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18853. anomie - 3/14/2006 12:00:05 AM That's rotten luck, Thoughtful. That may be the first negative thing I've heard about Acura. As you say, they are known for being reliable. 18854. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 3/14/2006 12:02:57 AM How old's the car and what time is left to itsr power-train warranty? 18855. thoughtful - 3/14/2006 12:34:03 AM the car is a '99 with a 6-yr warranty, which honda extended another year just because of this tranny issue. So when the 2nd one crapped out, it was 10 days past the 7 yr warranty, but they tell me each tranny comes with a 3 yr warranty so it's still covered. So fortunately, so far it's not cost me $$ yet but it has cost me time and frustration and nervousness that i'll be stranded.
What really ticks me off is that it's clear this is a much larger problem than they expected so, they can't keep up with demand for all these trannies so they are putting in rebuilts which obviously still have the original problem...something about insufficient fluid to 2nd gear and supposedly they added an extra tube or something to fix that. Yeah right.
Look at consumer reports on used cars and the acura tls, which this is, are red (good) across the board except the tranny which is solid black (bad).
I hate to spend the $$ to buy a new car as I expected to get at least 15 years out of this one, and I really like it a lot outside of this problem, but what good is a car that you can't rely on? Esp when i use it on bus travel which means i have to get where i have to go, no excuses.
Most frustrating. I had an important mtg last week and so there i am driving the 11-yr old subaru as i trust it more than the acura...go figure. I told hubby at this point, i may be taking the '48 jeep to work as it's probably the most reliable of all!
Thank goodness we have lots of vehicles! 18856. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 3/14/2006 12:43:47 AM FWIW, if reliability is the primary issue, it sounds like your best bet is to trade the car in for a (different) basic reliable car. Transmissions are fairly easy to replace when there isn't a design flaw, but that doesn't help you. 18857. thoughtful - 3/14/2006 1:18:52 AM Yes I'm thinking about that, but i'm debating about playing the odds. From the research i've seen there's a 15% recall rate on the replaced trannies which means an 85% chance that this one will be fine.
And as I said, I hate paying for a new car...not just the car but the taxes and insurance too. Maybe if the car tax goes away as rumored??? Hubby and I will have to go car looking. We want to have an AWD car in addition to the truck with the 4wd in case of bad weather. He really needs a 'roust about' car....something small, with carrying space and decent gas mileage....we're thinking of a subaru impreza. Me I drive the 'nice' car and so if not an acura and wanting reliability, we'd probably be looking at a lexus. but i hate shelling out the money for that.
Oh well...i'll keep driving the acura and see what happens. Hubby suggested taking it to the city and leaving it on the street with the keys in the car and the engine running and maybe the problem would go away!
18858. wonkers2 - 3/14/2006 1:30:57 AM The Chevrolet Malibu is quite comparable to the Acura and the price is lower. 18859. thoughtful - 3/14/2006 1:35:22 AM sorry wonks, you can't pay me enough to buy a gm product. I've had enough of them put me through hell that i can't go there any more...the only one i would even momentarily consider is a saturn, but even at that, i'm not considering it.
i'll spare you the horror stories, but, let me put it this way. We figured out how gm was making their fuel efficiency standards as, as soon as the olds hit 3 year old, the pieces and parts started falling off the thing, making it lighter and thus more fuel efficient! 18860. thoughtful - 3/14/2006 1:38:10 AM How would I look in this?
Of course I'd really have to try it. One thing I love about the acura is it's got a great 'wheedle' factor...even though it's a sedan, it's very maneuverable in parking lots...a critical factor for a shopper like me. 18861. arkymalarky - 3/14/2006 2:04:26 AM We loved our Saturn. I sold it to my mom when I bought the Civic, and she loves it.
Can't see the picture, so I'm imagining: Is "this" a Hummer? A minivan? A Porche? A Harley? 18862. thoughtful - 3/14/2006 2:37:02 AM no...it's a lexus sedan
reading about the mid-priced one and it has too many bells and whistles for me...like it senses and will lock in a distance from the car in front of you and it has headlights that turn as you are going around the corner.
all very nice gadgets, but IMO just more to break. 18863. arkymalarky - 3/14/2006 2:49:04 AM I'm not much of a bells and whistles person, though the van had some nice features--it just happened to be what the used one we chose had on it.
Mose's friends like the heated seats in the Jetta, and in the winter as soon as they get in the car they tell her to turn on the "butt warmer." I wouldn't have ever known she had it. In fact, Bob's driving the van now and he's found several features I hadn't noticed in six or seven years of driving it. 18864. arkymalarky - 3/14/2006 2:53:11 AM I'll bet this is the fifteenth time in about an hour and a half the stupid line on this stupid dialup isp dropped. 18865. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 3/14/2006 3:16:33 AM We have a 99 Passat that hasn't cost us a dime above schedualed maintenance costs. They have AWD and 65 % of the car has the same standard equipment that its higher priced cousin, the Audi, has.
18866. arkymalarky - 3/14/2006 3:34:22 AM I love the Passat. I would have looked into getting one, but it was out of my price range. 18867. wonkers2 - 3/14/2006 3:38:24 AM thoughtful, if you do a little research you'll see that GM quality is quite close to Toyota and Honda. 18868. Macnas - 3/14/2006 10:23:57 AM I drive an Opel, which is under the GM umbrella. Still, it's a German car, and goes pretty good for something that's over 10 years old.
We also own a Nissan, the family car. Have to say, it's a great car. Here, if you want trouble free motoring, you buy a Japanese car.
I'll have to change the Opel sometimes in the next few years, as there will come a time when it will be harder and harder to pass the NCT (national car test). This is a stringent test on all cars over a certain age, and it's usually the emmissions test part that catches older cars.
I aspire to a Toyota. They're not as flash as an Audi, Merc or BMW, but I love the all around package that gives good economy, reliability and the way they hold value.
There is, however, a little thought, a fancy if you like to have a little Merc C180, but it's just a fancy. 18869. Macnas - 3/14/2006 10:31:44 AM 
My little car, which, I am told, I am far too big for.
18870. Macnas - 3/14/2006 10:34:26 AM 
The Missus's car.
18871. Macnas - 3/14/2006 10:44:31 AM 
What I should buy next time.
18872. Macnas - 3/14/2006 10:48:05 AM 
What I'd really like to buy next time.
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