but cheap feeling especially in the back. New tech was nice though (HUD, infotainment). Can't wait for all that to trickle up for the 2nd gen TLX. TLX interior is showing it's age. I still like it though and love the dual screens with CarPlay. It's definitely not the best interior in it's class, but what can you say? I don't want to spend another $5k-$7k just for an interior.

As far as my TLX:
Good

• Comfortable for our family of 5. 3 kids fit fine and haven't killed each other yet.
• Trunk is big and haven't had issues with Costco trips or long trips with luggage. Going from an MDX to this was one our our initial concerns, but we have an Odyssey for the rare times we need something even bigger.
• Plenty fast enough for day to day driving. I've already gotten myself in trouble with speeding. Would I complain about 100+ more hp? Hell no, but right now close to 300 hp is plenty.
• Suspension is great. I'm tempted to lower it just for cosmetic looks, but not for handling. It handles great in stock form. I don't think I'd want it any stiffer.
• Gas mileage is decent, I got 27mpg on a recent trip (70mph average for a couple hours, flat freeway). Although City mileage for me is in the low 20's on average.
• Still pretty rare. I've only seen 2 ASpecs in the wild since it's release and none of the non-ASpecs. It's not like we live in the country either. We're in the Bay Area in Northern California.
• Apple CarPlay works great. I haven't used the stock Navi once yet. If only I could have it use Waze it would be perfect(I don't want to get an Android).

Annoying

• Random beeps that I can't duplicate. I get this warning beeps that come and go. It's the same one you hear when the car is running and you step out with the key in your pocket. It mainly happens when I park, turn the car off and leave the car. Still can't figure out what it's warning about.
• Trunk doesn't unlock with the remote if you turn off the trunk switch in the glove box. I assumed that switch was to prevent someone after breaking into your car from pushing the trunk release button from getting into your trunk. Why it still kills it from using the remote makes no sense to me.
• Automatic high beams don't seem to work 100%. I try to turn it off as soon as I notice they're engaged so I don't accidentally high beam someone. People around here are sensitive about getting high beamed.

Not so good

• This is no surprise, the transmission could be better and should be replaced in the 2nd gen. It does depend on your perspective. I've had friends drive it and don't notice lags except in Eco (I call that the death mode). Coming from a manual CL where you can pick your gear and it's not drive by wire throttle makes me notice the lags all the more. I drive it in Sport most of the time and it's works. Sport + when I need to keep the power in a certain band and don't want it to kick up to a higher gear automatically like Sport. Could it be better? Of course. I've just learned to work around it's issues. If this had a manual I'd be a happy camper and would keep it until the wheels fell off. Don't let this deter you though. Drive it yourself and check it out. Make sure you drive it for more than 10 minutes to get a better feel for it.

Acura - PLEASE read(I know, just thought I'd try. . .)
Make the 2nd gen with a Type S, manual transmission, 400hp and the precision cockpit and you'll have a blank check from me. I only leased the 2018 to see what's coming with the 2nd gen. Spec'd out this way would be a keeper for me. Not spec'd out that way will make me look at what's available from competitors.

Overall I'd still buy it again if I was shopping now. Especially with the crazy deals I'm seeing for Acura's December promotions. $359/month for an Aspec? A couple friends are looking into it because of that now. It's a great cruiser, comfortable, plenty of power, all the tech comforts you need and fun to drive. It's been a great car so far and judging by the lack of issues should be pretty reliable in the long term.

Thanks for reading. . .

txl2017

Nice review! Thanks for sharing. I do think that 3000 to 5000 miles is a good point to write a review. What I have found out is that TLX has a lot of potential that takes time to tap into by "tuning in". Figuring out what settings work best for you and "training" the car to get used to your driving habits (and you adjust to get used to the car as well) should be part of the initial ownership experience.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I've been meaning to write up a 3 year review - maybe I'll do so during Christmas break.

Aerok1

Very nice review

Denali05

Thanks for sharing. Its good to see content that is relevant to what this forum was meant for.

I recently hit 6500 miles on mine and agree with your points. Going into the purchase, I knew the vehicle was not top of the market segment, but definitely not the bottom either. The rather old tech and tired interior are weak points for the vehicle, there is no denying that. The exterior revisions are a step in the right direction with improved looks compared to preMMC models. In my opinion, the overall package and options brought on by Acura is not a terrible value proposition. Not everyone will agree and that is fine. in the end, everybody votes with their wallets. I voted with mine, and I stuck with Acura.

fiatlux

The trunk switch is meant to prevent valets from accessing your trunk. You flip the switch, lock the glove box, and then give them the key fob minus the physical key that you would need to unlock the glove box and flip the trunk switch back on.

Speed_Racer

That makes sense because of no dedicated valet key. If only they could design the trunk unlock button on the remote to be disabled when you take out the physical key it would work perfectly.

gptlxdrvr

Wow, great review. I feel about the same way and the tranny does get a little more lively after a few thousand miles (I'm over 6K on my Aspec). The beeping is when for whatever reason, the walk-away locking doesn't deploy. I haven't been able to figure out why every once in awhile, it doesn't lock when I walk away. Would love to know why this happens.

SebringSilver

It could be because your fob is too close to your cell phone.

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

Funny, I live in the Bay Area too and it seems like everyone and their moms are driving with their high beams on nowadays. Every time it happens, I strain my neck to see what kinda moron is behind the wheel, and it's almost always a clueless looking driver. Do driving schools no longer teach when it's appropriate to use them? Or are people just oblivious to the bright blue high beam indicator right in front of them in the dash, that was intentionally designed to stand out at night?

It's either that or driving with no head/taillights on at night, because those same morons mistake their always-on LED DRL's for headlights.

</end rant>

slimm1469

Excellent thread everyone.

Denali05

Not trying to justify their behavior, but I can see why some drivers fail to realize their headlights aren't on. Some LED DRL's are impressively bright on newer cars.

gptlxdrvr

That must be it, thanks. Was driving me nuts.

Speed_Racer

I wonder how close is close? I always keep my keys in my right pocket and my phone in my left. The autolock causing the beeps makes sense though since it always seems to be as I leave.

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

I suppose that's understandable. Maybe the solution is to make automatic head/taillights standard or mandated by law. Or cops should start pulling these suckers over

Sigwill24

Those random beeps cannot be from a cell phone.. I'm still trying to figure out what triggers it..

graphicguy

Good update. I noticed everything got better after the 5K mile mark. MPG got better. Off the line acceleration got better. Transmission feels better.

About those random beeps. I get them, too. I think I’ve narrowed it down to cars in front (and maybe behind) getting within a certain range of the radar sensors. Still, no way of knowing as I’m always surprised when I hear them. Next time I’m in the dealership (haven’t been back since I drove mine out of the showroom floor) for the first oil change in a few months.

Overall, quite pleased with the car. I get nice compliments about it all the time.

TacoBello

it's not unusual for your mileage to get better within the first few thousand miles. Everything inside the engine needs to seat itself properly and if I'm not mistaken, there is a decent amount of engine "wear" that happens at the beginning of an engine's life cycle. Everything is just damn tight in the engine on purpose (tighter than should be), and it takes some miles for it all to find it's happy place. This goes for any gasoline engine.

This would also help with your acceleration, though I didn't think it would've been that noticeable. As for the transmission, I'm guessing you meant the shifts feel smoother? If so, that's interesting. This is the first I'm hearing of that.

Honda430

I’m at 4,200 miles and the transmission is definitely shifting better. The ocasional long handover from 4-5 and the hesitation to down shift when operating between 30-40 miles per hour has been reduced quite dramatically. The car has really become a pleasure to drive. For the record I only drive in sport.

txl2017

Agree with Honda430. Be patient with the car. Unless it's one of those few unlucky defective units (which happens in other makes and models too), you'll be able to get more of its potential and enjoy it more with time.

pyrodan007

It's the first I've heard of a car that needs that much patience. Usually they're good out of the factory, plus or minus a couple mpgs.

txl2017

Then it must be that I am paranoid. but it’s true that I like the car better than when I first had it.

lausy

The beeps you're hearing, if it's only when you're exiting is from the auto lock function. The beeps are programmable to shut off too. It will beep once when all the doors are closed after you exit and the system is in ready mode. It will beep a 2nd time letting you know the car has just locked itself. If the system senses something wrong (ie a door not closed all the way), it will do that beep as if you are walking out of the running car with key fob in your pocket.
The car will lock itself once it senses the keyfob is 10 feet away from the car. The self lock can be programmed on/off too from the MID.

Christopher.

How about Instead of beeping, there should be a pleasant voice that speaks, such as: "door locks engaged" etc. Beeps shouldn't be ambiguous, right?