Bitium

It took a while for this to come out:

This is not an expansion of the warranty is an expansion of the cars affected.

American Honda Expands Voluntary Transmission Recall to Certain Honda and Acura Automobiles

TORRANCE, Calif., June 29, 2004 -- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today announced that it will expand its existing voluntary recall of light truck models for a potential transmission defect to include certain Honda and Acura passenger cars. The voluntary action involves approximately 499,000 Honda and Acura passenger vehicles with V6 engines and 5-speed automatic transmissions. Affected models include certain 2003 and early 2004 model Accord V6 sedans and coupes, 2000-2003 and early 2004 Acura TL sedans, and 2001-2003 Acura CL coupes.

The company has found only one confirmed instance of a transmission failure related to this defect in its passenger cars, with no accidents or injuries. “We are acting out of an abundance of caution to ensure that this doesn’t become an issue for our customers,’” said Tom Elliott, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The situation is created by insufficient lubrication of the transmission’s secondary shaft second gear that can occur under certain driving conditions. Prolonged operation under these conditions can lead to heat build-up and under certain circumstances may eventually result in chipped or broken gear teeth or breakage of the gear. In the event of a chipped or broken tooth, the owner will likely experience abnormal noise from the transmission and seek repairs. In rare instances, this condition may lead to gear breakage and possible locking of the vehicle’s transmission, creating a potential safety hazard.

lewarkmd

Where did you get your information? I did a search and the only transmission recall I see is for the 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey minivans, 2003-2004 Honda Pilot SUVs and 2001-2002 Acura MDX SUVs.

Mike

MADCAT

I guess the 99's like mine are fine....

Elementz

Great news! So what do we do now?

Street Spirit

Grr...so they extended the warranty to cover the '99 trannies, but then didn't include them in the recall?? Hrmph!!!

GRR!

Type S Lady

So it doesn't cover those who are not under the 100,000 mile warranty? O.k. This doesn't help me at all.

Severin

Here's the link:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news...ao&refer=japan


Does this mean they REALLY know how to fix the problem and we will all go in for the fix?
So many people hear have gotten new tranny's and they have failed too - the link refers to rerouting lubrication. I though all the new trannys that were replacing the defective ones already had these mods and they still fail...?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Once again, they dodge the real problem -- it's the 3rd gear clutchpack shattering because of rough clutch disk surface over time. This is just a bullshit recall to fuck with us. Notice how it doesn't even say how the recall will be handled, like what's involved in doing it, such as visual inspection, replacement, or whatever.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

In most cases, the gears will be inspected and the flow of transmission fluid will be modified, Honda said. If damage from insufficient lubrication is found, the transmission will be replaced, the company said. Recall repairs typically are paid for out of reserves set aside for that purpose.

OK, I guess they did say it in the full article. But still, this is not the problem that's causing our transmissions to fail.

1SICKLEX

They also do it 1 day after good reports from JD Power concerning quality, good move, trying to mask the issue.

Da_iLLeSt_TL973

wait my car has 108,000 miles on it right now am i eligible for the recall i have the 2000 3.2 TL??????

pianoman41

This is part of a voluntary recall, which is different from the current extended transmission warranty. Right now, those people covered by the extended warranty for the transmission cannot do anything preventative to avoid tranny failure--if it breaks they replace it, if it doesn't they don't. A voluntary recall means if your vehicle falls within the recalled range, you can bring it in to have the tranny repaired/replaced even if it is currently not failing or showing signs of failure. The difference between a mandatory and voluntary recall is how much advertising and pushing Honda must do to get the repairs completed. With a mandatory recall, the government dictates how much, when, and where Honda would have to advertise this campaign and how they need to account for all the trannys they replaced. With it being voluntary, they only have to announce that it exists and attempt to notify owners of affected vehicles. Whether or not owners take advantage of it is up to the owners. Hopefully they will be sending letters to owners of affected vehicles.

Bxscig

I hope these send those letters soon too

NYDesi80

Does this mean we all go in to get our trannies replaced???

LatinSmoke 01CL

Letters will go out mid-July....

http://hondanews.com/CatID1000?mid=...039497&mime=asc

valeo77

This really excellent news and I am sure all of you agree. I hate having that looming feeling of my tranny is going to die on me especailly since I am at 104K. I jus really hope they don't give us any BS and really fix this problem once and for all. Hope I get a new tranny out of the deal!! - if so I would consider my car new because the motor runs perfect.

Till then I will be waiting for my letter in the mail.........

Billard

do we have to wait for a letter from honda, or since it has been issued can we just go straight to the stealer?

LatinSmoke 01CL

I believe we have to wait for the letter from Honda. But u could try calling ur dealership and see what they say.

Maybe this thread should be a sticky??

Bitium

YES

Da_iLLeSt_TL973

so say if we had our tranny replaced before but its runnin good now we can still take it in thats where im confused??

AcuraT

Springfield Acura in NJ states that they cannot do anything until the VINs are sent out by Honda and owners notified. They expect this will begin next month. They also said to expect this to be in stages so the dealers are not overrun by over 1 million cars in July. The repair will take less than a half a day... we do not get new transmissions.

Type S Lady

I just called American Honda and spoke to a Customer Service rep. She said they are sending the letters out in mid-July. But if anyone is having problems, to take it to the dealer and the dealer will contact corporate if they haven't already heard about the recall. She said this recall WILL include those not covered under the extended 100,000 mile tranny warranty(like myself).

Da_iLLeSt_TL973

thats BS because they repair all the other ones and even after the repairs people still have problems with their trannies ........not directed towards you AcuraT lol thats just how i feel about the situation lol

deye

Wow! This is crazy!! Thanks for the heads up Bitium. I was going to pick up a 2004 TL next month but now that this has come out, I think I am passing on that 2004 TL with its POS tranny :fingerfawk:

AcuraT

Watch the worth on our older TL's start dropping as demand goes out the window with these transmissions. I for one will sell my car well before the warranty ends at 100,000 to try to salvage something (67K at this point...)

Type S Lady

I'm sure thinking to do the same. I figure I'll sale mine next summer if not sooner, definitely not going back to the Honda family for awhile.

Da_iLLeSt_TL973

yea im thinking about just selling mine or trading it in because this is rediculous

ndawood

i decided to go into a dealership to see if i could get any info about this recall and i was able to find out two things...

1) the dealerships have no knowledge about this recall and basically know nothing..... and this is from a friend of mine who actually works in the service department... however im assuming that they will have everything by mid july as the articles mentioned.

and

2) this is something that really bugged me... i found out that im not covered by the extended warrenty on the tranny... which really sucks but if there is a recall with one that will actually last i might not even need the extension... but it still would have been nice

Type S Lady

That is what corporate Honda said, the dealer probably don't know because they just got word today. The dealers will be notified very soon she said. I am not covered under the extended warranty either but she said this recall now INCLUDES us. Look for a letter in July!

Chet03TL-S

My car only has 13.7k miles on it right now. It starting to shift a little funny. No where as smooth as it was brand new. The fluid is turning brown. This is from a 03TL-S build date Mar 2003. If they have finally fixed the problem great. If not, I am trading the car in before 100k. It would be ashame too cuz I love driving this car.

aquilles10

What does this do with the inherent design flaw in the transmission? It seems that the dealer will only be "inspecting" the current transmission, and if a tooth is about to break in the transmission only then will they swap it. That doesn't mean that that after the transmission is inspected, that it won't eventually fail due to something inherently wrong in the design.

TypeSwork

Well this recall also apply to rebuilt titles?

Da_iLLeSt_TL973

good point i was thinking the same exact thing i think they are just trying to BS us so their ratings wouldnt go down they are trying to make it "look" like they are fixing the problem when all they are doing is what aquilles10 said

valeo77

So Type S Lady just so i fully understand. If your car is over the 100K threshold (like mine) Then I am still coverd? YES/NO

Type S Lady

Sorry, I didn't ask about that, I forgot. I can call and find out though if you'd like. I only asked about those that are not covered under the initial extended warranty.

AcuraT

Springfield Acura said many Acura dealerships now have a news feed from Honda Corporate (not all dealerships have it). Those who have this service got the news bulletin this morning about the recall. The dealer said Honda was vague in the statement about which models were being covered, but that almost all the V6 engines with 5 speed automatics built between 99 and 04 are covered. He also mentioned that Honda has ordered the dealerships to stop selling some models (mostly the Honda Odysseys, Honda Pilots, and Acura MDXs) until the fix is installed on the cars on the lot.

Good news - Honda takes this seriously. Bad news, more problems with the automatic 5 speed for all of us. :'(

jazzpicker

Looks like this is the real deal. Just called Acura Customer Service and after 30 mins of bullsh!t and denying that there was a recall, the girl that answered the phone suddenly discovered there is a recall..This was later confirmed my the dealership.
The big question that looms on the horizion is what is Honda/Acura going to do to fix the problem. The recall could range from a simple inspection to a complete transmission replacement. Nobody knows yet. I want exactly what I paid for, an expensive car with a non defective transmission., nothing more, nothing less. Everybody needs to follow Honda's/Acura's action because, I really think this forum is monitored by the company and had a lot to do with the recall.
Just another comment, Acura client service is worthless. Rude, arrogant people working the phones. They seem to have absolutely no intrest in helping the poor sucker on the other end of the phone who has worked hard to pay thirty something thousand dollars for a car that is defective. I swear I get better service from a electric can opener company..What a pity.

AcuraT

The mechanic at Springfield Acura also stated that all cars are covered and that mileage does not make a difference. This recall is for safety reasons (no one at 150,000 miles wants to have a transmission lock up at 65 mph on the highway...)

AcuraT

From what I heard, Honda is getting overwhelmed by this one. Only affects 1.1 million automobiles. I tend to cut them a little slack at this point.

This recall has nothing to do with the original silent recall which is where transmissions fail and we have to get them replaced when that happens. This is a preventative recall to prevent a catastrophic failure where the transmission seizes up. It has only happened to one car, one that had over 150,000 miles on it. It is a safety recall. It may not prevent the problems we have been having with failures... unfortunately, the two are not necessarily associated. That is all the dealer knows at this point, sorry.

valeo77

THX AcuraT and Type S Lady.....