Nighthawk_UA6

Hey fellas, well as the title says, my 2006 Tl 5spd needs a new transmission with only 72k miles! I was on my way to work when I gave it gas to merge on the freeway the second gear wouldn't grab then after a sec it kicked in, it was as if I had dropped the clutch. After getting up to speed I managed to drive 18 miles just cursing keeping a constant speed at 70mph. Once I gave it gas to change lanes to exit, the Trans completely slipped as if it was in neutral. I managed to barely crawl from the off ramp light but once I got to the nearest intersection it wouldn't drive at all, drive not reverse. After towing it home and cooling, it managed managed to drive back n forth in the driveway but only for a minute.
I took it to my Acura dealer where I was quoted $3500 for a refurbished Trans and $1600 in labor and misc parts. Only thing is that since there was no CEL, they aren't able to know what the problem is, they just know I need a new transmission.
I imedeately contacted Acura to see if they were willing to help me out. I bought the car with 67k miles and being almost 8 years old at 72k miles I was 2years,2kmiles out of luck. Luckily I had a receipt of the previous owner doing an oil change and 3&4th gear switch service at 60k. Acura also took into consideration that I've been a loyal customer having owned civics, accords and currently a '14 accord coupe. I now received a call from Acura confirming they are wiling to cover the difference from 3k out of my pocket. Now I'm undecided as to what I want to do, I can get a new Trans at a dealer with 3/36 warrantee for $3k or a local shop quoted me for a complete rebuild with 2/24 warrantee for $2800. Yes it's only a $200 difference but what if it doesnt need a complete rebuild? The shop says it might just need the clutch packs and a few misc parts replaced and even with a "soft repair" it'd be $1700. Should I just bite the bullet and go with the dealer option or take a gamble and take it to a shop where it might be something cheaper?

dezymond

If Acura is willing to help you out, you should at least get it done at an Acura dealer. You've probably talked to a number of people at Acura already trying to find some help, return the favor and get it done at the dealer.

If you're going to drop $3000, might as well have it with OEM parts and covered by the manufacturer. I mean the price at the local shop is $200 cheaper, but that could quickly rise as well. If something were to go wrong, Acura would go and fix it I would think. If it goes wrong at the shop, one bad yelp review won't do anything or worse where you might end up having to fight for your money back.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Rediculous either way, lot of money. The Acura dealership doesn't know nor will they investigate the cause, they will just replace the trans, but for the $200 difference, I would just have them do a replacement, at least all new parts with a longer warranty. If someone guaranteed a replacement for $1700 with a warranty, then I'd go for it, but chances are that price will rise.

Nighthawk_UA6

I'm kind of clinging to a hope that it might not need a full rebuild, and I can potentially save some money. The only part gets me is that for $125 the dealer can't even tell me what's wrong with the transmission because Acura won't allow them to take apart the Trans

pohljm

I had mine replaced under warranty at 69k and then again @ 71k. These were factory replacements. No issues yet and I am at 103k. We have also had 3 in our Odyssey. Only one was on me. That one I had rebuilt. The factory transmissions have not been updated from what I can tell. The rebuilts have had modifications to the problem areas. I would torally go 3/36 from Acura, but they should be helping you out more.

YeuEmMaiMai

join the club, first CL-S trans at 71K, new 4th gear pressure switch at 137K

Acura-OC

Someone has posted here before that you can ask Acura for a rebuilt transmission for much less.

TacoBello

Brutal. I would honestly pony up the extra 200 bucks. That extra year of warranty might end up being well worth it. Why wouldn't you want a complete rebuild? Better safe then sorry. I highly doubt you'd stay at 1700 dollars with a soft rebuild. You never know what happened inside, or what is awaiting to happen.

Also, you have a maximum guaranteed price of 3k. 1700 is wishywashy at best, and ends up being just a sliver under 3k with less warranty. I would talk to acura to see if you can work out a better deal. Maybe a 50/50 split, since you've been loyal for years and- you want to stay loyal

TacoBello

Also, although your transmission is two years past warranty now, it is only 2000mi past warranty as well. As we all know, a transmission can sit for 50 years and work just fine, as long as the fluid is good. It's the mileage that can have a bigger effect, and in my mind you're just past the warranty period.

Ask acura to match the 2800 price and still keep the same warranty. Then you win all around.

Due_Diligence

So your saying that anything more than 3k acura will pay for or am I not understand this correctly? But if this is the case and you have the money I would've but the car in the shop already. I was quote nearly 5,500 to replace the tranny with a remanufactured one (3yr, 36,000) and about 4,300 for rebuilding one (1yr. 12,000)

This is from a honda dealer.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

^^Yup and I have been quoted up to a ballpark of $6k by Acura. I'd say you have a good deal. You have low miles so a 3/36 warranty will really pay off and is really worth it. Go with the Acura tranny.

I know $3k is a lot to swallow but look around on the forum and you will see that this pretty much the price of admission to the Acura TL club. These cars have tranny issues, a lot of people will tell you they don't, don't listen to them. Once you get it fixed understand the rigorous maintenance that is required and no owner's manual or MID guides you to follow. Yet Acura doesn't want to acknowledge this.

Instead of offering concessions to people who have been loyal to them with $1Ksss of service visits, what they actually deserve is a big FAT class action lawsuit. There are hundreds here with the problem and THOUSANDS more out there who aren't on AZine and get it fixed privately thinking it's just them. So who is keeping track of the statistics here?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

A lot of people are quoting that thread but look it up again. I followed up on it and it is only for most loyalist customers. If you are a DIYer like me, they aren't going to help you.

Nighthawk_UA6

So I've decided to give Acura the green light. Yes they will cover anything over 3k. I know service advisors are somewhat full of it, telling me this is the first time he's seen a 3rd Gen with a bad Trans. I'm still beating myself for not getting the 3/36 warrantee offered thru my credit union, it was about $1200 but oh well live and learn, just never expected from a honda! Good thing I got 8/120k warrantee on the Accord.
TacoBello, that was my exact argument when I contacted Acura, but I'm glad it was hassle free, pretty sure I wouldn't have received this treatment from The Big Three.

I don't want to turn this into another "what type of Trans fluid should I use", but how long into the new trans do you guys recommend for me to swap the Z1 fluid with some redline D4/Racing fluid?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Haha! WHAT? Read my thread, I was talking to a service manager at Acura (a complete dick.) and he said the SAME EXACT thing. He said they have NEVER had a 3GTL with a bad transmission ever. I was like "NEVER??" He said only 2GTLs. Yeah OK genius, well that is publicly and officially acknowledged.

He asked how I knew a lot of 3GTLs are having issues. I said well I'm on a forum and these are guys from all over the country and the topic comes up a LOT. He says: "Well that's the problem right there. How can you trust what you read on the internet?" I felt like saying "OK ASS, these are owners, why would they lie? lol. Why the freak would I trust you??"

So someone is coaching this jerks to lie about this and cover it up. All he wanted to do was blame me somehow. I told him my car has been overmantained and babied if anything. It's never been abused and I owned it since new. He pretty much rolled his eyes. Needless to say I was not comfortable with leaving my car in their hands, let alone ever go back to that dealership for anything.

Sadly we need them to do the work and cover stuff like this but I can't count the number of times I have been lied to at a dealership. They try coaxing your trust with free coffee and a smile. They will rip you whenever they can, it's their livelihood.

YeuEmMaiMai

The dudes at whitebear acura are pretty honest, they told me while not as bad as the 2nd gen, the quality is not really where they would like to see it.

Scottwax

You'd be nuts to go into a transmission with 72k miles an NOT replace every single wear item. It's like doing the timing chain but not replacing the water pump. See if there is someone in your area who does a lot of Honda 5AT's, not sure I'd trust Acura/Honda if they don't upgrade the transmission when they go through it and address the common issues in them. The shop that did mine does 190-220 a year and rebuilt it with a full master rebuild kit and added an aftermarket transmission cooler for $2600 parts and labor through my regular mechanic.

Due_Diligence

funny guy at honda said the same thing. "We've only had a couple" stfu

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Yea I agree. If they are gonna open it up and fiddle around with it I'd rather have a full job done.

Some are saying the rebuilt trannys from Acura are upgraded. This would be smart because it would be less pain for them to have to keep doing in-warranty repairs. Some are saying they're not upgraded which is more believable, why else is there a high failure rate the 2nd time around? It's hard to know the truth because the dealer will tell you that they are giving you an exact OEM replacement with nothing different. They say this because they aren't going to admit fault. To say it is upgraded is to imply that there was a fault in the design which they are never going to do.

I'd like to hear a dealer explain a replacement tranny failure. All these goons will say is that it is a rebuild defect that happens 1:10,000.

way-acura

Are there a lot of replacement tranny failures? I have a 2005 tl. My first transmission died at about 85,000 miles, even though I changed the fluid and switches a couple of times. Dealer replaced under the extended warranty. I haven't heard that there are a lot of replacement failures. I was hoping to get another 85,000.

dandaman619

dropped at 69,100 I got lucky it was under warranty, but it went out just like that bro. Invest in your car, 3G's are worth it

thegipper

These threads terrify me. My 04TL has 119k miles on the original transmission. I just replaced the switches and have replaced the fluid pretty often. The transmission (knock on wood) shifts great and has no issues, hope that it will last awhile longer as I don't have the money for a replacement.

Please tell me that there are people on here (more than just a handful) of people getting 150k+ out of their trannys. I mean, are they all literally garbage? If so, then there needs to be a class action lawsuit because that is ridiculous.

Scottwax

Mine made it to 157,213 miles. Pretty sure the V6 Accord has the same transmission because it definitely has the same issues.

Usually the ones with issues die well before 100k miles. If you've made it to 119k, you ought to have another 30-40k left it in. Some make it even further.

Coins

Get it done at the dealership please!
My 06 A/T went out and I decided to go with a local shop(The owner and mechanic is on this forum) and paid way more than I would have at a Honda/Acura dealership.
I took it in and specifically told them I want a rebuilt transmission from Transtar(which is where Honda gets their rebuilt trannys for replacement). Instead he rebuilt mine(vin plate still matches?) I had another mechanic check the job over.. looks like ALL the bottom transmission mounts are shot...

After I had the mechanic fix the transmission mounts, I pick it up and i'm driving 25-35mph down a straight road, no potholes or anything... BOOM! my cv axle snaps because the balljoint was either over torqued(which is what I think) or not torqued enough.
This resulted in paying for a tow, labor and a new cv axle and lower ball joint and damage to my front right fender.

In the end I paid about $3300... and just sold off the car because all this made me paranoid it will only mess up again.

nttstt444

iTrader: (1)

So.. you had a bad experience with one private shop? That sucks. Dosent mean they are all like that. Id get it rebuilt from a reputable indy transmission shop any day vs. going the dealership route.

YeuEmMaiMai

I would second Coins' opinion

Private show = roughly same price and total BS when trying to resolve problems... 1998 accord trans rebuilt at Kennedy Transmission = rebuilt FOUR TIMES within 11K miles.

Acura = 1x transmission at 71K miles new one came with 3year 36K warranty and I got a loaner while they did it for free (warranty ext.). Had issues with new trans and now that they are sorted out, we are golden.

Besides, in our area, there is little if any difference in price between a dealer and a specialty shop that may or may NOT be able to fix your car

MandoTL

I have my original tranny, my 05 TL has 160xxx miles with good shifts. It is due for a 1x1 fluid change with Redline D4 and pressure switches. I replace 3rd and 4th pressure switches every 30k miles.

So yes, I am making sure that I don't have a problem with tranny failure. But I intend to sell it later this year and find an 08+ MDX or new Accord Sport. My car has racked up the miles in the last 3 years of me owning it and putting 62k miles on it. So I'm just itching for a new or used car. If not maybe just move up into an 07-08 Type-S. The WDP Type-s with Taupe is looking really attractive.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

One factor is the cars came with Z1 fluid which sucked. The other factor is that if your car has had the fluid changed religiously every 30k and you had the switches done, you will fare better. Problem is many of us have gotten into the groove of this too late. And we don't deserve any blame for this because the owner's manual does not give any details of when to change the fluid and we are told to just follow the MID. And it ends up showing you to change the fluid way too late. And all Acura will tell you is your warranty is up. BTW It is not all TLs. Chalk it up to just better luck than better maintence though. There are definitely a bunch of TLs going past 150k with no problems at all. Some never even changing the fluid. In some cases not changing means it can last longer.

So indeed there is plenty of basis to go for a class action suit just like was done for the 2GTL. Question is who has the energy/time/resources to do it?

Nighthawk_UA6

I got my car back on Tuesday and needless to say, it drives like new. The old transmission had a hard shift on second gear that would make the wheels chirp at WOT a shop had told me this was normal, well maybe it was a sign it was about to croak.
Sucked having to pay $3k, months after just purchasing the car but oh well now I just hope the new transmission will last me way over the 3/36 warranty

LaCostaRacer

good luck Nighthawk- change the ATF every 20k miles and you should be good this next time.

One other trick if you're in slow stop/go traffic is to put the transmission into 'L' so it doesn't do needless up/down shifts. Those shifts can add up over 5 years time if traffic is your usual environment on a commute to/from work.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I've got an 05 with 181k on the original tranny, about 50/50 mixed driving between city and highway. I do a 1x3 drain and fill every other oil change (DW-1) and changed out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches twice - once at 90k miles and just recently at 180k. I was dragging my feet on the pressure switches for no good reason. Planning on changing the switches at my next 105k service. Original owner as well.

Nighthawk_UA6

Should I wait till 20k miles to change the oil with RedLine? I kinda wanna do it after 1k or so

LaCostaRacer

If your new tranny has DW-1, I see no need to change your fluid after 1k. I would wait until 20k and do it then. That way enough time will elapse that you should see how much wear is on the magnetic plug.

It just seems like a waste dumping good fluid out so quickly. If there is a problem with the tranny due to the replacement unit being bad, I would think it would surface before 20k and that's another reason for not changing fluid- it could be a point of contention with the dealer possibly.

Chad05TL

I am surprised Acura offered help. I would definitely take their offer. You or I would never get this kind of service from GM. I have owned too many GM's over the years. In service and Parts, they treat you like they are doing you a favor with a terrible and careless attitude. But when I go into Acura or Honda dealers, they offer me cokes and ask if I need a free loaner car, and treat me great, and 1 Honda dealer manager took me to a mechanic and let me ask him questions about how to retrieve a code from the ECM. GM dealers would never let you talk to a mechanic and get that kind of info. The treatment is vastly better at Honda and Acura. I would definitely take their offer.

LaCostaRacer

^ he took the offer and is now asking for advice on when to replace the ATF.

I agree about GM dealers and most other dealers for that matter. I have always been happy with Honda/Acura dealers and the best thing is I don't have to see the dealer much.

My TL has been to the dealer 3 times in 8 years: power steering recall, blown speaker, and just recently to get the switchblade key retrofit cut. Our Honda Pilot has been to the dealer Zero times, but will soon for a recall. That's what I like most about owning a Honda/Acura..

Mr Marco

Yep, this all sounds familiar. Friend has TL Type S with tranny replaced at 69k. Acura paid for 75% of cost.

Due_Diligence

I never thought of doing that, I always thought putting it in SS mode and starting from 2nd was a good idea. I think this way is much better.

Did they ever fix the problems with the tranny? It seems like I may be taking this route going back and forth with the shop because my tranny is acting up again. I feel the occasional shudder from 1st to 2nd, when it shifts it feels like it holds onto the shift too long, and it's also not shifting at the correct time. Sometimes I'll be at 3-4K rpm in 3rd and it'll stay in the gear then finally do an awkward timing shift. This same thing will occur going from 4th to 5th too.

I'm going to drive my friends 06 TL today and see how his shifts are and compare. I'll even try to record the the shifts and post the video on here, or my other thread.

(excuse my language) This shit is annoyinggg

nokkieny

My transmission has been shifting hard for 30k miles, but doesn't want to die. Anyways that sucks it died so soon, I wonder if the previous owner had any indication and hid it from you.
In hindsight yes the warranty would have been nice, but if you paid $1200 for 3/36 on every car you bought you would probably end up buying a couple extra rebuilt transmissions. I would never suggest anyone buy an extended warranty, they are a huge ripoff. But if you do, buy the one from the dealer not a third party.

Nighthawk_UA6

When I bought the accord I declined several offers for the extended warranty. I was quoted $1700 for 7/100 from the dealer. A few months later I bought it from a honda dealer online cant remember which one, 8/120k for ~ $1000. I bought it because being the accord just came out with the cvt, I didn't want to worry about first year production flaws

nokkieny

8/120k for $1000 seems like a great deal, how many miles were on the car when you bought it? I like to try to fix things myself so I would probably not get a warranty for that reason. I wonder why the acura warranties were so much more expensive?

Nighthawk_UA6

The Accord was new, and you can buy the warranty before you hit 6k miles. The TL I got it with 67k and only had it for 3 months. I can imagine Acura warranty costing more because they're usually more loaded with electronics but Acuras already come with a longer factory warranty. I don't mind fixing cars myself, but when it comes to simply parts (transmissions, engine, electronics) vs buying extended warranty, usually after one repair under warranty pays for it and then some.