lothian110

After 95k miles, my tranny failed. I brought the car to Park Ave Acura to complain about the transmission and have them look at it, change fluids, etc. several times over the past 7 years. This morning, I brought the car in due to harsh slips and D5 flashing. They told me tranny was dead and they wouldn't cover it under warranty (post 7yrs/100k). After the initial arguement and a call to Acura to open a case, I got a call back from the service rep. They are offering to cover 60%. 10% is coming from the dealer, the other 50% from Acura (according to the dealer). Acura told me that a case manager would call me and get more details before anything else happend. It seems like PAA hasn't even spoken to them yet, they have no record of a case review at the moment unless a local rep spoke to them.

I want to hold out for more, I don't think I should pay a dime. It seems like they've been putting a band-aid on the problem while it was under warranty, and now want the $5200 it would cost to do the replacement.
I actually brought it in as recently as 6 months ago for a tranny fluid change.

Can anyone give me some info on how they determine the extent of the wear on transmission? Is it through an examination of the transmission fluid?
If so, they examined it several times over the past 5 years, strengthening my case.

Any advice on getting my portion of the payment to $0?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Zero is not going to happen. Save yourself the grief. Your getting 60% coverage which is on par with others who have had theirs die past warranty. I doubt that would = $5200 as you say.
Your lucky Acura is offering you the 60%, some have got no where with them.

slowcl-s

iTrader: (1)

Did you know the warranty was extended to 9 years/ 109k for certain VIN #s? If yours is one of them fight it, sounds like they should pay more than half.

TheWeez

I agree. You're lucky that they're willing to pickup some of the cost but I don't think fighting it will get you much of anywhere. Replace the tranny and sell the car or just sell it now and move on.

StreetKA

iTrader: (8)

^how can you check that if they told him first that they wont cover it ?

lothian110

where can i find out if my vin is under that new extension?

on acura's website it doesn't say anything about that when i put my vin in the recall search.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

mine died and acura said too bad... so count ur blessings

mine you i wouldn't trust acura to put in another tranny anyways but still... i hope u don't get a raw deal.

slowcl-s

iTrader: (1)

A little search will help you more than anything on this forum, but here ya go. http://owners.acura.com/Maintenance/Recalls.aspx

Good luck

lothian110

i meant that i had already put my vin in acura's website and nothing came up about an additional recall. i also didn't see any details of another extension. so i am assuming my vin isn't covered. thanks anyway

and btw - i mean they are covering 60% of the $5200 total. I would be required to cover $2080.

you guys are all saying I am lucky to get the 60% off, but I think the only reason i am getting that is because I have the service record to back it up. if i took them to court, i'd probably win... the problem is the time, hastle and money. thats what they are counting on.
they are pressuring me to give them my decision even before acura closes my case... they havent even started investigating it.
if i stand firm it will cost them more money, so they're hoping i take the offer. i have to decide if it is worth the time/hastle/money to fight them on it as a matter of principle....

exl124

If you have the records...fight it...But like you said...time, money and the hassles sucks. AND...if you win, they may not play nice and may not properly install the new tranny.

6spdTLman

i would just pay the money and be happy with a new tranny , but i can deff agree on principle and if you have gone to the dealer meticulously to prevent this type of thing from happening then it shoudnt be on you if it does happen .

TampaJim

You are VERY unlikely to get a brand new AND free transmission for a vehicle that is already over 7 years of age and at 95k miles. I am not going to say it can't happen, but I don't see reason that it should.

You are possibly entitled to a used transmission of the approximate same age and mileage in good condition (what yours WOULD have been had it not failed).

IMO, you have been given a very good offer. $2k is a great price for a brand new transmission installed by an Acura dealer. I do suggest waiting for the case manager to call.

Be sure to fairly state your relationship with Honda/Acura (number of lifetime new vehicle purchases) and your relationship with the dealer (where has the vehicle been serviced). Politely ask if they would be willing to increase their share of the cost.

I would suggest being grateful for ANY decision that they make. As I stated, you do have a solid offer already in hand.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

especially in these times.. gotta b optimistic at least

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Your just mad. It'll cost you more then 2K to fight it in court & you will still loose.
Suck it up man. Either pay it or don;t. I know it sucks, but this is why we all hate the auto's & why most of us have dumped Acura.
BTW you can get a used trans on EBay or online from different sources, & have a shop install it. Though it would still cost you around $1500.

fsttyms1

Agree. You will loose, and it will cost you more to find that out and most likely acura will take the 60% off the table and you will be stuck paying the full amount. You could have them change your fluid EVERY 3k with your oil changes and it still WONT tell them if the trans is going bad. Fluid being drained out is NOT a good indicator if the trans is going to fail, and the dealer has NOT been putting a "bandaid" on it to get it past warranty so they dont have to cover it as you put it. Your trans has been slowly wearing out for the last 95k miles. Speak NICELY to the case manager and see if they will be willing to good will it or cover more since you do bring the car in for regular maint. If not take the offer!

timberland73

iTrader: (1)

I think you're getting a good deal. When my trans failed, Acura covered some of the costs but I still ended up paying $2700 out of pocket. Take the 60% and run with it.

lothian110

went with the 60%.. it was the best they would do after discussing with the acura case manager.
PAA also told me the electronic component of the ignition switch ($350) was bad and the radiator hoses need to be replaced. I declined any of their other service.

Now i'll have to search about ignition switches, but I havent had any problems that would make me think mine is bad. i dont know what the symptoms are though.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

The ignition switch is #9:



PN 35130-S84-A01 $73 list, but you can get it online for ~$55.

Its an easy swap, remove the steering column cover and its right at the end of the key lock cylinder.

Mr3.2S

Is the $5200 the retail for a full replaced tranny?

lothian110

According to the stealerships service rep:
Around $4200-$5200 depending on if they have to replace the ecu or not. And he says they normally do.
Thanks for the image civicdrivr. It is very helpful. I checked out a DIY on the TL side. Looks simple enough, but I never had any problems with it. Wouldn't be surprised if they started now that the dealer got a hold of it.

To all of you who said I would lose in court... Very few cases go to court, especially for an amount as small as $5k. Acura/dealer would very likely settle the case to avoid the court costs which would amount to much more than that. My costs would probably be close to the same $2k, unless I got them to includethat in settlement. Like I said earlier, not worth the hastle on principle alone.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

i'd either rebuild the trans or put in a tl or oddessy transmission. that transmission u are getting is just one that failed years ago acura fully rebuilds it to their shitty specs and then sells them back to customers as new.

I know this because i have 2 acura techs at two differnt locations that told me this is how acura has been doing it so they don't lose their shirt.

sure it'll look and drive brand new in the beginning, but don't judge a book by it's cover.

ecu practically never needs to be replaced. mine was acting just a tad wonky on the 1st to 2nd shift. i thought it was my rebuilt trans fault. turned out i just needed to pull the 7.5 amp fuse, disconnect the battery and leave the headlight switch on to drain everything. and next day it was mint.

not saying this will fix ur problem. but it just goes to show how and ecu, like any computer can be intermittently fucked until u reset the MO FO.

ecu new is almost 1500 i believe as well so ur 20 whatever hundred u owe would be WAYYYYYY less if they didn't toss in that new pointless ecu.

anyhoo best of luck OP.

buy a cooler for the transmission and leave it on, it won't hurt.

fsttyms1

There is NO reason to NOT rebuild the trans they pulled out of failed cars. Most of the parts inside there is NOTHING wrong with. The failure part is the wear parts (the clutch discs and plates) The case and gears usually never have any thing wrong with them and have no need to be replaced.

Why would you think a "new" trans would be better?

And as far as the ECU, there was a ECU programing change when the problem came to life. It changed the shift patterns in hope to allow less slipping between shifts taking out some of the heat build up causing the wear. Seeing that the ECUs on these cars cant be re-written to the dealer couldnt flash them to the new programing hence the ecu needed to be replaced.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

First of all if you went to court it would be small claims and the burden of proof would be on you to prove that the dealer knew something was wrong and you don't have any proof so the chances of you winning is slim and none.

Acura has already been sued and have settled on a class action lawsuit in regards to the transmission issue so you won't be getting anymore then they are offering you now.

lothian110

Small claims would only occur if they didn't settle before that happened. Which is most likely the scenario.

I have used transmission fluid waiting to be recycled that will show metal at a higher level than what occurs in normal transmissions. Check out blackstone labs. They're great. Other indications of failure have been documented by the dealer on my service reports. In civil court the burden of proof is lesser than "beyond a reasonable doubt".

The class action has nothing to do with the dealers neglect to correctly fix an existing problem under warranty.

But whatever. Doesn't matter. Like I said, not worth the hastle either way.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

I was just pointing out that if its a small claims issue you don't have much as much leverage as if it were regular court. In your previous post I thought you included suing Acura that's why I brought up the class action.

I hope everthing works out for you.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

u can rebuild the trans with different clutches too which will help out significantly.

car has been running like new ever since my rebuild with them. and i'm at 30000kms again which is when the other rebuilt ate itself so.. they're definitely much better. level ten.com is where i got them they sell the full rebuild kit with seals and the works. for like 400... cheap

lot of ppl don't like them or agree with me but i said i'd like you all know when i elapsed 30k and i have and no issues at all.

it's just one more option to think about there OP

chtrcy

My 03 tranny went out about 6-8 months ago and my Acura dealership covered everything except 500.00 and they gave me a 3/26 warranty. My VIN was outside the range on what they were covering as well. I was very lucky. Take it to a regular auto shop and have them rebuild it or stick an 06 TL tranny since that has been done in one of the threads.

MTEAZY

level 10 is a scam. 30k miles on a trans is nothing special.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

^^ well for me it is there bud cause my previous one with stock acura clutches burned up in 30K..

just because u all hate level ten don't mean ****.

u all bashed me for not throwing in the tl trans or the oddessy, cause i got mine rebuilt for 1K plus this kit so 1500 basically and i couldn't be happier. I only wish other would consider saving themselves the money i did. Too bad it took a 2nd trans to go to figure it out tho.

and FYI they are not even level ten components. they just piece together the kit. so u must really be bias if u wouldn't use them because they were sued years and years ago. oh well that didn't stop me from getting the strongest components u can put inside our trans.

Thanks to them I have carbon kevlar clutches which will probably never fail regardless of the trans fluid problem. Cause they are meant to take EXTREME heat, which is what our trans generates with the absence of fluid on the 2 to 3 shift. hence why i put a cooler on, couldn't hurt.

happy trails OP

MTEAZY

Never mind. You said 30k kilometers. For your sake I hope nothing goes wrong with it.