CiViCKiDD

I'm at my wits end with my car!! I've got a 2008 TSX, 6-speed manual, purchased new.

Rather than write a detailed story and bore everyone, here are cliffs:

1. 3rd gear grind!!!
2. Dropped at dealership for warranty rebuild
3. Get a call the next day saying clutch needs to be replaced...at 21k miles! WTF? I fought it with Acura HQ but was denied any assistance, so I reluctantly paid for it.
4. A week later my car was ready, and shifted roughly into EVERY gear. The clutch also came up from the floor slowly, and squeaked intermittently (especially when it was cold out). Since I picked the car up after hours so I called the next day to make an appointment to bring it in.
5. Service rep did not take it in when I arrived, he drove it 10 feet and said everything was OK.
6. Went to another dealership, they replaced transmission fluid and clutch problems disappeared. Transmission was a little smoother, but still notchy and had grinding issues unless I shift VERY SLOWLY, and at the right rpm's. I strongly believe they put the wrong fluid in the transmission.
7. I continue to take it to two other dealerships as well as the first, citing my complaints. The original dealership refuses to acknowledge any problems with the shifting, and the other two won't take it in because somebody else worked on it - they claim they won't get reimbursed by Acura if they do anything. I've taken it in 10-12 times in the last 9 months!!!
8. The last time I took it in to the original dealership my "regular" service rep was out. His fill-in was trying to figure out who rebuilt it, saying the person on the work-order definitely DID NOT do the work. I go on a test drive with a young tech, and find out he did all the work. It was his second transmission rebuild. He also said (THREE TIMES) that they did not replace the clutch because they were aware I was dealing with Acura HQ and did not want to replace something and not get paid for it at the end. I confronted the service reps when I got back, and their response was he doesn't remember, he really replaced it.
8. I took it to a transmission shop, who thinks ALL the syncro's are worn. There is also slippage when shifting from one gear to another (lets say 1st to 2nd at 4k rpm's). This is in addition to shifts occasionally getting blocked, roughness/notchyness while shifting.

It seems like I have no choice but to get a lawyer at this point, if it was a cheap fix I would suck it up but we're talking over $3k in repairs!! Ironically I was coerced into buying a new car for the peace of mind a warranty would provide, and this is what I'm stuck dealing with..

CiViCKiDD

I guess the point of this post is, does anyone have any advice at this point? I still can't believe Acura has been screwing me around for this long, over an almost-$30k car!!!!!

nbtx

You're dealing with a shop that doesn't know squat about manual transmissions. Period.
Replace the transmission fluid with the correct Honda fluid, and if there is no improvement it might be time to investigate NJ's lemon law.

BTW, how many miles on the car when the gear grinding problem first appeared?

nj2pa2nc

if they did not replace the clutch then why did you have to pay for it. I know a clutch is a wear and tear item not normally covered by the warranty but the transmission is.

tsxsingh

wow thats superrrr shady.. acura seems to be screwing alot of ppl out of money with tranny problems..... i might be screwed very soon too... 3rd gear grind is bad.. every time i shift

gdcwatt

Ummmm, not really sure if this is relevant, but after 4 years of putting up with the well-know 1-2 shift problems, the dealer replaced the master clutch cylinder, under waranty. [Sorry, but some comments here seem to be that some people don't know how to drive with a manual transmission. My mistake was something different.]

During my next service visit, one the mechanics drove the car and said, "that isn't right", and bled the master cylinder. My second-gear gear engagement grind is gone, and I don't have the annoying stop-and-go 1st-gear, neck-bobbing jerkiness that my wife has blamed me for for the last 4 years.

rkan121

i has a similar grind back in the day, i fixed it by adjusting the clutch, behind the clutch pedal. i would only recommend adjusting it a 1/2 - 3/4 turn.

rkan121

There are 2 little nuts behind the clutch pedal one is for adjusting and the other locks the adjustment in place. Take a wrench to them and move your engagement point. This may eliminate the grinds but prob wont fix the slipping. FYI if you adjust too much to granny will slip more.

CiViCKiDD

Wow, sorry for not keeping up with this thread. I think after I posted this thread I went to another Acura dealership, and the master tech told me my transmission was definitely not acting right. They took it in, and the next day I got a call saying they want me to pay $2k for a clutch...I told them I just had it replaced a few months ago (which probably wasn't replaced anyway) so I'm not paying again. A few days later they told me my car was ready, and when I went in to pick it up they said the problems magically disappeared. How did they fix it? Only with my 3rd or 4th transmission flush in months. And no, they didn't fix anything.

The shifting is off with every gear, notchy if I don't shift like grandma and sometimes it doesn't want to go into gear (it's blocked). Also, sometimes it "springs" out of gear when I'm shifting under load, like starting off from 1st->2nd.

This started just before my TSX's 2 year anniversary, with around 21k-23k miles (I don't remember, need to check the paperwork). Unfortunately I recently started commuting with my car, ~110 miles/day, so I'm already up to 32k miles.

Also, I'm pursuing "something" with regards to all this. Can't talk about it for a while.

tsxsingh

yup my transmission is officially FUCKED! a gear and a pin about 4" long broke outta my tranny housing.. even tho honda knows shit is wrong with there 6spd tranny's they refuse to do anything about it! :@

let us know ur updates when u can man! i'd love to know if you can get it fixed for no cost to u! as im gonna get legal advice now too