WHAT? How could the gears possibly be stripped? And ALL of them? From what I understand, you were able to drive your car to the dealer, right? If so, that explanation is absolutely crazy, and you should demand to know more info when you get to the dealer to pick up your car. Do they still have the old tranny parts? Ask if you can see them.

Also, which dealership is this? Radley, Karen Radley, Pohanka, Rosenthal?

 

Lets hope not... becuase if I find out otherwise then I'm going to sell the car. 17k ---> blown tranny =

 

YAH i know right! How the hell do you strip 6th gear??? Its at Pohanka right now. And yah, I'll take ur advise and ask a million and one questions when i pick it up.

 

Hey wiz... be careful! Thats how my car felt before the tranny went out. I suggest you take it easy with the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.

 

I don't suggest he take it easy at all. If the trannies going to break, its better it break now while still under warranty.

 

lots of people are experiencing this, including me. So if this is a symptom there are going to be a lot of blown 6mt trannies soon.

All gears being stripped sound like a load of BS to me. If they were...there is definately a defect somewhere that caused it.

 

Just like I said, take what they told you and throw it in the trash.

It sounds like you're the ginnea pig unfortunetly. I would not be a happy camper if I were in your shoes. I would call Client Services and get a case opened.

 

So, how'd it go nolie? How does the new tranny feel? And what did Pohanka say?

 

Well... my car is back and feels alot better actually. The shifts feel more precise and LOCKS into place. Before my tranny blew, each shift felt like it went in TOO easy. Do you guys get what i mean here? It felt like i could powershift each gear, almost like the sychros weren't there. Maybe I really did strip my gears. But yes, it feels alot better now.

I was HOPING to interogate my service rep. but unfortunately he was NOT there when I picked up my car. It was kinda late so most of the staff were either off or about to close down. I asked one of the other reps there if they knew about the work done to my car but to no avail. I am currently trying to reach him over the phone. He is SUPPOSED to get back to me within an hour. I DID however, get a invoice sheet that lists all the parts and labor. Here's exactly what it says on the sheet:

213205 TRANSMISSION -
OVERHAUL. ALWAYS REMOVE RELEASE BEARING, CLEAN AND LUBRICATE SLIDING SURFACES AND RELEASE - FORK 1289 WAR2
3 - 08798-9016 FLUID - MT
1 20011-RAS-U50 TRANSMISSION ASSY.

Also, they said since it was supposedly MY fault, Acura will cover the repair as a "goodwill jesture". But if the problem reoccurs, it will not be covered by warranty. What do you think guys?? BS?? Im still waiting to hear from my service rep before i jump to conclusions here.

 

I am honest to god at a loss for words. I can see them using this excuse if the car was in its 4 model year and it was not known to have any tranny issues. BUT, its a new car and an all new tranny that can potentially be weak. I would raise a stink because your in deep if that tranny goes again, god forbid.

Maybe their preparing themselves for the inevitable.

 

Ok, spoke with my rep AGAIN. I asked to see my original tranny but it has been shipped back to Acura for inspection. Looks like I've a dead end here guys. I expressed my concern about the warranty issue and even then, they were not considerate about this either. He said when they broke the tranny down, the conclusion and cause of the problem was abuse. Im not gonna sit here and deny it because I admit to driving hard at times. If it happens again prematurely he said they will inspect and consider covering the repairs under warranty. This is the best i could get out of Acura. Any suggestions on how to deal with Acura? I guess since this is the first tranny problem Acura has encountered with the TSX, I have no other options.

 

I'd call the 800 number for Acura USA and complain. Even if you do drive hard, it's no excuse for a manual transmission dieing taht quick.

 

I had my tranny replaced back in early August. Look for the thread back near 8/01.
When I picked up the car after it was brought in from another
dealership I noted a grind going into 4th gear.
I then had a loaner car for 2 weeks and got mine back with a new tranny.
My old tranny was shipped intact back to Japan for inspection.
I have 4 years /50k miles to make them miserable if trannies
are bad on these cars. Actually I have 14 days to lemon law
if there is a problem so..... win-win situation.

 

Also, in response to an earlier question. Acura billed itself just
over $2000 dollars for the new tranny. Of course, your cost would be higher!

 

Fat chance. I'm sure there's been more tranny problems but unfortunately not everyone who drives a TSX is a member here. Roadrunner makes 2 so..............

 

Sorry... i meant the Acura dealer im at ---> Pohanka. Its the first tranny they've replaced on a TSX.

 

CALL NOW! Get your concerns documented with Client Services. If you don't they probably will try to stick it to you in the event of another failure.

Also start talking up the chain at your dealership. If your service advisor is not giving you a satisfactory resolution to the problem talk to the service manager, and if he still doesn't, talk to the general manager, and if he doesn't talk to the district warrantee rep.

Actually you may want to get ahold of him, because if they did 'good-will' this work than only a district warrentee rep can authorize such work. Chew his M'F'ing ear off.

I hate it when dealerships do sh!t like this, no reason for it what so-ever!

Good luck man, I know the pain that you're going through

 

Abuse? I'm puzzled. I can see destroying a clutch, but how can you "abuse" a manual transmission enough to break it in the first year? Are they saying you drove through a flood? Drained out the gear oil and filled the transmission with sand? Shifted into 6th gear with the car moving backwards? How?

 

Well I'm glad to see you have your car back, and that it shifts better. I have not noted any problems during my shifting since I last posted on this thread. As a matter of fact I have been paying close attention to my shifting and have not grinded a gear or anything, and my shifter feels notchy as I can tell it is going into gear, but not too notchy where I think there is a problem. So far so good.

I would definitely go up the chain at your dealership. Don't let them throw this back on you, not with under 20,000 miles (which I bet most of them are highway in this short amount of time). Do what copland says...I've read his trials and tribulations he went through with the TL tranny, he knows what he's talking about.

 

I'm on my second clutch. The first one started slippling like mad at 6,000 miles. I've put 2k miles on the second one and it is fine for now. My production # is 1971. Maybe the guy putting in transmissions that week was in the middle of a bender or something.

 

onenonlieTSX,

Sometimes we can be taught to do something the wrong way.
Can you tell me why on earth you would do this??

(It's much cheaper to throw on a set of brake pads then to replace a transmission. . .)

Eneg

 

I don't see how downshifting (correctly) is "wrong"...

Here's why you would do it:
1. Saves gas.
2. Slows the car.
3. Puts you in the appropriate gear in case you need to accelerate again before coming to a complete stop.

 

ClutchPerformer,
1. How do you figure that? Watch the Tach!
2. So do the brakes and without any wear & tear on the clutch and/or the transmission!
3. The only reason to downshift would be if you plan on accelerating again.

Eneg

 

The tach can be at 7000 rpm, but if your not on the gas pedal you are not burning any fuel. In fact you'll burn more fuel in neutral because the engine will need to idle.

 

FDL,
No, no! With the engine running at 7000 revolutions per minute, exactly what do you think is fueling it?
Think about it. . .

Eneg

 

Whats fueling it? NOTHING! Your momentum is turning the engine at that speed. Lets say you hammer the gas in 2nd gear up to 7000 rpms..and then let go off the gas...as the rpms come down, 6500...6000...5500...no fuel is being used. The engine is being turned by the momentum of the car. Same goes when you downshift...the momentum of the car is used to turn the engine..and this transfer of energy is what slows down the car.

 

Okay then, to follow your logic...Let's say that after getting up to 7000 rpms in 2nd gear, you shift the car to 4th gear without touching the gas. The rpms drop to 5000. According to you, since you haven't touched the gas pedal, the car will be using the same amount of gas as when the car was in 2nd gear.
Is that correct?

Eneg

 

Absolutely not. That’s as absurd as saying your TV shuts off every time it has to display an all black image. You know, some guy I went to college with who drove a Neon R/T thought the same thing... Do you really think a car engine will just spontaneously start and stop just because you let off the gas pedal? As long as that ignition is in the "ON" position and the crank is turning the engine will intake fuel/air, compress it, the plugs will fire, and the exhaust gas is pushed out.

Regardless of what the RPM’s are or why they are there the engine has to go through the motions, even if it is with the smallest amount of gas burned, it has to keep the process going or else it wouldn’t be able to start up again the instant you hit the pedal again. Ask any Honda, Acura, or any other mechanic and they will tell you the same. End of story.

And as further proof think about this...if you rev it to 7k in 1st and let off the pedal..the engine doesn't go silent does it? no. you hear the same sounds you heard as it was going up to 7k, just in reverse. If the engine really did stop firing, you wouldn't hear the sweet, sweet hum of the K24 on the way back down.

 

Here is a quote I just pulled up from the car tips section of the kia website. yes I know..kia...but none the less..


"Many drivers of manual cars like shifting to neutral and letting the car coast to a halt when the traffic lights ahead are red. Not only is this practice dangerous as all engine braking is lost (making the car less stable if sudden braking is required), fuel consumption also goes up. Modern fuel-injected cars have a fuel cut-off system that operates only when a gear is engaged and the foot is taken off the accelerator pedal. If the car is rolling along in neutral, fuel still needs to be pumped into the engine to keep it idling, so more fuel is actually used."

EDIT: For further reference, found this on another website...

"Obviously you don't want the idle control dithering about when you're trying to drive, so it only operates when the normal throttle is fully closed. That sounds fine, but imagine the situation when you approach a road junction and lift off the pedal. The throttle is now closed, but the engine is still revving because the inertia of the car keeps it turning. In fact under heavy engine braking the fuel supply can be cut off completely without any risk of stalling. "

By the way...your TV comparison is completely different. You need energy to turn your engine, and this can come from combustion or the momentum of your car. With a TV, you only have one energy source.

 

I am going to admit it ... I am actually very interested which of these is true. I tend to think fdl is right, cause when coasting in a gear the compression of the engine is slowing you down and yes you are at 5K RPM's, but since there is no fuel there is no power being made, just pistons up/down, etc.

I might be off whack, but I seriously wanna understand this stuff as really like using gearing properly matching RPM's downshifting as a normal part of my 14 years of driving manual ....

So .... I might try to search google on this, but in the mean time

 

My 1991 Civic Si has this; you can sometimes feel the fuel resume when you get back on the gas. I assume all current Hondas/Acuras (and all modern fuel-injected cars, as fdl's post notes) would have this feature as well.

 

and the winner is...

 

That's correct. But the fuel injectors DO NOT have to inject fuel (and they don't when there's a negative load on the engine). End of story.

 

Wheather downshifting saves gas is almost meanigless when looking at the big picture (you'd be hard pressed to come up with a figure for it). The bottom line is that down shifting (especially through every gear and at high RPM - a la SMG for example) in the long term is worse than using the brakes. Replacing the brakes is always cheaper than the clutch (or more). The trick is to use just enough brake and choose the appropriate gear (so when you start to apply gas you end up with reasonable RPM - ~2000RPM for general driving) for the next time you need to accelarate.

 

I usually downshift because I NEED the engine braking. I tend to come in way too hot on highway offramps. I downshift after I start braking and try to not heat the brakes so much that I cause warping.

 

Then what is all of that engine noise from?
I always thought that it was from gasoline exploding in the cylinders!!

Just because someone on another web site posts the same kinda info, doesn't make it correct.
When you downshift a car, the engine's rpms rise.
When that happens, it burns more gas!

Eneg

 

The reason why I brought up the TV comparison is because in reality is that it takes more energy to make a screen of all black then say all white. (if you want the technical reasons and such PM me.) Point being, things aren't always what they appear, and what you think is the obvious answer isn't always right.

So anyone going to get their car serviced that can ask a tech?

 

The engine noise is from the engine turning. Its still going to make noise. And references weren't just from some guy on a website, this first quote is from Kia. I think the engineers at Kia know what they are talking about.

About the TV comparison. I agree 100% that not all things are always what they seem. But that doesnt prove your point.

Look , none of us are experts here. But lets think about it this way. What possible reason would there be to put gas into the cylinder when you are slowing down?? As long as the pistons are moving you can inject air and fuel at anytime and combustion will occur. So as long as the engine is turing you are fine.

 

Really? Then why does it get quiet as soon as you turn the key to the off position?

I do happen to agree with you about the quote from Kia.
I tried to find it on their site but couldn't. Is there any way that you can lead me to it?

Eneg

 

...and how the heck are you supposed to "choose the appropriate gear" without downshifting?