Any idea why they shut it out of the DCT upgrades, sticking with the 6-speed auto?

 

Because they were smart and stuck with what works.

Besides the DCT can't take the power of the V6.

 

Hmm I test drove the TLX with 8DCT, was excellent, power of gears but almost the smoothness of CVT. The V6 SH-AWD version on both TLX and MDX use the 9DCT.

 

All I can say is I am very impressed with how smooth my tranny is on my 16!

 

After hearing folks' issues on the TLX board about the V6 with the 9speed tranny, I'm more than happy to have the 6-speed on my RDX. After about 4k miles I'm very pleased with the way it drives, and don't see a need for those 3 additional gears. My wife's '12 TL SH-AWD has the 6 speed mated to a 3.7L and it's also a great drivetrain - and one of the reasons she's gonna buy it at the lease-end and not try the TLX SH-AWD.....

andy

 

nope, 9AT. made by ZF.

 

I'll be honest, I was disappointed to learn that Acura would not be upgrading the transmission to an 8 or 9 speed variant with the 2016 refresh. I always found the one in our 2013 to be a bit jerky between shifts (only in certain circumstances, not always). However, now that we have our 2016, I find the transmission to be a lot more smooth. In fact, in a week of driving so far I haven't experienced the jerkiness at all. I do believe that it was updated (whether just software I cannot confirm), but it does feel better. And I can say now is that I don't care anymore that they didn't offer an 8 or 9 speed, what is provided works very well.

 

Back when my wife got her '12 TL we also drove a (then) new '13 RDX. Back then the RDX seemed to have a few "unrefined" driving behaviors that I can't recall the exact nature of them, but were in the back of my memory. Anyway the wife loved the TL more so that's what we got. Fast forward to my driving of a '15 RDX. While on paper it's the same vehicle as the '13, it seemed much crisper and more managed/behaved when driving. I can't put my finger on it, but it could be tweaks in the transmission and other things they did over the 13-15 period. Anyway, I've been more than happy with my '15 in terms of driveability - and I enjoy it a whole lot more than the '13 MDX I replaced.

andy

 

I test drive the 2016 RDX (2 cars from 2 dealerships) and 2016 MDX (2 cars from 2 dealerships) and here's what I found:

2016 RDX (both cars) - The transmission is very smooth. I can barely feel it when the car is changing gears. Ride quality was exceptional.

2016 MDX (Car 1) - As soon as I pull out of the dealership lot, I notice the transmission has a tendency to hunt for gears. It is mostly noticeable when the car is coasting towards a red light or costing in a light slope on a highway. The gear hunting made the ride very choppy.

2016 MDX (Car 2) - The transmission is very smooth. I can barely feel it when the car is changing gears. Ride quality was exceptional.

I am not very convinced that the 9 speed automatic gear box is a good match. I am sad that Acura did not put a push button gear box in the 2016 RDX, but I will stick with a 6 speed gear box in exchange for a smooth ride.

 

Ack, my bad! Now I'm wondering why that 9-speed isn't DCT lol.

 

The Flagship electric-hybrid SHSHAWD RLX uses a 7-speed DCT.

not to sure why they went with the ZF 9AT for the six cylinder cars

 

The current six speed auto is one of the smoothest transmissions I've had in a while. Acura reasoning might be why fix something which is not broke and I agree with that. If the new transmissions completely trump the current ones, then one can argue for it but that doesn't appear to be the case here. BTW I'd take a regular gear shift with knob over buttons any day. It simply feels nice and sporty (even if it isn't).

 

maybe time constraints to release the TLX as the 8DCT cant hold the torque of the v6


and yes, i answered my own question.

 

Like all automakers, Acura messes with stuff that isn't broke all the time. Look what they did to the wheels! But seriously, offering the 9-speed in the MDX and upper trim levels of the Pilot tells me it's probably a cost thing. But the 9-speed sucks, so regardless of the reason, RDX owners are better off for it.

 

Certainly not broken but the TLX is rated at 35MPG highway due to that 8th gear!

 

I think the 7DCT from the RLX Hybrid is a different configuration than would work with the V6. Something to do with how it interfaces to the electric motor off the engine.

 

More gears doesn't necessarily mean better mpg - look at the mdx, they knocked off an mpg after moving from the 6 to the 9 speed tranny. I'm sure it will be fine once they get the bugs worked out, but I'm perfectly happy with the 6 spd in both my '12 TL and the '16 RDX. My TL just passed 37K miles and I think its finally breaking in. Highway I'm getting 27mpg, the RDX is getting over 30mpg highway. I use Shell V Power gas. I have no complaints with efficiency given the power and driveability of these cars

 

I'm not so sure. The problems with the 9-speed seem to be inherent to the design -- specifically the dog clutches used for packaging and efficiency. Jeep, JLR and Honda/Acura have yet to get it feeling/behaving like a conventional automatic. More troubling than the feel is the number of total failures Jeep customers have experienced. Aisin supplies transverse 8-speed autos to Volvo, Lexus and now BMW. Knowing the complaints were piling up, I'd love to know why Honda chose to use the ZF unit.

 

Interesting, I can't find much analysis on why the 9AT did worse on fuel economy, even though the 2016 MDX lost some weight.

Would be interesting to see a comparison of just straight cruise control on top gears between the 2015 and 2016 models. I'm not sure how reliable or consistent the EPA numbers are; they rated my TSX at 29MPG highway and I got 35 with AC on, can go over 40 if hypermiling but if I wanted to go that slow, I'd take public.

 

I'm not sure have many 'total failures' I've seen of the Chrysler 9-speed. They have had very similar problems as Acura has seen on the TLX's 9AT. But I haven't seen a lot of total failures, in fact I don't know of any. One difference is that Chrysler manufactures their transmission under license and many of the issues they have had were related to how it interfaces to the AWD on the Jeep. Acura buys the transmissions from ZF.

 

You would hear plenty if you spent any time on the Cherokee forums. And then there's was this report from Car and Driver in February ...

"While NHTSA has not launched an investigation, Jeep dealers are replacing between 12 to 15 transmissions a week, according to AN. Aside from Honda, there have been no recalls for this transmission, only lots of frustrated owners from these first-year vehicles."

ZF 9-speed Automatic Problems Mount, Chrysler Releases Third Update for Cherokee - News - Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

 

I had the '15 TLX with 9AT, and it was one of the primary reasons why I traded the car. Very rough 1-2, 2-3 shifts, and I really felt that 9 speeds were too many. When I wanted it to downshift to pass, for example, there was always a long pause as it tried to figure out where it wanted to go. And the delay was even more pronounced when I would use the paddle shifters as a work-around. There are definitely some kinks that need to be resolved...

My RDX has none of those issues. The 6-speed is smooth as butter, and no hesitation at all when down-shifting or using the paddle shifters. I'll take refined and "works as it should" any day over the ZF 9.

 

It's just like when Honda moved from a 4 to 5 speed. What a disaster. Amazingly the 6 speed in my RDX has been flawless and smooth.

I did drive the ILX, with the 8 speed tranny, and it seemed fine.

Tried and true is good.

 

Thanks for the link. I did also go on a Jeep Cherokee forum and saw the artilce that states they are replacing about 12 transmissions a week, collectively, out of a total of ~79,000 vehicles or around 0.48%. That may be low of course, but it does not say why these were being replaced. Later someone posted an article that states Honda had a transmission failure around 1.6% back in 2002/3. So the current replacement rate is less than Honda's bad transmission. Being the victim of a bad transmission 'I feel their pain' but still the vast majority of Jeep transmission problems are software related. Also keep in mind Chrysler is building these under license and may have even made their own design modifications to fit the Jeep, so these failures may be related to their own modifications. Hard to tell. As far as the TLX, I've only read that one person on here reported a replaced transmission due to the parking pawl issue. Many of course are unhappy with the shifting performance. I hope this latest software update makes the performance of the 9-speed reasonable on the TLX. As for the Jeep, it has its own unique issues that may be unrelated to the TLX.

 

I read on the TLX forum they have just released a software update for the ZF9 and it looks like it solved some problems.
Happy to have old school 6 speed on my RDX.