Honda Car Forum

Strongly thinking about buying a new '04 TL but I'm hesitating because of
the vibration issue. After reading several forums I did a second test drive
and experienced the dreaded vibration. My question to those owners who are
trying to get this issue resolved is:
1) Has it been determined that the tires alone are the cause?
2) Has anyone switched to a different brand tire, like Michelin or Perielli,
and successfully corrected this problem?

I spoke to the owner of the dealership and expressed my concern and he told
me that Acura has addressed the vibration problem and that TL's that are now
being delivered have different tires........ Sounded like a sales pitch too
me so I need some input from you TL owners.

P.S. Current best price for a 6 speed with Nav...$33,150 and I think with
one more negotiation that I might be able to trim that to $33,000
even....How am I doin'?

I am surprised that you felt the vibration on a manual TL. I thought they
have different tires than the automatics. The vibration is caused by nylon
component of the tire tread that causes the flat spotting. It has always
been a problem with nylon ply tires.

I have a 2004 TL automatic and it is very noticeable in my car. Acura has
agreed to replace my tires with another set of the same tires -- Bridgestone
Turanza EL42s. I really don't want these same tires, but Acura nor the
dealer will do anything else. So I am debating about what to do next.

Overall the TL has been pretty good, although it is certainly not perfect.
Here are my concerns so far (I bought it in October 2003).
1. Seat memory settings have never worked properly
2. Noisy (poor sealing?) around the passenger door
3. Temperature control is poor. I believe that in an effort to correct
for sun position, Acura over complicated the aid conditioning system and
therein lies the problem.
4. Gas mileage is typically 21 mpg. That's worse than my Acura NSX. It
is disappointing, especially with gas in Santa Barbara is over $2.50 per
gallon for the required premium gasoline.
5. Small issue, the outside temperature reading is always 3 degrees
high.
6. Small trunk

That's it. I am an engineer, so I am critical and a bit of a nit picker by
nature. But I think that you should be aware of the issues before you buy.

If I was asked if I knew now what I knew when I purchased the car, would I
still buy it? I would look at the Lexus ES330, as well the Infiniti G35, as
well as the BMW 530 (3 series is just too small). There are others that may
warrant a look as well. The Mazda 6, the new Chrysler 300C with the Hemi,
Audi 4 or 6, Acura TSX, Honda Accord, etc. Stay away from Mercedes Benz
(terrible reliability), as well as all Fords and GM cars.

Good luck,

- Russ in Santa Barbara


"Dennis" <stang4sale@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:CUSec.14980$d8.11494@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
> Strongly thinking about buying a new '04 TL but I'm hesitating because of
> the vibration issue. After reading several forums I did a second test
drive
> and experienced the dreaded vibration. My question to those owners who are
> trying to get this issue resolved is:
> 1) Has it been determined that the tires alone are the cause?
> 2) Has anyone switched to a different brand tire, like Michelin or
Perielli,
> and successfully corrected this problem?
>
> I spoke to the owner of the dealership and expressed my concern and he
told
> me that Acura has addressed the vibration problem and that TL's that are
now
> being delivered have different tires........ Sounded like a sales pitch
too
> me so I need some input from you TL owners.
>
> P.S. Current best price for a 6 speed with Nav...$33,150 and I think with
> one more negotiation that I might be able to trim that to $33,000
> even....How am I doin'?
>
>

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 14:35:14 GMT, "Dennis" <stang4sale@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Strongly thinking about buying a new '04 TL but I'm hesitating because of
>the vibration issue. After reading several forums I did a second test drive
>and experienced the dreaded vibration. My question to those owners who are
>trying to get this issue resolved is:
>1) Has it been determined that the tires alone are the cause?
>2) Has anyone switched to a different brand tire, like Michelin or Perielli,
>and successfully corrected this problem?
>
>I spoke to the owner of the dealership and expressed my concern and he told
>me that Acura has addressed the vibration problem and that TL's that are now
>being delivered have different tires........ Sounded like a sales pitch too
>me so I need some input from you TL owners.
>
>P.S. Current best price for a 6 speed with Nav...$33,150 and I think with
>one more negotiation that I might be able to trim that to $33,000
>even....How am I doin'?
>

I have the new Bridgestones provided by Acura & they have eliminated
the vibration issue.

I paid $35k out the door for my auto (no nav) with full ground effects
& deck lid (small lip spoiler), Color: Red with Camel interior

Thanks for the feedback guys. Still unsure just what I'm going to do. Got a
new job offer coming down on Monday and it may help me make my decision.

Dennis
'91 Integra (due for replacement)
'66 Mustang Coupe (up for sale)
'00 Boxster S (just love it)

the manual tells how to adjust / calibrate the temperature readout
you can go up or down by 3 degrees

there is no known fix for the small trunk


"RLL" <rlombardo@cox.net> wrote in message
news:331fc.3225$L75.368@fed1read06...
> 5. Small issue, the outside temperature reading is always 3 degrees
> high.
> 6. Small trunk
>
> That's it. I am an engineer, so I am critical and a bit of a nit picker
by
> nature. But I think that you should be aware of the issues before you
buy.
>
> If I was asked if I knew now what I knew when I purchased the car, would I
> still buy it? I would look at the Lexus ES330, as well the Infiniti G35,
as
> well as the BMW 530 (3 series is just too small). There are others that
may
> warrant a look as well. The Mazda 6, the new Chrysler 300C with the Hemi,
> Audi 4 or 6, Acura TSX, Honda Accord, etc. Stay away from Mercedes Benz
> (terrible reliability), as well as all Fords and GM cars.
>
> Good luck,
>
> - Russ in Santa Barbara
>
>
> "Dennis" <stang4sale@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:CUSec.14980$d8.11494@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
> > Strongly thinking about buying a new '04 TL but I'm hesitating because
of
> > the vibration issue. After reading several forums I did a second test
> drive
> > and experienced the dreaded vibration. My question to those owners who
are
> > trying to get this issue resolved is:
> > 1) Has it been determined that the tires alone are the cause?
> > 2) Has anyone switched to a different brand tire, like Michelin or
> Perielli,
> > and successfully corrected this problem?
> >
> > I spoke to the owner of the dealership and expressed my concern and he
> told
> > me that Acura has addressed the vibration problem and that TL's that are
> now
> > being delivered have different tires........ Sounded like a sales pitch
> too
> > me so I need some input from you TL owners.
> >
> > P.S. Current best price for a 6 speed with Nav...$33,150 and I think
with
> > one more negotiation that I might be able to trim that to $33,000
> > even....How am I doin'?
> >
> >
>
>

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 19:08:57 -0700, "RLL" <rlombardo@cox.net>
wrote:


>I have a 2004 TL automatic and it is very noticeable in my car. Acura has
>agreed to replace my tires with another set of the same tires -- Bridgestone
>Turanza EL42s. I really don't want these same tires, but Acura nor the
>dealer will do anything else. So I am debating about what to do next.

Although I didn't have the vibration problem with the Turanza
EL42s, I traded them in for Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's because
the Turanza EL42s were so terrible in the rain and snow -- and
not all that good on the dry pavement either. The new tires are
MUCH better and worth the out-of-pocket expense.

>Overall the TL has been pretty good, although it is certainly not perfect.
>Here are my concerns so far (I bought it in October 2003).
> 1. Seat memory settings have never worked properly

This is a known issue that there is a fix making it's way through
the dealers now. (I don't have this issue either.)

> 2. Noisy (poor sealing?) around the passenger door

Sorry. Don't have this issue either.

> 3. Temperature control is poor. I believe that in an effort to correct
>for sun position, Acura over complicated the aid conditioning system and
>therein lies the problem.

Mine controlled the heat fine during the winter. We'll see how
the A/C does during the upcoming warm months.

> 4. Gas mileage is typically 21 mpg. That's worse than my Acura NSX. It
>is disappointing, especially with gas in Santa Barbara is over $2.50 per
>gallon for the required premium gasoline.

Of course, how one drives and where one drives has a lot to do
with this but I get 24 mpg back and forth to work and 29-30 on
trips at 75 mph on the cruise.

> 5. Small issue, the outside temperature reading is always 3 degrees
>high.

This is settable (+/- 3 degrees) from the dash.

> 6. Small trunk

Hard to fix. :-)

>That's it. I am an engineer, so I am critical and a bit of a nit picker by
>nature. But I think that you should be aware of the issues before you buy.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 17:39:47 -0400, "-nobody-"
<dummy_dead_email@asphalt.com> wrote:

>the manual tells how to adjust / calibrate the temperature readout
>you can go up or down by 3 degrees
>
>there is no known fix for the small trunk

there is: buy a car with a bigger trunk to begin with.

>
>
>"RLL" <rlombardo@cox.net> wrote in message
>news:331fc.3225$L75.368@fed1read06...
> > 5. Small issue, the outside temperature reading is always 3 degrees
>> high.
>> 6. Small trunk
>>
>> That's it. I am an engineer, so I am critical and a bit of a nit picker
>by
>> nature. But I think that you should be aware of the issues before you
>buy.
>>
>> If I was asked if I knew now what I knew when I purchased the car, would I
>> still buy it? I would look at the Lexus ES330, as well the Infiniti G35,
>as
>> well as the BMW 530 (3 series is just too small). There are others that
>may
>> warrant a look as well. The Mazda 6, the new Chrysler 300C with the Hemi,
>> Audi 4 or 6, Acura TSX, Honda Accord, etc. Stay away from Mercedes Benz
>> (terrible reliability), as well as all Fords and GM cars.
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> - Russ in Santa Barbara
>>
>>
>> "Dennis" <stang4sale@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:CUSec.14980$d8.11494@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
>> > Strongly thinking about buying a new '04 TL but I'm hesitating because
>of
>> > the vibration issue. After reading several forums I did a second test
>> drive
>> > and experienced the dreaded vibration. My question to those owners who
>are
>> > trying to get this issue resolved is:
>> > 1) Has it been determined that the tires alone are the cause?
>> > 2) Has anyone switched to a different brand tire, like Michelin or
>> Perielli,
>> > and successfully corrected this problem?
>> >
>> > I spoke to the owner of the dealership and expressed my concern and he
>> told
>> > me that Acura has addressed the vibration problem and that TL's that are
>> now
>> > being delivered have different tires........ Sounded like a sales pitch
>> too
>> > me so I need some input from you TL owners.
>> >
>> > P.S. Current best price for a 6 speed with Nav...$33,150 and I think
>with
>> > one more negotiation that I might be able to trim that to $33,000
>> > even....How am I doin'?
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

Cam Newton wrote:
> On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 17:39:47 -0400, "-nobody-"
> <dummy_dead_email@asphalt.com> wrote:
>
>> the manual tells how to adjust / calibrate the temperature readout
>> you can go up or down by 3 degrees
>>
>> there is no known fix for the small trunk
>
> there is: buy a car with a bigger trunk to begin with. LOL