Guest

Just got my TL-S today. Great car! Can't really test its performance yet because of the break in period. Otherwise, I did run into a few annoying issues that just don't make sense for a near-luxury car and are more appropriate on a Honda rather then an Acura.

Perhaps some one can suggest if there is a way to resolve some of these issues.

1. The tires came over-inflated, 42 PSI (285 kPa) instead of 32 PSI (220 kPa) as listed on the door sticker and in the manual. Is that 42 PSI standard for all factory cars?

2. The door locks don't automatically lock when the car starts moving and remain unlocked unless I lock them manually.

3. The headlights don't have an auto-on option. Have to be turned on manually.

4. This one is the biggest problem for me. Both power outlets are powered only with the key in ignition. I can't leave my cell phone in the car to get charged. I called customer service, and they sold me a dumb story on how this was decided for safety reasons. On my old Intrepid ES I had a fuse that could be moved to a special position to provide constant power to the power outlet.

If I missed a way to activate some of these, please let me know.

Thnx!

Mr Hyde

Well explanations for those annoyeances

1. The cars tires are usually overinflated for shipment/transport. Looks like someone dropped the ball at the dealership and didnt deflate them like they should have.

2. Nope they dont, but i just got a Clifford Alarm which does that anyway. Did your previous car have this feature? Not too many do

3. I personally dont want auto on headlights, I like controlling them. Of course i you want you can just leave your lights on when you turn off teh car, they'll shut off by themselves and turn on when you come back and unlock your door.

4. I wouldnt want that feature either. Id rather have a dead cell phone than a dead car battery. With the car not running thats a major drain on the battery. Also I dont want things such as radar detectors always on even when the car is off.

If thats the worst you can find about the car, Im tickled pink, because I dont think there is a car in the world that you cant say "I only wish it had this.........."

Enjoy your car

neojin

I dont have a type S yet, but am planning to buy one soon.

Just for some info, a lot of american cars, especially GM, come with the locking-door-when-car-starts-moving feature. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, it does this.

My Jeep also has the battery feature. I use it all the time to charge my cell phone. I've never had my battery die yet. Of course, Jeep's come with a HUGE battery =)

But who cares, i still want a type S! =)

neojin

Guest

Mr Hyde,

I can see your points and I agree that every car would have some things that some people won't like.

As to your questions, yes, every other car I (or my wife) owned (Intrepid, Jeep, etc.) had the auto-lock feature, and most of them had the auto-lights on feature.

Leaving the lights always on might be OK, since they will shut-off automatically when the ignition is off. However, I think they will always be on, even at daylight, which is kind of silly.

All of our cars also always had the powered power outlet, and we never had a dead battery because of that.

Jakov

daverman

This is a nice feature that I wished would become more popular. However, I tend not to like creature comforts that happen "behind my back" and outside my control. I've made it a habit to lock the doors before I start moving anyway. Not a big deal for me.

I am strongly opinionated about auto-on lights -- I hate 'em. Again this goes with my dislike of "convenience" features that can't be turned off. However, I agree that making this an option would be a good thing.

Anything of significant power consumption which is turned on while the car's not running can easily drain the battery, leaving you with a dead car in the morning. Charge your phone at home with a wall wart like everyone else! .

Crzy Acura

2. The door locks don't automatically lock when the car starts moving and remain unlocked unless I lock them manually.

3. The headlights don't have an auto-on option. Have to be turned on manually.

OK, I agree on the door locks, hell my Chyrlser sebring had this feature, but the Auto-on Option is just being damn lazy. Its not hard to turn on the headlites.

AKRY

Also, the headlight auto=on reacts WAY too slow to be useful in tunnels!!!

As for auto-locking as car moves, it would be a nice feature, but make it programmable like those on Jeep/Chrysler/BMW/Mercedes/what not....

Another little annoyance, is that every time you press "LOCK" on the remote, the motor(s) of the door lock operates(for example, when you press "LOCK" the second time for audible confirmation). It would be nice that the alarm would detect that the locks are locked, and only gives the BEEP... instead of trying to lock the door again.

Andy Kuo

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'92 Mercedes-Benz 400SE
Pearl Grey/Black

'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV

DougTL-S

My 98 Ford Taurus has all of these features which I thought was kind of funny... It even has 1 outlet runs only with ignition, and 1 that is constantly on, making it nice for my radar detector/cell phone combo.

Guest

I agree that everyone would have different needs and expectations from the convenience features in a car. However, these things that I listed come standard in MUCH less expensive cars. After all, I didn't ask for heated power rear seats (would be nice) and voice recognition for controlling car amenities, did I?

My wife's Pontiac allows you to program the on-board computer with how you want lights, locks, etc. to behave when you enter or leave the car. Other cars allow you to simply disable auto-on lights with the same light switch. And if someone is dumb enough to leave a high current device plugged in and turned on without the engine running, well, they deserve to come back to a drained battery.

In my case, the cell phone is an important business tool and the only device I need to leave powered on. Taking it out of the car overnight for charging is very inconvenient for me. I also don't see how this has anything to do with safety (as per Acura customer service), or it would be regulated by the government and/or not done in so many other cars.

Anyone knows good electricians in Toronto area who could rewire one of the power outlets for me?

daverman

I'll tell you what I miss most from the TL's--the fold-down rear seats. My 97 Accord LX-V6 had that, why not the TL-S?

TypeSDragon

I am pretty fine with everything the TLS has to offer except the auto power lock feature when the car is moving. I had an accord before and it has the autolock feature and I think it is great. Oh well, these are minor things compared to squeaks and rattling noises that some ppl have here.

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2002 Black on Black TL TypeS

feliz

Manufacturers can't win. My last couple of cars had all those features and poeple *****ed about them continualy on the forums, especialy auto lock and lights. Akry is right about auto on lights acting too slowly through tunnels. My biggest beef is not having the steering wheel controls lit, we've all got our nit-picks but it's a great car just the same.

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Feliz

98 Acura CL, primrose
2002 TL-S, silver

thejavagod

well no car is perfect...I also have a 2001 Lexus RX300 and it has auto-on headlights, one touch up/down for all windows, self levelling HIDs etc....but then it does not have the steering wheel audio controls, the in-dash cd changer, and the cup-holders are placed directly over the storage bin (ridiculous!)

THe auto-on feature is nice but its no big deal to turn on the lights manually! The automatic locking and one-press beep confirmation can be had by installing a third party security system.

The real pain is the Acura Navi system - it is realllllllyyyy SLOW..incredibly SLOW! especially when recalculating. In my Lexus the recalculation is almost instantaneous.

RAdams

You mention your cell phone being an important business tool, but your ideal scenario (having the power port "hot" when the car is off) would mean that the cell phone would have to be in the car when you're not for this to even be a factor. Cell phones are pretty useless when they're sitting in the car alone. How about the "inconvenience" of having to take the cell phone out of the car to use it... Am I missing something?



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2000 WDP 3.2TL non-NAV
AEM CAI w/bypass, Comptech header

Guest

RAdams, I leave the phone in the car overnight, when I am home and all my calls get forwarded to my home office line, instead of my cell phone. What I am trying to avoid is having to remember to bring the phone home every evening so it can recharge over-night, and then remember to take it with me in the morning.

As to the auto-on lights discussed in other replies, all cars that have this feature, also have the switch that can override it, resolving the issue of slow response in tunnels, etc. So those who don't like it, don't have to use it. 'Choice' is the keyword here, and I expect more from a car in this price category.

edgalang

I agree. I used to do the cell phone trick myself but found that it drained my battery instead. If there was only 1 feature from that list I could pick, I would chose the power plug inside the armrest to be on all the time. I have both of my cell phones wired underneath the cup holders plugged into a power splitter inside the armrest. Instead of cup holders, since no food or drinks are allowed in my car anyways, I use that space as my cell phone holder. BTW, I just picked up my car from the tint shop right now and let me tell you, it's sweet! 55% at the front windows, and the rest 35%. (I didnt want to pay the extra 100 bucks for the windshield...but it would of been nice)

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2002 3.2 TL Type S with Navigation
Exterior: Aegean Blue Pearl
At 3% over invoice, who can complain?

dcdomain

I agree with the rear seats folding down. I'm a college kid and I need all the space I can get to haul my stuff back and forth from and to school. The frigging Audi's have it why not the TL?

Leaning towards the WRX Wagon now for the utility... will miss the luxury and big car feeling (currently driving a QX4).

Road Rage

Re: Auto locking doors feature.

I would hate that. Most of my driving is highway and suburban, so I do not lock doors. Driving with a locked door is only a safety issue in areas where one is parked for long times or moving slow, to prevent a person from entering the car uninvited.

Otherwise, a locked door can hinder access if there is an emergency - the TL will unlock the doors in a crash, but let's say one fainted or had a myocardial infarction and pulloed over to the side of the road. Precious moments lost while someone tries to open a locked door could be the difference between life and death.

Let me control my locking - hell, it is only one button for cryinoutloud!

daverman

Ummmm, do you have the older (pre-2001) CD-ROM based Navi system? I have a similar unit installed as an aftermarket (sold by Alpine) on my 97 Accord, and yes, it is <em>dog</em> slow. Even then, it's still highly usable in normal traffic. The newer DVD based systems (2001 and up) are incredibly fast, though. Recalculations are almost instantaneous.

Guest

Well, my main gripe with TL-S got resolved! I took it to a nearby car stereo store and they rewired the power outlet inside the storage compartment. They ran a new wire inside the center console to the fuse box and connected it through its own fuse. None of that is visible at all. They also ran my cell phone charger wire hidden inside the center console and took it out through the wood trim panel on its right, not far from the car radio. No damage was done to any of the trim and all I see now is a short piece of charger cable and connector sticking out next to where my cell phone mount is. And the whole thing cost only CAD$80 (about US$50).

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2002 TL-S

Guest

I agree. I was dissappointed that my doors don't lock once the car starts moving. My old Explorer had that feature and it was nice.

My Explorer also had auto headlamps that the TL Type S is missing. I guess Honda is behind the Big Three in terms of bells an whistles. Yes, the headlamps on the Explorer turn on/off automatically and delay can be set when the engine is shut off.

Oh well, there is still no comparison with this car. My TL Type S is still far more luxurious and is so smooth it made my SUV feel like a well, er...truck!