Did I buy a lemon?
 

Looking for some advice here. I bought a certified 2015 TLX V6 tech 5 weeks ago. 29k miles. Car felt good during test drive (mostly highway) except for a vibration at 70+ mph. Dealer was sure it was just a tire balance issue so I went ahead with the purchase. Well within 1 day of having the car home I noticed several issues detailed below. I have had the car 1 week out of the last 5 weeks because it has been in the service department. This has been stressful and seems insane for a 3 year old car with low mileage.

Repairs:
1. Transmission - I was getting the hard 2-3 shift and jerky downshifting. Car even lunged coming out of a turn due to the shifting issues. They did the update and it didn't work.
Resolution: Dealer replaced transmission and it is all good now

2. Broken driver door handle sensor - Sensor to unlock car was not working.
Resolution: Replaced door handle

3. Rear deck rattle - Car was rattling while playing music, even on very low bass songs with bass turned down.
Resolution: Dealer added some extra foam insulation and that resolved it.

4. Vibration - Car was vibrating in floor, seats, steering wheel mainly over 70 mph.
1st attempt at resolution: Performed TSB 16-057. Vibration was not as hard but it still existed and now at lower speeds also.

2nd attempt: Changed tires (another brand) and rims out from another TLX. This did not change the vibration at all.

3rd attempt: The regional service rep is now involved and they want to replace the front axles. This has not been done yet and they are not even sure that will fix it.

This issue remains unresolved...

My question is, should I ask the dealer to buy the car back? Should I trust the repairs and hope nothing else goes wrong?

I love the car despite the issues so I was hoping it would get fixed. Are any other TLX years less problematic? Or should I move on from Acuras?

That's why it's called a LEMON LAW!
After 3 repair visits, it becomes annoying
Don't know if it applies to used vehicles; Google it, & find out
If it was me, I'd request a REFUND!

I just spoke to the sales manager and they definitely aren't trying to take the car back. Said. "it is a machine with moving parts and these things happen. I'm sure the service department will resolve it" Lemon Law applies to a used car if still under warranty, I am just not sure how hard it is to get it qualified as a lemon.

The vibration issue is hit and miss. Some haven't experience any vibration what so ever. I had the TSB done on my 2016, and while it wasn't as bad as it was initially, I can still feel vibration at highway speeds. There are some 2018 owners reporting highway vibrations so it looks like the mid cycle refresh did nothing to resolve the issue. Short of a massive lawsuit, unfortunately for those experiencing the vibration, the TSB "fix" is as good as it gets.

There are numerous threads here about the transmission and vibration problems on the 2015 TLX. Since they replaced the transmission, that should take care of that problem. I believe the vibration problem has been harder to fix. There are many discussions here you can look at. I recall that some people say that the problem is resolved/lessened by putting on better tires.

Number (1) and (4) are the main reasons why people on here recommend against 2015/2016 TLX. If you spend time here long enough :)

Good luck with the journey. I hope they will fix all the issues for you.

Thanks. I have spent a lot of time looking at the vibration threads. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is one fix that worked for everyone. Even worse is that some people never got it resolved. I trusted the Acura brand since I had 3 Acuras before and didn't do enough research before buying the car. They tried new tires already and that didn't work. I am just wondering if it is worth continuing trying to fix it. It has been a lot to deal with in the first month of having the car and doesn't give me much confidence in future reliability.

I was hemming and hawing when it came to deciding if I wanted to finance or lease, and I'm glad I chose the latter. When my lease is done, Acura can have it back. That said, there are days when the vibration isn't so noticeable, and those are the days I really enjoy the vehicle. It's too bad, I might've bought it out at the end of the lease.

Used car lemon laws varies by state, but no offense I would not touch a 15 V6 TLX unless it was free. It took Acura some time to work the kinks out of the TLX, well into the 16 model year. My 15 was plagued only by tranny issues and those were far better than most that had problems. I honestly never thought I would get another TLX after my 33 months or dealing with unpredictable shifts, but the Aspec is beautiful and the tranny while not perfect appears to be tolerable. I too was so happy I leased it and not sure WI iwll go back to buying at least until a MMC release.

So, now you know why the previous owner dumped it so early. You have to be very wary when it comes to buy lightly used cars. I see a lot of one year old cars for sale and sold by dealers not related to the brand or private used car dealers. Most of the time these were dumped to the auction since they had ongoing issues. This is where leasing has its advantage. You can buy it out or just return it.

I think issues 1, 3, and 4 from your list are problems with several TLX's that have been reported in the "problems" forum. Consider yourself lucky they gave you a new transmission. :)

My '15 SH-AWD Tech has been great after getting the transmission replaced and the TSB for the vibration done. I've driven several long road trips in my TLX with no issues in regards to the vibration.

I assume it is hard to do right now, but you should consider yourself lucky. Many people had to make many trips to the dealer and complain to corporate before getting a new transmission. It appears that your dealer is working with you. Hopefully new axles will help with the vibration issue.

Did I buy a lemon?
 

Problem occurred in 99.9% of the time on V6 SH-AWD . They can proceed with the TBS's but this does not resolved 100% of the vibration and they do not know how to fix it.

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Currently going back to the dealer to have another look at it. They also changed my tranny, some mounts so far. Still there.

​​​​​​
It happens in both FWD and SH-AWD. I suspect it's something to do with VCM. Go look at Honda forums. Same issues with the V6 and none are SH-AWD. I suspect Honda will never fix this as it would cost too much and since it is only a vibration issue. They didn't even want to fix transmissions that were blowing up at staggering numbers. That is until they lost in the courts.

Hi DMSKI,

4. Vibration - Car was vibrating in floor, seats, steering wheel mainly over 70 mph.
1st attempt at resolution: Performed TSB 16-057. Vibration was not as hard but it still existed and now at lower speeds also.

The vibration issue that we are talking here is not related to VCM, but related to subframe issue. Acura had 2 TSB related to this issue, but are unable to fix it 100%. There is always a small vibration that is still exist after the TSB are applied. And they keep telling customers that this is the way the car is designed and is running as expected and that this vibration is normal behaviour for the TLX SH-AWD.

The big problem is that most of the people that are experiencing this problem, leased their TLX and they do not bother, they will just give back the car at the end of the lease. Very few of them decide to sue Acura / Honda, so Acura does not give a shit about the few clients that decided to sue them, just like myself. I bought and paid for the car and want to enjoy my ride at it should, without vibrations.

Thanks,
Mickey

I followed these vibration discussions closely for several years. Bottom line is that practically no 2.4 owner has had this vibration problem. Don't worry about it:smile:

Most of the vibration issue are related to V6 SHAWD. Do not worry if you have the 2.4 .

Thanks,
Mickey