I'm looking for a used sedan for my two daughters to drive, and wanted a 4cylinder 6G Accord (SE/EX). The prices and conditions of those in the Baltimore-DC area are not good, so I'm thinking/considering/pondering a ......

2G TL, I know plenty of previous owners who had transmission problems. I vaguely remember someone posted a similar question to mine recently too but here goes

With all the rebuilds and replacement 4AT/5AT gearboxes do the transmission woes of the 2G TL's ever settle down?

Or is it just a bad design coupled with manufacturing problems and the gearboxes are destined to be replaced frequently.

I figure you folks are best ones to ask, thanks in advance

 

The original design was a bad one. It doesnt allow proper fluid to third gear which causes it to overheat. The best solution, aside from swapping in a 6MT, is to replace it with a transmission from an 06 Odyssey/V6 accord. There has been much success with this swap and many threads provide you with all the info to do the swap. Good luck. Aside from the inevitable tranny failure it is really a great car.

 

I would not put 2 daughters in the TL!!!
a nice safe 87 octane 4 cylinder is a better option

any gen2 is going to need the 105, brakes, probs from fluids never changed like steering,
trans issues regardless of rebuilt or when

5 years ago these cars were a score,,now,,,a risk

 

Damn shame, since beside the AT they are very nice cars and plenty can be found for less than 6G Accords.

After reading the last handful of 2G TL transmission thread pages (almost 3.5K posts! ), I decided to let the logical side of my brain say it's no worth it.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-problems-fixes-117/tranny-failure-thread-566833/

 

good decision

as I have said before - much as we all love our TL,,bought when trans warranty was fast, loose and free,,car had 60kmiles,,didnt need any real maitenance yet
= total score
now, need to do 2 grand of maitenance on my own TL!

I wouldnt put my kids-- with the bad driving habits and no skills-- behind the wheel of a TL. Raises your insurance for the first 2 tickets at 100mph (c'mon we all know how easy it is to suddenly be going <ahem> 80-100something without knowing it)
then the eventual crash and sadness at loss of your long loved baby

sorry kids,,lets go find you an older accord
in school? a waaaaay older accord or certain older saturns are fine (with timing chain/tensioner or tbelt replacement,, same as we need a 105),

doesnt matter if it gets parking lot dents, not fancy enough to take carload of friends out partying

My ideal kids ride: the old-school beater pickup,,sure, no airbags (so learn to drive at track day schools and avoid need for airbags)
but rock solid frame construction, no way they will carry friends in it!!,,will park far away from entrances = so they get exercise...
Throw a few bags of manure and an old mower in the back,,other cars will move away from them on the road! oh-no! thats got to be unlicensed uninsured farm workers!!!
get out of their way
..not a bad safety feature itself!

 

If you're going to get a 2nd gen TL, stick with an '03. A friend of mine recently bought one with under 52k miles.

 

an 03 is no better trans wise,,, and many were not covered on the 7/109 trans warranty
so they are running original trans case design

50-60kmiles is right where they start to fail
tell your buddy about the new honda dw1 atf, and do a full 3x3 fluid changeout now
do what he can to keep that trans good
replace external filter too

 

Personally I would go with the 99 second gen TL with the 4AT, since they seem to be less prone to failure. I've got about 260,000km and still on my original trans, and same is with a guy I talked to the other day. Ya fuel economy sucks but I'd rather have peace of mind.

 

7th gen accord :wink:

 

The transmission was fully rebuilt and inspected by a friend of mine who is a master technician. I'm not worried at all. He knows more about our engines and transmissions than most of this forum put together.

 

agree get them a real beater less friends in the car the better