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Most Recent|2015 Acura TLX 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl 8AM)
Biggest complaint is the electronics controls. Not too intuitive and much too complex. Second area of concern is front seat. It is not adjustable for height. I use a cushion to gain enough height to see curvature of hood. ( I am 5' 10" ). I have been a driver since 1948 and have owned a number of cars. Note: when the transmission is very cold, you can expect some rough shifts until it warms up. Another point, I bought the car in North Carolina and drive it home to New York, The instrumentation indicated 34.7 MPG on Interstate driving mostly I95.. Speed limit in NC is 75mph! LOL
2015 Acura TLX Technology Package 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
Variable Cylinder Management needs improved engineering to stop annoying vibration when cylinders are cutoff to improve gas management. Vibration is similar to rumble strips (slight) or eroded asphalt. Hopefully Acura corrected this annoying vibration in the 2016 and later models. Shifting is a little edgy, but assume early recall corrected shift issue between 2nd and 3rd gear. Have not noticed the problem reported by other reviewers and did notice recall for this issue had been performed by previous owner. Great car otherwise, very quiet, with typical Honda non-intuitive electronics that takes awhile to become proficient with. Purchased from Audi dealer as the local dealer (Napleton) leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly not the high-quality, trustworthy dealership provided by the previous owner.
2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD w/Advance Package 4dr Sedan AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
I owned an '07 TL and absolutely loved it. So I went in fairly sight unseen to get what I hoped would be a step up from the older model. I was disappointed to learn they had eliminated the standard V6. Not wanting a 4 cylinder, I ended up selecting an in-stock 2015 V6 SH-AWD Advance. After owning it for three years and 36k miles, I'm trading it in, and here's why:
1. Vibrations!!!! Little did I know the V6's Variable Cylinder Management system runs on 3 cylinders probably 90% of the time. Any time you are in a light cruise (basically settling into speed on almost any road type, when tach settles around 1500 rpm), the car produces a vibration similar to going over light rumble strips. Much of the time you live with a low rumble you feel through the steering wheel and pedals. Honda designed complicated active engine mounts to cancel these vibrations, and Honda even issued a YouTube video describing this phenomenon as "normal operation." There are aftermarket gadgets that can circumvent this system and keep it V6, but they will void your warranty. Honda needs to make VCM user-switchable.
2. More Vibrations!!! Fairly strong resonance right at 72-76 mph, right at interstate cruising speed; feels like unbalanced wheels. My dealer spent two days balancing, rotating, and force-balancing the wheels, to no avail. So basically there's constant vibration while on the interstate, which is unacceptable in a $43k luxury car. I'm not dropping a grand on new tires to hope it goes away.
3. Awful transmission, awful push buttons. Extremely sluggish shifting from P to R or D. Shifting among the first 3 gears is abrupt and needs re-programming. In Sport + mode, paddles take a good two-count from action to actual shift. Forums are full of unfavorable commentary on the transmission.
Those things were the deal-killers. Some minor irritations:
4. If you're within several hundred feet of a car in front of you, the car will not downshift and accelerate to allow you to merge into a faster lane. Your foot feels like it’s going into a marshmallow and the car isn’t reacting. A safety nanny that actually puts you in jeopardy or forces you to follow that slow truck.
5. If you're coming out of a turn, the car will not downshift and accelerate until you're out of the curve and going straight. Nice and minivan safe, but hardly sporty-sedan worthy.
6. Auto-Braking system will often flash and even apply the brakes if you approach a right hand curve with an oncoming car on a two lane road. Extremely unsafe. This system needs refinement and reprogramming. Perhaps it's been improved since the 2015 model.
7. The stereo has weak bass response. You can get almost decent bass by turning up the bass and sub gains all the way, but that shouldn’t be necessary. The overall quality and imaging is very good; Bluetooth sources and XM are easy to use.
8. The HDD CD storage system puts gaps between every song, and you can't reorder titles after they're loaded. Pink Floyd and many others don't work with gaps between the songs.
9. Flat screen often requires two button hits for functions. Dangerous to take eyes off the road for that. Climate control functions should have tactile buttons.
10. The Nav loses minor roads as you zoom out. Other cars have systems that keep the detail on zoom-out.
11. The headlights sure look cool but have a very sharp cut-off not backfilled with the high-beams on rural roads. This leaves a light-dark contrast line that leaves you wanting more light up high. The fog lights look cool from the outside but offer no additional illumination to the driver.
12. The Engine Auto-Off is irritating, and shuts the engine off immediately after coming to a stop. Annoying at stop signs and in traffic. However, it is switchable with a button. Wish VCM had such a button.
There are things I really like: The SH-AWD system inspires confidence in all weather and pulls like a tractor in snow. Seats are very comfortable, fit and finish is very good, cabin is very quiet, vibrations notwithstanding. Phone sync and use is simple. Storage is decent and trunk is roomy although it could use tie-down rings. Handling is outstanding and nicely weighted. Heated and ventilated seats are great. And when you do want it to really go, after it selects a gear, decides how many cylinders to use, if no one is near you, and you’re not already rolling on a curve, the car goes like a rocket.
2015 Acura TLX Advance Package 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
Greatly enjoy driving this car. Very comfortable yet sporty. Hopefully Acura can update the antiquated display on future models. Very happy with the car.
2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD w/Technology Package 4dr Sedan AWD (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
This is my second Acura. First was the sporty 2007 TL. The TLX has a less of a sporty feel, but instead that very solid feel of a very well-made car. Overall I have liked it. Good acceleration when in sport mode. AWD has been sufficient for Boston-area driving all winter. Ride and steering are firm and comfortable but not sporty. Gas mileage averaging 27 mpg. I bought this because I like a really good car that looks "understated high-end." I'm not into the ostentatious, showy wealth thing. Has served me well. The only place where this car really disappoints is in the nav/entertainment system. The maps for the nav system are poorly designed and very hard to read. I abandoned using this almost immediately and use an app on my phone instead. Similarly, the entertainment interface is really bad. The displays are large and good, but they display almost no information. And the controls are very poorly designed. It's hard to figure out how to scroll through radio stations without getting the manual out. Plus the CD reader that was supposed to load and hold all my music on the car's hard drive, couldn't read the titles of 90% of the CDs I loaded, so it's impossible to search for a title or even album in most cases. Again, I rely on Bluetooth from my phone, which works fine. The only other thing that is a little annoying is that the front-facing BRAKE alert seems to see mostly ghost vehicles and at random times. Glad it's not set to automatically stop the car!