shenofjo

Hey guys new guy on the block. I currently have an older 1998 bmw 740il supercharged and been a blast. due to bigger mileage and constant worry / actual spending of repairs, my wife and I are considering moving on to something else. we already have a 2009 accord Lx, but it feels boring to me and the cloth seats are hard and neck pain inducing. I've sat in leather accord of the same model without issue. My goal is to buy a reliable awd sedan that is fun. reliability being key, also my wife's favorite brand, I've started looking into RL, TLs. I am interested in the sh awd, 6 speed automatic and have found a few in the area. Not having test driven these cars yet, and not a hot car for the journalists, I have not found much to help with my decision making. So here I am looking for some information from the forums. supraforums and bimmerforums have been great and hope acurazine would be the same!

question 1: is the shawd models reliable as well as the 6sp automatics. any specifics i should know about these clutch packs and are they expensive to maintain.
question 2: does the TL, RL suffer the same brake premature wear that my wife's accord had? seems like something was haywire with the stability control causing it to wear out the pads and rotors faster. there was a recall and havent had shimmy steering wheel since.
question 3: how are the seats/comfort? we want a comfortable ride for long trips.
question 4: is there much difference in the TL and the RL? dimensions looks 1in apart at most areas, heard the RL has higher overdrive in the clutch packs which means i donno wtf that means... I am more interested in the handling dynamics as I would like something comparable to the bmw it replaces.

thats all i can think of at the moment. if there are any BMW owners with both acura and bmw experience and care to share their thoughts, that would be much appreciated.

Tsung

H8PVMT

See my answers in RED text

truonghthe

question 1: is the shawd models reliable as well as the 6sp automatics. any specifics i should know about these clutch packs and are they expensive to maintain.

6spd is pretty solid in the TL side and they are using the same AT in the RL as long as you keep up with ATF drain and fill. You can DIY the drain and fill as they cost $89 per case 12 bottles, each drain and fill takes about 3 quarts.



question 2: does the TL, RL suffer the same brake premature wear that my wife's accord had? seems like something was haywire with the stability control causing it to wear out the pads and rotors faster. there was a recall and havent had shimmy steering wheel since.

No the RL does nor the TL suffer from premature brakes wear, and this is the first time I heard the VSA stability control system cause the issue on a Honda product. Normally this issue found on car that has artificial LSD like 08-09 Lexus ISF or may be the case for RLX Sport Hybrid. Power actually re-route to the out side wheel via clutch pack.



question 3: how are the seats/comfort? we want a comfortable ride for long trips.

I have no problem with the seat in the RL nor in my 3g TL, the seat in the RL will be more comfort than the TL. SHAWD TL has thicker side bolstering almost like a E36 M3 seat.



question 4: is there much difference in the TL and the RL? dimensions looks 1in apart at most areas, heard the RL has higher overdrive in the clutch packs which means i donno wtf that means... I am more interested in the handling dynamics as I would like something comparable to the bmw it replaces.

Handling dynamic wise won't be close to your 7 series in term of sport steering. In order for the SH-AWD works properly you must remain planting your foot on the throttle while cornering which is the opposite from 90% vehicle you are coming from.

Interior dimension is about the same between the TL-SHAWD and the RL, however ONLY the RL use accelerate device where its allow the rear wheel rotate faster than the front this allow the car to be temporality RWD for a moment and this feature only found in the RL. the RL as 70 front - 30 rear power slit when go on full throttle straight line where the TL use 90 F - 10 R for full throttle accelerate.

RL has a very unique AWD system, if I lightly on throttle the car send power as FWD, under moderate throttle its AWD, let off the throttle and brake pedal is RWD.

The down side to RL is the Navigation graphic, its never got an update since 05 in this term the TL navi graphic def looks better.

However in the RL you will find remedies that only exclusive to RL back then (even today standard) such as

1. All auto window switches. (TL only came with the front one)
2. Rear power sunshade (no other Honda has it up until today (RLX has it but you have to get the Tech package)
3. Rear side window manual sunshade (no other car in its class has it, even the LS460 must be UL/ Executive package trim to receive the rear side window sun shade)
4. Good Bose surround sound (I know, I hate Bose for cars but they do sound pretty good in the RL)
5. CMBS and ACC (pre collision and adapted cruise control)
6. AFS (adaptive Front lightning system (it swivel as you making a turn)
7. Quite cabin (comparing between my 06 RL and the 07 TL-S)
8. Ventilated seat for Tech package or higher (its just a glorifying fan under the seat) but in the newer car you must get either Tech or Advance package depend on which model.

The RL interior built quality is more superb over their TL counter part and suffer less issue than the TL however all RL succumb to these following issue.

1. Glove box start blister/ bubble from park under hot weather.
2. Buttons in the cabin start to melt for car that been in warm climate.
3. center arm rest and front door arm rest leather will peel.
4. Some 3.7 know to burn oils, its the same story goes for the TL SH-AWD.



Let us know if you have any more question as the 2nd gen RL in general and especially KB2 face lift didn't sell well and there are barely any reviews out there.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I have 150K miles on my 2012 TL FWD (the SH-AWD has the same 6AT transmission) and so far so good. No slipping, hesitation or weird noises. It drives like the day I bought it at 60K miles.

I've had no problems with brake wear. One of my centric rotors warped, but I don't think that's the cars fault. Just got an Autozone Duralast rotor to replace it and it's been fine.

The seats in the 4G TL are comfortable. I drove Uber and Lyft for nearly 12 hours a day while I was unemployed and never had any problems. The leather has also held up pretty well.

The SH-AWD in the TL is magic. I don't know much about the RL, but being that it has pretty much the same system I'd expect it to handle well. I have the FWD TL and I'm more than happy with handling. The stock suspension is much better than the 3G. I recently replaced the stock coils, upper control arms, sway bar links and bushings and it really brought it back to life.

The kicker with the TL is frequent ATF drain/refills. I do mine ever other oil change. Also, I clean and condition the leather weekly. And I strongly recommend the tech package if you get the TL.

shenofjo

Thanks for so much information and feedback! I test drove the 2011 RL today since thats the only car available in my area. I do have a few additional questions.
1. how do you distinguish between tech and advance model?
2. when you say the engine eats oil... like how much oil? i saw another post where the engine was eating enough oil that the dealership replaced the engine... is that something to worry about?!
3. how fast acting is the 6sp transmission supposed to be? I left it in sport mode and floored the gas pedal and it took a slight moment to shift and rev it went. Maybe I am expecting too much like the dual clutch transmissions.

My impression: the car appearance is definitely understated. Love that ass with the sexy taillight curve and sharp edge at the same time. front is decent, while the side profile is more plain. interior materials seem plush for a 95k mile car. the black wood trim looks great but the plasticky center console looks dated for sure. rear seats with the shades are familiar to me as with the bmw, but the rear leg room is way smaller than the 7 series long wheel base and also narrower. might have to get used to that idea. AC did take awhile to cool down as the car was sitting in the dealership lot all day till 3 when i test drove it, but the cooling fan under my butt was a nice touch. I dont care for nav systems as I have a phone for that, but the general map did help me redirect route on the fly just looking at the map of an unfamiliar area.

Driving impression: granted i only got to drive around the block in some traffic and construction, the steering wheel is pretty light but similar to my mkiv supra if not a tad lighter. the car stays planted while no harsh ride at all. on the turns, I was actually able to make the tires chip with moderate acceleration. sudden WOT, the transmission does require some time to downshift and then it goes through the gears pretty well. I was hoping for more out of the motors as I've heard so much about the VTEC, but i didnt really have room to feel the extra shove. not sure when VTEC kicks in in this motor. acceleration was linear and fast revving however, just not as much as I hoped. this car is 4100 lbs and 300HP through AWD drive train, vs my 4500lb 400HP RWD supercharged dinan 7.

I have not driven the TL but I think I am down to getting over the reduced back seats for baby seat and the reduced push. the tradeoff is better reliability, high end AWD system, lighter car, better fuel economy.

ahm12

Let’s see what other members say but I thought 3.7 engine had oil burning issues . I could be wrong though .

shenofjo

truonghthe

​​​​​​​

ahm12

try to find a 2006-08 low mileage RL.(3.5) . Those things last forever .

shenofjo

i am pretty stuck on the newer body shape at the moment and the 6 speed. is oil burning not as affected in the RL, or just not as many people own it and are on the forums to talk about it or even know about it? I dont want to sound rude, but just dont want to buy something without knowing the likelihood of the oil burning and seeing so many people replace their engines in the TL world. If possible, can I get personal experiences of 2011-2012 shawd 3.7 to chime in on how much oil they burn? and observations associated with their RL. I havent test driven the TL yet but I think with the amenities and coming off of a 740il, i would be more interested in the RL.

CadiGTi

I have a 2012 RL. Purchased CPO in February 2015 with 25k miles. I now have 114k miles. Zero oil burning and zero issues. Had front brake pads changed at around 90k, rears are original. Have 61k miles on the 2nd set of Michelins (Premier A/S) and they still have 5/32 of tread remaining. I live 1 mile from the Pentagon so my RL is driven in brutal traffic.
I had a 2006 RL I bought in 2008 with 4k miles. Sold it in 2011 with 173k on it. Only real issue was driveshaft replaced under CPO warranty around 90k miles.
No interior issues. I do use Griots garage leather care on the interior. All armrests, glove box door skin, and leather are pristine. I do have high miles, but car is garaged in an underground parking garage in my hi-rise. Not sure if Acura addressed earlier interior wear issues? I swear by the RL and Lexus 430/460. Last of the Japanese tanks
How about this 1 owner carefully maintained Miami beauty? CarFax shows impeccable service record. 29k 1 owner miles. ADVANCE CMBS package too;
https://www.miamiacura.com/used-inventory/index.htm?search=&compositeType=&make=Acura&model= RL&saveFacetState=true&lastFacetInteracted=invento ry-listing1-facet-anchor-model-3

shenofjo

do you check engine oil regularly? I wonder if this oil consumption is something that would show up on the dash or more from actually checking dipstick

MyGuti

I can tell you right now that since owning my 07 base TL, and more recently my 07 type-s TL, I have maybe checked the oil level once!
These car's are not known to burn oil, although I believe there was a year of the 4th GEN TL that had oil consumption problems.
I should probably check the level though lol, but they are very reliable if maintained correctly

shenofjo

truonghthe

Which one fit your boat? cheaper initial price or you looking into some thing almost in almost new condition?

schen72

I wasn't aware of any oil consumption issue. My '06 RL hasn't burned any oil as far as I know. I really don't check it. It goes to the dealer for service about once a year (oil change) and that's about it. I currently have about 68k miles on it. The only big ticket item was the timing belt service. It's a very solid feeling car. The doors are heavy and when they close they sound as good as German cars. The downside to the heavy feeling is the poor MPG. It's a 4000 lb car so I only get about 18-22 mpg depending how much highway I drive.

truonghthe

the 3.5 doesn't have issue with burning oil, its just some 3.7 motor burning oil.

OP just my habit, I always pull the oil dip stick for reading every 1k miles on all the car I ever owned.