Honda Car Forum

I'm about to purchase a 1996 acura tl and noticed when viewing the car that the maintenance required light was red.i asked the seller and they mentioned that you only need to be concerned when the light is flashing or lit.Is this true?

Is it the check engine light? Take it to Autozone and have them pull the codes. When your light is on, it sends codes out and each code stands for something different. That will help you diagnose the problem.Also, any reasonable seller should let you take the car to a mechanic and have him look over it if you want to do that. If he doesn't agree to this, knowing the maintenance light is on, he might have something to hide. So just watch out!

How many miles does the TL have? Maintenance required light comes on Honda/Acura cars every 15,000 miles...and every 30,000 miles, there is a major service required (costly too). You need to ask the seller when was the last major service done on the car.

Well really these type of service light indicators are basically designed to light up within the regular mileage or time periods of the manufactures suggested maintences. So really unless the previous owner or owners have gone by the light to remind them of that it's an oil change time or regular maintanence time it's kind of useless now to go by unless you start doing the service lights suggested servicing one at time and keeping to it. All you need to do is either get a service manual or perhaps the owners manual might tell you what each code been indicated by the rappid flashes of the light. What I strongly recommend even if the vehicle is bought certified etc is to go over all the vehicle and especially make sure all the basic repairs or work is performed on it like oil changed , gas filter , basic tune up , check the tires and the air pressure, balancing of the wheels ,front end inspection, a full 4 wheel alignment ,change the transmission fluid and filter,check all the belts ,check the timing, lube the front end , check all the hose, gas lines , look for any leaks ,change the coolant , thermostat , check the pullleys and water pump, rad, treat the gas system on it, clean and lube the throttle body etc, check PCV valve ,check or change the air filter, test the engine compression and gas pressure, change any gas regulator or pressure valves, over haul the charging system, lube the doors and locking systems ,under coat the vehicle, keep a steady eye on the gages, etc. Example watch and see where the temperature gage sits at once cold then at a warmed idling , then once driven a couple of hrs , then when it's driven over 4 to 6 hrs etc. Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way I'd truly recommend that if at all possible spend the extra cash and get a reliable unbios mechanics opinion from a full safety certification inspection.

No, this isn't true. The maintenance reminder being red tells you that service is recommended by the manufacturer. If it were me, I would note the miles and read the maintenance section of the owner's manual. If the owner cannot prove that the maintenance required in the owner's manual was performed, I would demand heshe pay for the proper servicing/checkout by a local Acura dealer. If he/she isn't willing to do that then I would adjust the price of the car down about $500 just for this.Read the owner's manual and see if there even is a flashing service light and what it means. I'd bet the only time such a thing would flash like that is if you ignored the oil change recommendations significantly.Be wary of this seller, I doubt he/she is maintaining the car outside of shining it up for a quick sale.