How reliable has your TSX been?
 

It's been a few years now since the CU2 TSX was released, so I'm curious to know how everyone's experience has been owning this car in terms of reliability. How many repairs have you guys done? How much of it was covered under warranty? I'll start with my own experience. My TSX was purchased almost 7 years ago. In that time I've racked up about 98k miles. I started modding it too, aside from the usual aesthetic mods like lighting and dipping my grille/emblems black, the car has a pair of MagnaFlow mufflers and a brand new set of Tein Flex Z coilovers. The only major mechanical repair I had to pay for was the cv axles going bad, they caused the car to shake when accelerating past 60-80mph. I also had the oil consumption issue, which the dealership took care of for free. My car had been showing symptoms of it and I took to the Acura dealership multiple times before my mileage went over 70k, but they kept saying it was fine. Then at 72k the dealership found out that I did indeed have the oil consumption issue, so they offered to take care of it for free without us having to say anything. I've also had issues with my lock actuators squeaking, but this problems been going on for years now and my locks haven't failed yet. As of now my car is showing a lot of suspension wear, my front swaybar endlinks feel like their giving out and so do a few bushings here and there. I also got coilovers mainly because my oem shocks started leaking, so I took that opportunity to upgrade the cars handling. Other than that my car's engine, transmission, and pretty much everything else has been running fine. I'm impressed with how well my transmission has held up, only flushed the fluid once too and that was a while ago. I checked the atf fluid the other day and it's still bright pink.
So I wanna know how everyone else's TSX has been holding up.

Rock solid here. Still no creaks. Been lowered on springs for 6 years, has intake, and j pipe. LOVE this car.

I bought my '12 in late 2013 with 24K miles, I'm at 75K now. It has been the most reliable car I've ever owned, no major issues so far. I love daily driving it.

bought my 2011 in 2014 with 9,998 miles. At 62k, nothing needed besides regular maintenance.

Yep 48,000 miles on a 2014 Sportwagon and no problems.

Purchased my 09 in May 2011 with 38K. At 190,000 now, it has been rock solid reliable, and hands down, the best car I have ever owned. Still on the original clutch.

I have replaced one foglight (took a rock), the A/C condenser (took another rock), right front wheel bearing (at 167K), spark plugs (125K), the battery (which we all know sucks), and the normal assorted filters, tires, brakes, maintenance stuff...

2011 Wagon. Has 80somethingK right now.

Been rock solid. The axles are vibrating a tiny bit right now. But...the car has been mildly lowered and has been on 245/40/18's for a couple years. So, that was likely somewhat my fault.

I will say that the 2nd gen models are not built *quite* as robustly as the 1st gen in a few areas. But overall an excellent car. Will likely have it for the next 5 or 6 years at least.

Off topic. How terrible are those Flex Z's with Tein's recommended settings on a 2nd gen? Pretty terrible?

My 1st gen versions were pretty dang terrible.

I'm working on a "how to set these effing things up" thread. I've got mine almost dialed in for preload/damping.

In contrast, have Street Advances on the wagon and I LOVE them. They've been slightly customized...but the ride is excellent.

TSX Wagon. 100K miles now.

Aside from maintenance:

1) New axles (warranty)
2) New window regulators (warranty)
3) new armrest (warranty)
4) New seat bolster (warranty)
5) AC condenser (warranty)
6) Metal window garnishes outside the cargo window both sides (warranty)
7) Front windshield surround both sides (warranty)

Well I did have the windshield surround replaced, but only after I had the dealer replace a broken windshield. But, I think that was really the dealer's fault rather than the car. All done under warranty and insurance so except for a couple of hours time not a big deal. Bonus for getting a extended test drive in a TLX.

All my warranty work was done in 16 working days (not counting weekends). I have logged 4,700 total miles in loaner TLXs.

That's kind of bad, reminds me of my '99 Silverado except Chevy doesn't give out loaners and their brake and ac fixes are just replacments of a defective design that keep failing. Truck gave me a lot of trouble, so I got a Audi A3 which was a great car. Expensive to maintain, but otherwise mostly trouble free.

I got them installed by a nearby shop so they set it up per what Tein suggested. So far I've enjoyed the hell out of them but they are also my first set of coilovers so I can't really complain. I do feel like the preload might not be adequate though, I've heard that the preload comes too tight out of the factory so I think I might have to set it back to 0 and go from there. But so far the ride has been great, and the adjustable damper settings are awesome. Somedays I want to drive in a more sporty way so I set the rear stiff and front softer by about 4-6 clicks and the cornering feels better. But other days I just want to commute and listen to music so I set all 4 dampers to a much softer setting and my car feels smooth to drive. So far I'm a happy customer.

Don't reduce the preload.

The Tein factory preload recommendation is right around 0. Its not nearly enough. It only gives you like 1/2" of travel in front before hitting bumpstop. Reducing preload will make the ride more harsh.

Also, to measure the initial preload....the suspension has to be removed from the car. Then you can use collar turns to measure how much you're adding/subtracting.


I was bouncing and jittering all over the place at the tein settings. Stiffening the damper to 4 clicks from stiff helped...but it was still garbage.

I had to dial in at least 1/2" of preload to make the ride somewhat comfortable. My dampers are -3F and -6R. No more bouncing/floating at least. Still trying to dial in a few things.

Another topic for another thread, I suppose.

For reference....a good street coilover setup should ride BETTER or the same as stock in terms of comfort. Definitely should be better in terms of body control.

BUT...if you're happy, then be happy. lol. don't let me bring you down.

I was massively unhappy.

At mileage did your axles fail and what were your symptoms?

66k Left
71k right
shaky wheel at speed

Mine only shake *sometimes* whilst accelerating up to like....40ish MPH.

I bought mine (2009 base) just over 1 year ago and already have 20k of my own miles on it. 95k when purchased, 115k now. I've done nothing but routine maintenance. No issues besides burning oil. Burns under 1 quart per 1000 miles, so no go for dealer repair. Now I'm out of extended warranty. I've switched to maxlife semisynthetic which seems to burn less than full synthetic, and I'm changing the oil a little more often (around 50% oil life, and then again around 0%).

I also have a weird squeak/squeal when I shift back to park from drive. I haven't tried to track that one down yet.

The squeal is probably the door lock actuator

lol yeah while I am happy with my setup for the most part, my lack of experience with coiloveres means I have nothing to compare to. But if I want to set my preload to 0, which I think is where the guys at the shop set it, I have to take the coilovers off? And if they're already set to 0 like I expect, can I just increase the preload with the spanners by taking the wheels off? I've done so much research on coilovers but I'm still a noob lol.

The reason you need to set and remember the initial preload before installing the shocks:

You've heard of people having to use a pry bar to pull the suspension down, in order to unload and load shocks.

They're fighting bushing bind and swaybar bind. When you load the shock in...this bind will compress the shock.

make sense?

Lets say you have a 8" long spring. With 0 preload, it is 8" long.

However, if you install that same shock into the car, you may have (for example) 1/2" of spring compression because of the bushing bind I've explained above. So the spring will now be 1/2" shorter than it started....even with 0 preload.

You will have an erroneous reading. The spring measures 1/2" shorter. So you think there is 1/2" of preload. But its a false reading.

Get what I mean?

Before the shock is installed in the car, you need ro know and write down the INITIAL preload.

To change from that initial number, you count turns on the perches. Tein uses a 2mm pitch. So each 360 degree turn of the perch is 2mm.

4 turns is 8mm.
6 turns is 12mm.

and so on.

Once preload is what you want, you turn the BODY of the shock down/up into the lower bracket to retain your ride height.

How come you chose the flex over the advance, if you don't mind my axing?

^Sorry for ruining your reliability thread

:sorry:

Bought my '09 6 speed with 71,000 miles on it. Now @ 140,000. Couple rear calipers. Axles x 4, warranty aftermarket ones. Can't bring myself to fork out a grand for an OEM one ! Original clutch still in decent shape.
Overall, general wear and tear maintenance is all it has cost me . Oh yeah, the door locks are acting up here and there, and the VTC actuator is grinding on cold days. Minor irritants, to me at least.
This is my 3rd Acura, and they have all been solid vehicles. The TSX reminds me of my old Integra....couldn't kill that car if you tried.

The tsx has been way more problematic than both my 91RS and my 92 GSR integras

I purchased my 2011 6MT Tech in mid-2011. I had ordered an FSM/Ebony, then the Japan earthquake/tsunami hit and production shut down. I had to settle on PWP. It was one of the first manufactured after the production line restarted. I thought either it would be built with B quality parts and a sloppy build. Or virtually handmade as they slowly stood up the Saitama factory.

I think I have benefited from the latter. No major repairs or issues, just maintenance items. At 72k, original clutch and brakes. I probably over maintain, as I change the Mobil 1 and A1 filter every 5,000 miles, damn the MM. And change clutch fluid and MT fluid every 30,000 miles. Will replace spark plugs at 75k.

I noticed a bit of oil consumption around 35k, but not since. Maybe it's because I change the oil more frequently, so it doesn't have the chance to get low. Only annoyances:

- I hear a whine that lasts for a few seconds when the AC is on. I think it's the compressor or pulley, but all the dealers claim they can't replicate the sound.
- the window regulators are slow to react, or take an extra finger pull. Figure these will be the first parts to fail. I a bit concerned over the mention of axles failing.

Overall, extremely reliable, even better than my 08 TSX.

Both axles replaced under warranty at about 55k miles. There was vibration under brisk acceleration.
Exterior window trim fell off at 27k. Fixed under warranty.
OEM Battery died in a bit more than a year. Dealer replaced at no charge.
Bluetooth unreliable. TSB applied which helped, but still gets amnesia now and then.
Master window control "sticky." Doesn't always work on first press. No fix available short of replacement.
Side mirrors a little loose when folded in. No fix available short of replacement. Maybe parking valets manhandled them.
Small ATX fluid leak. Fixed with TSB. Not sure if this was really needed. A different dealer (not our usual one) found the issue, not me.

Overall, I'd rate the wagon reliability as good. That said, I've had even better reliability in my 1987 Acura Integra and my 2010 Mazda3.

Agreed. I would say mine has been "good" for a car. Compared to other Hondas/Acuras I have owned, my wagon has been the most problematic.

I've driven my 2010 for 111k miles. It has been fantastic, and the most reliable car I've owned apart from a similarly excellent Mazda. The only issues:

1. AC needed to be recharged after a few months, fixed under warranty.
2. Annoying rattle near the sunglasses holder, fixed under warranty.
3. Rear brakes replaced, normal wear.
4. Front struts replaced, which I consider normal wear due to the brutal roads in Philly.

I also get the beeping noise under acceleration that others have reported, which I believe is the AC compressor.

Finally, during the past year the clutch has gotten fairly heavy, so my local mechanic replaced some of the cylinders. This helped only slightly, so I suspect it will need a new clutch soon.

The longer I've had this car, the more I've appreciated its blend of virtues. I initially thought I'd keep it for five years at most, but it's still rock-solid and drives beautifully so I haven't been able to justify replacing it. Plus, it's one of the last Hondas with the classic 6MT/NA VTEC combo, which is worth savoring for awhile longer. However, now that Honda is adding Sensing to MT models, I suspect I'll move on within the next couple of years.

The wagon will be with us for another 5 years +.

My 1st gen is also rock solid at 165K. Though, the chassis probably needs new bushings here and there (I replaced a bunch already).

I think once I sell my 1G...maybe next year out of want, rather than need.....I'll likely buy a 3 series.

I'll start a "how terribly annoyingly unreliable has your 3 series been?" thread and let yall know.

There is already a thread on that, about premature turbo failure on 3 series.

N/A, bruv. E90 M3, most likely.

This wouldn't be my first premature failure though.

KNOWWHATIMEAN?!?!?

:'(

Bought mine new in July 2010 (after totaling my 04 TL..which I loved).. My third Acura and fourth Honda product. Currently at 135K. Zero issues other than normal wear and tear. At around 100K I replaced the timing belt proactively as I knew I would be keeping the car a few more year. About 3-4 months ago my oil light went on for the first time ever. I usually wait for the reminder to count down the % of oil left and usually get it changed around 10-15%.

It seems it's burning some oil, but not much. So now I'll just do oil changes every 3000K or 3 months to be safe. This has been my most reliable car I've ever owned. It's starting to show some age, but it runs the same as when I bought it. I'm debating on a new car next summer, but it will be hard to part with it since it's still in very good condition. Plus I'd love to stay in the Acura family, but not loving my options. I do have a buyer for it though. My buddy wants it for his daughter who will be driving in 2 years.

bought my wagon last year with 60k miles and put nearly 20k on with no issues. The brakes vibrate- either a lousy previous owner/ leaser, or the known crummy OWM discs. But orherwise the TSX has been great.

bought my 2010 tsx v6 with 38k miles, 5 years ago.
The car now has 120k, repairs so far have been:
3 batteries, 1-2 of them due to lights being left on by wife when she drove the car and parked.
compliance bushings
on its third set of tires
1 alternator
getting driver rear quarter panel fixed due to idiot who backed his truck into the side at a gas station.
axles seem to be having some play as there is vibration under acceleration.

Pretty much the same here. We traded ours with 140k a few months ago. rear brakes were replaced several times, a few foglights, struts, it was burning oil, needed an upper control arm, front brakes and the apint was crap. Beyond that, it was like an appliance.

I just passed the 1 year mark of owning my 2012 TSX 2.4 6 speed. I got the car with 99 000 km on and I have hit 113 000 as of this post. Mechanically the car has been solid, it had a full service before I picked it up at the used dealership.

My biggest issue has been with the paint. I have about a dozen small surface rust spots in various places around the body, very annoying. I should have inspected it better it the lot. I think the car had a bit of a harder life than what I was led to believe because many of the nuts and bolts and washers in the lower engine bay are pure rust. I'm planning on replacing all the hardware soon.

My 2013 paint was a mess. Bird crap for like an hour would destroy the paint.

Bought brand new in 2010, only thing that had to be changed was the alternator and I decided to change the battery too cuz it had piss poor performance. I notice a little shake now but its a 7 yr old car so I wouldnt expect any less. Runs full synthetic. Currently has 105,000 kms

A modern 7yr old car with ~66K miles shouldn't be expected to shake.

Unfortunately, it seems that Acura's axles of that time period developed some pitting. Its not something you'd expect. But it does seem like a common issue.

key word being issue.

Also, does anyone else's TSX with the 5AT make a whining or whirring sound when accelerating from 1st to 3rd gear? For me the sound only comes when I apply throttle and immediately cuts out when I switch to 4th gear. I've had this sound for as long as I've been driving this thing and I haven't had a single transmission problem. I've put a lot of miles on the car with this sound.