OzZy401

Hey all. Hope your days are going well. Figured I'd post on here for some feedback and/or advice on what the heck I should do. I purchased my Blue 2003 Acura TL-Type S w/ navi and body kit back in February of 2014 with 81,000 miles on it. Financed it for 8300 (payed a bit too much, I know :/ ) Came with all the brake work done and new tires as well. I also purchased an extended warranty just to be safe. I knew that this generation had a history of bad transmissions but this is just crazy.

December of 2014, exactly one week before Christmas, my transmission failed. If I remember correctly, it was the 3rd gear box that was having issues. Fortunately, my extended warranty covered the transmission, but only the first $2500. I had the option of replacing it with a used transmission (1 year 12,000 warranty) for $900 out of pocket or a Brand New Factory Remanufactured transmission (3 yr 36,000 warranty) for 1,650 out of pocket. I decided to go with the reman in hopes that it would last a lot longer. Who was I kidding?

Last month, I had a random misfire issue with my car. Quick and easy fix but when it first happened, my initial reaction was that it was my transmission. I guess I was just paranoid. Last week, ( 3 weeks before Christmas ), my car started to skip and slipped from 2nd into 3rd gear. Eventually all of my warning lights came on. I tried to be hopeful that it was just a bad coil pack or something but when we pulled the code, it was a AT Transmission Module error code and a Incorrect Gear Ratio code. Brought it over to the Acura dealer and yup, there was something going on with an internal piece of the transmission. The transmission warranty covers the replacement of the transmission but NOT the labor which is complete BS. Apparently the transmissions warranty only covers a portion of the labor. I am still responsible for the remaining $550 of labor.

Had I gone with the used one, I would have been screwed because although I was within the 1 year, I was over the mileage. (20k miles last year from work commuting). So I guess that's a positive but damn, another transmission?

So here's the advice portion of it all. My car payment is very affordable because I have a very good credit score. I still owe 5300 on the car. Book value is roughly 3500-4000 last I checked. Does me having a brand new transmission up that value a bit? I'm not sure if I should stick with this or get out of it asap. Ideally I'd like to find a dealer that'll buy out my loan and just put me in a little civic or something and I'll make payments on the difference. But I don't think I'll be able to get anywhere near what I owe. I also thought about trading this in and possibly leasing a car but that's a whole other ball game. Any suggestions? Should I just stick with this since so much money has been invested?

Thanks everyone!

MBP 03

The most reliable fix for the transmission issue that plagues these cars is to replace the original unit with one from an '06-'07 Accord V6. This is not something that a dealer would be willing to do, but some members have had luck with independent shops taking on this job, especially when provided with the swap info available in a couple of threads on this forum. The swap is very straightforward and the cost to do it, including the price of a used transmission is going to be somewhere in the ballpark of $1500 - $1750. Whether the independent shop will be able to bill the extended warranty company for any of this is another matter.

If you were to try and trade this car in with a bad transmission, you would get almost nothing for it from a dealer. At the same time, putting in a rebuilt or used transmission isn't going to add a significant amount to the value of the car. With the relatively low miles that you have, unless the car is already in rough shape, the AV6 transmission will give it a new lease on life and you will easily get another 100K+ miles out of it.

Even if you had to pay the full amount of the trans swap out of pocket, it will still outweigh the hit that you're going to take by trading this car in.

01acls

^ AV6 swap. You left out the part where there's no way to tell if the use tranny is good or not until it's installed and test driven. If for some reason it's bad he/she is responsible for another removal and install. Plus, will there be a warranty of any type and for how long?

Full disclosure please.

Your best option now is to pay the $550 and move on.

Chojun

In this case I actually agree with 01acls although typically I would advocate an AV6 (06-07 accord v6 trans).

The $550 will be the cheaper option actually.

$8300 for this low mileage car actually isn't that bad and WOULD be around what your car would go for but the notorious transmission issues have depressed the value of our cars on the market significantly. This is because people's cars are breaking down and they're dumping them for cheap. It's no different than foreclosures/bankruptcies depressing home values in certain local markets.

Anyway, fix your transmission and you'll be able to drive it for a long time. Going forward, write this down in your calendar so you don't forget:

Drain and fill your trans with Honda DW-1 every other oil change (roughly 3 quarts). Save about $25-50 per month for an AV6 and when (if) your transmission perishes again then you can do the swap and be done with transmission issues. Change your external transmission filter in about 40-50K miles and test/inspect your shift solenoids. You may consider upgrading to an inline magnefine filter.

In the mean time, this car is fun to drive but do not do full-throttle downshifts from 3rd to 2nd. Sorry. :P

You'll still be driving this car long after you've paid it off. Other than the trans they're bulletproof.

MBP 03

It all depends on what his/her long term plan is for the car. They're already out $1,650 for the trans that failed and going to be out another $550 for the labor to replace it with another flawed design unit with unknown rebuild quality. With about 20K miles already driven out the original 36K mile warranty, that leaves about 16K miles to roll the dice with the new rebuilt trans.

If the plan is to trade the car in and take a loss or drive it for a little while, the $550 is the way to go. If the plan is to get many more years of use out of it, it's smarter to throw another $1000 on top of the $550 at it and to put a lower mileage AV6 trans in there.

01acls

He is not out $1650. The trans is still under warranty, granted he is responsible for the labor and inconvenience.

Look on the bright side. He is getting another rebuilt trans for $550. That about 75 percent off. That's a bargain.

If infact you are getting a rebuilt from a honda dealership then the trans should be an updated trans with better internals.

Op, you might want to ask the dealership if the replacement trans is a factory honda rebuilt or a local sublet rebuild?

You might want to insist on a factory honda rebuilt this time around since the current trans gave out in a year. Likewise, insist on a new torque coverter.

If the dealership won't budge contact Corporate Honda American and tell them that their Honda Dealership is using unauthorized rebuilt transmissions.

Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

MBP 03

A year ago, he spent $1,650 on the transmission that just died on him and now he has to pay $550 for a portion of the labor to remove that bad transmission and install another rebuilt one. When the new trans is out of warranty in about 16K miles, he runs the risk of a big expense again.

Again, to me, it's all about how long he will keep the car. If the goal is to fix it, maybe drive it for a while and then unload it for a decent price, the $550 option is the way to go. Otherwise, it makes more sense to spend an extra $1000 on top of the $550 and to do the AV6 swap.

Chojun

The problem here is that he

1) Won't get what he paid for it pretty much anywhere if he flipped it now
2) Has a loan on the car

The best option for now would be to do the $550 and keep it running for a while. Seeing that in my opinion in a US market he paid about $2K high, he'll need to keep the car for about 1 year after he pays it off to get his money's worth out of it.

Edward'TLS

If the rebuild trannies keep failing, and even under warranty, he'll have to pay out $550 many times over for the labor charges.

alaxgoaly8

I just did the AV6 swap on an 03. Cost me $1830 total using a used trans off eBay. That was labor and parts included. Seems as though most people have had long term success with it.

01acls

LOL. You guys are "Assuming" that if Ozzy spends $1700 dollars on an av6 swap then he is going to Transmission Heaven. You mine as well throw in the 72 virgins too while you're at it.

Where's the part that states Ozzy may get absolutely nothing... big fat zero, in return for his $1700 investment if Ozzy is unlucky and picks an awsome 500 LBS paper weight.

MBP 03

So, what does Ozzy do when his extended warranty ends or his remaining 16K miles run out on the trans warranty and the rebuilt transmission with perhaps better internals, but still flawed case design should fail again?

I'd rather take my chances with a lower mileage used AV6 transmission if I'm going to keep the car long enough to get my investment out of it.

01acls

Ozzy will do what everyone else does that don't have a warranty. Whatever that is.

So for the record what is the actual life expectancy in mileage does an av6 have in it and what do you base this on?

And how do you define "Reliable fix"?

01acls

I'm glad it work out for you. And while you were doing your swap there was probably a thousand people having there transmissions rebuilt. And I'm sure that the majority of them will have long term success. Granted they would of pay more but comes with a warranty. $2000-3000/1yr-12k to 3yr 36k warranty.

I think thats a fair trade off.

Seabright

If it were me, I would pay the $550 and get the factory rebuilt transmission. Mine is doing fine after 40k and I hope it will last to between 80k and 120k, and I will be trading it in before then. I think it would be a problem to sell the vehicle with the AV6 and you don't know how long a used AV6 would last anyway. The updated transmissions are better but still dicey on how long they will last.

Skirmich

Shop smart when getting the AV6, look for obvious problems like excessive dark ATF or burnt smell, Too much mileage will also give chances for neglected maintenance.
But the best advice...
Warranty! If the seller doesn't at least give you 3 month warranty skip it!

I got mine with 6 month warranty local and no core exchange for 700 bucks.
Has been working more than fine.

Buzzman996

This is easy, the AV6 is the better trans, but in your situation of being basically upside down on your loan. Spend the $550 labor, I would say there are alot of guys on this forum being in your spot would take the OEM rebuilt with the insurance of only going out 550 out of pocket for an OEM rebuild, with another warranty. The odds of the next of not crapping out like your current one, are better. (do not place a bet though)

The thought of a dealer taking your car in as a trade to acura/dealer for them to put you in another vehicle? I tried that route of asking the dealer of putting me in something else and it was like I had the plague, they flat out didn't want it and I was looking at 4k for a dealer rebuild and I bought it there, The dealer told me they would not fix it and sell it on the lot, even if they did take it in. If you like your TL-S, you are really not in a bad spot, spend the 550. These cars will pay themselves over time. If the trannys lasted as long as the motors, they would never die. I have the same year and model and have not had a car payment for 7 years. I luv this car and it is much more valuable to me than ever I could sell it for.

Chojun

Yep I'd like to 2nd that. The best thing you can do is get right-side up on your car and get it paid off, then drive it for about 1-2 years post-payment and you'll have made your money back. $550 for the trans is the way to go. If there's another failure then go down the AV6 route.

ErickUa5

Make sure they use the shift kits that fix the 3rd clutch pack and torque converter issues, If not it will happen again.
I have used Sonnax and Superior trans lab kits with success.