[mahman]

I just picked up my TL from it's 2nd maintenance service at Acura. I have a few questions tho (I have a 2001 TL-P)

1.) Last time they used 5W30 oil. This time they put in 5W20 oil. In the manual and oil cap it states 5W30 is required. I went back to ask the mechanic after I read the receipt, and he said 5W20 is what they use on all TL's so it's fine. Is it really ok?

2.) They rotated and rebalanced the tires. I noticed that on the front right tire, they took off the balancing weight and did not put a new one on. Is it possible for a tire which previously needed a balance weight to not need one anymore?

3.) They did not fix my parking brake latching problem I mentioned in a thread last week. They said it worked fine when they tested it and told me that I just have to press harder on the pedal...all the way down. Problem is..I do!! Does anyone else here have a TL which requires you to press on the parking brake pedal "very" hard before it latches? In the past, I didn't have to.

4.) Back on the tire balancing issue...I also noticed that they left I big scratch on the rim where they removed the weight. Is that an inevitable thing when removing those weights? or is it their mistake?

Sorry for the long post...but I hope you guys can help.

 

[songoku]

1.) Last time they used 5W30 oil. This time they put in 5W20 oil. In the manual and oil cap it states 5W30 is required. I went back to ask the mechanic after I read the receipt, and he said 5W20 is what they use on all TL's so it's fine. Is it really ok?

YES!!

2.) They rotated and rebalanced the tires. I noticed that on the front right tire, they took off the balancing weight and did not put a new one on. Is it possible for a tire which previously needed a balance weight to not need one anymore?

There might be one inner side of the wheel. You just can't see it.

3.) They did not fix my parking brake latching problem I mentioned in a thread last week. They said it worked fine when they tested it and told me that I just have to press harder on the pedal...all the way down. Problem is..I do!! Does anyone else here have a TL which requires you to press on the parking brake pedal "very" hard before it latches? In the past, I didn't have to.

Not that I know of.......sorry

4.) Back on the tire balancing issue...I also noticed that they left I big scratch on the rim where they removed the weight. Is that an inevitable thing when removing those weights? or is it their mistake?

It really depends. Is it actual scratch or maybe it just leave the mark where it was. You have to look very closily.

Sorry for the long post...but I hope you guys can help.

 

[rominl]

1) yes, acura changed from 5w30 to 5w20 some time ago (early this yr i believe).

2) yes it's possible. i just got a new set of 19" for my other car, it was well balanced already. but somehow when i got them the front right wheel is way off.... it happens...

3) fyi i always have to press quite hard on the parking brake to latch it.... so i dunno if it's that way or what....

4) what??! where's the scratch? on the SURFACE of the rims or what? i thought for all these good rims the weights are always on the inner side of the rims? if it's scratched you should definitely take it back.... though it could be troublesome coz' you have driven the car off the lot....

good luck

I just picked up my TL from it's 2nd maintenance service at Acura. I have a few questions tho (I have a 2001 TL-P)

1.) Last time they used 5W30 oil. This time they put in 5W20 oil. In the manual and oil cap it states 5W30 is required. I went back to ask the mechanic after I read the receipt, and he said 5W20 is what they use on all TL's so it's fine. Is it really ok?

2.) They rotated and rebalanced the tires. I noticed that on the front right tire, they took off the balancing weight and did not put a new one on. Is it possible for a tire which previously needed a balance weight to not need one anymore?

3.) They did not fix my parking brake latching problem I mentioned in a thread last week. They said it worked fine when they tested it and told me that I just have to press harder on the pedal...all the way down. Problem is..I do!! Does anyone else here have a TL which requires you to press on the parking brake pedal "very" hard before it latches? In the past, I didn't have to.

4.) Back on the tire balancing issue...I also noticed that they left I big scratch on the rim where they removed the weight. Is that an inevitable thing when removing those weights? or is it their mistake?

Sorry for the long post...but I hope you guys can help.

 

[mahman]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I'll stick with the 5W20 oil, since the dealer now says they don't even stock 5W30 anymore.

As for the rims rominl, yes the scratch is on the surface under where the weight used to be. It's pretty deep..but only around 1.5-2cm long so it's not too noticeable. I guess the oem rims aren't designed that well...weights should be on the inner side. Maybe I'll just get better rims when I need to change tires in the future

 

[rominl]

well for the record i am still using mobile 1 5w30..... if you are not in areas with extreme temps in the winter, 20 and 30 don't mean much to you

and actually it's not about the oem rims, it's about where the weight was put. i don't know, but my weights are all on the inside of the rims..... coz' the surface is alloy and it shouldn't have weights there.

 

[songoku]

i don't know, but my weights are all on the inside of the rims..... coz' the surface is alloy and it shouldn't have weights there.

Mines are all on the inside because those are chrome lip. :bigok:

 

[rominl]

Mines are all on the inside because those are chrome lip. :bigok:

well i am sure if they put it on the surface of the rims you would have killed them all already

and same here, all weights on the inside of my 19"

 

[mahman]

I thought all TL's have the weights on the outside surface of the oem rims?

 

[Bebber]

1) I personally am still using 5W-30 and believe it to offer better protection for the SoCal climate. I doubt 5W-20 would be all that bad for you.

2)Yes, the balance of a wheel can certainly change over time. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to balance them periodically. correct?

3)The parking brake problem is not all too obvious. Mine was defective too and I just thought it was a bad design which might require 2 or 3 tries before it would latch. If you parking brake does not latch the first time when you depress it with one smooth motion at least 3/4 of its full travel, then insist that they replace the latching mechanism.

4)My OEM wheels have the HONDA brand weights on the outside surface. Yes, these can leave some scratches since vibrations will cause the two metals to rub a little. When the weight is removed, you'll notice the microscratches underneath. If the scratches that you sustained are larger than the size of the weight, then perhaps it was caused by the mechanics crudely prying the weight off the rim and slipping. If the damage looks like it was done due to their neglect, then by all means mention it, but I do think you're going to have a hard time proving it.

good luck. getting your car serviced at the Acura dealer should be a pleasant experience. It shouldn't make you feel like you're going to a boxing match instead.

 

[rominl]

I thought all TL's have the weights on the outside surface of the oem rims?

umm.... at least not on mine. mine is totally clean

 

[songoku]

umm.... at least not on mine. mine is totally clean

Even my stock 16' had weight inner side.

 

[mahman]

From my 2 experiences going to my Acura dealer for maintenance, I have not been all that satisfied. The first time I didn't know about the courtesy car wash and didn't specify not to wash my car. My TL was clean when I brought it in...and had dirty water stains all over it when they were done. They also parallel parked the TL outside on a steep incline with the rear bumber only 1cm from the EL parked behind. They also didn't use the parking brake.

I tried to argue about the parking brake lever latching problem, but the service advisor insisted that they inspected the cable and that it was calibrated perfectly. He went ahead to say that if I still had problems he would get into the car with me and demonstrate that it's okay. The problem for me is that it works on level ground...but not always on steep inclines (ie: my driveway).

Anyway, I think I found a way to help the lever to latch more easily. I have to push down very fast and far. In the past it would latch even if I pushed more slowly. I still have several years of warrantee left, so I'll get them to fix it eventually

 

[rominl]

well at lesat you have a way to work around the problem