2000 Acura TL 3.2 review from North America
"Poor. Stay away from it!"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
We bought the car new in late 2000, and in late 2002, at 45,000 miles, the transmission went (started shifting hard between 2-3 gear). The dealer replaced it under warranty, and Honda sent the letter extending the warranty to 100,000 miles.
In late 2004, at 85,000 miles (40,000 on the new tranny), Honda sent a recall letter stating that a "jet-kit" needed to be installed to better lubricate the 2nd gear and clutch pack. Of course, at this point, I had 40,000 miles on the new tranny operating without the additional lubrication.
Last month, at 125,000 total miles (80K on the new tranny), it failed again. I had it replaced at my cost and traded it in on a Lexus.
General comments?
Honda has yet to take ownership of this problem. They screwed up and they want it to go away. They would not consider any shared cost of tranny #3, saying that I needed to take "ownership" of the problem. I took ownership of a new Lexus instead. Honda lost a customer forever. Funny thing is, they just replaced my dad's Odyssey's failed tranny at no charge at 105,000. Maybe a small claims action for breached warranty of merchantability will get some money back. Apparently the class-action on this hasn't gotten legs.
Honda/Acura? Never again!
Recommended Reviews:
  | Unreliable |
| This is a very reliable, sporty, great handling 4-door luxury car that gets 26-30 mpg. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model Year | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.2 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 0/10 |
| Comfort marks | 7/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 0 miles |
| Most recent distance | 125000 miles |
| Previous car | Nissan Maxima |
| Date of Entry | 3rd November, 2006 |