FBomb24

Hello all,
This is my first post and not quite the topic that I wanted to introduce myself with. Sorry about that!! I purchased an 09 TL-AWD Tech on Tuesday for my wife with 63k on it. The dealer (it is an Infinti dealer) that we got it from offers a 5 day 250 mile return and I'm at 4 days and 240 miles. When I took it out tonight I was going thru the menu and clicked on the Message tab and it gave me code P0843 and said that my transmission may not be working properly and that I need to take it to the dealer. I didn't notice any slippage or lag in the transmission and it will shift manually up and down through all of the gears without any hesitation or jerkiness. I do know that the torque converter was replaced at 49,423 according to the Car Fax report.

So my question is, what are the chances that this is a message from awhile ago that never got cleared? How long will the system store a message? Should this be cause for major concern? My wife loves the car and I'd hate to give it back over something that just got overlooked but at the same time I really don't want to have to get into tranny issues in the first week. The dealership did provide a 2yr 100k warranty as it is a Certified Pre-Owned but the tranny coverage is only for "Transmission case and all internal Lubricated Parts; torque converter; flex plate; vacuum modulator; and transmission mounts."

I will be calling them in the morning and finding out what options they present to me. I live about 140 miles from them so if they want to play hardball I'll gladly strap it up on a trailer and deliver it right back to them. I just don't want to be hasty in doing that if it's not necessary.

Your thoughts and expertise are greatly appreciated.

Tonyware

The dealer that did the torque converter should provide warranty for their work. Not sure of the duration or miles. Check with them.

According to the shop manual P0843, the computer detected that the transmission fluid pressure switch A for the 2nd clutch is stuck off. Best case scenario: when the dealer re-assembled everything they didn't firmly plug in the harness connector for the 2nd switch. Worse case scenario: that switch and possibly more of them have gone bad. If you put the car in "S" and slow down from 3rd or 4th gear and stop, see if the transmission starts in 1st and not in 2nd. You can tell by "feeling" the torque generated by the 2nd gear (much less) than in 1st. Start slowly and try to feel it.

To find the 2nd clutch switch, look directly below where the throttle body bolts-on to the intake manifold. Just check if the harness is connected properly and there are no cracks. It may be the case that some connector or wire got damaged during disassembly or assembly. Tricky to find but maybe worth inspecting the entire harness.

Regardless though, I think you should give the car back because it appears the work done to replace the torque converter may be questionable. Who knows what else they did or didn't do right.

Just some random thoughts...

FBomb24

Thanks for the response Tonyware. The dealer that did the torque converter at 49k was an Acura dealer in the same town that we bought it from...140 miles away. I'll check with them to see what their warranty coverage is. The car was then sold at 61k to the Infiniti dealer that we purchased it from.

I'll inspect the entire harness and pressure switch for any obvious signs of failure and also run the tranny through the the gears slowly as you described to check things out as well.

Thanks again for your help.

ncxvtguy83

iTrader: (1)

Goodluck. I have the same year and model and enjoy the car a lot. If the tranny, etc. Is covered either through Acura or Infiniti. I would consider keeping it if you got a good deal on it and assuming no mechanical or operationak issues now. Like you mentioned, the message code might have been before the warranty work was done. If you check the messages, there's usually a date to the right of it so you can see if it was pre or post the tranny work.

If you were to get another used car, and no codes were present, doesn't mean something won't pop up just a few weeks short. My point is, the good thing would be If you're still covered under warranty. Check with Acura and Infiniti to see how many years and miles of warranty you have remainning for the engine and transmission. Make sure you have verbal and written confirmation of any warranty guarantees in the event of warranty claims. Goodluck my friend.

FBomb24

Update...So I called the Acura dealer that replaced the torque converter and they only offer a 12 month 12k warranty which are both past. They can't tell me if the code is from earlier without having the car in their shop. There is a date on the message code but that date is Jan 1, 2007. Uh...the car wasn't even conceived then! So after speaking to them I called the Infiniti dealer and spoke with my salesman. I went over everything with him and he talked with his manager about it and they say that they will take care of everything no matter what it entails. They will also waive the mileage restriction if I need to return the car which we don't want to because we did get a good deal and everything else is in great condition.

Infiniti told me to bring the car back to them at anytime this week and they will give me a loaner until they can get the TL into the Acura dealer on Wednesday to get checked out. I will definitely make sure to get any warranty guarantees in writing just to be safe. It certainly is nice to work with a dealership that stands behind their name and product.

JT4

^^ Nice to see that the Infiniti dealer is taking care of this for you.. Keep us posted and good luck..