Looking for a vehicle to upgrade over my rusty but trusty high mile 2008 Honda Fit Sport. Struck out on a super low mileage manual 2004 Acura TL that sold before I could check it out, then found a high mile (150k+) manual 2010 TSX that's somewhat intriguing.
Checks all the right boxes for me: Supposedly fun to drive manual Honda, can be run on 87 and gets slightly worse gas mileage than my Fit but with almost double the power and triple the luxury, Honda reliability that I'm now accustomed to.
The only catch seems to be a well publicized oil consumption issue that is allegedly worse for manual equipped cars from 09-11. Carfax seems to indicate that the only previous owner of the car in question was getting oil changes at the dealer every 10k miles since brand new. Do these 2 factors create a huge red flag?
Would I be better off holding out for another manual TL or even a 06-11 Civic Si?
If the TSX is indeed worth looking into, what should I look out for when I check it out?
Duke
MegaDork
11/7/19 8:42 a.m.
My experience with TSXs is limited to a first-gen that was sold before it got to 100,000 miles, but...
The K series engine will consume oil. Like, a quart every 2,000 miles for a good one. Stay on top of it.
The K series engine will also consume timing chain guides and tensioners. That's aggravated by extended oil change intervals and low oil level. At 150k, I bet that one is halfway through its second set, or else it's 50k past needing a timing chain replacement / refresh.
It will run on 87 octane but it will pull a lot of spark advance out and it won't be quite as much fun.
That being said, other than the first two items above, our 2004 was as reliable as a stone axe and aged pretty well inside and out. It was comfortable and nice to drive as a daily. Ours was an ATX but I have driven an MTX version and the 6-speed works very nicely with the smooth, high-revving K24. I'd say go check it out and see if the timing chain rattles on cold start.
My tsx wagon bought new, AT, perfect. Doesn't consume a drop. 128k miles. Too many horror stories on MT 2nd gen tsx on Acurazine forum.
get the civic si, or a 4 door GSR?
i have been replacing a lot of intake cam sprockets. The lock pin fails and they rattle like a sumbitch if it sits for 8 hours.
The chains on the new generation engines (front exhaust) seem to be lasting okay, but if it has over 90k when I am replacing the sprocket, ir's getting chain/guides/tensioner.
The older engines, I have seen the tensioner maxed out in 60k, so Honda did something to improve things...
there were some teething issues with that second gen. Most should be sorted. Manual trans cars WILL burn oil. Period. End of story. Autos do not seem to burn as much. Still Japanese built, but their quality just isn't up to the previous cars IMO. They got bulky and really lose some of that fun to drive of the first gen.
I drove the TSX and TL, and found neither to be anywhere near as fun to drive as the Fit. The TSX felt less roomy than the Fit. The TL was "fast ...for a Honda" but felt as heavy as it is, and the lack of torque was noticeable.
Out of the 3 I'd stick with/buy another Fit. If tge TL is your front-runner, I think you owe it to yourself to drive a 04-07 CTS-V, assuming the fuel economy/premium fuel isn't a killer.
poopshovel again said:
I drove the TSX and TL, and found neither to be anywhere near as fun to drive as the Fit. The TSX felt less roomy than the Fit. The TL was "fast ...for a Honda" but felt as heavy as it is, and the lack of torque was noticeable.
Out of the 3 I'd stick with/buy another Fit. If tge TL is your front-runner, I think you owe it to yourself to drive a 04-07 CTS-V, assuming the fuel economy/premium fuel isn't a killer.
I have owned a 1986 Honda Wagovan, and a 1990 4WD Wagovan, which were the grandfather to the Honda FIt. I LOVE THE FIT, and agree with you how roomy and fun it is. Then again having driven 67HP Civic HF Hatch, lower power is fun to me. TL-S 6 speed I drove, was fun, but you could feel the heft.
Only thing I will say, is the K24 in the TSX (for long highway jaunts that I do at times 1800 miles+), seem better suited, for me, than the FIT (new one). I don't feel the new fit has the character anymore. Plus TSX gets almost 676mile a tank, and helps me not stop a lot, unlike the fits and otehr hondas small tanks.
I agree, I would take a CTS-V wagon over all, but the OP has mentioned a standard CTS NON V, which is a terrible car.
poopshovel again said:
I drove the TSX and TL, and found neither to be anywhere near as fun to drive as the Fit. The TSX felt less roomy than the Fit. The TL was "fast ...for a Honda" but felt as heavy as it is, and the lack of torque was noticeable.
Out of the 3 I'd stick with/buy another Fit. If tge TL is your front-runner, I think you owe it to yourself to drive a 04-07 CTS-V, assuming the fuel economy/premium fuel isn't a killer.
Whatever car I get is going to be an all year round driver. I live in SE MI and my street doesn't get plowed all that regularly, so a CTSV would be no bueno.
I love my Fit, I might actually keep it, but I've been DDing it for 5 years and kind of want something else to drive everyday and especially on long trips where the Fit bounces around and sits at 4k at 80MPH.
