The transmission is one of those recalled. I had 2 replacements under warranty within 35K miles and am now having a THIRD replacment put in.
Motor mount broke, may be related to transmission problems.
Rear brakes went before front. Don't understand that (46K miles)
Other than issues above, a darn near perfect car. Great handling, good comfort, great mileage (30 plus highway.
I think you meant "Hard to find worse."
Sorry to ask, but after three tranny replacements in less than 100k miles, what should gone wrong to admit that you own a lemon. Please don't say that the cd player...
I can name a few worse cars: Contour, Cavalier, neon, yugo, etc.
To the Commener above: Are you seriously comparing 4 basic economy cars with a near luxury vehicle? This car seems to have given its owner a number of problems and sounds like a complete lemon. Besides my younger brother had a Cavalier for several years and it was a great car for him. It wasn't the most sophisticated vehicle out there, but it looked good and was cheap to run.
Great car I have 1. the transission is a weak spot, but I love mine. The transmission is guaranteed up to 100,000 miles. Very fast, loaded with amenities. 0-60 under 6 seconds and I have run out of courage on the speedometer.
Drive an Acura TL and drive a Cavalier? What a joke. I went from a Mercedes to an Acura. Main reason was the Mercedes cost, but I did not want to give up the performance/luxury. I also looked at BMW. The VTEC motor is going up to 300 hp soon. The options including the 6 CD Bose CD is great. The drivetrain warranty is 100,000 miles I have had an issue on the trans, but it was free and the service was great. I have owned a Legend also best car I ever had, have driven an NSX same hp as the TL... they are just great cars. I have had only had oil changes, tires and the trans recall to date.
I also have a 2003 TL not type S and have had what I consider too many problems of which some have been very serious. When the transmission went (and of course it will given long enough on this car) it basically acted like it threw the car in reverse while I was going 50. I will leave it to the imagination to understand just how scary and upsetting that was. I drove it at 20 mph from then on until I could get it to the dealer (just barely made it).
They initially put in a tiny oil can as their solution for the recall 2 years ago, which did nothing to alleviate the problem or prevent the tranny from blowing. There were 2 or 3 more recalls (I am losing count) that did not appear to be as serious. Twice I have taken the car in for one item, only to have another surface days after the first service was done.
Today when I thought a light bulb blew out, I just paid $850 for inverter 'set' and bulb including installation. Can't wait for the other to go..
This year the car has been in the shop 5 times (including the tranny) and not all of the work is completed ie i have more to get done. I had the timing belt replaced by an independent repair company for half the price Acura charges (but my price was the Edmunds documented industry standard), and when I went in for the light today they brought up the timing belt (which I told them was done elsewhere) but not the brakes or the spark plugs which are both past due. Why? I have to assume they are not big ticket items like the timing belt.
I will never buy another acura or honda (my boss had the identical problem with his honda tranny and I don't think I have ever seen him that scared).
My 2003 TL is having problems. The transmission has been replaced. The bulb was blown and the bulb alone cost 208 dollars not including the labor that only Acura could fix. The lights went out behind the clock. I service my car regularly and just had the last one two weeks ago. Now my car is in the shop again for a map sensor and an IAC valve. The total cost is $516.00. If you are looking for a nice car that is affordable and dependable, don't buy an Acura. The service department is not great either. I have spent more money on this car than I did for 3 Saturns combined.
My 2003 Acura TL-S, the front engine mount broke around 54k. Then at 68k the right engine mount broke. Got the trans checked for the recall around 30k, they said it's all good. This car is always in the shop for some reason. Don't even get me started on those low profile tires they want you to put. I've replaced them like 6 times (1 each every time) as they bubble up and they say it's going to blow up. No, I don't need to lose control of the car while going at 60-70. So there goes...
I just got done replacing my third transmission on my TL Type S at 35k miles. In the process I found out that the front and side engine mount need replacement. Honda is doing a good job in hiding the serious defect from consumers. I wish they spend some effort in fixing the issue.
My plan is to sell the car at 50K miles. It's not worth keeping anymore.
I love my TL Type-S I drive it like I stole it and it still asks for more... only problem is I have to replace the lower ball joint, but that's due to me + curb = boot on ball joint go bad... I have had no trans problems. I love how this car drives!
The shift lock components break almost every year. I cannot shift into reverse without disengaging the shift lock mechanism. It is getting expensive to continuously have to replace this. Dealership indicated it has something to do with the brake lights. Not sure, just have to say that it is getting expensive.
I noticed that most 2003 Acura TL-Type S comments about the transmission are out of whack. I owned one and it clocked 140k miles strong, and no hiccups with the tranny, shift locks, or mounts like these owners reported.
If you bought this luxury cars and expect repair cost of an economy Toyota Corolla, then you are making a mistake. Be prepared to pay the cost of repair and maintenance, or take some auto mechanic repair classes and do you own maintenance and repair to save your money. I do my own service and repair. So there is no problem.
The Acura TL-type S is a marvellous engineering work of art and science. It lasts and it outperformed many other luxury (European) cars. Domestic vehicles are still catching up in quality and engineering design to meet the demanding of knowledgeable consumers.
By the way, my other vehicle is a 94 Acura Integra GSR with over 251k miles (251,000 miles) and still counting and running strong.
I own a 2003 Acura Type TLS. I've replaced both engine mounts at around 80k miles. I had the transmission replaced at 98k miles. I know I need to replace the timing belt shortly, but also plan to sell the car this summer. The car has been very good to me. I plan to buy an MDX for my wife. I haven't heard anyone complain about the MDX.
I'm sorry none of this is acceptable to me; multiple transmissions and then saying a $34k import car is at not a Cavalier. Cannot fathom why anyone would keep such a dangerous defect that can fail at the worse possible moment unannounced... maybe trapped into car payments is the answer, but still...