Dawn Fox

Hi, I have an 04 TL that I have had for about 5 years. It has been a fantastic car other than some wheel and tires issues from having 19" wheels on it. Anyway, the other day, the transmission acted funny. It revved up, and yet didn't go into gear when getting on the freeway. It then went into gear normal and we were able to drive an hour normally. On the way home it did it again, and then drove great. I haven't driven it again. I am starting to panic that I may need to rebuild my transmission. I don't have the cash for that right now.Yikes! Then, I read some posts about replacing the 3rd and 4th gear switches and replacing the fluid again. What are your thoughts? Is it worth it to try this? I would love to give it a chance, even if it only gives me a few months to save for a new tranny. BTW - the car has 225,000 miles on it.

eastcoastguy

If this is your original transmission, you have done really well getting to that mileage. You can try the pressure switches and fluid change but if that works its only for a matter of time. I would try and put as much money aside as possible because you will need a transmission.

Dawn Fox

Thank you! Yes, it is all original. I have actually only put a $1 o ring in the power steering system and just had my APP sensor go out. Other than regular maintenance and wheel/tire issues it has been absolutely flawless. I love it. Most of those miles are all freeway (we live way, way out of town).
A bit more info. My husband thought maybe the fluid was low. It was not low, but smells burnt. We did a 3x3 fluid change about a year ago. I can't recall what fluid we used. I do remember it was not the Redline one (because I couldn't get it locally).
If changing those things can buy me some time, that would be great. I can set some money aside if I can get a couple months out of it. What do people typically do at this point? Do they rebuild this transmission replacing what is bad? or do they buy new, or rebuilt? Is there a good place to get one? I really wish I had bought the manual TL I had seen.

Thanks for your help! I appreciate it.

truonghthe

I would go with remanufacture AT since they replace most of the component, however you can buy a used 06-07 Honda Accord V6 AT which cost around $600-$800 replace the pressure sensor on then swap over to the TL, its a direct swap into the 04-06 TL with the only part needed from the TL is the transmission range switch. 06-07 Accord AT is more reliable than the 04-06 TL AT. Like post above me you get 220k miles on the clock and the transmission gave out its still reasonable.

Dawn Fox

Thank you. I drove it yesterday for a short trip and it did fine. I am going to change the fluid in it and drive it only when I have to and baby it for a couple weeks until I can get a new transmission.
I looked into the 06-07 Accord transmission. I can get one locally, with under 100k miles for near $900. Are they more durable? Or do I need to be looking for one with even fewer miles? When I was on car-part, there were a bunch of options for the AT V6 Accord. Is there a specific model of V6 Accord I should be looking for? How hard is the transition? Are my speedo, and other electronics going to work right with a different transmission? Is this the better route? My husband can put it in, thankfully.
I appreciate your help.

flyromeo3

Any model v6 of those years will do so long as its not a hybrid
someone performed the swap and its a direct fit. If you do go that route, I recommend replacing the torque converter. Replace it with an accord v6.
electronics will remain the same. speedo will not be adjusted and it very well might be the best route.
im in the same boat as you and contemplating going the accord transmission route. Just need to find someone to install for me.

truonghthe

Everything is plug and play except for the range switches (easy to do take 10 mins max). The internal design of the accord is significant better than 04-06 TL (this is when honda get together and said lets not blowing up AT again). AT V6 NON hybrid accord only, like the guy before me said you need to replace a new torque converter (do not used the one came with it). You are looking at $2.5k (part + shop labor cost) knowing that not gonna blow up anytime soon. PS dont forget to replace the pressure switches in the accord AT while its out the car.

Dawn Fox

Thank you again.
We are a very mechanical family. We race almost everything that can go fast. Drag racing, outlaw karts, motocross, quads, etc. My husband says he can do it in the garage on a weekend. He is not thrilled about it, but will do it. That will help a lot. One more thing to be thankful for. What's really nice is sharing information that you and others have learned so we all don't have to start from scratch. Thanks! I will change the fluid in it tomorrow and change the transmission filter as well. What fluid should I use? I assume the Honda fluid like I did last time. I can handle doing those things while my husband is hunting. I will leave the new tranny for him to do. lol

truonghthe

use the DW-1 from Honda, you can go to any Honda/Acura dealer and buy the fluid there (Honda dealer sold alittle cheaper than Acura counter part). I would get 9 quarts so you can drain and fill 3 times with 5k miles each drain and fill interval. In your situation I would drain and fill, replace the pressure switches at the same time to see if the problem continue, if not then you might get away with couple hundred $, if the AT still slipping then you will need to replace the transmission. Since your is an 04-06 model get the AT filter replace along with cleaning the solenoid screen too. Youtube has video that show you how to get access and clean it.

Slpr04UA6

Here is a thread with the accord replacement transmission.......


https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...o-pics-915808/


Let us know how everything turns out!

Dawn Fox

Well... Like an idiot, it seemed fine and I drove it one day. Transmission is done. Officially. We are getting an 07 Accord transmission for it and should be installing it this weekend or next. Its in the garage now. We will be looking at the tutorial for help. Thank you again.

flyromeo3

My transmission crapped out too. It's upsetting but im glad it never left my stranded during the few months I experienced slipping, flaring, shuddering etc.
At least it ceased to function in my driveway.

Good luck and let us know how the swap turns out.

truonghthe

keep us updated with the new AT install.

tangodown305

were you able to do the swap to the accord transmission? i am also doing the swap, but i'm have some issues. i went to auto zone to replace the accord TC. The accord TC will not line up to the TL flex plate. the bolt pattern on the TL TC is 11.250". The replacement TC for the accord is 10.250". does anyone know if i can use the TL TC in the accord transmission?

Dawn Fox

My husband said he used the Acura Flex plate and the Accord TC and had no issues with them lining up.

Dawn Fox

ITS DONE!!!!! YES!!
The 2006 Accord transmission is in and shifts in and out of gear. We 'misplaced' two castle nuts from the tie rod, so until tomorrow when they come in, we can't actually drive it. But, it appears to shift!

The D is flashing on the dash though. How do I reset that?? We had the battery out, so it should already be reset, right? Or do I need to do something else? I should mention that the transmission that we bought, came with several of the sensors broken off, so we used all of the sensors off of my Acura on it. Does anyone have any ideas why the D might be flashing. I actually don't recall it flashing, even when the transmission went bad... Maybe I am crazy, and just knew it was crap and didn't notice it. Not sure?

Dawn Fox

Well... My husband says it was a lot, lets say that again, a lot of work. He says if you are mechanically inclined you can completely do it. From my perspective, It appeared that he removed almost every darn thing under my car to get to it. At one time, it looked like carnage and was overwhelming. I know he knows what he was doing, but it was alarming what all had to come off to do this job. He says, not to drag it out. He works about 60 hours a week and we race on most weekends, so this project for us was stretched over one full weekend and 2 separate days on different weekends and a few hours here and there in the evenings. If we had a lift he said it would have been soooo much easier. No special tools needed. Get the jack as high as you can in the air. We used a cherry picker to hold and move the transmission around and take it in and out.

MonkeyTrucker

I'd like to go into the business of buying up all of the failed TL auto transmissions.

Grats on a successful conversion.