jwaters943

But how would one define "1st year" on a vehicle like the TSX? Should you wait until the Fall of 2009 for the 2010 model, or do you think you'd be okay if you purchased in April of next year?

I'm no expert in car assembly, but aren't changes also implemented in the middle of a model year? I'm sure if there are known issues they don't wait until the next model year to start implementing a fix.

jwaters943

Please tell me where I made any such reference to the 2004 TSX. I only recall commenting about the new TSX. Maybe I should have been more clear. I certainly didn't mean to imply that owners of '04 TSXs haven't had issues.

prballard

All I was saying that first model year doesn't bother me based on MY experience. Not trying to argue with statistics. I have a lot of good LUCK with MY first year Acuras. Which include: 92 Vigor, 95 TL 2.5, 97 CL 3.0, 04 TSX.

First year models have more problems. There I said it.

But not for me so far.

Colin

I don't think there are any hard rules on this. If they learn that a piece of felt placed between the headliner and the windshield will prevent rattles, they do a running change. If they need to re-engineer a part, it will probably make it into the next model year, especially if the part is a subcontracted part.

Colin

Interesting. The Vigor wasn't really a first year car, the 5 cyl Accord was out for a while in Japan first. The TL was a combination of G2 Legend chassis and two drivetrains but was 'tried and true' components, the 2.2 CLs had horrible problems with paint, that had been sorted out by the time the 3.0 came on line.

dom

Not an issue of reliability although I'm sure guys with 04's who burn through a quart of oil a week would disagree. But no car is perfect.

prballard

Colin, so by that logic I should be good to go in an 09 TSX if I choose, since the vast majority of stuff including the engine has been around for a long time now??

dom

What I think he's saying is, it will likely be very reliable. (ie. Never leave you stranded)

prballard

Colin

Well not counting dead batteries, but that happens to every car.....

Colin

It seems to really vary with car/drivers. The 2000 burned 1 qt/1000 when new, but stopped by 10,000 miles. The 2001 barely burned 1/2 quart between changes, the 2004 was about 1/2 qt between changes, and the 2005 used nothing? Weird huh?

With S2000s there were a few porous blocks back in 2000, there was the spark plugs 'unscrewing themselves' in 2001, and a few model years had problems with mysterious, sudden oil loss that caused the burning of #4 cylinder. But the car is still considered very reliable in the context of sports cars.

TSXinTN

Look, I'm over this. Time to move on. If you did not mean to reference the '04 TSX, why did you keep using the term 1st year model???

TSXinTN

Appreciate your candor.

TSXinTN

I have enjoyed driving the car but factor in the issues I have had and I would not make the same purchase again. I would have waited until 2005 to purchase a TSX (by far my favorite MY to date).

To me, issues that total a few thousand dollars to repair = a not so reliable car. Regardless of whether I was ever stranded on the side of the road.

jwaters943

I was using the term 1st model year in reference to the new TSX. Since this is a discussion forum for the 2nd-gen TSX, and that's the vehicle most of us are talking about, I thought that was understood. My apologies for not being more clear.

Colin

I guess I was not clear on what we define as "problems". I was thinking of the little (or big) things that happen in the first year or two of ownership, and not thinking of things that occur over 100,000 miles. My mistake.

davidspalding

My criteria for "reliable" involve how many "WTF failures" over a 10,000 mile stretch. If the battery is dying, or a door starts buzzing, or a light bulb goes out, that's not a major pain, even for a "luxury marque." But when the entire center console lighting goes kaput ... or the a/c dies ... or foglights get cracked by something the driver never heard (a little freeway pebble) ... or the odometer turns out to be racking the miles 5% too fast ... I think the conscientious owner will say, "WTF?!" I know if I was driving a date around one night and the console went dim, I'd be miffed. Regardless if it happens statistically a lot, if I found 10-20 other owners who all had the same problem, I'd call it a "reliability" issue.

Just my unsolicited .

Colin

Yeah the dash light problem was a real reliability issue, wasn't that resolved by changing the radio? I think the fault for this might be with panasonic but cannot be sure.

Foglights.....meh... they should have been made out of polycarbonate, but they weren't. Still an external force had to cause a fault so I'll have to set that aside.

Odometer. That one pisses me off. The federal government specifies that the odometer can have a range of accuracy between +- xx percent. Honda fell within the range although on the higher side. They broke no law and I think the whole class action suit was a load of crap.

cg2006TSX

After all, why worry about buying a 2009 TSX and first year model issues when it is common knowledge the 'new' TSX is more of a refresh than a full model change. If you are the worrying kind, why not worry about the value of your 2009 going straight into the toilet after Acura intro's the TSX diesel in 2010. How about them apple's for building brand loyalty? Thanks, Dick!

LuvMyTSX

The dash light problem is resolved by changing out the printed circuit board. However, a few people here have had more than one failure, which leads me to believe that it hasn't really been 100% resolved. I had mine changed out last summer, and the replacement that was sent didn't fix it. I had to wait a couple days for a 2nd new one to come in, and then go back to get it fixed. 3 weeks later, the A/C broke. I was not happy.

dom

Its an all new car that shares nothing with the previous gen besides engine and tranny are both are revised (Colin please correct me if I'm wrong) So as an all new model it will still be susceptible to new production line issues and new parts issues like the 04 and any all new car is/was.

TSXinTN

Just for the record, all of my problems have occured well under 100K miles. I am just used to a higher standard from Honda products. I had an '87 Accord that had 250,000 miles on it when I sold it for $1500. I also had a great experience with my '98 Civic that I bought brand new and put almost 140,000 miles on. Neither car had the type of issues I have had to deal with while owning my TSX.

Colin

Again we are not communicating well, I should have said 'over the course of 100,000 miles' BUT we are way off topic for a Ride and Drive thread.