my brother will be on the market for a new/used car. im telling him to check out a late model TL. instead of going to OT and posting what car should i buy. i figure i'll post here and get actual TL owners' opinions.

so what are +'s and -'s. i checked out the carmax and for 04-05 its averaging 25k-28k. would you buy another TL or going w/ something else. also any problems u guys have especially the older/higher mileage cars.

thanks fellas

2nd second what's the fair price


Modified by gsr94 at 3:55 PM 5/8/2007

 

anything older than an 04 model will have transmission issues. 04+ have very few problems and hold up really well. One area of complaint is the rattles

. Performance wise

headers are out
Intake is in
Exhaust is a mixed bag.
S/C can be adapted to car

 

The 04+ w/ the 6-speed manual is known to have some notchy shifting problems (mine does in 3rd). Acura just brought out a new MTF fluid that is supposed to help resolve this problem. I have yet to use it to fix my 3rd gear stiffness, but I'm planning to try it out very soon...

Besides, a notchy 6-speed manual is WELL worth it to get those oversized Brembo front brakes (not available on the automatic)...




Modified by 94eg! at 11:57 AM 5/7/2007

 

Another down side is that the 04+ only takes "premium" (91+ octane) fuel. The motors compression is very high (11:1) and it won't run well on anything less. Current fill-ups can cost over $50 (17gal tank says empty after 14.5gal). I have been able to get 31+ mpg on the freeway doing a steady 75mph (cruise control) with the 6-speed manual. And that was mixed with about 50 miles of stop & go city driving. Thats 2mpg better than the cars "EPA highway" estimate.

My normal combined driving is so far estimating 27mpg (only on my second tank), but I try to drive conservatively. This is very difficult with all that torque and a manual transmission.

 

as far as I know ALL of the TL/CL V6 require premium fuel I have an 02 CL and it needs 91 or higher octane.

 

I agree that the manual TL is awesome... But what they DON'T tell you at the dealership is that...

The front Brembo brake pads are $186.78 WITHOUT installation.

Good luck with that ****!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by u n v kenny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I agree that the manual TL is awesome... But what they DON'T tell you at the dealership is that...

The front Brembo brake pads are $186.78 WITHOUT installation.

Good luck with that ****! </TD></TR></TABLE>

You can get the pads for $150 at AcuraOEMParts.com or go with an aftermarket pad and install them yourself in about an hour. Definitely worth it...

The best part about the brembo 4-piston fixed calipers is that you NEVER have to worry about one seizing up since there are no guide pins to rust over. It's true beauty is in it's simplicity.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can get the pads for $150 at AcuraOEMParts.com or go with an aftermarket pad and install them yourself in about an hour. Definitely worth it...

The best part about the brembo 4-piston fixed calipers is that you NEVER have to worry about one seizing up since there are no guide pins to rust over. It's true beauty is in it's simplicity.</TD></TR></TABLE>

dumb question, so does that mean there's no indictators that makes that awfully sound telling u u need new pads?

 

wear indicators are built into the pads..

 

no complaints about my 04 5 speed

 

no complaints here with my 02, except i may upgrade my system soon

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You can get the pads for $150 at AcuraOEMParts.com or go with an aftermarket pad and install them yourself in about an hour. Definitely worth it...

The best part about the brembo 4-piston fixed calipers is that you NEVER have to worry about one seizing up since there are no guide pins to rust over. It's true beauty is in it's simplicity.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was just saying.. For someone who wants the manual, who may not in mechanically inclined, it can take some money of the pockets...

But then again, if you can afford a car like that, you should be able to afford to keep it up to par.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by u n v kenny &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

anything older than an 04 model will have transmission issues. 04+ have very few problems and hold up really well. One area of complaint is the rattles</TD></TR></TABLE>


hmmm you sure about this statement ?
i heard it happened to 2-5% of the cars only (it is still many cars , but every relatively small number.

every car below 04 will be outrages number, TL is the number one seller of Acura , we are talking here about LOTS of cars.
ask random people about Acura + Problem , they most likely didn't hear about anything.

Till u start searching the internet - but that can be very meas leading . because we both know that only the poeple with the problems bother to write ...

 

being the owner of a CL, I would have to say yes I am pretty sure about what I said. my car has 52K on it and will be needing a new trans soon

 

well that's exactly what i mean, i assume (and only assume) that this is/was your single TL/CL. to say from one car experience anything older then 04 will have tranny problem ... ??

 

04+ cars have a newer unit so they do not have the same problems that the 03 and older cars do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by danny_isr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well that's exactly what i mean, i assume (and only assume) that this is/was your single TL/CL. to say from one car experience anything older then 04 will have tranny problem ... ??</TD></TR></TABLE>

You misread what the guy originally said, or are not understanding.

anything older than 2004. OLDER, not newer.....

meaning... 2002 is older than 2004.

Get it?

 

i missed what the guy said ??? this is funny . i think you missed what i said.
i totally understand what he saying. about cars OLDER then 2004.

you guys need to read what i wrote again. but i will say it again.
my point is , you cannot assume all the cars older then 2004 are faulty just because you own one and it did it .

if i will go by the same logic, then i will say "older then 2004 as far as i know are 100% good and never brake " because i own a 2002 with 97k miles and it never had that problem......GET IT ???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by danny_isr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i missed what the guy said ??? this is funny . i think you missed what i said.
i totally understand what he saying. about cars OLDER then 2004.

you guys need to read what i wrote again. but i will say it again.
my point is , you cannot assume all the cars older then 2004 are faulty just because you own one and it did it .

if i will go by the same logic, then i will say "older then 2004 as far as i know are 100% good and never brake " because i own a 2002 with 97k miles and it never had that problem......GET IT ???</TD></TR></TABLE>

THOUSANDS and I mean THOUSANDS of us have had to replace the tranny in second gen TL's. It was a faulty design right from the original drawing board.

 

well , you still missing my point.
how you determine how many had the problem ? by rumors ? by talking with people ? by impression after reading about it in the net ?

from Honda site : "Potential Number Of Units Affected: 1099796"
yeah over million cars using this transmission !!
so even if you are correct and lets round your thousands to 10,000.
a 10,000 is still just 1% of cars . (and 5% will be 50,000 cars ,now if only 1% of those owners bothered to write something on the net you will see 500 posts ! )

thats why what i heard make sense , this problem effected "ONLY" 2%-5% of the cars. We still talking about yeah thousands of cars. and you will see MANY owners writing on it on the internet. because that what people do when they are pissed.
people that just drive them , dont bother to go and write "My car was fine today - again !! "

i'm not saying there wasnt a problem. there was/is. BUT it's less percentage cars then you think, thats is why it didnt make sense to me when someone say
ANYTHING older then 2004 will have a problem.....

 

i suggest that you go over to acura-cl.com and go into the second gen forum for the CL (same car mechanically as the TL right down to the dashboard and seats)

There are problems with the 5at units that are DESIGN related and therefore has the potential to affect every single CL and TL from 99-03 with the 5at. The problems with the unit are so severe that it ADVERSELY AFFECTS the RESALE VALUE of the car

The problems with the 5at are so bad that Acura had to go back and redesign the unit 2 times with the latest 5at being a 4 shaft design versus the older 3 shaft (flawed) design.

problem 1: lack of lubrication for the 2nd gearshaft. This is resolved by rerouting the fluid though an external hose.

problem 2: Due to insufficient fluid flow to the clutch packs (expecially 2-3 gears) results in at fluid reaching in excess of 315 degrees F. This results in the fluid and clutch material getting burned up. If you drive in a lot of city type stop and go traffic, this problem really gets out of hand.

problem 3: Sloppy quality control resulting in problem #2 being multiplied

problem 4: Acura recommended service routine does not help since they call for rather long milage between at fluid changes.

 

well it doesn't change anything.
you will find on those forums people with the problems
people find those forums after they have a problem.

like i said few time, i KNOW there is a design problem. and a problem in general.
but i'm talking about numbers/statistics here. bottom line the failures in the transmission exceeded the normal failures . so they extended the warranty .that is it.
it doesnt happens in every car obviously becuase over a million cars using this tranny.

my honda Mechanic told me he saw only less then half a dozen cars with that transmission problem (not TL only , oddesy and any car that uses this tranny) . and it's less then 5% of the cars.

so 5% chance of failure in the transmission is not something that i personally worry about or something that will make me buy warranty.


i will take my chance.

 

i can't wait for the "I bought an 03 TL type S and now the transmission blew" thread title with this in the body

"Yeah I called Acura and they stated that according to my VIN I am not covered and now I have to pay $5K for a new transmission....."

 

so wut r the models for a TL? so far i heard TYPE S..A-SPEC.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 3rd gear chirp &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so wut r the models for a TL? so far i heard TYPE S..A-SPEC. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I assume your refering to the 3rd generation TL (2004 and later). Technically the A-spec is not a model. It is simply a performance package that is installed at the dealership after the car has been delivered. Any model can become an a-spec with the purchase of the kit. The kit includes the following:

- 18" rims in a gunmetal color (all other colors are NOT a-spec)
- Yokohama AVS100 tires
- Full set of ground effects (front, sides & rear)
- Thicker steering wheel with gray thumb-rest areas
- Track-tuned shocks/springs fully assembled
- Buyers choice of spoiler (deck lid or full wing)
- A-spec badge for the back end (I've seen them in different places)

As for the different models: from 2004-2006 there was the TL base (automatic), the TL base w/ Navigation, the TL sport (6-speed manual, brembo front brakes, larger spare tire/wheel, larger rear sway-bar), the TL-sport with Navigation, the TL-sport with summer tires, and finally the TL-sport with navigation AND summer tires.

In 2007 it changed to simply the TL base, the TL base with navigation, the TL type-S (with auto or manual), and the TL Type-S with summer tires.