- Nov 12, 1999
- 6,389
- 29
- 91
I had put a deposit down on a new Pontiac GTO this past September and offered my Audi S4 for sale a month from my anticipated delivery date of late December. Unfortunately because of dealer shenanigans, my GTO was sold to someone else who evidently offered to pay above MSRP. Dealer slapped on wrist and Pontiac could do nothing for me other than "give me a deal" on one with the specs I requested but that has yet to actually arrive stateside as of today.
Would have been nice, but since I already sold my Audi to a friend whose lease was up, that would have meant nearly 3 months of sharing the Pacifica with the wife. Not gonna happen.
So I searched for something else and fancied the new Acura TL. Being a geek, the pretty blue lighting of the dash, bluetooth hands free phone profile, sweet sounding stereo, and smart looking interior sold me on the vehicle. I plunked down a deposit on a 6 speed model due for delivery in a few weeks and went home pretty happy.
2 weeks later I picked up the car. Unfortunately, because of terrible weather I was unable to give the car a proper shakedown prior to signing on the dotted line, but being the trusting soul I am, and firmly believing in Honda/Acura's reputation in building solid automobiles, I purchased the vehicle after only a short spin around the block in 4 inches of snow. It pretty much snowed for the next 2 weeks straight in these parts and I never really had the opportunity to hit even highway speeds.
When the weather finally broke and I was able to hit the pavement with some real velocity I was horrified by the massage my ass and hands were getting from what seemed like I was driving on square tires.
Took my car to the dealer to have the vibrations looked at and the tech apparently did everything he could to not detect my concerns (we are on the bumpiest road in southeastern Michigan and he says "I don't feel any vibrations other than the bumpy road). I politely asked the service moron to hit the nice newly resurfaced stretch of highway about a mile away from our current location. No kidding, when he gets the car up to 60 MPH he states "I don't feel anything" and I'm sitting in the passenger seat getting a nice 1000 fingers butt massage wondering how this moron doesn't feel anything when I notice he's got a more than firm grip on the wheel. I politely ask him to remove his hands from the wheel for a second and he pretends not to hear my request until I sternly ask again. Reluctantly he lets go of the wheel and it's visably shaking pretty violently. He knows he's busted and doesn't say a word for the rest of the trip back to the dealership. Of course now I'm wondering what's going on with this tech's behavior......
Long story short, after several attempts to fix my persistant vibration problems, I'm waiting on some new "reformulated" OEM replacement tires from my dealership. I've got 4000 miles on this car and the persistant vibration has started to cause several rattles and squeaks as the interior pieces start to seperate themselves from each other.
I find that I'm not alone in my grief as several have complained, also evidenced by Bridgestone attempting a fix for these OEM tires. Unfortunately, those who have received these new tires (just hitting dealerships this week) still complain of persistant vibration problems. So if it isn't the tires, what then? I asked my dealer to fit a different set of tires and wheels that are known to be good to my car and test it, but he flat out said, "nope, not going to happen, but we want you to be happy....." Hell, if you wanted to make me happy, you might actually take the 1 hour it would take to try my suggestion. Just a thought and would confirm if my issues are tire related or not.
All I can say is that for 4 years, driving my S4 was a joy. I actually looked forward to my commute to/from work (40 minutes mostly of back roads). Now I loathe driving this piece of vibrating rattle trap crap......and wonder about the obvious punishment the wheel bearings must be suffering.
Honda/Acura, you suck. I've started the lemon law process. I can't wait to get rid of this piece of crap.
Would have been nice, but since I already sold my Audi to a friend whose lease was up, that would have meant nearly 3 months of sharing the Pacifica with the wife. Not gonna happen.
So I searched for something else and fancied the new Acura TL. Being a geek, the pretty blue lighting of the dash, bluetooth hands free phone profile, sweet sounding stereo, and smart looking interior sold me on the vehicle. I plunked down a deposit on a 6 speed model due for delivery in a few weeks and went home pretty happy.
2 weeks later I picked up the car. Unfortunately, because of terrible weather I was unable to give the car a proper shakedown prior to signing on the dotted line, but being the trusting soul I am, and firmly believing in Honda/Acura's reputation in building solid automobiles, I purchased the vehicle after only a short spin around the block in 4 inches of snow. It pretty much snowed for the next 2 weeks straight in these parts and I never really had the opportunity to hit even highway speeds.
When the weather finally broke and I was able to hit the pavement with some real velocity I was horrified by the massage my ass and hands were getting from what seemed like I was driving on square tires.
Took my car to the dealer to have the vibrations looked at and the tech apparently did everything he could to not detect my concerns (we are on the bumpiest road in southeastern Michigan and he says "I don't feel any vibrations other than the bumpy road). I politely asked the service moron to hit the nice newly resurfaced stretch of highway about a mile away from our current location. No kidding, when he gets the car up to 60 MPH he states "I don't feel anything" and I'm sitting in the passenger seat getting a nice 1000 fingers butt massage wondering how this moron doesn't feel anything when I notice he's got a more than firm grip on the wheel. I politely ask him to remove his hands from the wheel for a second and he pretends not to hear my request until I sternly ask again. Reluctantly he lets go of the wheel and it's visably shaking pretty violently. He knows he's busted and doesn't say a word for the rest of the trip back to the dealership. Of course now I'm wondering what's going on with this tech's behavior......
Long story short, after several attempts to fix my persistant vibration problems, I'm waiting on some new "reformulated" OEM replacement tires from my dealership. I've got 4000 miles on this car and the persistant vibration has started to cause several rattles and squeaks as the interior pieces start to seperate themselves from each other.
I find that I'm not alone in my grief as several have complained, also evidenced by Bridgestone attempting a fix for these OEM tires. Unfortunately, those who have received these new tires (just hitting dealerships this week) still complain of persistant vibration problems. So if it isn't the tires, what then? I asked my dealer to fit a different set of tires and wheels that are known to be good to my car and test it, but he flat out said, "nope, not going to happen, but we want you to be happy....." Hell, if you wanted to make me happy, you might actually take the 1 hour it would take to try my suggestion. Just a thought and would confirm if my issues are tire related or not.
All I can say is that for 4 years, driving my S4 was a joy. I actually looked forward to my commute to/from work (40 minutes mostly of back roads). Now I loathe driving this piece of vibrating rattle trap crap......and wonder about the obvious punishment the wheel bearings must be suffering.
Honda/Acura, you suck. I've started the lemon law process. I can't wait to get rid of this piece of crap.
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