2nd Transmission dead at 111,000 miles
 

Well. . . it happened again dammit! Driving on the turnpike and as I was getting off on the exit slowing down, the RPMs jumped to 5000 as it went into higher gear. Guy behind me almost rear ended me. When I pulled over it was leaking trans fluid but stopped. I still had some fluid in the reserve but it was dark/black with crap in it. Slowly drove it back home and it can't catch gear when the RPMs are higher than 3000. . This sucks. . Does anyone know if the warranty will cover with the mileage I have?

Time to get a new TL or not. . .


Alex

when was this trans installed?
done at 44 is pretty early- one of the original failure cars?

the warranty is now 7 years plus 9 months from date of first sale
or 109kmiles- or 114.5 for cars in the VIN group of fast reading odometers!~

you are close on both of those and should be able to get some goodwill assistance from acura if its a clutch issue
With low fluid- it only holds 7.3 qts --blow some of that out and the pressure switches wont operate to shift gears
Black fluid would be a bad sign
Have you changed the fluid since trans replacement?

leaking fluid- can you tell from where- a bad axle seal at trans?
are we looking at loss of fluid issue or clutch pack failure issue?
any symptoms recently when you think back,,a slipping at 5000 rpm
a flash of d5 light under full throttle?

Never changed the tranny fluid. . . I don't think anyone of us did. It's normally a pinkish color and gets darker overtime. In my case it's much darker. The car still drives but I'd rather not unless going to the dealer.

When the incident happened, I would say I lost about 6 oz of fluid and there was plenty left inside. It was coming from the left side of the oil pan when looking forward from driver side towards the front of the car.

As far as flashing lights, the check engine light went on, the VSA light went on and the ! light was on as well. When I killed the engine and restarted only the check engine light stayed on. I called a dealer and left a message.

The RPMs jumped up to 5000 as I was slowing down to get off at an exit and the car jerked/slowed down since it went into high gear all of a sudden. I don't know if it was the heat or what.

I hope this gets covered as this was a huge issue way back then.

have a read of the main `Tranny Failure Thread`
for current info- skip to the last few pages

with no history of fluid change,,your odds go down on goodwill but its worth trying.
first- ck if you are part of odometer error Vins- do internet search for that info
or call acura 1 800 382 2238x5 and ask

see if you can trace the leak more.
then get to a parts store for code reading scan- report those back here
get to dealer and speak with service MANAGER for help

are all 2nd gen TL trans affected? or just a few? i called in and they said my trans wasnt covered (03TL-S)

you're F-ed bro. my tranny just died two weeks ago, I took my car to acura and they wouldnt budge, they stated they can put a reman in for 2800. I took it to an independent shop to fix. BTW, I had 98k miles. If its your 3rd gear then you are assed out, if its 2nd gear and you dont have an oil cooler kit then you might be in luck.

late 03s are not covered vin by the court case-since acura knows it wasnt fixed then.. a good attitude and knowledge from acurazine can get you `goodwill warranty coverage` for most or at least half the total cost

It helps if you had a 3 qt trans fluid change at acura at least once in cars life but not mandatory..
**out of vin cars and canada cars- go get a 3 qt at dealer- or buy fluid there and keep receipt, document change DIY at what miles

for goodwill: Start with the service MANAGER--they ask the regional acura warranty rep to help you because x y z = good guy needs major break

remember gen3 didnt get our court case warranty extension, nor do other cars with similar trans- it goes out past 50 and they are down 5 grand

search the `Tranny Failure Thread` last pages for plenty of details on that program and how to get it thru being nice

several good reasons to get a fresh rebuild from acura over rebuild yours--new case from acura with better oil passages is the main one- and 3/36 warranty

[quote=Alexxx;12052054]Never changed the tranny fluid. . . I don't think anyone of us did. It's normally a pinkish color and gets darker overtime. In my case it's much darker. The car still drives but I'd rather not unless going to the dealer.

When the incident happened, I would say I lost about 6 oz of fluid and there was plenty left inside. It was coming from the left side of the oil pan when looking forward from driver side towards the front of the car.

Sounds like your torque converter "let go", the leak coming from the front seal maybe ?

Alexxx, when did they replace your tranny? (what year)

Man, everytime I read one of these threads it makes me really think twice i f I want to purchase a second gen TL-S for my daily commuter. So many tranny problems with them and it seems Honda is getting worse about covering them under warranty. Any advice from u guys? I love the cars, especially because their so nice for the price but is all the hassle really worth it? Did the 98-02 Accord V6's have the same problems?

the hondas use a different and far more reliable trans, run on 87 octane,,,a great idea for commuting compared to the TL,,, which hates stop and go trafic

as the cars get older acura is tightening up on free transmissions
10 years is a long time, and for those out of vin range of the court case are having to fight for coverage
heard its really bad in Canada so get a 3 qt change performed

In general it seems they like at least one trans fluid 3 qt change during the cars life

98-02 Accord also has a very high rate of transmission failure. Especially 98-00, they had they recalls, 01-02 they tried to perfect it by making some minor modification by gave it more lube tube inside the trans, it seem to help a little. I have an 02, bought it new, has 140k miles in it now, still shift perfect, never changed fluid in it, lazy me lol. Just drive it normal, never see red line though.
Both 4 and 6 cylinders engine came with 4sp auto only, they got the 5sp auto 03 and up, so far i had built only a couple of their 5sp auto.
The TL got it 5sp auto in 00, bad idea.:whyme:
Even though the 5sp in the later Accord looks almost like the one from the TL, but they seems to be more reliable, not sure of why, might be the vehicle weight differences ? Or maybe because there aren't that many Accord 5sp V6 on the road versus all the TL are V6 from 99 up.

wow- and I was led to believe that honda trans were the way to go
What do we buy as good used cars now?

There a some good used cars, no one is perfect though. Depending on who owned it before, if it well maintain it will be better used car, like anything else. If we buy it of a young kid who thinks he's "fast and scarius", keep beating the crap out of the car, thinks he can beat anything on the road, but not taking care of the car then it might not be to good for whoever buy it from him. I have many customer with their TL/CL come in for trans rebuilt, they suprised that my car has double their mileage in most cases, and still look that good, inside and out.

It seems like the 04+ TL's are a better way to go if looking for a "used" car. I've fallen in love with the 3g style its a really sharp looking ride. I've heard of some 04-05 Tranny issues on the 3g side, But asked a lot of people and dealerships/ garages I've yet to find an 04 with a tranny failure!

I raced an 04 we were pretty much dead even with my 03 TL-S, The growl of the 04 is just amazing!!!

I don't know about the 04 up TL, i have not yet see it in the garage either. Maybe it's a good sign right ?

Holy crap I just hit 111,000 miles too. Now you're making me scared. I did change out my tranny fluid at 95,000 miles it was dark burgundy. But, nothing has gone wrong with it yet *Knock on wood* I was close to trading in for an 07 TSX but, after I drove the TSX I still like my car more so couldn't bear to go through with it. It just lacked the torque I get with my TL-S

Get the TL with 6sp then you don't have to worry about 3rd gear problem :tongue:

67000 Miles on a dead Tranny and you never changed the Fluid! No wonder it failed.

there is a very busy thread in gen3 for trans failures- most are 04 05
any dealer saying they are fine is lying..well..at least not paying attention to what comes thru the shop ~

after 05 acura made several changes and trans reliabilty has improved

and those 6 speed gen3 have a problem with what--3rd gear!!!

Are you serious ? What gives ?

synchro issues

The synchronizer rings were made weak or just because people don't use the clutch ? I owned a few standard shift cars before but never break one yet.

not owning a gen3 6 speed I dont know the particular but from what I can read on azine -there is a widespread problem of synchro ring failure- tried gm synchromesh as a band aid- have rebuilt with new synchs and fail again
It has to be more than just owner abuse
May have something to do with the trick pressure plate that keeps `feel` good right up till day of failure of clutch..
Wonder if that is allowing not full engagement yet makes the shift--with extra wear...or if the known issue with slave cyl failure is a factor

and dont ever miss a shift with one- catch 2nd looking for 3rd to 4th at high rpm- instant overrev and bang goes the valves to pistons

Oh no :whyme:

my original tranny lasted up until 86K and it was one of the early models of my year... production date was 09/2002 and acura still wouldnt budge. now im stuck with paying a bill i dont even know when im going to pay off..