Zapata

Although my transmission has functioned well to this date, I worry about my car out of warranty. I drive about 18.5k miles a year and at that rate my standard Acura warranty will run out in 1 year and 7 months. What happens when my car hits 50,100 miles and my transmission decides to blow because of the inherent weakness?? Of course the transmission could break for unrelated reasons but 80% of my driving is non-stop highway driving. 50 miles per day with 40miles highway and 10 is local traffic but this local traffic is VERY VERY light and it isn't stop and go. I use the potential of the car but do not beat on it so the transmission shouldn't fail due to the high stress put the car because highway driving is pretty much stress free.

If you look at the poll in the transmission portion of the board you can see that the majority of people whose transmission failed happend between 10-20k miles. However, there are a good number of people over the 20k mark that also have failures so there isn't a danger zone for mileage in which the transmission will fail and if it passess through then everything is ok. I suspect that the rate for transmission failure rates will increase as the mileage increases because the national average is about 12k.


I'll report what they tell me....

Zapata

Ok just spoke with David for about 12 minutes. I refered to our archive of failure rates/multiple failure rates and how the percentage of failure rates has been increasing.

He gave me the standard line. Well Acura knows about the problem. Acura is attempting to figure out if there are any commonalities(even a word?) between failures and what they do see is something centered around the Seqeuntial Sport Shift.....but he wouldn't elaborate on that I told him that i wouldn't pay for an extended warranty to ensure Acura will fix what was already broken in the first place. I asked him if he could or if Acura could give me any assurances and he said nothing officially. However, he said that Acura will taken in to consideration the care that was given to the car. The care includes Acura Recommend Service intervals. Moreover, he said that my calling Acura will also help. Help in what? Well he said that Acura would give some type of "relief". What does that mean? It will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Possibly that we would only have to pay for the labor
$640(8hrs work @$80/hr) v. 3k for the new tranny. This talk of relief is consistant with what SynCivic? aka Doug told TypeR the other day.

For those people who don't think going in for services isn't worth it i suggest you start doing so. Yes, it's blackmail but you if it ends up saving some headache with out of warranty expenditure then why not??


CALL Acura and just tell them that WE KNOW something is messed up and Acura SHOULD do something to help its customers.


Result:
Well he spoke of relief so that makes me feel a little better but it's unofficial so Acura could tell me to take a hike if something bad happens.

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Most likely, Axura will offer an extended warrantee on the Transmission for 100,000 miles/ 6 years for Free. You should not pay for labor too.

This is if we insist enough about it!

A letter to Acura from say a 1000+ CL/TL/CLS/TLS owners (with their VIN numbers) would force Acura to do so.!

Sure Acura does not want to read in Auto Week about this mess..

Fabvsix

Zapata,
In Jan. of 1998, I bought my FIRST auto tranny car. It was a 98 Accord Coupe EX-V6. Since DAY ONE, I've brought it to the same dealership to present. At 78K miles, my warranty long expired, my tranny died ! I was disturbed to say the least. However, the Service Manager, told me to relax, gave me a loaner and said he'll call me tomorrow once he spoke to HONDA's big guy........Well heres what they offered:
The put in a new tranny (cost was well over $5000.00), believe me, I checked with other dealership, just to make sure I wasn't getting screwed. They all quoted the same. One told me "usually" after 75,000 miles your on your own. The reason, they paid was because of my 3 year service record with that dealership ! I ended up paying for the labor which was $600.oo bucks !

My point is, if you avoid service intervals, go to "joe's shop" and suddenly something like this happens........guess what, Your HONDA SCREWED !
IT PAYS TO FIND A HONEST AND REPUBABLE DEALER/SERVICE DEPT AND STICK WITH EM.......

BigPimp

Well, isnt this great, so its the SS causing all this mess. I had a feeling it could've been it, well now that he mentioned it, it makes more sense.

shockboltthrower

That is absolute bullshit!!
If it is a known problem, then it shouldn't have anything to do with going in for service intervals. It doesn't take a fucking genius to change your oil. and the only service i would even consider would be the 30k but even that is a waste of time and money. basically if you change your oil regularly, and coolant and fluids at reasonable levels, then this shouldn't be an issue. that fact is that Honda will pay for it when you have your sevice records only because they can't get out of it. but otherwise they will look for every excuse to not fix their fuck up.
I have a 94 Grand Am (yes folks a fucking American car, ok? so don't shit your pants). my service record for it? every 3-4k miles I chnge the oil and filter with whatever brand was on sale at kmart. at 107k I have had no tranny or engine troubles. all this from a lowly Pontiac!
I love my CL but I love my money even more. I will certainly attempt to secure some kind of written promise of an extended warranty on my tranny so i don't get honda screwed after 50k. but if at 45k I can't get any reasonable satisfaction from Acura, then I'm going to find me some stupid high schooler looking for a street racer to get himself killed with and I'm dumping that car on him. It will be Acura no more for me.
and it just takes a couple hundred more of pissed customers like me to put a dent in their sales. and perhaps some ranting on the internet to discourage would be buyers. I can't take out Honda, but i can be quite a fucking annoyance to them.

Zapata

Fabsix,
Your experience with the dealership and the what the Customer Rep. told me on the phone today validate each other. Now i need to figure out if i want to stick with this car I've had every major service done.

BigPimp,
Maybe the problem is not the SS itself. However, there might be a problem when people are in SS and let off the gas. Since there isn't a clutch to stop the engine and transimission from disengaging heat and stress are buidling up and causing weak parts to fail. Who knows.


Stockbottlethrower,
I agree with. However, i can undestand from honda's point of view. Knowing that the car was properly maintained helps in honda taking the 5k hit on an out of warranty job.

shockboltthrower

agreed...however, if Acura technicians are as well trained as they claim to be, they can immediately see if a car has been maintained well or if it was abused. They would also be able to immediatelt identify a problematic tranny. That is the point I am trying to make. to me it just sounds like Honda trying to get out of paying for their screw up.
each of us will handle it however it suits us best, but i hope that things work out well in the end. i would like to keep my CL for as long as possible.

Zapata

I know and agree with everything that you are saying. However since Corporate is taking the financial hit and not the dealership i understand why Honda wants "honda" people to have worked on the car.

JRock

Yeah, I almost never use SS and I think that's why my tranny is doing so well. When you use SS and you let off the gas and use the tranny to slow your car down, you're stressing an automatic transmission, which is not built the same as a manual which is made for such stress. Just my opinion.

TypeSKid

almost never use my SS and my tranny has been replaced once so far.




And as far as the the recommended services go, I say fuck that. I've got the extended warranty, and if something goes wrong for the next 75K+ miles, then its Acura's problem, not mine.

dmcconnell

Read the manufacturer's literature and you will find verbaige of an "implied warranty", whatever that is. I had a '94 Prelude from day one. Ever since day one it used oil. I complained about it to get it on the record. I was told "using 1 quart of oil per 1,000 miles or less is not considered using oil" to Honda. At 70,00 miles, I brought the car back because it was using a quart every 600 miles. The service manager tried to use the lack of Honda's maintenance schedule as his out. I told him I chnge my own oil (Mobil One) at even more stringent intervals than Honda recommends. I also mentioned how his service department used the wrong vicosity oil when my vehicle was brought in for the complimentary oil change, and that I did not feel comfortable having them change my oil after that situation. I was offered to have the pistons, rings, and connecting rod bearings replaced NO CHARGE! However, no guarantee that it would not use oil. Honda also asked me not to use Mobil One. Be persistent, if you are in the right, yoiu might have to fight for your rights, or you will lose your rights! I think the bottom line is: all the VTEC 4 cyl engines use oil, and it is in Honda's best interest for this info NOT to circulate. Another point to remember (and the service manager pointed this out to me), the service department gets paid by the manufacturer to do the repiar, so the Honda dealer is still getting paid for his work. There was more to this story, but this is the Cliff Notes.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Let me throw a wrench into your logic. The majority of problems are with the 5-speed auto tranny.

I have a 99 TL with the 4-speed tranny, I use SS all the time and I have never had a problem...knock wood. I also have about every performance mod on the car and have not experienced any problems.

ajram

I have had two Honda VTEC 4 cyl equipped cars, and neither of them used *any* oil in 3,000 miles. (98 Civic EX, 98 Prelude).

NateBoozer

Which leads to what I think......

First off, I don't think it's the Sport Shift at all. Maybe I'm reading too deep into this but I think he's just trying to mess with your mind and get you off the phone. Think about it, If he says that it has something to do with the Sport Shift then you automatically think, "I'll stop using Sport Shift". This now puts your mind at ease; you hang up the phone and are now a happy customer. If he said, it's the tourque converter then you have a different response. You then get upset and demand either a corrected part or some type of free warranty. What else on the car could he have blamed it on that the customer actually has control over?

Sorry, I just had to give you my thoughts on the probable false comfort you have by thinking that your future tranny issues are gone as long as you don't use that Sport Shift.

In closing, I just want to say that I love my car and have been putting quite a few miles on it lately because of business. I don't worry about the transmission failing because I have the extended warranty. By the time that car does hit 100k, I'll just trade it in.

acura_service

everyone, its good business sense, if you are a good customer of a dealership and have all the reccomended services done, you have a much better chance of a out of warranty adjustment in your favor, they can review any of the records (because the dealer has them) and of course the dealer is going to regard you as a excellent customer, and car business or any business you want to take care of your excellent customers any way you can, i always feel that it pays to get all the reccomended services done by the dealer, - there are good techs and bad techs everywhere and although some dealers are not perfect, they have all the training and tools to do the right job, and the ability to call technical assistance for any above and beyond help with a difficult problem, and even though you spent the money up front with sales who in turn paid acura for the car, by getting service at the dealer you are repeatedly buying factory parts - which dealers have to buy from acura, so the factory likes to see repeat service, its not a decision breaker, but it can sway them in your favor when you bought goods and services from the dealer and acura

acura_service

maybe if your transmission were to go, you can ask k mart for some assistance, tell them what a great customer you are and see if they help you out, after all you spend alot of money at there store and they should be willing to help there best customers as should any business

Zapata

I agree i can see where improper use of SS could abuse the tranny. However, i think he and Acura are really grasping for something that isn't there. Unfortunately, even if i buy the extended warranty i still be paying off my loan By the time i hit 5 year term i'll have nearly 100k miles on the CLS.

NateBoozer

That's all the more reason to get the extended warranty. I don't know about you but I don't think I'd have the money for a new trans on the spot while I'm still paying the monthly loan payment. They can finance the extended at 0% over the life of your original loan. That way you don't have to pay so much. That's what I did at least.

Don't worry though man. Just enjoy that sweet ride!

Zapata

Not sure I understand.

Red Rider

Just drive your cars already

Zapata

We do. Apparently Acura believes driving is causing the transmission failures

fast_daddy_car

I would be more worried about my CLS being taken out by a distracted soccer mom talking on her cell phone in her monster SUV than my tranny going.

I bet if you do a search, more CLS's have died this way rather than the tranny going.

Actually, I bet more money in damage has been caused by sliding on the crappy stock tires than the tranny going.

Definitely more money in eye care and tylenol has been spent on the damage caused by reading posts about the tranny going :P

NateBoozer

The price for the extended warranty was $1,200 at my dealership. Well, I decided to finance that instead of paying the entire amount up front. They offered to finance the price of the warranty at 0% interest and made it over a 5 year loan.

Hope that helps clear my prev. post up for ya.

sgriffin

The price of the extended warranty is highly negotiable.
You can buy it on the internet from some Acura dealers.
Buy it anywhere, it works everywhere.

Transfers to next owner (small charge) and that's a real plus on the resale.

cnatra

I agree!

Two of the main reasons I bougth an Acura was reliability & customer service.
I love driving my CL-S but now I'm wondering about the long term reliability of a very expensive & essential component of the car.
I will proboably end up getting the extended warranty but if I have transmission problems, no more Honda/Acuras for me!!!

It will be Nissan/Infiniti or Toyota/Lexus.

cnatra

Yeah! What he said!

CLS899

I have spoken to few Acura Customer Relations people about the transmission problems Acura cars have and they all said that they are not aware of any Acura transmission problems. I suggested that they look at the Acura-Cl.com postings about transmission problems.

shockboltthrower

hey cumface,

first of all why don't you pull your mouth off of your service dealer's dick and speak like a man, ok?
second, learn how to read a fucking post, you silly faggot.

I use Mobile 1 5/30 and the Mobile M1-104 (or K&N whichever is available) in my CLS and i change it every 7k, well below what Mobile 1 is capable of. as for the cheap sale, stuff. i said I use it on my 94 Grand Am, shit-for-brains! you couldn't even read my post correctly.
you sound like such a fucking woman. "I feel it pays to get all the service recommended by the dealer. It's good business sense." why don't you turn around and lift you skirt up so the dealer has his hairy dick so far up your ass his jizz will blow your eye sockets out.
I am not an Acura technician, but my old man taught me the basics of being a man and changing my own oil is one of them. Let me guess, you are one of those pansies that calls roadside to change your tire??
maybe you don't like to get you dress dirty by getting under the car, and that is fine with me...go pay some one else to do it. it ain't my money.
just read my post carefully the next time you decide to get cute with me , ok?

shockboltthrower

oh, look! Maybe i should learn to read your sig more carefully...you sound like you work for an Acura dealer!! well, well, well. that means you must get all your service for free. of course the dealer would have all your service visits on record. You fucking work there!!! and i am sure that you will always be "taken care off" even if your car is out of warranty. so what about the average joes who don't have a godfather's lap to sit on like you do?
hey if you get all your shit for free or at "preferred prices" good for you! but don't start harping on people to do what makes "good business sense" for the dealer and try to come off as a "regular customer" you sound like a major asshole!

Zapata

ok ok take it easy fellas. Let's just cool down here. We all know Acura_services position related modifications, Acura warranty etc.,

Stock,
I'm just as pissed as you are about it. I'm as disappointed as you are but hopefully Acura will figure something out. Otherwise, i might just rid of the car.

EricL

Stock:

You have PM...

cnatra

Dude! Chill out!

I think acuraservice may be inherently biased but that one post was way out of line!

shockboltthrower

way out of line?? how so? he gave me a smart ass remark and I gave him my response. period.

and Eric...it's Shock, not Stock...and check your pm...

EricL

Shock -- fine.

The problem is your response and it is totally unacceptable in this forum.