Honda Car Forum

Pros:
I have had my TL with navigation for 6 weeks now. Overall, I am very happy with it. The
electronic gadgets are fun and the overall ride quality is excellent. I also appreciate the quiet
cabin.

Cons:
The gas mileage has been a bit erratic. From a high of 27 to a low of 18; averages about 22-23
mpg. That's a bit lower than I expected. Also, over time you start the car, you are required to
press OK on the touch screen to view the navigation screen. There is a warning that you are
supposed to read before using the navigation. It has really begun to annoy me. I wish someone at
Acura would eliminate that from the software boot up.

Overall Review:
I have always owned manual shift cars. I have an NSX with the 6 speed, so I thought I would buy
an automatic for a change of pace and I thought I can always drive the NSX when I want to shift,
but even though the TL has a 5 speed automatic with the manual shift mode, it is not well
implemented. I find the transmission too often searching for the correct gear. And the
auto-manual mode is nearly useless; It won't hold 1st gear, it automatically shifts to 2nd. Also,
the transmission lags too long after you shift to the next gear. I guess I am just a manual
transmission guy at heart. I am disappointed that Acura didn't design a better shifting
algorithm, or offer a sport-shift mode.

I would be interested in other's thoughts.

- Russ in SB

> I would be interested in other's thoughts.

Here is my thought:

- Russ (the Engineer) in SB

> I would be interested in other's thoughts.

Here is my thought:

- Russ (the Engineer) in SB

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 04:46:59 GMT, "Curly"
<XeveryidiwantiskenX@yahoo.com> wrote:

>> I would be interested in other's thoughts.
>
>Here is my thought:
>
> - Russ (the Engineer) in SB
>
Wow, such a profound thought you had it twice. I guess you had that
thought, and then forgot it, and then had it again.

I have had mine for about 2 weeks. Comparing it to my '01 TL , I find it
quicker and much nicer inside. The 1-2 auto shift in triptonic mode is daft,
I know, but its been like that since '00 I believe. I too have erratic
fuel mileage, likely a function of the way I drive. Yes, that damn
disclaimer every time you start the car is very annoying. My biggest
disappointment is the ride. There's a lot of road feel through the steering
wheel and the ride can be harsh at times - mind you it corners exceptionally
well for a front drive car. Don't you find that you feel too much of the
imperfections in the road? Candidly, I find the thing rides like my '78
Camaro that I had as a teenager.


"rll" <rlombard@westmont.edu> wrote in message
newsD4xb.8598$9O5.6378@fed1read06...
Pros:
I have had my TL with navigation for 6 weeks now. Overall, I am very happy
with it. The
electronic gadgets are fun and the overall ride quality is excellent. I also
appreciate the quiet
cabin.

Cons:
The gas mileage has been a bit erratic. From a high of 27 to a low of 18;
averages about 22-23
mpg. That's a bit lower than I expected. Also, over time you start the car,
you are required to
press OK on the touch screen to view the navigation screen. There is a
warning that you are
supposed to read before using the navigation. It has really begun to annoy
me. I wish someone at
Acura would eliminate that from the software boot up.

Overall Review:
I have always owned manual shift cars. I have an NSX with the 6 speed, so I
thought I would buy
an automatic for a change of pace and I thought I can always drive the NSX
when I want to shift,
but even though the TL has a 5 speed automatic with the manual shift mode,
it is not well
implemented. I find the transmission too often searching for the correct
gear. And the
auto-manual mode is nearly useless; It won't hold 1st gear, it automatically
shifts to 2nd. Also,
the transmission lags too long after you shift to the next gear. I guess I
am just a manual
transmission guy at heart. I am disappointed that Acura didn't design a
better shifting
algorithm, or offer a sport-shift mode.

I would be interested in other's thoughts.

- Russ in SB

Pete wrote:

> I have had mine for about 2 weeks. Comparing it to my '01 TL , I find it
> quicker and much nicer inside. The 1-2 auto shift in triptonic mode is daft,
> I know, but its been like that since '00 I believe. I too have erratic
> fuel mileage, likely a function of the way I drive. Yes, that damn
> disclaimer every time you start the car is very annoying. My biggest
> disappointment is the ride. There's a lot of road feel through the steering
> wheel and the ride can be harsh at times - mind you it corners exceptionally
> well for a front drive car. Don't you find that you feel too much of the
> imperfections in the road? Candidly, I find the thing rides like my '78



hehehe, go try the RSX-S to feel the imperfections of the road... ;-)

-john


> Camaro that I had as a teenager.
>
>
> "rll" <rlombard@westmont.edu> wrote in message
> newsD4xb.8598$9O5.6378@fed1read06...
> Pros:
> I have had my TL with navigation for 6 weeks now. Overall, I am very happy
> with it. The
> electronic gadgets are fun and the overall ride quality is excellent. I also
> appreciate the quiet
> cabin.
>
> Cons:
> The gas mileage has been a bit erratic. From a high of 27 to a low of 18;
> averages about 22-23
> mpg. That's a bit lower than I expected. Also, over time you start the car,
> you are required to
> press OK on the touch screen to view the navigation screen. There is a
> warning that you are
> supposed to read before using the navigation. It has really begun to annoy
> me. I wish someone at
> Acura would eliminate that from the software boot up.
>
> Overall Review:
> I have always owned manual shift cars. I have an NSX with the 6 speed, so I
> thought I would buy
> an automatic for a change of pace and I thought I can always drive the NSX
> when I want to shift,
> but even though the TL has a 5 speed automatic with the manual shift mode,
> it is not well
> implemented. I find the transmission too often searching for the correct
> gear. And the
> auto-manual mode is nearly useless; It won't hold 1st gear, it automatically
> shifts to 2nd. Also,
> the transmission lags too long after you shift to the next gear. I guess I
> am just a manual
> transmission guy at heart. I am disappointed that Acura didn't design a
> better shifting
> algorithm, or offer a sport-shift mode.
>
> I would be interested in other's thoughts.
>
> - Russ in SB
>
>
>

Feel the imperfections? Heck feel the car FOLLOW the imperfections! I was
driving 70KPH
on a road today and the car was all over the place because of road
imperfections.



--


Rob

"john" <rsx1877@mistralaero.com> wrote in message
news:3FC6D7D3.5010206@mistralaero.com...
>
> hehehe, go try the RSX-S to feel the imperfections of the road... ;-)
>
> -john
>

I know Rob I have owned an RSX-S for 2 years now...

I also know it is recognized as jumping around like a rabbit on bumpy roads.

Let's face it, it behaves like a formula car, I have said it many times
before on this ng. You won't see Indy cars or F1s driving over road
imperfections because they can't handle it.

The RSX-S is the extreme example but it is general nature of Honda
products to have stiff suspension. So although I have never tried the TL
I could imagine it is stiff compared to other cars people might be used
to drive. The TSX was smoother than the RSX-S but still pretty stiff.

I like the stiff suspension of the RSX-S but I have to drive it like a
formula car going around man holes and slowing down at 20 MPH on bumpy
roads ;-(

Look elsewhere, Cadillac gets good reviews for the real-time adjustable
suspension. About Subaru WRX ? ;-))

Hondas have a reputation of jumping around on bumpy roads and Honda
models generally have stiffer suspension than the competition in the
respective models they are competing with. (read better track
performance at the cost of lost of performance on bad roads)

The RSX-S is definetly not a rally car, more a track car and tracks have
very few imperfections. For the TL, I really do not know, but I would
bet it has a stiffer suspension than the Nissan Maxima.

I have tried VW wolfberg special edition and the suspension felt really
smooth compared to the RSX-S.

-john

G wrote:

> Feel the imperfections? Heck feel the car FOLLOW the imperfections! I was
> driving 70KPH
> on a road today and the car was all over the place because of road
> imperfections.
>
>
>
>

"john" <rsx1877@mistralaero.com> wrote in message
news:3FC6D7D3.5010206@mistralaero.com...
>
>
> Pete wrote:
>
> > I have had mine for about 2 weeks. Comparing it to my '01 TL , I find
it
> > quicker and much nicer inside. The 1-2 auto shift in triptonic mode is
daft,
> > I know, but its been like that since '00 I believe. I too have erratic
> > fuel mileage, likely a function of the way I drive. Yes, that damn
> > disclaimer every time you start the car is very annoying. My biggest
> > disappointment is the ride. There's a lot of road feel through the
steering
> > wheel and the ride can be harsh at times - mind you it corners
exceptionally
> > well for a front drive car. Don't you find that you feel too much of the
> > imperfections in the road? Candidly, I find the thing rides like my '78
>
>
>
> hehehe, go try the RSX-S to feel the imperfections of the road... ;-)
>
> -john
>
>
> > Camaro that I had as a teenager.
> >
> >
> > "rll" <rlombard@westmont.edu> wrote in message
> > newsD4xb.8598$9O5.6378@fed1read06...
> > Pros:
> > I have had my TL with navigation for 6 weeks now. Overall, I am very
happy
> > with it. The
> > electronic gadgets are fun and the overall ride quality is excellent. I
also
> > appreciate the quiet
> > cabin.
> >
> > Cons:
> > The gas mileage has been a bit erratic. From a high of 27 to a low of
18;
> > averages about 22-23
> > mpg. That's a bit lower than I expected. Also, over time you start the
car,
> > you are required to
> > press OK on the touch screen to view the navigation screen. There is a
> > warning that you are
> > supposed to read before using the navigation. It has really begun to
annoy
> > me. I wish someone at
> > Acura would eliminate that from the software boot up.
> >
> > Overall Review:
> > I have always owned manual shift cars. I have an NSX with the 6 speed,
so I
> > thought I would buy
> > an automatic for a change of pace and I thought I can always drive the
NSX
> > when I want to shift,
> > but even though the TL has a 5 speed automatic with the manual shift
mode,
> > it is not well
> > implemented. I find the transmission too often searching for the correct
> > gear. And the
> > auto-manual mode is nearly useless; It won't hold 1st gear, it
automatically
> > shifts to 2nd. Also,
> > the transmission lags too long after you shift to the next gear. I guess
I
> > am just a manual
> > transmission guy at heart. I am disappointed that Acura didn't design a
> > better shifting
> > algorithm, or offer a sport-shift mode.
> >
> > I would be interested in other's thoughts.
> >
> > - Russ in SB
> >
> >
> >
>
I have a 2003 TL-S. Certain roads really shake the car up a great deal.
There is one intersection that I had to go through every day for 2 months.
Unless I went thru it at 1 mph the whole car rattled like crazy. No other
car in my family rattled like that.

It turned out that I took the car into the dealer on warrantee and they
spent 3 hours doing a lot of work tighening everything.

My 2003 Accord Coupe is the same way especially in cold weather when the
suspension really starts riding harshly. I have a rough road in front
of my house so I have to listen to the CD cover rattle and vibrate for
about the first ten minutes of the ride. They have tried 3 different
times to fix it but no luck it just keeps coming back,

Dick

salligator wrote:
> "john" <rsx1877@mistralaero.com> wrote in message
> news:3FC6D7D3.5010206@mistralaero.com...
>
>>
>>Pete wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have had mine for about 2 weeks. Comparing it to my '01 TL , I find
>
> it
>
>>>quicker and much nicer inside. The 1-2 auto shift in triptonic mode is
>
> daft,
>
>>>I know, but its been like that since '00 I believe. I too have erratic
>>>fuel mileage, likely a function of the way I drive. Yes, that damn
>>>disclaimer every time you start the car is very annoying. My biggest
>>>disappointment is the ride. There's a lot of road feel through the
>
> steering
>
>>>wheel and the ride can be harsh at times - mind you it corners
>
> exceptionally
>
>>>well for a front drive car. Don't you find that you feel too much of the
>>>imperfections in the road? Candidly, I find the thing rides like my '78
>>
>>
>>
>>hehehe, go try the RSX-S to feel the imperfections of the road... ;-)
>>
>>-john
>>
>>
>>
>>>Camaro that I had as a teenager.
>>>
>>>
>>>"rll" <rlombard@westmont.edu> wrote in message
>>>newsD4xb.8598$9O5.6378@fed1read06...
>>>Pros:
>>>I have had my TL with navigation for 6 weeks now. Overall, I am very
>
> happy
>
>>>with it. The
>>>electronic gadgets are fun and the overall ride quality is excellent. I
>
> also
>
>>>appreciate the quiet
>>>cabin.
>>>
>>>Cons:
>>>The gas mileage has been a bit erratic. From a high of 27 to a low of
>
> 18;
>
>>>averages about 22-23
>>>mpg. That's a bit lower than I expected. Also, over time you start the
>
> car,
>
>>>you are required to
>>>press OK on the touch screen to view the navigation screen. There is a
>>>warning that you are
>>>supposed to read before using the navigation. It has really begun to
>
> annoy
>
>>>me. I wish someone at
>>>Acura would eliminate that from the software boot up.
>>>
>>>Overall Review:
>>>I have always owned manual shift cars. I have an NSX with the 6 speed,
>
> so I
>
>>>thought I would buy
>>>an automatic for a change of pace and I thought I can always drive the
>
> NSX
>
>>>when I want to shift,
>>>but even though the TL has a 5 speed automatic with the manual shift
>
> mode,
>
>>>it is not well
>>>implemented. I find the transmission too often searching for the correct
>>>gear. And the
>>>auto-manual mode is nearly useless; It won't hold 1st gear, it
>
> automatically
>
>>>shifts to 2nd. Also,
>>>the transmission lags too long after you shift to the next gear. I guess
>
> I
>
>>>am just a manual
>>>transmission guy at heart. I am disappointed that Acura didn't design a
>>>better shifting
>>>algorithm, or offer a sport-shift mode.
>>>
>>>I would be interested in other's thoughts.
>>>
>>> - Russ in SB
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> I have a 2003 TL-S. Certain roads really shake the car up a great deal.
> There is one intersection that I had to go through every day for 2 months.
> Unless I went thru it at 1 mph the whole car rattled like crazy. No other
> car in my family rattled like that.
>
> It turned out that I took the car into the dealer on warrantee and they
> spent 3 hours doing a lot of work tighening everything.
>
>