2002 Acura TL Type S review from North America

I had been driving the car nicely, no rapid acceleration, no quick braking. Mainly used to go back and forth between home and work place on a local highway, and the transmission broke down at below 70000 miles. And the dealer wanted to charge me $3369 to replace it. I didn't feel that's fair because it was just couple of months out of the extended warranty.

So I called Honda to ask them to cover the replacement. I told them that I shouldn't be penalized for driving the car nicely. And they should stand behind their product, especially on the well known faulty transmissions. And they seemed reluctant to do anything, sounded like I had to beg them to cover it. Several days later, they called me back and offer a discount on the replacement. I ended up paying $2530.81.

Transmission is the biggest problem so far.

Had a couple of problems with the CD player.

Noticed some problem with the ignition too, took so long to light the engine sometimes.

Had to put in the activation code more than 70 times to get the radio going again after the battery change.

And some rubbing noise from the bottom of the car every morning when I put it in reverse and drive out of my drive way. I went back to talk to the dealer regarding that noise not long after I bought the car, and they said it's normal. And I have been living with it ever since.

There are definitely some minor issues with the car. But I think Honda should handle more seriously on the major components like the transmission. As a customer, I don't feel like I have to spend $2530 to do a major repair on a car that I take care of nicely in under 70000 miles.