My First Big Road Trip -- 850 miles in 4 days
10-21-2014, 05:38 PM
#1
My First Big Road Trip -- 850 miles in 4 days
Hello again.
Earlier this month, I shared my initial impressions about my Basque Red/Parchment base 4 cyl. Now that I've had My First Big Road Trip (which totally blew through my monthly lease mileage allotment), I have a few more things to say.
Let's Hit The Road
Before last weekend, I hadn't done much freeway driving -- except for the first trip home from the dealership, and two more round trips from downtown Houston to John Eagle Acura (one to fix a paperwork snafu, the other to get the windows tinted). Thirteen hours of highway travel have confirmed that I made the right choice for me.
The car is steady, solid, and quiet at speeds that would jeopardize your license. I had some concerns that the steering, which is fairly light around town, would be too light at speed. It isn't. There's no need to make constant corrections to stay in your lane. The ride and noise levels are probably as good as one will find in a $32k (or $46k) car. And the seats hold up to several hours behind the wheel. (The seat heater directs enough warmth to the backrest to help keep the lumbar somewhat loosened up).
The TLX is all business on the freeway, even if it lacks that teeny-tiny little extra something one finds in the typical Audi/BMW/MB that says "let's knock this SOB of a trip out so we can get on with our lives." I was pleasantly surprised by how eager it is to get up to around 75-85 and spend hours there. One thing that reminded me that this Acura isn't quite as buttoned-down as cars from the Fatherland was numerous instances of hood fluttering. This would start around 75mph (which is now perfectly legal on hundreds of miles of Texas freeways.. and, that, of course, means traffic moves at 80-95). The flutter (on a properly latched and secured hood) was a bit disconcerting, but it didn't slow me down.
On a couple of occasions when I had to slow down in a big hurry, I was reminded just how craptacular the stock Goodyears are. If this weren't a lease, I'd beat a path to Discount Tire for some Contis, Yokohamas, or Bridgestones. But the tires (and the sanely-sized 17" wheels) deliver a smooth and quiet ride.
After burning two full tanks of fuel, I averaged around 32 mpg. That was with about an 80/20 mix of highway and surface street travel. I often got up to 35-37 during two-hour stretches of 70mph+. I found the numbers from the trip computer jibe with my own fuel consumption calculations (at least within a few tenths of a gallon). A 500-mile range is theoretically possible, if one never leaves the freeway and keeps the speed at 75 or under.
The Gadgets
This is a base model, so it doesn't have any of the safety nannies, or satnav, or ELS audio. The standard audio is perfectly fine for an afternoon of high-speed travel. I, and other members of AZ, have noted elsewhere how poor the TLX's FM reception is. SiriusXM, though, sounds surprisingly good -- probably better in this car than in any of the three others I've had with sat-radio. Yeah, there's still noticeable compression. But compared to the FM band, it's very listenable. Getting to the iPod takes a few distracting steps. I haven't tried using voice commands to get it to do stuff (I'm not even sure that's possible on the base), and I haven't yet figured out how to make the album cover art to show up. But I won't complain too much, since every automaker's infotainment systems come with numerous (and sometimes significant) shortcomings. That I can switch source, tracks, and control volume from the wheel is good enough for me. I still haven't tried BT streaming audio from my phone, so I have nothing to say about that.
I have had more luck lately in getting texts and e-mails to pop up on the screen. About a week or so before the trip, a Honda tech told me the latest Android update rendered those features useless. But, over the weekend, they suddenly started working. The voice Honda uses to read the text is of high quality and clarity -- for 1989. My recently-departed Mazda3 had a better Ladyvoice than this car.
One other thing about gadgets: the Homelink doesn't have a good range at all. It's the worst of the four cars I've had with that feature. I have to get Right. Up. On. the gate or garage door I wish to open before it makes the connection it needs to make. It's really not a huge deal, but I have gates at work and home (along with a garage at home), so I'm reminded of this every time I come and go. True, the Homelink went mostly unused during the trip. It's just something I noticed after I posted my initial review and thought to include here.
So What Else?
I mentioned the highway ride earlier. Nice and steady, if not quite as "you wanna go 95 all day? I sure would like to" as my old BMW or my mom's Audi. My last afternoon on the road involved hauling about 300 lbs. of books to the house my parents will use for their retirement at Canyon Lake. The extra load didn't really seem to affect the ride, handling, or MPGs from Ellis County to Comal County. What was most surprising is how folding down the seat to accommodate the load resulted in no extra road noise (something I can't say about my previous cars). Acura really knew what it was doing when it shot all the body cavities full of foam.
Three weeks into it, I'm still very happy with my TLX. In fact, I'm happier with it now after how easy it was to live with driving the triangle from Houston, to Dallas, to (almost) San Antonio and back to Houston.
I think of this particular Acura as 80-90% of what a BMW (used) to drive like at 60% of the cost, and with none of the anxiety that I'd pack for a road trip wondering if I'd hear a chime with a message that might as well read "Your car just did something that will cost you $1,200 to fix". I think this will be a very enjoyable and rewarding three-year relationship. (We'll just figure out how to deal with what I'm sure will be a 5,000 mile overage at the end).
Earlier this month, I shared my initial impressions about my Basque Red/Parchment base 4 cyl. Now that I've had My First Big Road Trip (which totally blew through my monthly lease mileage allotment), I have a few more things to say.
Let's Hit The Road
Before last weekend, I hadn't done much freeway driving -- except for the first trip home from the dealership, and two more round trips from downtown Houston to John Eagle Acura (one to fix a paperwork snafu, the other to get the windows tinted). Thirteen hours of highway travel have confirmed that I made the right choice for me.
The car is steady, solid, and quiet at speeds that would jeopardize your license. I had some concerns that the steering, which is fairly light around town, would be too light at speed. It isn't. There's no need to make constant corrections to stay in your lane. The ride and noise levels are probably as good as one will find in a $32k (or $46k) car. And the seats hold up to several hours behind the wheel. (The seat heater directs enough warmth to the backrest to help keep the lumbar somewhat loosened up).
The TLX is all business on the freeway, even if it lacks that teeny-tiny little extra something one finds in the typical Audi/BMW/MB that says "let's knock this SOB of a trip out so we can get on with our lives." I was pleasantly surprised by how eager it is to get up to around 75-85 and spend hours there. One thing that reminded me that this Acura isn't quite as buttoned-down as cars from the Fatherland was numerous instances of hood fluttering. This would start around 75mph (which is now perfectly legal on hundreds of miles of Texas freeways.. and, that, of course, means traffic moves at 80-95). The flutter (on a properly latched and secured hood) was a bit disconcerting, but it didn't slow me down.
On a couple of occasions when I had to slow down in a big hurry, I was reminded just how craptacular the stock Goodyears are. If this weren't a lease, I'd beat a path to Discount Tire for some Contis, Yokohamas, or Bridgestones. But the tires (and the sanely-sized 17" wheels) deliver a smooth and quiet ride.
After burning two full tanks of fuel, I averaged around 32 mpg. That was with about an 80/20 mix of highway and surface street travel. I often got up to 35-37 during two-hour stretches of 70mph+. I found the numbers from the trip computer jibe with my own fuel consumption calculations (at least within a few tenths of a gallon). A 500-mile range is theoretically possible, if one never leaves the freeway and keeps the speed at 75 or under.
The Gadgets
This is a base model, so it doesn't have any of the safety nannies, or satnav, or ELS audio. The standard audio is perfectly fine for an afternoon of high-speed travel. I, and other members of AZ, have noted elsewhere how poor the TLX's FM reception is. SiriusXM, though, sounds surprisingly good -- probably better in this car than in any of the three others I've had with sat-radio. Yeah, there's still noticeable compression. But compared to the FM band, it's very listenable. Getting to the iPod takes a few distracting steps. I haven't tried using voice commands to get it to do stuff (I'm not even sure that's possible on the base), and I haven't yet figured out how to make the album cover art to show up. But I won't complain too much, since every automaker's infotainment systems come with numerous (and sometimes significant) shortcomings. That I can switch source, tracks, and control volume from the wheel is good enough for me. I still haven't tried BT streaming audio from my phone, so I have nothing to say about that.
I have had more luck lately in getting texts and e-mails to pop up on the screen. About a week or so before the trip, a Honda tech told me the latest Android update rendered those features useless. But, over the weekend, they suddenly started working. The voice Honda uses to read the text is of high quality and clarity -- for 1989. My recently-departed Mazda3 had a better Ladyvoice than this car.
One other thing about gadgets: the Homelink doesn't have a good range at all. It's the worst of the four cars I've had with that feature. I have to get Right. Up. On. the gate or garage door I wish to open before it makes the connection it needs to make. It's really not a huge deal, but I have gates at work and home (along with a garage at home), so I'm reminded of this every time I come and go. True, the Homelink went mostly unused during the trip. It's just something I noticed after I posted my initial review and thought to include here.
So What Else?
I mentioned the highway ride earlier. Nice and steady, if not quite as "you wanna go 95 all day? I sure would like to" as my old BMW or my mom's Audi. My last afternoon on the road involved hauling about 300 lbs. of books to the house my parents will use for their retirement at Canyon Lake. The extra load didn't really seem to affect the ride, handling, or MPGs from Ellis County to Comal County. What was most surprising is how folding down the seat to accommodate the load resulted in no extra road noise (something I can't say about my previous cars). Acura really knew what it was doing when it shot all the body cavities full of foam.
Three weeks into it, I'm still very happy with my TLX. In fact, I'm happier with it now after how easy it was to live with driving the triangle from Houston, to Dallas, to (almost) San Antonio and back to Houston.
I think of this particular Acura as 80-90% of what a BMW (used) to drive like at 60% of the cost, and with none of the anxiety that I'd pack for a road trip wondering if I'd hear a chime with a message that might as well read "Your car just did something that will cost you $1,200 to fix". I think this will be a very enjoyable and rewarding three-year relationship. (We'll just figure out how to deal with what I'm sure will be a 5,000 mile overage at the end).
Last edited by StupidSexyFlanders; 10-21-2014 at 05:52 PM.
The following 15 users liked this post by StupidSexyFlanders:
4WDrift (10-23-2014),
BookemDanole (10-27-2014),
CoquiTSX (10-26-2014),
Goosew (10-21-2014),
hadokenuh (10-21-2014),
and 10 others liked this post.
10-26-2014, 09:21 AM
#2
Drifting
Thanks, StupidSexyFlanders! Great and useful review!
Now that you have driven this car much more, I am wondering if you do notice this rocking back and forth motion that many of us have noticed when the car comes to a complete stop please? If you have posted in the other threads about it, I apologize but I would love to hear your experience so far Thanks!
Now that you have driven this car much more, I am wondering if you do notice this rocking back and forth motion that many of us have noticed when the car comes to a complete stop please? If you have posted in the other threads about it, I apologize but I would love to hear your experience so far Thanks!
10-26-2014, 10:24 AM
#3
Senior Moderator
PThanks for the feedback.
Regarding the hood, have you adjusted the rubber stoppers on the underside yet?
They should be towards the outer front corners, and twisting them would either make them stick out less or more depending on the direction you twist them.
Twisting them out a bit should take up some slack. After you are done, just close the hood and recheck you panel gaps between the hood and fender to make sure you don't overdo it and raise the hood too high.
It's pretty simple, and should take less than a minute.
Regarding the hood, have you adjusted the rubber stoppers on the underside yet?
They should be towards the outer front corners, and twisting them would either make them stick out less or more depending on the direction you twist them.
Twisting them out a bit should take up some slack. After you are done, just close the hood and recheck you panel gaps between the hood and fender to make sure you don't overdo it and raise the hood too high.
It's pretty simple, and should take less than a minute.
Last edited by Mr Hyde; 10-26-2014 at 10:29 AM.
10-26-2014, 05:41 PM
#4
Thanks, StupidSexyFlanders! Great and useful review!
Now that you have driven this car much more, I am wondering if you do notice this rocking back and forth motion that many of us have noticed when the car comes to a complete stop please? If you have posted in the other threads about it, I apologize but I would love to hear your experience so far Thanks!
Now that you have driven this car much more, I am wondering if you do notice this rocking back and forth motion that many of us have noticed when the car comes to a complete stop please? If you have posted in the other threads about it, I apologize but I would love to hear your experience so far Thanks!
The one thing I've noticed coming to a stop is a tendency for the dual-clutch transmission to lurch a bit as it's trying to figure out whether I'm about to take off again, or if I'm coming to a real stop. I don't know if that's the same as the "rocking back and forth motion" that you refer to.
This lurching is something I'm growing accustomed to, and I'm not all that put off by it because A) it's a lease.. so I'm not stuck with it "forever" and B) maybe Acura will come out with some transmission re-programming update? I have almost 1,400 miles on it now, and I think it may still be in the process of "learning" how I drive.
It also seems to be pretty jerky making the transition from "R" to "D". My workaround for this is to come to a complete stop (and that's totally complete -- not that pretend complete stop that we all really make when shifting from reverse to drive) and keep my foot firmly on the brake until I feel the transmission is engaged and ready to move forward. Again, not a deal-breaker. This is my first car with a dual-clutch tranny. Once underway, it's great. But the torque converter doesn't smooth things out as much as some reviewers (or Honda engineers) would like to imagine. I'd rather have a conventional auto, but I guess this beats having a CVT (shrug).
10-27-2014, 09:35 AM
#5
The homelink problem you describe might be due to a weak signal. To fix this, you might want to try replacing the battery in your hand held remote for the garage and then re-program the Homelink system using the remote with the new battery.
The Homelink system replicates the signal it "learned" from the remote when you programmed the system. If the remote had a weak battery at programming, the Homelink will be putting out a weak singnal as well.
The Homelink system replicates the signal it "learned" from the remote when you programmed the system. If the remote had a weak battery at programming, the Homelink will be putting out a weak singnal as well.
10-27-2014, 02:52 PM
#6
^^ That is something I had no idea! Both the RDX and ILX has had that problem and I thought it was related to the homelink feature on the vehicle because my TL worked flawlessly.
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10-27-2014, 03:46 PM
#8
It's the interesting stuff you learn reading the homelink.com FAQ page... http://www.homelink.com/faqs
The following users liked this post:
Mr Hyde (10-27-2014)
10-27-2014, 05:04 PM
#9
Well I'll be damned!!
10-28-2014, 03:08 PM
#10
The homelink problem you describe might be due to a weak signal. To fix this, you might want to try replacing the battery in your hand held remote for the garage and then re-program the Homelink system using the remote with the new battery.
The Homelink system replicates the signal it "learned" from the remote when you programmed the system. If the remote had a weak battery at programming, the Homelink will be putting out a weak singnal as well.
The Homelink system replicates the signal it "learned" from the remote when you programmed the system. If the remote had a weak battery at programming, the Homelink will be putting out a weak singnal as well.
Perhaps y'all had better re-read that paragraph.
Putting a new battery in your handheld will make it possible to train the homelink in your car by increasing the range and signal strength of your handheld transmitter to allow the signal to be recognized by the homelink in your car but it has NOTHING to do with increasing the range of your homelink transmitter. It doesn't "rebroadcast" the signal it picked up but rather broadcasts that particular frequency and code.
Try adjusting the antenna on your opener to get better range.
Sheesh.
Last edited by ceb; 10-28-2014 at 03:16 PM.
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