What to look out for on Acura TL type S?
 

Hello all,

I am currently driving a AP1 S2000 (love this car so much) but it looks like I will be expecting a child around November of this year, so need to sell the S2K and get something a little safer/roomier with backseats for the kid.
Cars I was considering was 128i, Audi A3 (sedan), E46, and Acura TL-S.

To make my life easier in the future, I am more than likely gonna stick go with the Acura, for the Honda reliability and use those costs savings on any unforeseen circumstances that may occur.

I want the 3rd gen TL Type S option and has to be 6sp (Stick shift or die!!!).
Most options I am seeing are years 2006 to 2007 and mileage ranges from 90k to 180k. I am not too concerned about mileage as I am about maintenance.
I am hoping you fellow members could provide insight as to what preventative maintenance I should be looking out for this car when the mileage gets this high.

I will do an inspection before buying but what else tends to need some TLC around this mileage?
So far I have motor mounts, shocks/springs, clutch, brakes, tires, starter….

Check when the timing belt service was performed.

Another thing you can check are the bushings on the lower control arms, and ball joints.

Selling the S2k ehhh??!


i'm interested :tomato:

Keep the S2K as a garage queen man, the Type-s can be had for like 12k or so now

most important thing is check the cats. Make sure they are intact and not breaking apart. If they are already, move om to next car. You're gonna have oil burning problems. Ball joints, lca bushings, motor and trans mounts next. Timing belt water pump stuff can do at every 100k. If it even needs it. Most of the time the tensioner go bad. Rear brake calipers normally go bad as well. Clutch is based on how or who drove it before. If you do clutch, do flywheel while you're in there. Besides that shes a good car. Sucks on gas tho

Type S's are gonna be the 07 & 08 models, I don't believe there's a difference between the years. I have an 05 6MT 80k miles and love it. Anywho,

Power steering leaks & the main pressure line that runs from the top of the pump and goes to the back of the engine. Or PS fluid on the passenger underside anywhere.
Easy to test all the climate controls and temperatures as well. You can't really see the health/condition of the mounts at first glance but if you could have someone at the pedals and someone at the open hood you can check for movement when the clutch engages. Shifting into 3rd gear is sometimes odd and it won't push all the way in and will need a tiny bit more finesse... hard to describe but easy to tell if it didn't go all the way into gear. See if the CV axles click on tight turns left and right. The front bushing on the front lower control arms is a very common wear item but you can't really check the health with the car on the ground. Maybe bring a code reader to see any permanent DTCs that remain in the background. VSA should toggle on and off with the button to the left of the steering wheel. My car when I bought it had a bad serpentine belt tensioner that would click when the AC compressor was engaged, odd issue that I haven't seen much of but hey, easy fix.

I get like 19-22 MPG city & 32-34 MPG highway if I'm going 75 or under. 80mph+ equates to about 28-29 MPG. I find short shifting 1st to 2nd makes for a smoother experience, and I skip gears pretty often since the car has the torque for it, usually 2 to 4 or 3 to 5. Pedal position isn't very friendly to permit heeltoeing.

ac delco friction modifier syncromesh fluids fixes that 3 gear problem you got. My 07 tls and 06 tl 6speed both had that problem. Changed the fluid and its great now.

Note that pretty sure the 128i and the A3 will be way too small to deal with car seats....especially in a MT unless you 5'6" or under. The TL is tight enough as it is and I am 5'10". I have to keep my seat forward more than I like to keep the rear facing car seats from contacting the back of my seat. And even once the kid spins around...you have to deal with them kicking and pushing your seat forward when they are that close.

nothing major you need to look for, only minor oil leak here and there for the typical age and mileage. However I would use 105k service as a leverage to negotiate price IF its had not been done.

HFL battery drain. You can tell if you have this issue by cycling through the MID and if the HFL says "booting up" and doesn't change then it is happening. Easily a DIY fix
6MT users need to change the transmission fluid with some GM synchromesh stuff.
If there is an oil leak from the front passenger side then it is probably the oil pan gasket. Very labor intensive to get to should probably get looked at by a Honda/Acura expert. I've had a shop misdiagnose this and it was it cost me many $$$ to get it resolved. Best to get it looked at during timing belt job.

front end suspension, as mentioned oil leaks, and drive belts. The winter exposes a lot of needed maintenance on these cars as the cold starts can be very telling of failed or failing parts being LOUD at startup, gladly mine has been quiet in these 20 degree startups. Also just flat out change your fluids. I recently bought a Type-S that was so low on brake fluid the VSA/Brake light came on smh

that's why you put them on the wife's side of the car :bitelip:

To be a bit more specific, the GM Synchromesh "stuff" you speak of is now ACDelco Synchromesh Friction Modified. What folks need to keep in mind is there are two ACDelco Synchromesh offerings; for our cars with the 6MT transmission, you want the version which says "Friction Modified"; the other stuff is pretty much worthless in our transmissions.

That worked great when we only had one kid. :tongue:
My wife actually has longer legs than I do...so she really wasn't happy when I did that. At this point based on the side of the garage my car sits on, the toddler sits behind the passenger seat and the infant sits behind the driver seat. The TL can make it work, but I would "assume" any car that is slightly smaller will be a challenge. Of course it also depends on the model of car seat you are using. The infant seat was the worst. I gained back an inch of legroom when we moved to a standard rear facing seat.