Hi everyone. I don't often have a chance to come on here, but when I do I'm constantly searching for any and all transmission info I can find. I've had an issue ever since I bought my 2011 RL, and frankly am at the point where I'd honestly rather trade my RL in for a Lexus GS and call it a day. (this is coming from a loyal Honda/Acura owner, and funnily enough my previous 2002 TL's tranny had similar issues)
I'll try to be brief, but I want to be thorough at the same time. I'm looking for any ideas/help I can get at this point before I end up trading this car in. Also, please be patient with me if I don't respond immediately, my job keeps me very busy this time of year.



Symptoms:
1. Hard/jerky shifting (so hard that it feels like I hit an animal every time the car downshifts), in pretty much all gears, but gears 1-4 have it the worst. (yes I have a 6 speed)
2. Sporadic shifting; mainly on hills but happens randomly on flat roads too, the car 'hunts' for the correct gear and jumps all around. Pair this with the above problem and I pretty much want to scream in frustration when I see a hill
3. Very hard shifts into drive/reverse; the whole chassis literally bucks and tilts at a slight angle. Very jarring and uncomfortable for all passengers when I have to shift to reverse or drive
4 (May be unrelated to transmission, but not 100% sure) Car 'slams' when starting up. Almost like the engine (transmission?) is slamming downward every time.


What I've tried so far:
1. Took car to local mechanic, said car is fine and should drive it the way it is
2. Took car to a local reputable transmission shop, said they feel the problems, scanned the computer and came back with no codes. Ended up saying the slamming and hard shifts are just normal for this car (I highly doubt this...)
3. Took car to Acura dealership, said it needed a tranny software update, I tested it out and have driven it a few thousand miles since. Slight difference, just a little better, but has gone back to the way it used to be recently. Also, dealership BADLY scraped undercarriage, ripping out bolts on passenger side. Permanent damage at this point, nothing I can do. No proof.
4. Drained and filled the tranny fluid 4 times since owning the car, fluid has never been a problem. Always cherry red.



So that's my car's story... I was sure all the symptoms could be attributed to bad shift solenoids, but the computer was scanned with no codes coming back as stated above. Does anyone have any advice for me? Possible causes? I'm very hesitant to bring my car back to Acura after what they did, but I have no experience with transmissions and certainly couldn't do anything myself without instructions to follow/a tutorial video (yeah, good luck finding that for an '11 RL, LOL. I've tried...)



Please, knowledgeable members of Acurazine! Help me salvage this wonderful car and get many years of enjoyment out of it! You're my last line of defense.

 

drain and fill your ATF with Honda DW-1 fluid, do 3 drain with 5k miles between each drain interval.

 

Thank you for the feedback. I can certainly try that again to see if it helps. Also, when I said I drained the fluid 4 times, I meant 3x3 drain and fill. So I've changed the fluid 12 times in the past 6-7 months (excessive I know, but I wanted to be sure everything was good).

If you still think I should keep doing that, I'll give it a shot. I'll try anything at this point.

 

How many miles on it? Have the engine mounts ever been done?

 

All of your previous cars had the same issue?

Trade it.

 

@teh CL
as of this post, only 74,014. I changed the front mount myself, the rear and side mounts didn’t show much movement from what I could tell. Also, Acura quoted me over $1,000 for all three plus the only transmission mount, way too steep IMO.


@HEAVY_RL
Not all of them, my other RL never had the issue, nor my current or previous MDX. Shifts were like butter. But my current RL and previous car, TL, both have this rough shifting and slamming issue. I also drive my cars very slow and lightly, accelerate slowly and don’t really push them much. I prefer a relaxed drive... that’s just me.

Yes, trading is my next step. But it sucks because I really do love Acura, I feel like I’d be downgrading with a new GS, but I’ll pull the trigger if I can’t fix this problem. Like I said, this is pretty much my last resort before getting rid of it. It’s a beautiful car, the shifting is just so unbearable.

Thank you both for your replies.

 

you would be upgrading in terms of looks. the KB2 isnt a looker.
i'd rather have a GS than the 2011 + RL

plus, it seems like you have the means to trade. if it were your only car and didn't have these kinds of luxuries to trade, it would be a different story.
Life is too short to be unhappy. Do it

 

To each their own, haha. The '11 RL really grew on me after about a week of owning it. I hated it coming from my '07 RL, but now I think it's actually better. The front is... meh, the rear is pretty nice looking in person. I agree the GS is much better looking, I've test driven the LS, GS and ES a few times to get a feel for them. The LS as a car was good, the price was not. The ES was too cheap feeling for me, and too 'disconnected' from the road. The GS wasn't bad, but the ride is firmer than the RL, and the overall fit and finish isn't as good IMO. But it's the closest my picky self can find to an RL.
I definitely will spring on the GS if I can't fix this. Hell, I might still snatch it up if I get the tranny fixed on the RL and make the GS my daily driver.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. It sounds like you've done everything you can. You can try to replace the solenoids for good measure, but those suckers aren't cheap. I was going to suggest trying Redline Racing/Lightweight Racing/D6 fluid, but those typically INCREASE the solid shifting, not lighten it. It was a welcome addition with my '12 TL but in your case, it doesn't sound like it would help. However, if you don't mind spending $10+ a quart, it might be a good last ditch effort before you trade it in.

There's a strong chance I'll be jumping to Lexus when I hand down my TL. Not because there has been any problems I'm unhappy with, but because I'm not feeling especially excited about their current sedan lineup.

 

Thank you for the advice! I was thinking of that, but that was exactly the wall I ran into. I can't replace them myself without some sort of video or written instructions, and the solenoids alone are a few hundred. Too expensive to try without knowing if it will help. I can try the different fluid, I think I'll try another few 3x3 drain/fills with Honda DW-1 (thanks to @truonghthe), then with the D6 if it didn't help. I really have nothing to lose at this point (except a rare car I'd rather be able to salvage, lol).

I agree with your last point. The TLX and RLX just haven't done it for me, sadly.

 

I will say that these transmissions do "learn"... maybe try resetting the car at the battery cables, and a little spirited driving on occasion.

 

Ah, that's what I forgot to mention. I did have to replace the battery 2 months ago, and there was really no difference in shifting harshness. The way the gears would hold DID change slightly, so it did affect shifting logic, same way Acura's update did. But thank you for mentioning it!

I'll try some solutions posted again, can't hurt anything. If something ends up working I'll be sure to post it here. In the meantime, if anyone else has any suggestions please post them... I appreciate any and all help.


Side note: It's funny how so little is known about our cars, especially the '11 and '12 model years and their 6-speed AT's. Anywhere I take this car, the mechanic looks at it like it's an alien spaceship (after complimenting it, of course).

 

Replace your Secondary Valve Body Assembly. There are 2 listed for your car but the car only has 1 so, you need to buy the correct one..
$375 or $250. Ask the parts guy for the correct unit for your rl.

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Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster...

Anyways, I am the owner of a 2011 Acura RL and it's definitely a Unicorn - especially here in Southern Ontario!

My transmission has not been correct since I took ownership of this mythical beast in March 2017 (41,000 kms). I only completed the purchase since there was still 6 months of Acura Plus warranty left. There was definitely something not right with the tranny but was assured that it would be taken care of by the remaining warranty.

Finding a dealership that has actually serviced one of these vehicles is not an easy task. Sales numbers for all of Canada number 75 total for 2011 & 2012. Every dealer claimed factory service technicians but not one of them had ever worked on an RL.

Dealership #1 - Head tech could feel the problem, spent time with me, reset the computers, did an update and sent me on my way to drive it for a while to see if the issue resolved itself. It did not and when I went back to move on in the process the Head Tech had since moved on to different employment (outside the Acura world). After another month or so, the dash lit up like a christmas tree with ACC / CMBS / Transmission / AFS / etc going off all at once. Back at the dealer they said everything was OK, then the lights came on for them and then the VCC module was replaced. Informed me that that was the issue and everything was fine and car drove perfect.

Delaership #2 - Drove the car for another month, made some calls trying to find a dealership that service experience with RL and took it to them for some service and diagnostics. Again, the tech could feel the issues and got clearance for a TC replacement. That took a few days to get completed and they call to say pick it up. Everything was good. As soon as I left the lot I still behaved badly and now there was a noise. Calling back to the dealer, they noted a wheel bearing was required and that they have already ordered it. Back ordered like all the previous parts. One would guess that Honda Canada doesn't stock any of these parts due to such low sales numbers. Wheel bearing was replaced and I paid for the rest of my transmission fluids to be replaced. Tech again told me everything was perfect and that it was a characteristic of the car.

Dealership #3 - Was out with my daughter and the car was acting up, had a few hours to burn so finding yet another dealer was a good use of time especially when not in my normal circle of travel. Dealer was very attentive but still no technicians who work on this car. Head tech was very attentive in our test drive, made noted and we booked the car back in for when I could drop it off for an extended stay. Technician put a bunch of time and effort in taking snapshots and conversing with Tech Line about my car. Techline's response was the transmission is functioning within spec at this time. Garbage response if you ask me.

Since, then I've had the car back to dealer #3 trying to diagnose the issue by having parts replaced. Spark plugs and air filter were done at 52,000 Kms and a full B service. It's there now (61,000) and I've had the external transmission filter replaced while they did the Type A Service. I will update if this helps at all as I have lots of travel in the next few weeks and will be packing on the clicks.

Anyways - back to the post. I feel your pain in the way this car drive - almost like an overactive "grade logic". At 64kph (40mph) my car will hard shift back down to 5th from 6th, then back to 6th, then back to 5th. doesn't know where it should be. My transmission feels like it slips then catches. I've looked at fluid temps, ambient air temps - no consistency. Car drives best between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius.

Not wanting to hijack - but share that you're not alone.

I will look into this "Secondary Valve body Assembly" as well.

​​​​​​​Bonne Chance!

 

You guys might want to try this... XADO EX120, 2 tubes... About $15 ea.

 

Adding more about the service I have done in effort to solve this problem.

Spark Plugs - All looked good and clean except for the leakage - (Google "spark pulg compression leakage") to see what I mean.

Fuel - I have tried to see if the type of gas I use changes how the car drive. Involving multiple fill ups at the same station with the same grade of fuel. There is definitely a difference in how the car runs on different Top Tier gas. Ethanol Free had the most power but the engine was a bit courser in idle and driving smoothness. Liked Petro Canda 94 - can be pricey compared to the price I pay for Esso 91 (ethanol free) but the engine was smooth - transmission issues till there. Best fuel all around was the Esso 93 but it's only in the GTA area so not in my normal travels.

Warming un the car before driving - tried to let the car get to operating temp before moving. Hides some issue - others present earlier

Driving without the climate control on Auto - With the button set to auto, both rad fans blow all the time and keep transmission fluid cool enough at 85 degress. With the climate control off, only the 1 fan will activate but not until the fluid reached a temp of 96 degrees Celsius. Transmission fluid is consistently hotter with climate control off. Hotter fluid shows more slip.

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If you perform drain and fill procedure more than 3 times already I would focus on replacing the 3rd and 4th pressure switches next.

 

I'll ask the dealer to pull this up next time I'm there. I noticed this as well when looking at diagrams of the tranny. Do you have any other info on this? I'm very curious, is it related to the solenoids/pressure switches in any way? Why would this be causing the hard shifts rather than the solenoids? Not being difficult, just very eager to learn lol. Thank you!





I'm not alone in this! Huzzah! Well, not huzzah, because you have to put up with this issue as well haha. I'm sorry to hear that none of this fixed your problem. The dealer wanted to replace my torque converter too, I was almost about to let them go ahead with it under the extended warranty. Hopefully we can find an issue to this problem, I'll continue to research and test some new solutions to see if anything comes of it. I'll update with any useful info on the matter.





Got it. Any idea why they aren't spitting back codes when scanned though?
Also, do you have any tips on replacing them? I see you on the forums a lot, I'm aware you know what you're talking about when it comes down to it. Have you ever replaced the pressure switches on an RL? I ask because I'd love to do it myself, but I have no experience with transmissions (and as I've said, I can't find even a snippet of info on how to replace them in an RL, let alone the 2011 with 6-speed). Any info you could give would be wonderful, the dealer wants to charge me an arm and a leg to replace them. Thanks!

 

old sensor will eventually drift out of specs, shift point will be change as your transmission age. I just had a long conversation with one of the master tech at my local Acura dealer and yes he work at least on bunch RL since 05, he also explain why you should not doing 3x3 rapidly as new fluid will cause the clutch pack to expand if there are too much new fluid present.

Too much new fluid on our RL will lead to faster wear on the clutches pack the idea is to run half and half then slowly introduce new fluid. I explain to him why I did a drain and fill every 5k miles, he also noted the transmission itself will adjust shifting point as it aging. I just gave him the actual data of the transmission switches drift out of specs and we all agree. I made a thread on the TL world a while back with exact data how the switches drift out of specs and you can check out the link.

https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...lained-926831/


there are 3 switches for the 5spd AT one by the AT range switch the other is right under your battery tray and the last one is facing engine fire wall, they are hard to get to but once you get over that it pretty simple.

 

I took a look at it, very detailed and informative. Thank you! It's certainly possible then that I did much more harm than good with the insufficiently-spaced 3x3's. I wasn't aware.

I'll have to get the part #'s from the dealer, I'm not seeing pressure switches on the bernardi parts website. But from what it sounds like, I can reach the switches from the engine compartment? No need to drop the pan? That should be much easier for me to figure out, I appreciate all the info on this. I know next to nothing about transmissions. No hands-on experience with them. (yet!)

 

looks like the 6spd AT is a whole different animal but the parts you will need is label as #5 and #6


and here is the link
https://www.acuraoemparts.com/auto-p...-body-6at-scat

 

This diagram was extremely helpful too, perfect! I have one other question before I dive right in and order the switches: should these also fix the 'hard jerking into Drive or Reverse'? Or will these only affect the jerky shifting between gears while driving?
Thank you again for all your help.

 

Thanks to all for the info and I'll be sure to update this post once I've got the car back after the filter change (and system bleed) and driven around for the hockey tournaments.

I did look at the pressure switches as noted by truonghthe previously and have considered them for a future service. We would need 3x #5 and 3x #6 to change them all which is a cost. Question though - 01acls mentioned the secondary valve body and 2 prices. I believe the higher price would include the 3x #5 switches. When I have a chance to ask, I'll get more concrete info from the Dealer Parts guy about it.

Drive on!

 

The pressure switches help with the rough down/up shift during moving forward or slowly come to an stop. If you experience a rough shift from P to D or from D to R its more likely that your transmission range switch need to be re-adjust or replace and if that the case then thing got way easier for you as dealer gona charge about 1 hour labor. Mine did readjustment for free lol.





If you buy the part label #2 then you don't have to buy 3x #5 and yes it is whole solenoid assembly.

 

Whoever will be replacing their switches, please do some of us a favor and write a DIY.

 

I am a handy guy, however, I'm also a dealer service guy. Knowing my Honda mechanic for almost 30 years gives me peace of mind and the fact that all dealer work is backed by a 1 year parts and service guarantee helps me justify the labour costs.

Current update - put about 700 Kms on this weekend using the Esso 93 that I really like in the tank. Issues are still there for me although an ambient temp of 7-10 degrees celsius helps the driveablility for sure. Not having a background in hydraulics I guess that hotter transmission fluid would have a create different pressures within the system? yes / No?

​​​​​​​Open to comments on this.

 

So I don’t have much in the ways of a fix yet (hence my silence), I’ve been gathering info. Dealer is quoting over $2,000 for the pressure switches, they’re adamant that the entire tranny needs to be dropped to reach the solenoids on the 6-speed. Personally, I think the price is way too steep. I’m getting second opinions from a few local mechanics as well. Once I have something concrete I’ll be sure to post another update, but at this point I may just have to give up on a fix. I certainly won’t be disconnecting the tranny myself, and $2,000+ is too much to pour into this car just for comfortable shifts.

May have to go with Lexus after all, but I remain hopeful. Let’s see...

 

I've still been looking around for as much information as I can find on these 6AT transmissions to educate myself. Here's a link to a rebuilding presentation that does give a little more insight. Specifically, on page 6 the labels on the shift solenoids (and the 13 bolts required to remove the solenoid body)!

http://www.atra.com/Webinars/Import/...ed_Rebuild.pdf

Also, in reading truonghthe's links about the pressure switches going out of spec, I am learning a lot more on the electro mechanical functions in play here. eg - DBW holding the revs for a second before shifting - this is part of what I am feeling. It's a much longer pause than I'm used to for an AT but maybe it's designed that way in the PCM?!?!?

 

Here's the video presentation - approx. 55 minutes long

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The link didn't show up - let's try again


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The solenoid assembly (#2) looks like it is just held on by a series of 10 mm bolts around the perimeter. The location of the Assembly seems to me is accessible from the engine bay. Just remove the 10mm bolts and pop it out. There is a large O-ring or gasket that should be replaced.

Once you pop it off you should check the feed pipes (#21, #22, & #23) for debris or blockage. This should be a game changer for you guy. I would recommend replacing the O-rings for the feed pipes too while you're there.

I would do this inspection first and not replace the solenoid assembly unless you have to.

 

Are you still in an RL Legendary?

 

So I’m very sorry to leave this thread dead for so long, I’ve had a lot going on and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t forget about it...

so I brought the RL to the local tranny repair shop again soon after I last posted here, they still found no codes from the solenoids and said the fluid was good. I got estimates to replace the solenoids anyway, and it was ludicrous. They said they’d have to drop the tranny to get to them (That’s not a lie, I remember checking and seeing how the engine completely blocks the secondary valve body with the 3.7L). At the price they quoted me it would've made more sense to have the tranny rebuilt LOL.


In any case, to sum up the time that I’ve been gone: no I’m not in my RL anymore. My dad wanted it and insisted I sell it to him (for a good price of course). I’m now an extremely proud owner of a used ‘17 Genesis G90. So far it’s definitely a major cut above the RL, but i do miss the driving dynamics, surround sound system, and wood steering wheel of the RL. Suffice it to say, if this car comes close to Acura’s reliability then I’ll be sticking with Genesis from now on. No bad feelings towards Acura/Honda of course, I’ve always loved them and to be fair I knew that their transmissions were the weakest part of their cars going into the ownership process.

I wish everyone here the best of luck! I was only here a short time but everyone has been really nice. Thanks for all your help guys.

 

Glad to hear the story ended well. Sort of. The transmissions have always been Honda's/Acura's weak point. Unfortunately, it was especially bad for you. Good luck with the Hyundai

 

glad to heard the final outcome. enjoy the Hyundai as words on the street said its Korean Lexus LS series.

 

Enjoy the new Genesis!

 

If I were you I'd reward myself with a new RLX. If you're to fumed with anger with the brand, the Lexus GS is also a nice pick that won't let you down.

 

Congrats on the Genesis. I looked at a 2015 Ultimate with the 3.8 and H-trac before purchasing my RL. It was very nicely put together.
Hope you'll keep an eye on this tread as your RL is "still in the family" per se.

Cheers

 

I've finally had a chance to speak with my trusted Honda mechanic and we're working towards a solution. They recently had a 2012 TL SHAWD that needed a new transmission. Replacement transmission came with a bum Solenoid Assembly so the tech had to replace it after the transmission was already back in the car. He had to remove the battery and tray, as well as the starter. Once those were out of the way they could access this assemble from above.

Currently requesting a parts quote from them (expensive here in Canada) for this and my mechanic said he'd probably be done in less than 2 hours. He said we'll have the part on hand but recommends just replacing it no matter what the inspection shows.

This may wait until the warmer months though as that's when most of my issues were most obvious. If I go ahead with this you can expect a report back from me.