Goodbye 2006 Acura TL
 

10 years... 10 long years I was truly enjoying my 2006 Acura TL. It was the best car I have ever had... Every single day I was enjoying driving it.

Unfortunately, following issues appeared:
1) rust started appearing (size of quarter)
2) time for timing belt change
3) need new tires
4) Bluetooth not working
5) And many other minor issues

I have Excel file with all my car expenses for 10 years - $10,568.82. This amount includes 2 set of tires, new transmission, etc

I went to test-drive to Acura and tried 2016 Acura TLX V6 and 2019 Acura TLX V6, but these cars do not give me same emotions as my 2006 Acura TL. They felt pretty boring...

For the last 12 months, I tried so many cars, but nothing coming close to comfort/sportiness of my acura:
2017 Audi A4 2.0T
2016 Honda Accord V6
2019 Honda Accord 2.0T
2016 Lexus IS 350 F Sport
2017 Jeep Grand Cherookee

I almost bought 2016 Lexus 350 F Sport, but this car is sooooo small inside, that I had to give it back.

So, I finally found car that is very close to my Acura, but still different in some aspects:
2015 Infiniti Q50 Sport, 3.7, RWD

I hope I can enjoy this car as I did enjoy Acura TL...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...7087c11787.jpg

Nice car!

The Q50 handle pretty good, and it the cheapest between Japan luxury brand (I am not so sure about TLX has higher resale value lol).

TBH, I still like handling of Acura more (have Q50 for 4 days). I think I will get used to Q50...

I also drove some newer cars 2014+ and the handling isn't as sporty as 3G TL. It's not just the steering feel, but the way the body is controlled and the overall stiffness feeling of the TL.

Exactly my feeling.

There are no cars that feel same way as Acura.

My Q50 feels heavier than TL, although they are similar weight...

Nice Q50..........perhaps it will grow on you.

UPDATE:
I sold Q50. I will not buy Infiniti in next 10 years. Worst transmission even. So much lag/delay when downshifting... This transmission kills all joy of 3.7 engine... :)

Wow, what did you replace it with?

Nothing. Will buy something in the fall. I am thinking about BMW 340i.

That makes two of us.

Pretty cool of you to update this thread. Bummer it didn’t work out with the Q50 though.
good luck with the car search whenever you start shopping. Stop by again and share what you test drove and what you think of it.

Will do.

Tbh I have no idea what I want. May be sport sedan, may be sporty SUV....

1g rdx???? :D


jk

Gonna check out the new Type-S first?
.
.

I will not buy brand new car, especially first year production. Sorry, I don't trust Acura anymore. I will get CPO.

Pretty much sum up my thinking on the new TLX-S....

I take it back, I don’t want to hear from you again! :tomato:

Im kidding, who am I to judge, I’m one of the lunatics that’s finds wagons attractive. For me it started with the 90s Volvo 850R, then Audi has some nice S and RS Avant variants. BMW E34 or E39 Touring, yes please!!

Anyways, definitely share your experience and thoughts, the 2 daily drivers are over 10 years old and I want to at-least have a plan, or an idea of a plan for a replacement. And currently the best contender is the Trek 21 spd mountain bike hanging in the garage.

that makes three of us. That is the car I’ve been eying to replace my 2008 type s 6mt eventually (340i m sport manual)

Exactly, I'm eyeballing some very nice CPO 2018 340i 6MTs coming on the market.

If you don't want a 3G TL, why not try a 4G TL or a 2G RL? Those are still excellent cars.

:hurl:

+1, :nod: spent the afternoon with a RL (loaner) once and it's a really well built nice cruiser. Clean ones can be had ~$7-10k on CL.

Agreed, but the slushbox automatic transmission is a non-starter for anybody in my family with a driver's license. Really strange, literally all of my siblings, their kids, and their grand kids refuse to drive cars with automatic transmissions. :tongue:

See what kind of effect you have on offsprings.
Got to get with the current times and see that automatics, or at least some, are more resilient than manual, both in durability and performance.

Wanted to add, but got engrossed with a TV show, so, daughters purchased a 2021 Acura RDX A Spec, and a 2020 BMW 540i xDrive, so couldn't see a manual in either one.
Manuals are like dinosaurs and have gone the way ICE vehicles are headed, and lack longevity and performance when compared to current A/T.

LOL, show me an automatic, any automatic, the 8-Speed ZF included, which is as reliable as a manual transmission. That said, nobody in my family buys cars with manuals for the reliability or performance; we buy them because we don't like being passengers in our own cars. :tongue:

Buying nothing but a manual certainly doesn't make a case, and guess you're saying that the Acura TL manual is a work of art with no problems?
Believe that & I've got a bridge for sale.
The manuals are only as good as the clutch and therein lies the achilles heal, but some transmission do have added syncro, blocker ring, bearing problems.
Know in the shop, more manuals have come in with problems than automatics, flywheel damaged, clutch disc worn, pressure plate weak, T/O bearing noise, even have had pilot
bearings freeze. Know in the modifieds I've had, hydraulic failure, mechanical linkage failure, along with disc/pp failure, etc. Oh, and don't forget. the occasion when the assembly
explodes and thankfully, if one has a scatter-shield, at least it doesn't penetrate the cabin floor.
Enjoy the shifting in heavy traffic, to each their own.

LOL, I never said manual transmissions are 100% reliable, never even implied that. My point was they are more reliable, and when an issue happens, they cost less to repair. Regarding clutches, my wife and I have owned something like 16 cars with manual transmissions and covered well over 3-million miles in them, and so far I've had to replace two clutches, both on pre-owned cars we've purchased (my current TL is one of those two, my other was my 1970 Challenger). In that time there hasn't been a single bearing or linkage issue, and I've certainly never had one explode.

Then there is traffic, in my driving life I've lived in the metro areas of Detroit, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Stuttgart, and now Boston, and in that time I've never once wished for an autotragic transmission when sitting in traffic; to each their own.

I was so sad to give up my MT. I without a doubt prefer shifting on my own...even in traffic. But, there just are not great MT offerings on the market anymore. I either had to go to a vehicle that didn't make economical or practical sense to even consider MT. I didn't want a RWD sports car (young kids, steep driveway, drive in snow/ice) and didn't want to spend over $45k, but wanted near luxury features, decent performance, and enjoyable to drive.

I have owned/driven a MT since the mid-90s and swore I would never give them up. I used to drive in rush hour daily, drove in the mountains, across the country, and even drove through NYC in the middle of rush hour with no issues/complaints with a MT. The only real perk to giving up MT is having remote start finally. I'd give that up again to get my third pedal back.

Reliability?? Well...that is somewhat of a crap shoot. My MT maintenance/repairs tended to be cheaper than the AT maintenance/repairs over the years, but I have managed to break both at different times. Most of my AT experience were 80's GM which we all know was not a great time for automotive reliability. My wife's cars were all AT and all but one has generally been quite reliable for 150k+. We had one with the GM wave plate issue the required a rebuild at 70k miles.
- '81 Cutlass - AT - that was rebuilt twice in the 3 years I had it
- '89 Cutlass - AT - that was rebuilt once in the 3 years I had it
- '95 Probe - MT - never had any issues with the trans
- '99 Cavalier - MT - 9yrs 180k miles - broke the spider gears in the diff, destroyed the 2nd gear synchro (this was my F&F days driving it like it was a racecar)
- '06 Scion tC - MT - 3yrs 25k miles - never had any issues
- '05 Acura TL - MT - 12yrs 150k miles - only issue with the trans was resolved with GM juice

In the 10 years Ive worked at a Honda dealer Ive replaced 2 manual transmissions, fixed about 4-5 (syncros/bearings). when it comes to a/t trans... uhh surely 50 units if not more. on everything. 2.0 turbo accords, hrvs, pilots (6 and 9 speeds) odysseys. you name it. I've had my TL for about 6 years. I drove it 95k. Bought it for $1,500. Put in about 3k worth of useless ricer mods and I love my car. My manual trans with 195,xxx shifts perfect. My clutch slips if I start beating on it. Got a shelf of parts ima throw at it at 200k. I think it comes down to how the car is driven. Some A/Ts that are taken care of last forever as some manuals last forever and others bend shift forks, shred gears.