Acura Reliability

Hi! I own a 1999 Acura 3.2TL which I bought new. It only has about 60k on the odometer. The whole transmission has been changed at 40k and the WHOLE engine is being replaced right now (all under warranty). The mechanics don't talk very much and say they had "problems" with that model. I was just curious if i was an isolated case or if it's normal that the mechanicals on that car SUCK that much. I have to say that I'm the kind of guy who tries to save gas instead of racing on every traffic light! Everyone I know who own a Honda keep telling me that they beat them up like crazy and still get reliability. What do you think? Is my car a lemon? Sould I sell it once it has a brand new engine and tranny? Thanks for your comments

The transmission problem is certainly normal. Most Honda transmissions of that vintage appear destined to fail way before 100,000 miles.

John

It's practically a new car now. So why would you sell it?

No, not most. Only many that were mated to V6 engines.

Thanks for all your replies. However, I think I haven't made myself clear on certain points: The transmission simply went crazy as it was unable to change any gears without my head banging on the headrest every time. So it's been changed. Now, the engine started to sound more like a diesel than anything else but still was running fine. THEY decided to replace it. I bought that Acura because I thought it was reliable (as any jap car?) AND because it was more fun to drive than any of the equivalent models from other brands. I live in Montréal Canada and I used to store this car in a garage all winter long to keep it from rusting and drive my beater during winter (an old Nissan Stanza that I find more reliable than my TL...) I always took good care of the engine before every winter: put some fog oil in each cylinder, change the oil, fill up the gas tank and add some stabiliser etc. I planned to keep that car forever but since I had so many problems with it (even besides the drivetrain) and that the engine and tranny are new on it, plus the fact that it still looks like a brand new car inside and out, I think I'm going to sell it for a fairly good price! I'm so dissapointed that I may go back to Nissan with the Infiniti G35 (I miss RWD a lot)

Have a nice day!

Sorry, I should have said most Honda/Acura vehicles with V6 engines, which of course includes all of the poster's TLs.

John

On 11/5/2005 12:54 PM John Horner spake these words of knowledge:

John, you would still be wrong. At the very best, "most" would represent the slightest number more than 50%. "Many", on the other hand, indicates a substantial number without (necessarily) implying that the number of failures is more than the number which don't fail.

"Many Honda/Acura vehicles with V6 engines have transmissions that will fail" is a true statement.

"Most Honda/Acura vehicles with V6 engines have transmissions that will fail" is not a true statement. That's why HTMF corrected you.

RFT!!! Dave Kelsen