ltommylel

Hello guys! I just want to say thank you again for everyone on this forum whom help me purchase a new TLX a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately mine is starting to have that hard shift problem now. It's strange to see a brand new car jerk between 2nd/3rd gears and its a quite a nuisance. It's more noticeable when it tries to shift around 2500 - 3000 RPM. It doesnt jerk as much when it shifts beyond 3000 though . I'm bringing it into the dealership this wednesday to have them take a look at it and was wondering if everyone who has this problem can give me a few pointers and answer questions like:

Was your dealership about to resolve the problem?

Is it a software issue? I read on another thread that a selected few shift problems were smooth again after a software update.

Is there a diagnostics fee when I bring my car in for them to look at it?

ConradValmont

For the software update, what is your VIN number (or range)?

ltommylel

19UUB2F59FA007804 is the vin number

wlkeel

And no, there should no diagnostic fee - this is a warranty issue which they should be familiar with.

2011TL

My dealer was able to replicate the problem and admitted there is a problem. After contacting Acura they reported there is no fix for the problem.

Be prepared for your dealer saying this is "normal".

Stew4HD

*sigh* Acura will apologize too!

Quandry

No fee for investigation or applying a few if one is ever released.

Do you experience it equally in all IDS modes? Does it only occur for the first 5-10 minutes after starting the car in the morning (or sitting idle for half a day)? What is the outside temperature?

Quandry

There is an innocuous reference in the latest TSB 15-038 dated July 25, 2015 that refers to hard shifts and hesitation. There is a small chance that this might be the silver bullet many have been waiting/hoping for. Who will be the first to get this installed and report any differences. Don't get your hopes up too high though!

Stew4HD

We've been pushing on Acura pretty hard. It's be wonderful for them to fix this, or at least make it better!

I washed mine this morning so I could get closer to her again

Hoosier_TLX

I just posted a reply in Stew's thread about that TSB. Let's hope that it is the "magic BB" for all the owners dealing with shift related issues.

ltommylel

Yep. I feel the shift on all modes and it happens every shift within the first 5 to 10 min like you said. After the car finally warms up, the hard shift is still there but only happens occasionally instead of constantly.

Temperature here is quite warm(70 to 80) throughout the whole day and gets hot(90+) randomly. I live here in the bay area of northern california.

Quandry

That is pretty much what I expected to hear. The difference between initial shifting and after the car has warmed up is puzzling. Mechanical tolerances or oil temperatures should not have this effect, and it seems more likely that it software that changes the bite points based on operating temperatures.

Rocket_man

It may be time to come to the realization that these behaviors of this transmission is based on the mechanical design and just can't be fixed with software. If there was a software fix I have to think it would have been done by now. If there is no software fix, and this is in fact just the way this transmission is, I don't think this bodes well for the future of this car. I looked on Acura's Facebook page and there are complaints about this transmission all over the place. Not just people from AZ, but non-enthusiast. Once this car gets a bad rep in the mainstream they won't be able to give them away.

Let's hope this is not the case. I'm still hoping that there will be some update in the 2016's. Some modification of the ZF may be needed. If buying this car is a crap shoot to see if it develops transmission problems within a few thousand miles, it is not going to be worth it. It is bad enough for Honda/Acura to sell a car whose transmission goes bad after 60,000 miles, it is another to live with a goofy transmission after 500 miles.

Meanwhile the 2016 Accord Touring offers a lot for the money. No it may not be as refined as the TLX, but it has a reliable 6 speed tranny.

Hoosier_TLX

^^^ I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there's probably some squirrely, malnourished, sleep deprived little software engineer all jacked up on no-doze and energy drinks sitting in his basement (which used to be a corner) cubicle staring at the shift point programming that has been told he won't see daylight until Stew stops posting comments on Acura's Facebook page!!

But in all seriousness, I can't imagine anyone WANTING to fix the nightmare that is the bad press on an otherwise wonderful car than Acura and or ZF. They know that with all the bad publicity it will only hurt them so if they don't address it, then it's manufacturing suicide.

I do think it will get resolved and the TSB from earlier today may be just what was needed.

mojo_79

Acura is aware of the problem, there is no fix. Any vibrations and shaking between 70-75mph?

mojo_79

I'm a hardware engineer and work closely with many software engineers. Acura has had an entire year to fix this and it hasn't happened yet. If this were a software issue, it would have been fixed long ago. This IS the 2015 ZF 9-speed transmission. Maybe future versions will perform better but in my opinion we are stuck with this... There is no software fix.

mondster

They officially released an update on all V6's that covers the hard shifting, surge, etc. Called my guy and he confirmed; even gave the TSB number. Have mine scheduled for update next week. Hoping this fixes all, or if not, most of our tranny woes

ltommylel

Where are you guys seeing the TSB update? I cant seem to find it.

mojo_79

So this was released just yesterday? can you provide a link to the TSB? Thanks.

Momyc

Here :
https://acurazine.com/forums/fifth-g...letins-914607/

ltommylel

For those whom are lazy to read through the other forum. I have the direct link to the TSB for you guys here.

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B15-038.PDF

I plan on printing this out and bringing it with me on wednesday when I see the dealership. Anyone want to take a bet they'll disregard it????? LOL

kongx7

I started noticing my hard shift around 500 miles too. Wasn't as bad but then after 1200 miles it was more noticeable.

after a month of ownership I received an email to take a survey about my experience with the car. It asked about the hard shift issue and hesitation between gears. I made sure i addressed my issues clearly and great detail. I hope this survey gets addressed soon especially since the car has been out for a year already. And I'm sure thousands of owners have taken this survey as well.

weather

I had read somewhere, and can't find the link, that Acura had used teh 9 speed unit from ZF as a stop gap measure until their 9 speed DCT (in house) can be used. Do you guys think there is any truth to this?

mojo_79

Until people get this update and verify that the transmission is fixed, I'm still very skeptical.

ATXTLX

mojo: You were right to be skeptical. This is not the fix we were hoping for. This is the same update that most of us received months ago that actually made the transmission worse. I cannot believe Acura released this. (This is per my service manager, this morning.) She also refused to plug my car in to make sure nothing changed with the update. I am so fed up with this.

csmeance

I doubt it as the 8spd DCT wasn't used in the V6 as it couldn't handle the power. Unless they beefed it up and can fit with the v6 engine layout then I doubt it'll be changed from the ZF 9spd. They might swap out to the 8spd that ZF offers and is very rock solid (used in BMW from 320-760!)

Rocket_man

Keep in mind that the dealership has to download the latest HDS version (the one referenced on this TSB) or it will not show up when they connect your car. I'd call the service department, or ask specifically if they have the HDS version in this TSB.

I really really hope this is the fix everyone is waiting for, but until I see someone put several hundred miles on this fix with no issues I won't believe it.

I read over on ToV that they are working on... are you sitting down?... a 10 speed transmission. Argh. Have they learned nothing? Of course who really knows til it happens. How can they ever trust ZF again? Fool me once...

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I read the same thing as Weather and I too can't find the link. That said - the NSX is getting a DCT so it's not beyond the reach of the Honda engineers to design one to handle the increased torque.

chris03tl

Design - yes

Handle - remains to be seen

Has there ever been a whole generation of vehicle where a Honda automatic mated to a V6 havent had issues?

Quandry

Has there ever been a high volume production car model that has never had an issue?

chris03tl

True.

I should have clarified.

When has Honda/Acura had a V6 attached to an automatic that didnt have MAJOR issues. Like, had-to-extend-the-warranty level issues. And "the only way to fix it is to replace it" issues. And "we didnt actually fix the problem but we're onto a new generation vehicle so lets just pretend it never happened".

(You can tell Im a disgruntled victim of the early 2000s Accord and TL transmission issues)

You would think after having such issues before they would err towards being conservative with what transmissions they use, like the 6AT in the RL that hasnt had any major issues and is, by now, mature enough that it will stand some miles.

But instead they use a third party 9AT, or come up with their own design thats a hybrid of two technologies (remember, they designed the transmission that had all the problems in the early 2000s too). There are plenty of places to be groundbreaking, I wouldnt pick an automatic transmission to be the one.

Rocket_man

I got stuck with a failed Honda transmission too and don't want to go through that again. I hope they get this figured out but at this point I don't believe much that Acura says.

chris03tl

Yeah, its honestly beyond me why Honda feels the need to push the bleeding edge when it comes to transmissions. I know, CAFE, etc but again they dont really have many engines that suck so much gas that they need to squeeze every mpg out of every other vehicle in their lineup.

Stick with the 6 speed that just works. I dont know who makes it (Jatco? someone else?) but it seemed like they finally got one right and then decided it needed to be replaced.

And them designing their own....I think that has the potential to turn out even worse than the ZF 9 speed.

ltommylel

I took my car in today for the TSB 15-038. The shift between 2/3 is still noticeable but its a lot smoother than what it was before I took the car in. It's more bearable in my opinion . I will update the condition within the week to see if my car goes back to its bad habits.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

people always mention about getting info from their guys but none of these guys actually exist. Until you get a real update from Acura, otherwise dont even mention about your guy or the sales person.

mondster

Smart and very well-thought post!!!

weather

I agree, the fact that the NSX will get a new DCT unit, it is not beyond the realm of possibility to see that unit being dropped in the RLX and the TLX...especially with all the issues they are experiencing with the ZF units.

chris03tl

One of the big purported advantages of the ZF 9 speed is how compact it is.

Im thinking the DCT in the NSX is not going to be as compact, so it might require some creative working to try and shoe horn it in. Not saying its impossible, but I would think Acura would give the ZF a few more tries before resorting to a different transmission.

And the fact they have it in other vehicles (MDX and now new Pilot), tends to make you think they REALLY want it to work.

ATXTLX

The folks over at Acura Ukraine are probably mistaken, but their website shows the 9 speed as having a DCT.

?????????????? (For some reason the Acura Ukraine site comes across as a bunch of "?"'s. Strange...



Тип сцепления DCT Многодисковая гидромуфта
Тип трансмиссии 9AT
Передаточное число:
1 передача
2 передача
3 передача
4 передача
5 передача
6 передача
7 передача
8 передача
9 передача
задняя
главная передача 4,712
2,841
1,909
1,381
1,000
0,808
0,699
0,580
0,479
3,830
3,5

ltommylel

It's been about a week since I had the TSB update... I still feel the 2nd/3rd shift but I think I'm beginning to get used to it and it doesn't bother me as much anymore since it's not as a bad as it was before the update. The only thing to get it to shift smoothly all the time is if the rpm is around 3500-4000 while its shifting to 3rd. Burn some gas to have a smooth shift? I think its a good trade off.