dyar1

I have been having a problem with my 1999 Acura 3.0 CL's transmission. I has a hard downshift, and when the tranny is cold, it seems to "jump" through the gears?? Sometimes, it even squals the tires when it changes gears !!!! I took it to a transmission specialist and they said that I was not the only one with this type of problem. He said that since the problem is so new, that no one knows how to fix it (not even the dealers !!!!). He gave me about 7 pages of write-ups about the problem. He suggested that I take it to the Acura dealer and let them look at it. Has anyone else had this kind of problem and if so, how was it fixed?? Please help.

JD

30CLstyle

which I could help, but squalin the tires when changing gears is cool,

gjr2001

A problem so new, nobody knows how to fix it? WTF?
Sounds to me like he didn't want your business. If the car is still covered under warranty take it to the dealer, so they can get you a new tranny.

mazor1

I know how you guys hate "new" threads before doing a search,
which I did, and since my question is tranny related, I thought that I would just ask you all here, OK?

My CL 3.0 has 46,500 miles. When accelerating it shifts just fine,
and I'm doing 60 in no time. However, in driving around town sometimes when I take my foot off the gas, the car seems to
"buck" or hold-up some. Nothing major, just kind of counter to the smooth ride this car seems to be.

Since I just got the car and have no idea if the tranny has ever been serviced, I plan on doing a flush in the next two weeks. Also, I was considering putting in some Tran-X. Has anyone ever used this before? If seems to help the transmission shift much smoother, at least it did in my wife's "sick transmission" 1988 Nissan Maxima.

Do you guys think adding an "additive" such as this is alright, or should I stick with the book specified Acura original transmission fluid only?

Sorry for the long post.

gjr2001

No your tranny is fine, the Cl is not a smooth shifter and adding an additive would only run the risks of making things worse. Each car manufacturer's tranny fluids are blended differently and using Acura tranny fluid is the only way to go. Adding an additive would not be very wise. Also be aware of some of the pros and cons of flushing the tranny. (That topic is searchable since I remember I started a thread on flushing tranny fluid awhile back ago.)

fastvtecCL

yea i have a 99 and i'm on my 5th tranny

haiduc

it could be a failing tranny mount that causes it to do that. check knto it.. it worked for one of my friends with an altima.

Bartman

I noticed mine downshifts harder if I'm really hot-dogging the car. If I'm just granny-driving around town, it shifts fine.

Usually, I slide the gearshift from D4 to D3 to 2 when I'm coming into a sharp ramp or stopsign anyway.....so I'm controlling the shift.....within the limits of the rev limiter......

mazor1

Thanks. I really didn't like the idea of adding something other
than Acura Transmission fluid until I knew for sure something was wrong, especially on a transmission with only 46,500 miles. As for possible bad transmission mounts, how do I ask the dealer to check that without them automatically saying "yeah, thats what it is", and then charging me an arm an a leg to repair something that might not be broken?

For this kind of "investigative" service call, can I take my Acura to a Honda dealer without fear that they will know what their doing? I have read numerous times that for things such as a transmission flush they are much cheaper?

Thanks for all your help guys.

joeshmoe

I just got mine flushed a couple of days ago.

I was having similar problems when the engine was cold, hard shifts, slight gear slipping. I know a transmission guy (from a previously bad SVX transmission experience) and I described the problem to him. He told me to get it flushed at least 3 times. He said when the fluid gets bad, the regulator gets clogged or dosen't handle the fluid very well. It need to be flushed several times to make sure its a clear. It isn't cheap though. At $5 a quart (damn Honda fluid), flushing it 3 times cost around $200. But it was worth it. It shifts fine now, hot or cold. I gonna start flushing it once every 15,000-20,000 miles (I think it says 30,000 miles in the manual) just to be sure this dosen't happen again.

NWJeff

Dyar1,
Reading your post was like going back in time a year ago for me. I have an 98 3.0 and about a year ago at 70,000 miles I started experienceing what you are talking about, hard shifting etc. Don't mess around with it, no amount of flushing or other products will cause it to get better. My tranny started acting up until it warmed up, then all the time, and then things got serious. One day I was going to work on the freeway, and at 70+ MPH it started shifting down!! believe me you've never experienced torque steer until your tranny starts doing this at 70 MPH. I took it straight to the dealer and, long story short, I was looking at a total replacement to the toon of $4500!!! because Acura's don't break right
The dealer took pitty on me since i'd only had it for 8 months and after significant complaining gave me a "good will" warrenty and replaced it for basically the cost of labor. I still hate the tranny they put in these cars, and I constantly notice how it's never in the right gear at the right time so-to-speak. Don't mess around it, it won't get better.

mazor1

I wouldn't consider what I am "feeling" to be a hard shift or
anything like that. I just got back from driving my car around
for no reason other than to be driving it, and it appears to me
that at around 41-43 miles per hour, if I am not accellerating
with my foot to the gas, the car seems to "back-up" or "buck"
a little bit. As I've said earlier, in starting from 0 MPG and acelerating thru the gears to 60-70 MPG the transmission
appears to be doing just fine.

I checked the tranny fluid and its' still very red and clear, however since I just bought the car and don't know if the previous owner or dealership (it was not an Acura dealership) used Honda/Acura fluid, just to be on the safe side, and to "document" a starting point for the tranny fluid, I think that I'm going to have it changed at an Acura or Honda dealership.

Any other comments?

azn5ucka86

just in the summer i took my car back to get it fixed at the acura dealer,

the problem was the jolty shifting, confusing of what gear to be in, i've even had that tire squeal when like i let go of the gas, it drops gear, then i hit the gas again, and it slams the gear back in, i told them all that and this was their solution

fixed front and rear engine mounts


I asked them if this would fix it they said they hope so, i don't feel anything fixed, the ride is still the same, so i'm going to go in and see what they can do for me again