The “I’m a grown up now!” 2015 Acura TLX review

"Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras" (jegoingout) 11/12/2018 at 09:35 • Filed to: None

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One tank of gas down, it’s time for a review but first some back story. The Si was on jack stands a week or so ago and I spent several hours under it to fix one of the many nagging issues , but that was the final straw for me. I had been eye balling this TLX for awhile now and decided to stop by on the last day of the month. I don’t think i’ll ever get as good of a deal as I did ever again on anything.

The engine: yay back to J series life! The first generation of the TLX got the J35Y6 (Earth Dreams) series of engines; it produces 290 HP and 267 lb-ft. It feels more than capable to move this rather large and heavy car. It’s no where near as happy to rev as the J32A2 from my TL Type S...but it’s not trying to be a “sport” sedan.

The transmission: Let’s get to the elephant in the room. The TLX SH AWD cars recieved the ZF 9 speed gearbox, not the dual clutch found in the 4 cylinders. There are a LOT of well documented problems with this transmission and of course Acura doesn’t want to admit it has an issue. Many people have issues with a very jerky shift between 1-2 and 2-3 and while yes these issues did worry me, I can safely report I havent had an issue. Worst comes to worst, it’s power train warrantied till 12/25/2022.

On another note, I think 9 gears is far too many personally, but the only time it’s really hunted for gears is going up hill. The car is eager to just dump itself into 9th gear in Eco and Normal mode, Sport it seems content to go no higher than 6th and Sport + is the same. The paddles are useless, but maybe I’m spoiled due to driving Ferrari’ s or Porsche’s where hitting a paddle means instant shifts.

The interior and the toys: I havent had such a comfortable car...ever. The seats are well cushioned but I wish they had better side bolstering. The interior feels luxurious but again, I’m coming from a car where there wasn’t an ounce of comfort so I’m easy to please. Oh and heated seats on a morning where it was 32 degrees is WONDERFUL.

My car has the technology pack, so I get a rather nice list of features:

Navigation with real time traffic

ESL 10 speaker sound system

Forward collision warning (which has a mind of its own)

Lane keeping assist

Blind spot information system

GPS linked climate control

Rain sensing wipers

Stop start (fuck this feature)

Overall: I think this was a perfect buy for what I needed, a comfortable daily driver. While I do miss having a car with a more “sporty” pedigree, I can just scratch that itch with whatever sits in my jobs warehouse if needed.

Plans for the future: none, nope, I bought a car I cannot cheaply/easily mod. Thank god. The only thing I did find interesting was on the Acura accessories page, the diamond cut 19” wheels...but that’s not happening for a long time

TylerJ > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 09:39

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How many miles are on that transmission? BMW owners who complain about the ZF 8 speed usually are near 100k miles and have never had the transmission fluid changed (ZF recommends 65k intervals). I bought mine with 40k on it and I can definitely feel a difference in shifts from then to now (105k), but the parts are on the way to have the fluid changed. I really love this transmission though.

Also, my ZF 8 ignores any gears above 6 when it is in Sport or Sport+.

I’m looking at getting an TLX SH AWD or GS350 for a replacement for my 328i. Whenever that time comes. Hopefully in like 6 years.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > TylerJ 11/12/2018 at 09:46

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23,xxx; barely broken in

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 09:50

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That center console shot of lovely. Big bulky  shifters in automatic cars need to die a long over due death.

LongbowMkII > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 09:55

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Have you considered a tasteful cat back exhaust? :P

TylerJ > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 09:56

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Oh. Well I tried!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 10:05

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It's kind of nice to have a car you have zero doubts about breaking or failing anytime soon. 

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > LongbowMkII 11/12/2018 at 10:08

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Yeah it’s like $1,899 :(

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/12/2018 at 10:09

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Its nice to have a warranty as well

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 10:17

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I’m happy for you, young man. Oh excuse me — ADULT OLD FELLA

What kind of fuel economy are you getting?

LongbowMkII > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 10:18

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Oh in that case get a genuwine Mugen Spoon2 R muffler on eBay and booger weld it in.

VTEC

Chariotoflove > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 10:38

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Nice find. Welcome to luxury life. 

TDIGuy > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 10:52

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I have always thought these were good and under rated. I always thought that ZF made good boxes so does that mean all the documented transmission issues are related to the tuning and not the durability ? 

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/12/2018 at 11:00

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Absolute shit, it’s averaging about 20.2 mpg’s

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > LongbowMkII 11/12/2018 at 11:00

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Vtec bro

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > TDIGuy 11/12/2018 at 11:01

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Its all software issues to my knowledge; some people have Acura actually replace the gear boxes 

TylerJ > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 11/12/2018 at 11:06

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At first I hated them, but the on dash rotary shifters the Ram trucks use seem amazing as far as sapce-saving goes and getting them out of the way since they don’t mechanically do anything anymore. I do really enjoy the “shifter” in my BMW though.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 11:13

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interstate366, now In The Industry > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 11:58

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That’s surprising...that’s exactly what I get with my less fuel efficient engine and fewer gears.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/12/2018 at 12:12

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What’s your commute look like?

interstate366, now In The Industry > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 13:09

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Suburban hell, though only 2 miles in each direction.

LongbowMkII > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 13:19

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Bad software can damage hardware 

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/12/2018 at 14:05

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Same, but my round trip’s like 10 miles

interstate366, now In The Industry > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 15:49

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I definitely noticed a difference between the paddles on the TLX and my TL. The TL isn't supercar instant, but the delay is nowhere near what the TLX's is. Both are definitely upgrades over a TSX, but I wouldn't trade my TL in on a TLX.

Tapas > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 16:06

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Congratulations on the a wesome purchase! :)

Hope to see this post from you a week from now - I LS SWAPPED THE ACURAAAAAAAAA!

You can’t stop aging but you never have to grow up :D

firemedic2714 > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 20:25

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Why would you take that view when you could have this one?

I apologize for the leaves, hair scrunchy, and ponytail holder. This is my wife’s DD. 2011 TL SH-AWD 6MT with tech and HPT packages. Acura put manuals in TLs up to 2014 and they were all SH-AWD, too. It took us a couple of months to find this one and have it shipped to us, but totally  worth it. They're still out there.

OmerCarrothers333 > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/12/2018 at 21:59

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have fun trying to swap out those touchscreens for aftermarket models.

rydeezy > Chariotoflove 11/13/2018 at 03:18

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you consider an acura the "luxury" life?.. you poor soul...

GlenK > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/13/2018 at 11:31

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You can either have torque or instant rev matched shifts. My wife dailies a TLX DCT and it is a lot of fun and hard to get a ticket! Slow car fast!

someoneatacura > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/22/2018 at 18:21

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There was the ATF Warmer leak, where ATF and Coolant would mix, which is what was causing transmission, and sometimes engine replacements . If your car qualifies for the recall get it done ASAP, o therwise you shouldn’t experience many issues. There might be some reflashes for the ECU, as the newer models have different transmission programming, but I’m not sure if it can be applied  to older models.

someoneatacura > TylerJ 11/22/2018 at 18:22

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Honda/Acura do not do transmission flushes, so the interval happens more frequently (roughly 48,000kms, but the maintenance system calculates it based on usage).

someoneatacura > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 11/22/2018 at 18:23

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Just a heads up, but when the Sub Symbol 3 comes on, prepare to fork out. In Canada, the ATF 3.1 used in these transmissions is $70/liter. I HIGHLY recommend you stick to the factory fluid, as it’s already been reformulated (used to be ATF 3.0).