2011 Acura TL Consumer Reviews

Was looking for a daily driver to replace a '97 Lexus LS400. Even though the LS400 had just 100K miles, it was getting too expensive to maintain. Wanting something that performed like and was as comfortable the LS400. The deal breaker was that this replacement daily driver MUST have a manual transmission (the LS was only the second automatic I've ever owned). Drove 1,200 miles to get this TL SH-AWD Technology Package with 200K miles and couldn't be happier. I'm the third owner and the interior and exterior are still immaculate. As soon as I got it home, I changed all the fluids, brake pads/rotors, adjusted the valves and replaced the timing belt/water pump. All regular maintenance items for a car with over 200K. Also replaced all of the original, 12 year old suspension components. Compression and leak down tests were also impressive for an engine with so many miles. A true testament to the durability of Honda/Acura engines. The only non-regular repairs I've done is replace the shifter cables and one brake caliper. After driving it for an additional 37K miles, it's been bulletproof reliable, has surprisingly good MPG (21 combined) when driven "spiritedly", and impressive handling for a 12 year old car without active suspension. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it cross country at the drop of a hat and would enjoy every mile. I'll never sell my TL and my estate will have to deal with this car after I'm gone.

while bordering on uncompetitive as a new vehicle, It's an infinitely better 10 year old (+) car than an Audi or BMW.

I have been the sole owner of this car for ~12 years and just passed 200k! Anyone who says this car is not reliable didn't take care of theirs. I've changed the oil twice a year since I've owned it and the only incident I've had was my alternator going out once in 2021. It is a great car with easy handling, quicker acceleration than some sports cars, and very good gas mileage. My only complaint is the pleather they use for the interior is cheap and tears after a few years, but that has never been important to me.

I purchased it new. 13 years later and 180k miles all I ever did beside regular maintenance is replace the timing belt, tires and brake pads. It doesn’t get any better than this. Ride is excellent and handles great. Reliability at its finest.

Terrible resale value reputation, plus the transmission went out. Not a good experience buying this car pre-owned. Warranty, no coverage for vehicles over 105k Just a terrible mistake from this car. Other problems, engine lower crank seal is leaking oil. Another high expense. Don't be fooled just because it says Acura. All vehicles with higher mileage can be a tricky buy.

This car has better handling with all wheel suspension. Great using side paddle shifting in the mountains, low profile wheels, independent paddle control out of Drive. Very fast acceleration. I've had No mechanical issues. 2nd owner. 1115, miles interior design is still contemporary. This car was the flagship for Acura 2012 with all current and future electronics such as back view camera passing car indicator etc. Great car. Sold mine bought a new car. Grab one if ya can. If not beaten up by stupid driving..... the car is among the best I've ever owned, I've primarily driven BMW's

This car is a bit of a sleeper... It is comfortable enough on a long road-trip. It is sporty enough. It is fast enough. Just "enough". My previous car was a 2010 BMW 328i. On paper, the TL with SH-AWD has more power, holds more G's in corners, accelerates faster, is roomier... etc. This car also has softer suspension than that base 3-series. The downsides... It does not feel as quick. It is not as well built - e.g. the materials are not as nice nor as tightly put together. This car is less reliable. It burns oil - about one quart every other fill up. It gets worse gas mileage. It does not accelerate nearly as smoothly. The manual gear box feels a bit crunchy. Its "luxury touches" are not as well thought out. The "technology package" feels very dated today, and probably even felt a bit dated back in 2010. There are FAR too many buttons... I can go on with negatives. However, all in all, I do really like this vehicle. It costs quite a bit to keep running. Between the BMW and this, for a road trip, I will choose this TL every day (so long as the valve clearance has been adjusted in the past 30k miles). However, in short, this car is not sporty enough to compete with the likes of BMW, and is not luxurious enough to compete with Lexus. It's in a gray area. For day-to-day driving (I commute 70 miles each day, to and from work), I would much prefer the BMW. I would trade this back in for a similar year 3-series, however this car is far more unique (especially my manual transmission version) and I think has potential to punch way above its class. I plan on putting up with the tedious up-keep and eventually start to modify it to be a more fun car to daily drive. I do want to state one thing, for the car enthusiast. Acura has put in a "trick" AWD system into this car (hence calling it "SUPER-HANDLING")... What this does is puts as much as 70% (some sources say otherwise) to one wheel in the rear corner apposing the direction you are going around a corner. This is only used to correct/prevent under-steer. When I first started doing research on this, I thought it was to "make the car perform like a RWD vehicle, while being driven hard"... This is somewhat false. A RWD vehicle, when driving hard will let the back-end loose for a drift. This car does not want to drift. You can slide the back end out, but not enough to constitute a "drift" and you really have to be driving like a moron to get it to do so. For the cost of the upkeep and for me knowing that there are cars that are more reliable that are more fun to drive, I feel like I should mark this at 2 or 1 star. However, its a preference. I found just enough things to like about the car for me to give it 3 stars out of 5.

Have only really had to do routine maintainable for the entire duration of owning the vehicle aside from some costly repairs that were likely my fault due to my arrogant driving style at the time. I’ve read a lot of these reviews and disagree with the ones pertaining to reliability. This car has been extremely consistent, but you need to take care of it with preventive maintenance best practices because repairs can be pricey due to it being a luxury vehicle. That said though, as a consumer it should be understood about that on the front end though so I shake my head at a lot of these reviews and have to imagine that they’re not doing their part to take care of it. If you want cheaper repairs, get Honda or Toyota but if you can afford to buy this car you should be able to pay for the repairs if needed and likely avoid having them if you take care of it properly.