Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Acura TLX V6 SH-AWD

[Autos_Editor]

The Safe-sex Pistol
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[Benhaze]

When cold, from a stop, the TLX kicked me in the kidneys like it was wearing Doc Martens. Given gentle throttle application on a mild hill, I was expecting to roll off the line smoothly, and was totally surprised by the rough, uncouth behaviour of the nine-speed transmission. What the heck? It did it again a couple of lights later.

Brendan, is it possible that you triggered the start-stop system? It works differently in the Acura as it requires a firmer brake pedal press to activate, which you may have done being on a hill? It is supposed to be a pretty rough system although it is nice that it does not automatically come on at every stop.

If not this is concerning. Your (well done) review concurs with other reviews describing a somewhat sedate (not sporty) driving experience. That would be just fine for my significant other but not if the trans is acting up this way...

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Brendan,

I think the car you want to drive is the 4-cyl with the 8spd DCT and PAWS.  With Tech Package.

Sure, the 4-cyl is 100hp short of the V6, but IMO the transmission makes up for it.  You felt like the SH-AWD was lackluster?  Well let me tell you that you can definitely feel PAWS rotate the car even with mild steering inputs.  Include the Tech Package and you get all the toys and gizmo's you'd get with the V6 version, as well as the premium leather (not the leatherette on the base version).

THAT's the one I'd have.  It's cheaper, too.  I drove one, and I'm eyeing it as a potential replacement for the Altima down the road.  Of course, mine will be a 2-3 year old used car, but that's just the way I roll.  Never buy a new car!

[Ace]

Sid Vicious ??

[EV-Light]

It’s not just the lower-mounted touchscreen that handles duties, there’s also an iDrive-like knob controller. Effectively, you have three types of controls from buttons to touchscreen to dial.

I had no idea there are 3 ways to control the system...I really don't remember the knob when I sat on one of these, but perhaps I wasn't paying too much attention as the double screen layout took all of my attention - and dislike....and people think MyFord Touch is bad!

[redman]

I'm starting to wonder if 8 cogs is the max that an automatic transmission effectively functions at. Now that we've seen more than one manufacture fail beyond 8 speed auto.

I doubt that there are many gains beyond 8 speeds anyway, especially if geared properly. How much of this is just marketing by numbers.

A CVT starts to look better and more reliable.

..."but in a car as smooth and quiet as the TLX is, it’s frankly unacceptable. Acura fans won’t like this, and neither will people cross-shopping Lexus and Infiniti offerings." Ouch !!

[Brendan McAleer]

Sid Vicious ??

This is the ad I'm referencing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOAKiwr1dMI
talk about spinning in your grave - I think ol' Sid probably hit VTEC.

I still think this car is a decent buy, but perhaps it's the four-cylinder that's the way to go. The old TL SH-AWD might not have been the prettiest car, but it was a good drive.

[chignectohead]

I drove all three models, and the SH-AWD one was by far the best.

The I4 with that stupid front collision alert lighting up a big orange brake sign on the dash was pathetic, lighting up at every traffic light as you brake to a stop behind a vehicle in normal fashion. Oversensitive? You bet. The Phat size combined with frenetic engine and DCT was unpleasant - by comparison my old Legacy GT is serene and much, much quicker. Then the TLX went on a weird jag where rolling along slowly and going to make a left turn across traffic, it couldn't find a gear. There's me pumping the gas, nothing. Finally caught and the salesman stopped shouting. The oncoming traffic was bearing down. Nasty.

He apologized for the stupid car's behaviour, and I went to the dealership GM and complained. The salesman, an ex-mechanic backed me up. Ridiculous. So then they wanted me to try a V6 FWD. Much nicer at first. But every time you goosed it from a light, the right front tire howled as rubber burned. Useless. On the highway, I detected a cyclic vibration that shook the whole car at 110 kph. Salesman agreed again. and it wasn't wheels either. Zero for two.

The 9 speed auto acted only slightly better than in the Chrysler 200 - this is a tragically awful transmission.

Three weeks later, a SH-AWD came in and I drove that. Much better except for the transmission, so I tried out a few curves I knew. Tire squeal!  Don't even get that on snow tires in the LGT. I mean, just ridiculous.

Don't believe me? Go to acurazine.com, and these shortcomings are documented by others, who also have  had myriad other problems. This is a tragically underdeveloped car. It is not even a minor competitor for a six-year old Legacy GT. It is tragic.

Right after the SH-AWD, went by the Audi dealer and drove an A3 2.0T. So much better, I laughed out loud. Responsive, quick, decent corner-carver. Just a bit too much money for decent spec. I'd stretch if it were better than my LGT, but I'd call it a draw, so no dice. No complaints on Audi forums - initial quality thus 100 times better than the TLX.

I'd sum up the TLX V6 models as good-riding quiet cruisers with a Tokyo-by-night suite of electronics, baffling operation of same, a great V6 engine, fair assembly quality (all 7 on the dealer's lot had misfitting driver's doors at the top at the B pillar. Identical misassembly - there's the consistent Honda production methods for you which even reproduces consistent errors).

In addition, all of them had bad orange-peel paint. A big fat turkey as they stand. Not competitive.

[ArticSteve]

 

[Ace]

Sid Vicious ??

This is the ad I'm referencing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOAKiwr1dMI
talk about spinning in your grave - I think ol' Sid probably hit VTEC.

I still think this car is a decent buy, but perhaps it's the four-cylinder that's the way to go. The old TL SH-AWD might not have been the prettiest car, but it was a good drive.

Thanks Brendan, it makes sense now........ "interesting" choice of music by Acura don't you think !

[Benhaze]

So Brendan you don't have an opinion about the auto start-stop feature?

[Benhaze]

I drove all three models, and the SH-AWD one was by far the best.

The I4 with that stupid front collision alert lighting up a big orange brake sign on the dash was pathetic, lighting up at every traffic light as you brake to a stop behind a vehicle in normal fashion. Oversensitive? You bet. The Phat size combined with frenetic engine and DCT was unpleasant - by comparison my old Legacy GT is serene and much, much quicker. Then the TLX went on a weird jag where rolling along slowly and going to make a left turn across traffic, it couldn't find a gear. There's me pumping the gas, nothing. Finally caught and the salesman stopped shouting. The oncoming traffic was bearing down. Nasty.

He apologized for the stupid car's behaviour, and I went to the dealership GM and complained. The salesman, an ex-mechanic backed me up. Ridiculous. So then they wanted me to try a V6 FWD. Much nicer at first. But every time you goosed it from a light, the right front tire howled as rubber burned. Useless. On the highway, I detected a cyclic vibration that shook the whole car at 110 kph. Salesman agreed again. and it wasn't wheels either. Zero for two.

The 9 speed auto acted only slightly better than in the Chrysler 200 - this is a tragically awful transmission.

Three weeks later, a SH-AWD came in and I drove that. Much better except for the transmission, so I tried out a few curves I knew. Tire squeal!  Don't even get that on snow tires in the LGT. I mean, just ridiculous.

Don't believe me? Go to acurazine.com, and these shortcomings are documented by others, who also have  had myriad other problems. This is a tragically underdeveloped car. It is not even a minor competitor for a six-year old Legacy GT. It is tragic.

Right after the SH-AWD, went by the Audi dealer and drove an A3 2.0T. So much better, I laughed out loud. Responsive, quick, decent corner-carver. Just a bit too much money for decent spec. I'd stretch if it were better than my LGT, but I'd call it a draw, so no dice. No complaints on Audi forums - initial quality thus 100 times better than the TLX.

I'd sum up the TLX V6 models as good-riding quiet cruisers with a Tokyo-by-night suite of electronics, baffling operation of same, a great V6 engine, fair assembly quality (all 7 on the dealer's lot had misfitting driver's doors at the top at the B pillar. Identical misassembly - there's the consistent Honda production methods for you which even reproduces consistent errors).

In addition, all of them had bad orange-peel paint. A big fat turkey as they stand. Not competitive.

Interesting post.

[Kris78]

The 9 speed auto acted only slightly better than in the Chrysler 200 - this is a tragically awful transmission.

I would have thought that they would have been equally worthless. At this rate, ZF has got to do something. I'm not sure what FCA and Honda's contracts look like, but you can be sure that neither would want to be continue to be kicked in the gonads over a transmission that they don't even build. Considering how great ZF's 8-speed is, I doubt anyone thought that these issues would go on and on...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/holy-shift-zf-9-speed-automatic-problems-mount-chrysler-releases-third-software-update-for-jeep-cherokee/

ZF's response: ZF told us the problems were entirely due to software and not to anything mechanical, but it would not comment on what specific improvements it was making, as “ZF works independently with each customer based on their needs.”

Hey ZF, I think your customers need a transmission that isn't a piece of garbage. At this point, I wonder if Honda will try to find a way to use their 8-speed with the V6 (at least with the FWD models).

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I'm starting to wonder if 8 cogs is the max that an automatic transmission effectively functions at. Now that we've seen more than one manufacture fail beyond 8 speed auto.

I doubt that there are many gains beyond 8 speeds anyway, especially if geared properly. How much of this is just marketing by numbers.

A CVT starts to look better and more reliable.

Tell that to Nissan customers!

HEY!  I'm perfectly happy with my CVT.  I think it's a fine transmission.

EDIT:  Let me expand on that, actually.  I think one reason Nissan's CVT's are poorly reviewed isn't actually attributable to the CVT itself, but Nissan's 4-cyl engines.  You see, they're just not as smooth as an engine from say, Honda.  They're fine at low RPM, but at higher RPM's, they sound thrashy and almost over-reved in comparison to Honda's 2.4L or 1.8L.  And seeing as when you accelerate hard the CVT keeps the RPM's up high, I could see how the 'roughness' of Nissan's engines would come through a lot more than with an automatic.

Put a CVT onto a Honda (as they have done) and it will likely be a different experience, not because of it being a better CVT, but a smoother engine.

Not saying here that Nissan makes bad 4-cylinder engines, but that they're not as good or as smooth as Honda's.

[Woodyism]

Decent car, nothing special and I usually like Acura's.  The yen has been killing the R&D of the Japanese makes for the better part of 5 years.

In particular I totally dislike the push button "shifter", can't they just make the stick smaller and leave it in the same position, there is room for a mouse but not for a stick....grrrrr.

Cheers
Woody

[Solstice2006]

Decent car, nothing special and I usually like Acura's.  The yen has been killing the R&D of the Japanese makes for the better part of 5 years.

In particular I totally dislike the push button "shifter", can't they just make the stick smaller and leave it in the same position, there is room for a mouse but not for a stick....grrrrr.

Cheers
Woody

Lately the yen has been enabling cars made in Japan to make more profit...

[prufrock]

Sid Vicious was the lead singer of the Pistols?

 

Come on now. What would John think?

[NormT]

Now advertised  $4,000 cash credit in the lower right hand ad corner when viewing the list of topics. Must be selling like hotcakes!

[Jaeger]

I test drove this car and came away underwhelmed.  It never felt like I had access to anywhere near the stated HP, and that transmission was one seriously confused puppy.