I have about 3,500 miles on my 06 RL, and the the transmission is starting to get on my nerves. I have the vibration hum that others have reported at around 1200-1500 rpm. I decided I could live with that until my first oil change. However, over the past week or so, some new problems have started to develop. When I use the manumatic (paddle) shifting, the car is very jerky when I upshift. In fact, the car jerks so much it almost feels like the engine is about to jump out of the dashboard. This does not seem to depend on how much gas I am giving the car when shifting. On upshifts, the car holds the gear too long after I shift, and then jerks itself into the next gear. In regular automatic mode, the car is somewhat smoother, but it still jerks when it shifts.

Is this normal for the RL? My 04 MDX is very smooth and never felt like this. I checked through other posts and cannot find anything similar to my problem, so maybe I am the only one.

Well, thanks for listening!

 

I agree about the "jerky" shifting and asked the head mechanic about it when we did a test drive concerning a whine in the engine/transmission. The mechanic (very knowledgable BTW) said the trans is not the typical type and is more like a autoshifting manual trans. This will shift differently than a Lexus type trans. Personally I think the trans is the weak link in an otherwise excellent car. It is not a sports car, it is a upscale vehicle that can handle itself better than anything comparably equipted. I also noticed other problems with the trans...1) when letting up on the gas, the trans can slow the car rapidly as if I had downshifted on occasion. Mechanic said normal...if the car thinks you were going down hill. 2) Whine between 20-40+MPH is like a 70's car with a bad alternator sound through the radio. I test drove another 06 and it made the exact same noise. 3) shifts into overdrive too early...again the design. These are issues that are inherent in this car and I will learn to live with them. They are overshadowed by the positive features which are numerous. This car replaced a BMW 740i which was an incredable car but also had its issues. The perfect car has yet to be built. I rebuild and drive a 76 Datsun Z280 when I want to have a blast and not be concerned about safety/quiet/nav/amazing radio/seating perfection etc.

 

ilas: This is not normal for the RL. My trans is smooth and doesn't make the noise you have.

 

The tranny is nowhere near the quality of the one in my S4 but it should do a lot better than you describe. I think someone else had trouble and the dealer found a simple problem like a loose vacuum host or switch. Good luck!

 

I to am a bit disappointed in the smoothness of the transmission. I do not get the jerkiness described but at times it does shift less than smooth, especially the 4 to 5 shift. I reported this and they redid the 3 to 4 TSB, but I think it did not help and maybe made it worse. I was told the 3 to 4 tsb was done before I took possession of the car. I will admit at times, it shifts very smoothly and you cannot tell. I noticed that the shifting is worse when it is cold.

I hope I get over this becasue I have had all my other issues resolved and this is my only remaining one. (I still love this car.)

 

Under "normal" driving conditions, at what RPM does your transmission shift gears? On occasion, mine seems to hold on to first and second gear beyond 4000 rpm.

 

Treblig, I assume that's under near-WOT conditions? I have no trouble with the tranny when I drive 'enthusiastically'. It's when the car is shifting up when I'm driving down a hill at say 40 M/h that I feel the car lurch slightly when the higher gear engages. It speeds up a little. With an electronic throttle that's really inexcusable. The computer knows exactly what the tranny is doing (or about to do) and should manipulate the engine accordingly. If Bosch could do it 10 years ago (Audi B5 platform) then Acura should be able to do it now.

 

Thanks everyone for comments. I have noticed these same things, especially the fact that sometimes the shifts are not noticeable, but other times they are. Also, often the speeds up and shifts, especially on a hill when I am holding the accelerator steady. Also, my tranny seems to lug the engine when I am going easy, although I read this from others somewhere so it is probably "normal" for the car. My service appt is Monday, so I can report back after that.

Do any of you use the manumatic paddles? My shifting is absolutely horrid with that mode. I have stopped using it.

That said, I still love the car and can live with a less-than-perfect transmission because of all the other things I like about it. Perhaps with the refresh Acura will tweak this aspect of the car.

 

I have used the paddle shifter and have not had any issue with them.

After you take your car in let us know if they tweaked the shiftng feel in any way adn what they did.

Thansk

 

Well, my car is at the dealer overnight. I drove the service manager around in it, and he seemed confused about why it shifted in manumatic the way it did, but said the automatic did not feel that bad to him. He also did hear the stupid annoying vibration at 1200 RPM, so that's good. I called this afternoon, and he said they are still working on the problem and did not know anything yet. I am a bit skeptical, I wonder if they even looked at it. Anyway, my dealer is a great one (I have an 04 MDX from them), so I am not terribly worried.

I am worried that they might try and do a TSB from the 05 model which messes everything up on an 06. But, I guess the 06s would already have been adjusted for TSBs in 2005.

 

I just got a call from the service manager about my 06 RL. My car has been at the shop now for two days. Basically, they know the manumatic shifting is not normal, but they have yet to find the problem with it. They also cannot find the problem with the vibration hum at 1200 rpm, although they do hear it and also acknowledge that there is something amiss. I told them about the Acurazine post I read where someone claimed they had a hum at 1200 RPM caused by a fuel line vibrating against the frame. They said "huh"

So, the bottomline is that they are keeping my car another (third) day. On the plus side, I am having fun tossing around the TSX they gave me.

I will update everybody once I know something.

 

ilas-

Ever get your car back- how is the shifing?

 

Thanks for asking. You won't believe this. My car is still with the dealer...I took it in Monday, and they want to continue keeping it next week.

There are two problems, the virbration/hum and the shifting. They claim to have taken apart the entire exhaust and checked every fuel line, but when they put it all back together the hum is still there (well, this is what they say). They acknowledge that the sound is annoying and not normal, but the service manager says they are at a loss to find it.

Also, he tells me they have not yet decided whether my shifting is normal or not, but they are still "working" on it.

I suggested that perhaps I should just live with it and pick up the car, but he keeps telling me to just continue driving the loner car (tsx) until they fix the problems. In the meantime, he says they are surfing the internet and talking to Acura.

Not sure if this is all good or bad, but this dealer has been good to me in the past. Also, they are a small volume dealer and really keyed on customer satisfaction, but at the same time the mechanics there probably do not work on as many RLs as big dealerships.

Oh well, I continue to wait.....