ACURA TL

I Like the look of them and they seem to have decent interior room from the photos I have looked at. A mid 2000's one with a 6 speed with around 100K seems to be in the 4-6K range. I am not sure I want a 6 speed versus an auto as it would be a DD. Do you pay a big performance penalty with an auto in these?

The thing is I know nothing about them. Anyone have any in site in to these? They appear to come with several motor options that include a 3.2 and a 3.5. Generally they seem not to be as clapped out as Honda's of similar vintage and are all around bigger than the Honda's. I am thinking that one of these could make for a decent DD.

They also made an AWD version but I have not seen one to now the $$$$ on these.

99-03 were all 3.2. 04-08 were all 3.2 as well. the 3.5 came in 2009. 99-00 were the 4-spd auto's that were a bit questionable past 100k miles. 6-spds were only available in the 04-08 TL's and 01-03 CL Type-S.

The 04-06 wheels are soft. They're a nice 17x8 but bend if you look at a pothole. The TL-S all had the Brembo front brakes which makes wheel fitment a little tricky with certain types.

AWD didn't come out until the 09 MY changeover and those came with the 3.5. They're a bit of a gas hog, questionable stylying and a bit portly. They're basically the previous (04-08) RL without the fancy SH-AWD system.

My best suggestion is find the cleanest, lowest mileage one you can.... wait, first suggestion is to sit in one. I personally found hte driving position cramped for me. Then if you like it go with my other suggestion. They will require premium fuel. The EGR valves will fail in the 60-80k mile range. The headlights are expensive to fix when they fail, but if you do it yourself it'll save money.

I picked up an 1-owner 150kmi example last year for around $6k. The TL-S' were closer to $9k.

the 04-08 6spd's also have the Brembo front calipers, although there's a difference somewhere in that the TL-S will accept thicker pads. All the manuals come with an LSD factory.

one of the biggest "issues" with the 04-08's is that the dashes crack if they're exposed to temperature gradients or something. so, basically all of them are cracked.

supposedly the '03 and earlier TL automatic transmission has some TSD issue. I've heard anecdotal evidence that their controls "felt heavy" and "out of balance" by a friend.

I'm interested in these. With the 6-speed it seems like it could be a fun sedan to have.

I have not heard good things about the auto trans in these. I just mentioned this in another thread on here, but a Honda tech was telling me that they'd change the fluid every time they changed the oil to avoid failures. He did not speak highly of their reliability.

That reminds me, the synchros on the 6spd are... finicky? It appears to like fluid changes frequently too, and there's threads all over Honda/Acura forums about using GM synchromesh (?) (ATF?) instead of the honda mtf stuff. It also helps to do the 2-3 gear change with an angular push (instead of up-over-up)... although that's less important after switching to the GM ATF.

We bought a new '08. It drives and handles well, it's fairly quick and has been 100% trouble-free

In reply to sleepyhead:

Honda updated their MTF in or around 2011(?). It's MUCH better than the old water they used. STill, I wouldn't go more than about 30k on change intervals still.

I looked into these several years ago and ended up getting a G35. RWD, 6-speeds aren't unicorns, probably just as reliable.

At the time I had a coworker who had an automatic TL Type-S and he wasn't really crazy about it. Made power up in revs that a car like that hardly ever sees. He got rid of it and got a Jeep.

my son drives an 05 6-speed tl. it was my fathers, he bought it new. has 205k still on original clutch. been very nearly trouble free. the back seats don't fold down which I find to be a pain. I liked it enough I bought a CPO 2014 TL for my daily.

I had a 2000 TL and a 2002 TL-S. Trouble free. My nephew in MA has the 2000 and my brother has the 2002. They are their only cars and are still extremely reliable. Love them.

My wife loves her 07 Type S, great highway car, handles very well. Bought it with 25k now it has 147. Did the TB, WP, plugs at 118k. Changed the ATF about every 30k.

I've always loved the manual tl-s, test drove one nearly 15 years ago and should have bought it...heck, I looked at them on craigslist two days ago. I recall the one I drove to have a pretty great clutch feel, but that's been a while.

Can someone tell me what the difference is between the TL and the TSX?

In reply to tuna55:

TL is/was based on the US Accord. TSX is/was based on the Euro Accord. First gen TSX was only available with the K24 in auto/manual. The TL (excepting the 96-98, completely different beast) has always been based on the J-series V6 with some models getting manual options starting in 2004, and AWD starting in 2009.

Bob's got it in a nutshell. The TL is a bigger car, but not as big as the old RL. The TSX is smaller, but not as small as a Civic. It's actually an ideal size for us. Unfortunately now they went to the TLX, which is slightly bigger than the US Accord, and the CLX, which is basically a Civic.

In reply to Duke:

and the TLX is now the size of the old RL and the RLX is just a jazzed up TL.

There's an RLX?! Or is that a joke?

The fact that I don't know tells me that Acura needs to improve their marketing/naming.

In reply to CyberEric:

RLX came out in 14. IT's their "flagship car". 300hp, AWD, 4000lbs and seats 4, 5 if the 5th person is a midget and costs $55k. it and the TSX were the only two Acura's still made in JApan.

and the Fit is now larger than the '82 Accord I learned how to drive in