Robot919

The TLX has four driving modes: Econ, Normal, Sport, Sport+. Which one do you normally use?

When I am driving a 3.5L engine TLX, I normally use Sport+ Mode. If there is a lot of traffic, I switch it to Sport mode.

For the 2.4L engine TLX, I normally go Sport Mode. The reason is because I am not a fan of the sound the 2.4L engine makes in Sport+ mode at high revs.

ultrapogi

Christopher.

I use Sport because I don't like having the revs held so high as it does in Sport+ for Daily Driving, and, I don't really like the jerky feel when you slow down/come to a stop when in Sport+ mode. But, turning of Traction Control has really made a big improvement in how the car feels to drive, to me. Much prefer how much more responsive it feels to my input, I feel more in control with TC off, not like I'm being over-ruled by a "nanny" when I press the gas pedal now.

mapleloaf

For my 2.4, my default start is Eco mode, both to warm up the transmission and the residential 30 - 60 km speed limits. Once out of the residential area, I switch to normal mode, unless in considerable stop and go traffic. I use Sport mode for quicker acceleration in higher speed areas, and Sport + occasionally when I feel like playing a bit. Percentage wise, I would say:

Eco - 35%
Normal - 40%
Sport - 20%
Sport + - 5%

F23A4

wlkeel

Sport mode in my 2.4 unless I'm having fun on mountain roads when I use Sport+ (mainly for the manual mode). Econ and normal take some of the fun out of the car IMO.

Gen4MDX

Gen4MDX

duplicate post

noclue02

Used to be on sport mode 100%, but now have switched to Normal mode. Seem to be OK with this mode after the tranny update. Eco mode is still a no no unless I go on a long trip.

ShonanBoy

Mr Hyde

Sport mode is most of my driving, but occasionally econ if I just want to relax and take it slow.

For whatever reason I rarely use Normal, (I guess Sport and Eco fit my moods well enough)
Sport+ is way too jerky on the rev matched downshifts when you are slowing down.

theredia92

Mostly in Normal or Sport in my 2.4. Normal is great for smooth and comfortable everyday driving but throttle and transmission kick down response comes across as lazy and slow. Sport is great when I need the car to feel more aggressive and responsive. The more aggressive throttle mapping makes the car feel faster then it is. I really would love to see an "individual" mode. I love the repressiveness that Sport gives but I find the steering to be a little to heavy for everyday driving. Econ and Sport + cuts back the A/C performance, which is a big no no in South Carolina.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Normal mode 99% of the time.

ZipSpeed

Majority of the time it's in Sport. I'll put it on Eco for winter driving if the roads are treacherous.

ultrapogi

Rocketsfan

I drive exclusively in Sport. Econ never saved me any mileage (my driving is mostly at highway speeds and on highways/freeways) and sometimes felt more like torture than a reward. After one of the umpteen transmission/software flashes/fails they did, Normal was borderline undriveable and Sport felt better at the time, so I just left it there.

ostrich

Sport mode most of the times. During winter, I may use the Normal mode in the snow, and I sometimes use the Econ mode on freeways.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I may drive in sport for a while to see if I can train it to smooth out a bit - it's always been a little on the jerky side with the low downshits for me.

Speed_Racer

Sport or Sport +?

For me, Sport + gets real jerky when slowing down like when coming up to a stop sign/light. Sport doesn't seem to do that for me. I'm going to try driving in Sport + and see if it does smooth out. I only use Sport+ when I want the downshifting with the paddles to not automatically go into D again.

mapleloaf

In September, when I asked my dealer if they could apply an update that was only available in the U.S., they looked into it. They could not, but they did apply ECU update that was available in Canada (ID DFA5480). Since then, it has been flawless in all modes and pure joy

kurtatx

Chris Harris is a big fan of driving around in "Normal" modes. In this case, I would guess "Normal" and "Sport" both qualify as that.

Temp_A-Spec

For my short drives to work etc, I am forced to use Sport due to Normal lugging my V6 SH-AWD. When I'm late to work or in a rush and have to bob and weave in the side streets I use Sport+. I only use Eco for those boring long highway no traffic trips.

1 thing I hate is any mode is in and if I got WOT I feel the car has to think way too long before it decides which gear to kick down to and really is a bad driving experience for me. When I use Sport + this is but not by much.
Sport+ auto shifts up just like any other mode so that sucks at times so I never upshift since it will do it anyway in manual modes.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

It's been a couple years since I had my last update done - I should check to see if they have a new one - in fact I'm sure they do. Sadly since I started working from home a couple years ago I hardly drive it anymore so I don't visit the service dept much at all. I drive my wifes AWD CRV in the Winter months. I think I put a whole 3,000 miles on it last year!

Saintor

If I would have Sport+ / M modes, I wouldn't have this car. I use them 90% of the time.

dezymond

I've found myself using Eco mode lately, but have been using Normal or Sport the past year. Eco doesn't seem as slow as it used to, definitely drive able everyday. Not sure if it saves much gas though.

wlkeel

Try it, I think you'll like it and become a convert. And you might want to get that update, also.

BEAR-AvHistory

FWIW or not worth. Different car, different transmission, same basic functions.

DD - Around town & back roads, one of the Sport/Sport+ modes. Quick to respond, holds car in a lower gear at specific speeds, more aggressive shifts, less aggressive to none traction control intervention then Comfort.

Interstate high speed cruise - Comfort. Allows car to shift into 8th which is locked out in Sport/Sport+.

Rain - Comfort. Gentle throttle response, softer shifts & more aggressive traction control intervention.

Snow - PARK Car has zero traction in snow or ice conditions so the car stays home.

Trans is different in it has sub-settings & ability to link or de-link suspension compliance dynamically to the selected drive mode.

jhb31

I leave it in Sport mode all the time. Sport + to me is ridiculous on holding gears too long. Don't like to bring this up but the 07/08 with no modes was perfect for all driving. The paddle shifters at least in Sport mode are completely useless. I realize the 9spd trans was about economy but it leaves a lot to be desired. Granted it bumps the MPG up by 4 on the AWD and closer to 8 on the FWD model but the downside is not great. If you haven't driven a 3rd gen type S then you have no idea how great the trans was in manual mode and those that did when they drop the lever into manual mode know what it should be (and in the 07/08 type S very few would bother with the steering wheel paddles, the shifter was king). Hope when they do bring it back they dump the button trans and go back to the lever shifter with the knockover to manual mode..

Saintor

The paddle shifters at least in Sport mode are completely essential. Used at every ride.

jhb31

I would think you are joking. Going 60 and paddle down to get any engine braking you have to drop several gears and even then there is a forward surge. Type S in manual mode you could easily brake down to near a stop from 60 without using the brakes at all. As close to a manual trans as you could get. The TLX implementation is not even close. There are a lot of things I like on the TLX A-Spec AWD but the paddle shifters relative to what was in the 3rd gen type S when you dropped it into manual mode are not even in the same galaxy. There really is no comparison at all and anyone who has had both will not disagree.

Saintor

No f-way.

But I don't think that you would appreciate a manual TL-S 2008 either.

Christopher.

Yes, OK a manual transmission is more fun - but, I recently discovered for myself what the point of the paddle shifters is (having people tell you what they're for just isn't the same) - at least for me, if I'm cruising along in a middle-ish gear at fairly low RPM and want some quick acceleration I downshift so that when I press the gas I reach the engine's sweet spot sooner. Along with occasional paddle shifter use, I've found what makes the most difference in terms of bringing the TLX to life is turning off Traction Control - it simply robs too much away from the accelerator pedal - as if the person who actually had their foot on the gas was your grandma, and you had to ask her to speed up the car...

Robs252

jhb31

This from someone who thinks the TLX paddle shifters are great. I appreciate things that are implemented well. The TLX trans/paddle shifters are poorly done. I own the car but that won't make me think something works well when it doesn't. Anyway, have owned plenty of manual transmission cars and enough Acura's and the TLX is the only one I would ever have even spent any time thinking about the paddle shifters or transmission shifting. Even Acura has admitted it can't get the transmission to work as people expect (or most people), although they did make improvements.

Warrior 6

Run in Sport exclusively.

F23A4

i had a 5.5G Maxima and the tranny wasn’t that great.

kurtatx

Most paddle shifters are terrible. It's the biggest reason not to run in Sport+/Dynamic/Saintor mode. The A4 has the same problem. They totally suck.

BEAR-AvHistory

I usually let the car shift on its own. I do use the paddles if I am running someone. React quicker then the shift handle. They also have a slick feature if you hold the downshift paddle in at WOT it will jump to the lowest possible gear that will not over speed the engine. Not sure it the Acura has it but its pretty standard across the 8ZF line with the sport programmed gear box.

Saintor

They do not suck at all. They just work as expected, no drawback. It is a foolproof binary kind of thing, same way as in a a 488GTB or Gallardo.

kurtatx