2004 Acura TL consumer reviews

The last car I owned- a silver 2004 TL. I traded in my 1993 Vigor (after 11 years of Japanese car excellence- no issues or problems ever) for it and was instantly enamored. Looked great, handled beautifully, an absolute pleasure to drive. Gas prices were still reasonable in the mid-00’s and gas mileage was reasonable. I finally had to (very begrudgingly) sell it after 3 years as the combination of car payment, insurance and garage parking in downtown Philadelphia began exceeding $1,000/month. The model I had is now hard to believe 20 years old, but if given the opportunity I’d take it back in a second.

I bought my TL back in 2013 used. One of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. I have just over 246k miles on her now. The navigation system sucks. I had it repaired once and when it went out the second time, I just gave up. A bit difficult to get in and out of. Love the styling, performance and comfort. I'm retiring in Dec of 2023 and will be selling her.

I purchased my '04 TL (6-MT transmission) in October, 2004. It has been a remarkable car, virtually problem-free. I've driven it 190,000 miles: all it has needed was: timing belt (x2); front and rear brake calipers/rotors, alternator. I replaced the water pump when they needed to replace the alternator. It has 99% of it's engine power. There is ZERO vibration from the engine. The A/C blows ice cold! A few things have developed into problems: Bluetooth connection no longer works; sat/nav is problematic on very hot days (DVR issue? Dashboard has some cracks in the vinyl. Radio speakers sound weak and tinny on cold days (once car warms up, radio sound strengthens). A/C/defroster/ventilator diverter needed replacement. I'm told my six-speed manual transmission probably has between 40,000 - 75,000 miles remaining before it might fail (that would be failing at anywhere between 230,000 to 300,000 miles)...leather interior is quite good...almost excellent, drives straight, goes like heck if you push it (it still CAN do 0-60 in under six seconds!)...I've owned over seven cars since 1970 and it's the best car I've ever owned. I've probably spent $13,000 in repairs and maintenance since I've owned it (I park it in an indoor garage in NYC). That's about $50,000 (purchase price + maintenance costs) over 20 years, or $2,500/year or just about $200/month. NYC roads have winter potholes, so I've purchased 11 rims over 20 years. I use winter tires in winter and ONLY ONCE was not able to proceed UP a steep mountain road with snow/ice at 30 degrees F. It's traction system works magnificently and it goes in snow when other cars cannot! It still gets between 31-34 mpg (highway) depending on temperature (summer: 31 mpg highway, winter 34 mpg highway (averaging around 26-27 mpg combination city/hwy)..The car is in excellent condition with maybe a tiny one-inch dent in the upper R fender and one tiny 1/8th-inch mark on the rear bumper. Everyone says it looks showroom new, as I've kept it clean and waxed and never allowed anyone to eat/drink it it (no kids or pets) so when I park it it shines and looks really nice. I get offers to sell it all the time!

Fast. Reliable. Low maintenance. Everything you need. Only reason why I sold mine was my wife got a new car. They don't make them like they used to.

It is is great condition for a 2004 Acura TL, shortly modern style and a great / powerful engine. It still has many year of low maintenance ahead.

I am driving Acura TL over 10 years. Acura TL is very excellent, comfortable. Maintenance is not too expensive. I plan to buy next new Acura car too.

Love the car! Feel good driving it. It is fun driving as well. Reliable car. Maintenance are done as required. Oil are change is frequent.

Great car. I just brought one about a mouth ago,only problem that the owner before didn't took car of the trans.. it wet out 2 weeks later...thats really the only main problem I got when did research... As long as you change trans oil when should..trans problems going to be little to none... And I found out that the 02 -04 odessey van has same trans and some year Accord don't worry about sport mode it will work the only difference about the trans is the gear ratio...but still speed the same do the hole dash no problem ...like the original trans never left the car...

This car has plenty of leg room it does need a little bit of work but once fixed runs like new! Let me know if u have any questions

I would first like to note that I got a great deal on my TL. I have the manual transmission which is really hard to find for a good price. These cars hold there value very well bc they are a very popular and fun to drive. For me the key things are that I wanted the v6 Honda engine as it is extremely reliable and I have worked on them before (my wife owns a pilot), and I wanted 4 doors as I have 3 kids. The only way to get a manual transmission in v6 accord is to go with the 2 door coupe. The other big thing for me is that in the “luxury” brands the Acura’s are by for the cheapest to work on bc it’s driving components are Honda. Parts are cheap and there are plenty of videos on how to fix almost anything on YouTube. I would recommend to anyone, especially someone who wants to be able to work on their own car and that wants something sporty yet extremely reliable. Also there are not many cars in the standard transmission with this kind of power without going way up in cost, or sacrificing reliability. Great car I thoroughly love driving!