2012 Acura TSX

10 years almost to the day

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Bought this car on 8/10/09 (Base Model). Turned 90,000 miles today. In the time I have owned it, it has never been in the shop for anything but normal maintenance. Changed the oil every time the MM told me to, which has averaged to be about every 8,000 miles. I have kept full records and have averaged 28.8 MPG over the life of the car. The interior is starting to show some wear and tear. The armrests are bubbling up on both front doors and the leather (?) seats are starting to show some small cracks. however, I live in AZ and high temps destroy all car interiors here. People can't believe that it is now a 10 year old car. Still get compliments on it. My biggest complaint is the ride. When the roads are less than perfect, every little bump comes through. The road noise is unacceptable for a semi-luxury car. I have tried different tires, but the only solution is to turn up the volume. That being said, I plan on keeping this car for several more years. I enjoy not having a payment and no sense getting rid of a car that has been as reliable as this one.

average car turned dream car

Thursday, July 25, 2019

I did not appreciate the car to its fullest value until I parked it at a hotel in Tennessee. There is a river flowing right by the parking lot. Banks, promenade, looked very nice. Until one nigt they had to let the dam go. Got a call from the front desk at 5AM letting me know cars are under water. Mine was parked nose up. The water had gotten passed the trunk line at the rear almost passed the front bumper upper line. so about 6" over the door thresholds. Kept doors closed until the water had slowly retreated as they finally contained the dam at about 8 AM. Opened the doors and started checking floorboards, etc. SAHARA BONE DESERT DRY. Need to say no more. Engine is soooo smooth. Not that much power, but great engagement. At 120K the car is straight as an arrow and runs triple digit speed speeds without hesitation. Repairs so far (other than maintenance): lower ball-joints (MI has 3rd world quality roads) - 118K A/C compressor mechanical failure - 118K. I did all the maintenance and consumables at a local Honda dealer and always used genuine parts from Japan. Changing oil myself using Mobil1 100% synthetic and Mobil1 or Bosch filters.

Best Car Ever Had

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Really only one drawback: Acura stopped making this wonderful smaller wagon. Been driving for over 50 years, lived in both rural Midwest and lived in huge metro areas like Chicago, LA, New York, and Denver. I’ve nearly always owned and drove station wagons, including Audi, Opel, BMW, VW, and Mazda. The 2011 Acura TSX SportsWagon is by far the best car I’ve driven. It gets 5 stars for comfort, economy, handling, and overall performance. It has near turbo like acceleration and a balanced setup that has made it a superior performer on country roads, high speed freeways, and congested intercity side streets. It has regularly gotten 34 MPH on high speed highways and never gotten below 20 MPH in highly congested LA side streets. The station wagon setup has been perfect for the occasional need for ladders, shoves, and hauling 15 bags of wood mulch from Home Depot. Thankfully, it is not a SUV. You almost need a step stool just to get into a SUV. Even my 4 foot 8 inch tall 92 year old mother can get into and out of the TSX SportsWagon. The only downsides have been that it performs best with higher octane gasoline versus lower grades and the front crawl is a bit too low and will scrape on the top of some parking spots curbs.