Since 1996, the full-size Acura RL has been Acura’s premier luxury sedan, replacing its aging Legend model after falling sales and unfavorable quality comparisons to other automakers’ full-size luxury vehicles convinced the company to embark on a radical redesign. Though the car continues to be built on the old Legend’s platform–in fact, the Honda Legend is still sold as that company’s full-sized luxury sedan in Japan–its powertrain and interior features were radically upgraded during the RL transition. The RL is unique among competitor vehicles for the novel positioning of its engine: its center-line is positioned parallel rather than perpendicular to the car’s axis, allowing for a shorter turning radius and creating a favorable weight distribution that increases acceleration and performance.
During the late 1990s, the rebranded RL drastically increased Acura’s luxury sedan sales and prompted the company to add a larger engine and state-of-the-art interior features including a new navigation system. After Acura completely retooled the RL for the 2004 model year in response to popular demand, the car boasted another first: a four-wheel-drive transmission capable of directing maximum torque to just one rear wheel, stabilizing the vehicle during high-speed turns and improving handling during inclement conditions.
Today, the RL remains the centerpiece of Acura’s luxury-car lineup. Though the model has received several rewards in its fifteen years of existence, drivers of older RL vehicles are beginning to report recurrent maintenance issues and signs of wear including worn-out suspension system parts, malfunctioning navigation systems, exhaust system issues, and loss of power steering. And because early RL trims were considerably heavy than the Legend sedans that they replaced, drivers of 1990s-era RLs have noticed excess wear on the vehicles’ struts and tie rods.
Left undiagnosed, these problems can be extremely costly and time-consuming to repair. To avoid unexpected repair bills that can set savings accounts back by months, smart RL drivers purchase extended warranties for their older vehicles. Acura RL extended warranties come in all shapes and sizes, from comprehensive plans that pay for nearly every common repair job to budget packages that protect against catastrophic work like transmission failures and engine rebuilds. What all extended warranties have in common, is the guarantee that they will deal directly with the repair shop for approved repairs so that drivers don’t have to pay out of pocket for repairs. Saving time and money has never been easier with an Acura RL extended warranty!