Thought this was VERY interesting:

Ok,

So the other day the business I work for decided that it was closing it's doors and I was going to be loosing my job on the 28th of September... we all decided to have a loser's party at a local bar... I get the only seat at the bar and there is this guy sitting next to me with an Acura shirt on! I ask me what he does, and he informs me that he is a mechanic for Acura, and used to work at a Honda dealer in my home town!

We hit it off and start talking about all the different things you can do to a Prelude, and many Honda's in general... then the INFAMOUS 4 speed Honda SS trans comes up. (I had to ask!!) He informs me of the following:

1) The 4 speed SS Auto was originally installed in the latest model TL the first year. They started blowing up right and left, and the Acura's have a 5 year / 50,000 mile warranty, so it was hurting them! They immediately came out with a fix for the Acura: the 5 Speed SS Auto Trans! He says that the 6 cylinder engine produced too much torque, and would destroy those 4 speed SS'es really fast. He's personally replaced many of them with low mileage under warranty!

2) If the SS Auto is shifting like crap, he indicated that there is a screen (filter) behind one of the solenoids on the top-side of the transmission. This screen frequently get's clogged, and simply changing the fluid and cleaning (blowing) out the screen will fix a lot of problems!! Use only Honda Genuine Premium ATF!!!!!!!

3) He also indicated that the SS Auto in general end up with VERY dirty transmission fluid and that they should always have the fuild changed every 15,000 miles. NO EXCEPTIONS!! Expecially, since only half the fuild is replaced each change.

4) If you are going to buy the new Acura RSX, they have a problem with the computer. He indicated that the RSX has been improperly programmed and they ALL run like crap. The cars are NOT to be driven under any circumstances, and they must be immediately reprogrammed (which appears to be a real pain in the butt... they don't have standard flash ROMs...)

Well, I finally got my somewhat official proof that the SS Auto is known by Honda to be a failure. Jerks...

I think I'll cash out some of my retirement fund, take a month off, and get my SS Auto rebuilt by Level Ten.

-Gerhard

Got this from: http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread...&threadid=6159

 

haha and the whole time i thought it was you who was talking to the Acura mechanic!

 

are the transmission problems just in the CL-S? or are they in the CL-S, and the regular CL???

 

actually its kinda funny how the tranny situation is rising up here...
i own a 2001 tl with 17,500 and my tranny just slipped (a very hard jerk while shifting) couple of days ago, and its gettin worse everyday as i speak, scheduled an appointment for park ave....tl trannies are all goin down the gutter....so i know its not only tls, http://acura-tl.com/forum/showthread...threadid=23848

 

on the other hand, the NSX GT Mugen tuned in Japan has an SS 6 speed manual that works wonderfully....
imagine that.

 

I wish they gave us that in the CL-S.

 

We all now know the ss 5-spd trannies are sh!t. But the fact of the matter is, they're made in JAPAN. That's what puzzles me. My 89 Civic Si, with over 190k miles is still in service today (sold to a friend, now in the show / sunny weather circuit.) The point is, the japan build quality was phenomenal. The damn car was as tight, and rattle free as the day it was new. This lead me to believe that our japanese built transmissions should be ROCK SOLID. That's what I get for thinking, eh?! Live and learn.

Jim

[ 10-06-2001: Message edited by: mackdaddy ]

 

If you think these POS trannies are from Japan, check out http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/090106.html . The defective SS resides in Preludes as well. http://communities.msn.com/HondaSportshiftComplaints . Honda has mutated from a quality exemplar among sloppy/inept peers into "Quality is Job Last" since moving much of its parts/assembly ops to the good ole USA. Once upon a time (not long ago) when I heard about faulty rotors, trannies, elusive buzzing, and indifferent dealers, I immediately envisaged products from Chrysler, GM, Ford, Korea INC . Now, I don't know whom to trust. Perhaps I should forget about all the current offerings and take a nostalgia ride: find/buy that '70 El Camino, customize the appearance, and drop in a 427 hp crate motor for good measure. Wanna race?