Problem: Green "Drive" light blinking!
 

This malfunction is so strange that I don't know if I can explain it adequately. First off, car is VIN 17469, 5AT, two weeks old with 900 miles and no problems, till now. I was on offramp from highway doing around 65 when I flipped from automatic to manual. The lights changed but no gear light came on. The car acted as if it was still in automatic mode. No big deal, yet. I pulled over and shut it off and restarted it. I pulled onto the road and shut off the VSA just to see if that had anything to do with it. That's when all hell broke loose. Both VSA lights came on as well the check engine light and, get this, the green Drive indicator light was blinking! The car ran as though it was a manual with a bad clutch, sort of slipping. Pulled over and put it in park and the green drive light continued to blink. Yes, the red park light was on and the green drive light was still blinking! Parked it for about a half hour then started it and it is running OK but the check engine light is still on so it went straight to the dealer. Any ideas? I think I get the vote for strangest problem so far.

mruscitti, when I read the service manual, it said that if the drive indicator blinked, it was a malfuntion indicator for the tranny computer. You did the right thing by bringing it to the dealer right away.

Keep us posted!

Re: Problem: Green "Drive" light blinking!
 

nruscitti,

This is new to me. I never saw 04TL comes with this problem.

But, my 94 Legend had ever got green D light blinking. I had to replace the sensor in the tranny. But the solutions could be varied based on your issues.

Acura dealer should be able to find the answer after plugging the device to read the code your TL has saved in the ECU.

Good luck.

That's an odd problem, I haven't seen this one yet, either. Pretty sure it's isolated. Do keep us posted.

This was a cronic problem in the previous generation Tl and the last Generation Cl. It was a sign of transmission failure. Good luck.

Got the car back. It was a faulty 'shift Solenoid A' according to the dealer. There are four of them they said. So far, so good.

Good to know it's resoluble.

nruscitti,

Yep, four of them to do the shifting, glad to hear it was quick, from the svc manual, it looks like they come out easy from the outside of the tranny.

I know this is an old thread but I'm looking for a little guidance on a blinking D (Drive) light.

Good morning. I was about to purchase a 2005 Acura TL with 150,000 miles on it. One owner with all work done at the dealer. Dealer confirmed history of car and how well it has been taken care of, and that it's all highway mileage with the owner already putting 50,000 miles on his 2008 TL (I spoke to 2 separate techs there). The current owner brought the car in twice now for the green D light indicator blinking. He said no other signs (physical) from the transmission that there's a problem. Dealer both times said they couldn't find a problem, and the codes they read lead them to believe it's a sensor that's working intermittently, which is why they can't pinpoint exactly which one and fix it. Does this make any sense?

Should I be worried about having the transmission go completely and cost $5000 to fix (considering I'm paying $9000 for the car that would be insane to pay for repairs)? Or is the dealer correct that if it were a physical problem there would be other signs like grinding, noise, stuck in certain gears, difficulty shifting etc.? Thank you for your time.

Any experience with the Third Gen TL transmission failing completely and needing replacement? Or are these blinking D lights usually fixed with a sensor or other small repair?

Thanks,
Rashid

If I were you I'd just stay away. It's not like that is the only TL for sale around. There are plenty of cars out there and the last thing you need is a tranny issue!

A blinking D is a sign of an ELECTRICAL malfunction and should not be used to condemn a transmission.

Not bad advice.

Is it electrical? So if it were mechanical would you guys expect grinding, noise, stuck in gears etc.?

I wondered what the experience was on here for 2004/2005 TL transmission issues. I can't seem to find anybody saying theirs had to be completely replaced. Is that correct? Heard of anybody on here with a Third Generation having the tranny replaced? Or always a sensor, solenoid etc.?

I have done a few but not many. The blinking light usually means an open in a circuit. Youll need to have the A/T code pulled to point you in the right direction.

The weird thing is that 2 different techs at the dealership confirmed they pulled the code and can't pinpoint the problem. They don't think there's anything physically wrong. They think it's a sensor working intermittently and that is why they can't pinpoint it, but it will fail eventually and need replacement.

Sound logical? I was surprised the code didn't say specifically like "sensor A" or "Solenoid B" etc.

And by "done a few" you mean you've seen/done a few 04/05 TLs needing completely new transmissions? Ok, good to know.

Thank you all for your continued input.

Only reason I haven't given up is the price is very good, the guy is nice, the car is nice, full history one owner all done at the dealer who also confirmed it's in great shape.

Yeah they are few and far between. I would need a code to understand what they mean. Can you get it?

That would be great, thank you.

Just called the dealer.

He said it's been in twice for the blinking D. He checked the system and said both times they drove it, no physical issue, pulled the codes, and there wasn't any. So no codes, which is why they can't diagnose the problem. Tech said he's pretty confident it's going to end up being a sensor (maybe temp guage he said) since they don't feel or see anything physically wrong with it and if it were a specific sensor right now the code would point them to it.

Opinion please?

From what i learned from the accord forums, and my own back in the day, a blinking D light means the tranny is going. Have you had any eratic shifts or tranny staying on gear longer than usual.

The current owner described it as "once every 3 weeks or so the d light starts blinking and it looks/feels like the car is looking for a gear, so for example it will go from 5th to 4th, then back to 5th and does this for a few minutes then is fine for another 3 weeks."

Comments?

I am not 100 percent on the techs skill level. If the d5 light was flashing it may not have thrown a MIL. If he was looking for codes in PGMFI he may not have found one. He needed to look into the A/T menu. If the D5 light was flashing there should be a A/T code stored. I also have no idea what a temp gauge sensor is....................

If you have a pin fit issue or bad sensor this can happen due to the unexpected changes in signal voltages seen from the sensor that is malfunctioning. If the car is outta warranty I would definitely keep enough money for a trans in mind along with the purchase price. If the current owner has been driving it with the malfunction for some time even though it is currently an electrical issue it could cause irreversable damage to the internals. I would like a second opinion in the no trans codes thing though.

something isn't right if the code trips the CEL or trans light it is stored and it is retreivable.........

would you want to deal with this every 3 weeks is a good question. I sure as hell wouldn't

I'd say look for another TL, 150K on a TL is a lot of mileage, expect to do some maintainance like in a little bit of miles...

Here's the pics of the car:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3130970...7614076260714/

2005 with 260,000km so 162,000 miles. $8900 Canadian ($7100 US) including separate set of winter tires.

Damn blinking D, pretty good deal and the guy selling it seems like a good guy too. One owner putting 50,000 miles/year of highway driving.

Thanks for the input guys, if I have to budget in the cost of a new tranny I don't think the deal is worth it any more.

Like others said, if I were you I'd steer clear of this car. IF the transmission is going out, and you buy this car, with the money you're going to sink into it to replace the tranny you could have bought a used one with a lot less miles.

Like spectro said, in my experience, a blinking D4/5 light in combination with shifting problems usually indicates the transmission is on it's way out.

Thanks, guys. Decision made, I'm going to have to pass on the car. All your feedback is very much appreciated.

I've been a member since my 06 WDP TL and 02 RSX-S and I look forward to buying another Acura and coming back to the community.

Out of curiousity, what would a new transmission cost all in including labour out the door? Is new the only option, does Acura offer "reconditioned"?

3,000 to 4,500 depending how bad the dealer wants to rape u lol

Wow. I guess it's not like you can just buy a new transmission on your own somewhere...can you?

any info?

Hi,

Any info on what? Buying a transmission and having it installed elsewhere? Nobody responded saying that a transmission for these cars can be bought from anywhere other than a dealer...must mean it's a dealer only part.

its the trannie thats done? i have a friend who works in acura and has a type s trannie for sale if u want i can find out how much he wants

the blinkin light issue happened to me 1 time and i flushed the trans never happened again

If the picture of the engine compartment is any indication of how well it has been taken care of I would pass too.

That's incorrect. You could take the car to a place like AAMCO, and they could rebuild or replace the transmission for you. I'm not sure if it would be cheaper, or what the warranty is like from a place like that, but you could do it.

You could also pull a tranny out of a wreck and install yourself if you're mechanically inclined. But you're really rolling the dice if you do that, because you could very well be buying another bad tranny. Additionally, if you buy a tranny out of a wrecked vehicle, most likely you won't find a shop that will install it for you.

What year? How many miles on the car at the time?

05 56k