2004 Acura Tl

WITHIN A 24-HOUR PERIOD, NUMEROUS CRACKS APPEARED ON THE TOP OF THE DASHBOARD. MOST NOTICEABLE ARE TWO CRACKS THAT OUTLINE THE PORTION OF THE DASH THAT COVERS THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG. MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS CONDITION WILL AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE AIRBAG AND ITS DEPLOYMENT WHEN ACTIVATED IN A CRASH. THIS CONDITION COULD BE A DANGER TO THE PASSENGER. *TR

I HAD TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES TODAY TO AVOID HITTING A CAR. THE ABS KICKED IN LIKE IT SHOULD AND I HEARD THE CLICKING OF IT GOING ON AND OFF. I STOPPED IN TIME BUT NOTICED WHEN I STEP ON MY BRAKE NOW, IT GOES ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN BEFORE THEY START TO ENGAGE. II DID A SEARCH AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING TSB 07-041. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE! HONDA IS RECALLED THE ODYSSEY VEHICLES FOR THE SAME ISSUE. IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE IN 2004 THROUGH 2006 ACURA TL AND NO ACTION IS BEING TAKEN. THIS IS THE SECOND INSTANCE AT 64000 MILES. THE FIRST INSTANCE WAS AT 25,792 MILES (03/10/08) AND ACURA REPLACED THE VSA MODULATOR. VARIOUS ONLINE BLOGS REPORT OTHERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. *TR

THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS OF THIS ACURA TL WERE FAILING TO TURN ON WHEN PRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL OR WERE EXTREMELY DIM. ANOTHER DRIVER NOTIFIED ME WHEN HE NEARLY REAR ENDED THE CAR. THE PROBLEM WAS DETERMINED TO BE A FAULTY BRAKE SWITCH, WHICH SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE ON MANY (2004+) TLS BASED ON THE TL FORUMS. HONDA/ACURA HAS ISSUED A NEW REPLACEMENT PART WITH UPDATED PART NUMBER AS WELL. THIS PART SHOULD BE SWAPPED OUT ON ALL AFFECTED MODELS TO PREVENT REAR END COLLISIONS! *JS

WE PURCHASED AN ACURA TL IN 2013 AS A THIRD OWNER. WE LOVE THE CAR AND IS ALWAYS GARAGE KEPT. HOWEVER, ONE DAY SUDDENLY CRACKS STARTING APPEARING ALONG THE DASHBOARD ON THE PASSENGERS SIDE. ALSO, THE CRACKS PROPAGATED ALONG THE DRIVER'S SIDE TOO. WHEN I CHECKED ONLINE, I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS ISSUE. THERE ARE SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH THIS ISSUE. I CALLED ACURA AND THEY DID NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DEFECTIVE PART. I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE IN MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FROM UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY AND A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. I WORK WITH PLASTIC & STEEL COMPONENTS WITH DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING DAY IN DAY OUT. I CAN TELL YOU CONFIDENTLY THAT IT IS A 'DEFECTIVE' PLASTIC PART. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY FOR ME, IT'S THE SAFETY CONCERN I HAVE. IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT, I DO ANTICIPATE THE DASHBOARD PLASTIC CHIPS ACTING AS A SHRAPNEL AND CAUSING INJURY TO THE PASSENGER/DRIVER. I REALLY WISH YOU COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. APPRECIATE YOUR HELP. REGARDS *JS

MY SON PURCHASED A NEW 2004 ACURA TL FROM THE ELK GROVE CA DEALERSHIP WITH MONEY HE SAVED WHILE IN THE NAVY. HE HAS HAD THE CAR AND MAINTAINED IT THROUGH THE END OF LAST YEAR BUT HAS BEEN AWARE FOR AWHILE THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS IN NEED OF REPLACING. THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL (04V176000) APRIL 15, 2004 FOR POWER TRAIN TRANSMISSIONS LIKE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY SON'S CAR AND MOTOR TREND MAGAZINE POSTED THAT IT POTENTIALLY 1,000,796. WE BELIEVE THAT OUR SON'S CAR HAS THE SAME PROBLEM, WHETHER OR NOT THE VIN WAS IN THE EXACT LOT SELECTED FOR THE OFFICIAL RECALL. WHEN MY SON GOT OUT OF THE NAVY, HE MOVED AROUND QUITE A BIT WHILE FINISHING HIS BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS MATTER FROM ACURA AND DID NOT HEAR ABOUT IT OTHERWISE. WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE FREMONT, CA ACURA DEALERSHIP BUT THEY ARE REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY CULPABILITY OR REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, THOUGH THERE ARE OBVIOUS, WELL-KNOWN, HISTORICAL TRANSMISSION ISSUES WITH ACURAS. REFUSAL IS, OF COURSE, THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN CORPORATE AMERICA, BUT WE HATE TO SEE HIS HARD EARNED MONEY ($30K+) SPENT ON WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A HIGH-PERFORMING, LUXURY VEHICLE. *TR