Well, I have just joined the transmission failure club after nearly 84,000 miles. Going ~55 mph yesterday in 5th gear, out of nowhere she slammed into 2nd gear, and the Check Engine Light, and VSA light came on. Pulled over turned her off waitied a few minutes, tried her again, now she takes about 6-10 seconds to shift into 3rd. For anyone that thinks the oil jet kit fixes all the tranny problems, I have had that for a long time. So my baby is in the shop getting decked out with the new style transmission that doesn't have this issue, and in the meantime they gave me a 2007 NBP Acura TL to cruise around in until "at least Tuesday", so I guess I'm not whining too much, I do miss the power out of my car though

 

WoW it suxers. Did you get to make it to the dealers or u had it towed? hmm damn talk about a nice loaner.

 

I drove it in this morning, wasn't a real big deal, the dealer is about 15 minutes from the gf's house, 3rd gear worked it just took a really long time to engage, oh well, at least it happened before either my extended warranty was up, or the extended tranny warranty Honda gave us was up.

 

I keep wondering when I'll join the club. Every now and then the tranny does some weird shifts. It's not bad enough though to take it to the dealer. I just hope it doesn't happen when I'm on a trip or something!

I'm curious, did the dealer give you any problems because of the mods?

You know sometimes I wish the tranny would go out so I roll around in a new TL for a few days! LOL

 

Be careful what you wish for!

If your trans is showing ANY of the symptoms listed on this board AND after checking the Acura.com website for more info on transmsission symptoms...

If its doing any of those things call and get it in right away.
Often the computer is throwing a code before physical synptoms
These transmissions can give warning to the well trained person
Or they can simply stay in 2nd gear or better yet- downshift into 2nd and stay there on the freeway
Call it- thrilling to experience

 

what do you mean by "new style transmission?"

 

sorry to hear that. a nice loaner atleast.

 

TLOVER

By NEW he means post feb 2005 build date, thats the last known modifacatoins date to the assebly procedure, all the latest updates installed before shipping- so new to him

The transmissions no doubt contain a mix of good used cases and serviceable parts mixed with new parts like (my guess) clutch packs and bands

 

As bad as it sounds, im hoping my tranny goes so I get the updated tranny. Im at 46k miles, but the car is a 2000. So I have like 9 more months of coverage. If I get a new tranny, i'd go and get the AV6 Supercharger

 

Sucks man. I didnt think I would mind the whole "tranny" issue after test driving the 330i and g35 4 door. I have a black interior type s with nav, blew away the g35 and 330i (minus style.)

I got it two weeks ago. Last weekend I drove it home to Michigan (6hr drive) and was nervous the whole time about the 2nd gear down shit. "I" could handle it. Could my girlfriend? Could the guy riding my ass? Could the cruise control being on and my foot not being able to compensate for the high rpms with more throttle? More then likely not. Now throw 2hrs of an ice storm on top of it. Not fun. Its a 2003 and only 45k on it; however, I have a feeling I will be selling it before the 12mo/12k pre owned warranty is up. I will be looking for a G35 coupe 6 speed. I always wanted a 4-door. 3 weeks later I want a coupe again, go figure.

 

heh, Im kinda in the same mindset. I dont think I have heard a single thread of the new version having issues. Im sure the amount of trans replacements would have sparked some concern for a fix to the issue!!! The R&D to produce a fixed version would far out way the constent swaps of rebuilts Im sure.

 

There were changes to some internal oring seals and other changes to the actual oil passages themselves, to obtain the proper cooling lubrication needed to the clutch packs- thats what fails

The only advice for the post 2005 ones is change the fluid as sugggested for all our transmissions, an easy DIY project
There is a thread just for people with the new trans to report any problems- its pretty lonely in there!

And yes Studio- the constant replacements not only resulted in R&D, it got them to extend the warranty to an unheard of 100 thousand miles! Got a problem- get it checked!
These cars are keepers if you got a good one!

 

Like you said good thing you don't have to spend a penny on it. Let's now hope that the new transmission will hold up.

 

No problems and never have questioned anything. Matter of fact they show more interest in what I have done than anything. They are a comptech dealer, have their own NSX that they built up to be a race car, they are really into aftermarket parts, and they like seeing parts other than comptech.

 

From the posts I have seen, people that have gotten the post 2005 tranny have had no issues so far so I am looking to drive this car for a long, long time. As refined and fun as the 07 TL loaner I am driving is, I without a doubt miss my car.

By the way one thing I love about the 07 is that in sportshift/manual mode you have complete control of 1st gear, upshifts and downshifts, unlike 2nd gens and early 3rd gens.

 

So I got my car back on Monday night, thats right I took it in Thurs morning done by Monday, now thats service!!!!!! New tranny, new front transmission/engine mount, new PCM all covered under warranty. Now here is the real question, how long do I have to break it in before I lay into it and see if it is any slower? I was thinking a couple tank fulls (~500-600miles)

 

2003TL-S

Thats the right idea. The Service Manager told me to just drive it, but I feel anything new made of moving parts deserves a chance to have all the parts mate nicely.

I did start testing everything a few times just to make sure it wasnt one of the - dies in 3 days- replacements, and then just drove normal 2 tanks then some fun runs and use of SS

If you got a new computer- it learns your driving style too

No doubt there was some slipping and such in your transmission as it failed.
I feel more connected to the throttle now!

 

Its recommended to break it in for atleast a few hundred miles. Id say 500 or so is good.

 

Wow.. your tranny held up 84,000 miles?

I have around 84k as well,..however, i've been through:

1) purchased vehicle- 6/2001
2) replaced tranny 1 with 2 at 20k
3) replaced tranny 2 with 3 at 60k
4) replaced tranny 3 with 4 at 83k

Is there anything honda can offer me besides 7/100 coverage?

 

No

 

I'm gettin my tranny checked out next Friday, since my warranty will be running out soon I wanna make sure I at least have a chance at a new tranny. My shit shifts real wierd sometimes.

 

PiZ

Go to the www.acura.com website and read all the symptoms on the transmissions-
If you have any of them- make sure you write a detailed note for the service dept.
WITH a copy in the car for the tech-
much easier to recreate-diagnose and document if they know which things you felt
Things like,
hard onto the freeway with an uphill incline- d5 light flashed or
2nd gear felt like it was slipping like a manual trans with bad clutch feels
driving with engine warm and D5 light flashed- trans went into 2nd gear
etc.
The more info you can get into the techs hand the better. The differance between what you said to the Service Writer and what is on the repair order.....- I was in the biz
Help yourself out and write the note

 

yeaaa terrrible problem jus got mine back from acura about a week agoo, new tranny for me, blew at arounf 85300

 

Just my two cents. I bought my '03 TLS last fall and Acura said it still had the original tranny. Just to be safe I had them check it out. They came back to me right away and said that it was showing signs of wear. It hadnt had any issues during driving or thrown any codes, but they could see it with their "camera" that they dropped into the tranny.

I am just saying if you aren't sure about your tranny and still under warranty why not get things checked out to be safe. Then you can get the new updated tranny and really enjoy your car.

Giff

 

is there any way i can find out if i have a new updated tranny, or just the old one with the oil jet? i just bought my 2003 TLs a few months ago so im not sure what has been done to the tranny. I have 52k miles on it, and i am not covered under the extended warranty. and if it ever does fail what are the chances acura will replace it for free, even though its out of warranty. I live near superior acura in kansas city, and i have heard they are pretty good about trying to keep their customers loyal to acura.

 

what exactly is that supposed to mean? from your mods list, it doesn't seem that you have enough mods to make your car noticibly faster, however they would make it noticibly louder.

a 07 TL-P would beat an 03 TL-S if both are stock...so the difference in power between your car and the loner should not be very big at all....now your car would feel faster cuz of the noise it would make.

 

wait, never mind, i missed the part where it said "PULLEY" lol.....o well.

btw, i'm suprised they didn't give you shit with a supercharger, cuz that sounds like an instant warranty void to me.

 

I am making quite a bit more HP than an 07 with the mods I have, don't know what you're talking about, it is a big difference. I have beaten 3rd gens easily with my car. headers add a lot more than you think. Check your sh*t again

 

Where does it say Supercharger in my sig???

 

ok, my bad....

didn't quite see you exact modes list

but come on, headers can only do so much.....and also, be careful what you call a 3G cuz u might get spanked by a 07 TL-S sumwhere.....i'm sorry but if you don't have a supercharger i won't beleive you would beat 1 with the few mods you have, i know because i owned a 2G TL-S before, they are fast, but my 6mt 3g is quite faster, and a 07 tl-s is that much faster as well

 

Here's the quick 0-60 numbers I just looked up:
2004 TL 5.9s (manual), 6.3s (automatic)
2007 Type-S 5.52s
2003 Type-S 6.4s

I think an upgraded 2G Type-S should beat a normal 3G TL.
Beating the new Type-S might be a challenge.

 

I have a '99 TL with 130,500 miles and the 2nd gear clucth is slipping bad. I need to do something soon. A few weeks ago I saw a post here that Honda had new "ungraded parts" that are supposed to make replaced (or rebuilt) trannys last longer. But I can't find that thread! Does anyone have any info on these "upgraded" parts?

I wonder if ALL replacement trannys from Acura have these new better parts? I am debating whether to get a rebuilt tranny from Acura or have my local guy rebuild mine? I see the posts here of replacement trannys going after 10k miles! Not very comforting.

My local guy (Buff-O-Matic in Glenmont, NY) is >great<. Sean knows foriegn transmissions and stands behind his work with a warranty. The local dealers send their stuff to him to.

I hate the idea of putting $2000 - $3000 into a tranny for my TL. But the car has been a good a car. It will be 8 years old in June. And I plan on keeping it another 3 to 5 years. Sooooo....if I have to spend a few bucks I guess I have to. I just want to deal with tranny problems this one time

Any suggestions? Anyone have info on these new "upgraded" tranny parts?

Jeff

 

The last known update to the trans that Acura uses as replacement was Feb 2005
They have upgraded the oil passages making them wider I believe- not sure if that is in the case casting or somethng else- and o rings that were a problem before.

Ask your guy about the Raybestos kits - they have all the latest parts for rebuild

Anyone know if the case is different on the replacement transmissions?

I am enjoying my recent replacement.
If you got 130 out of the first one- thats nearly double what some got, you have a very special car worth investing the dollars in to keep it. Compared to another car and insurance rates , I would stick with the TL

 

There have been only a few reports of post feb 2005 trans failures. There is a thread just for those people to report trouble and its pretty lonely there

 

Thanks for the info. Is there any where online I can find Acura service bulletins for these transmissions? So if I do have Sean do it I can get him the latest info and updates?

 

search is your friend in this forum

try service bulletins

I know there is an Acura tech on here that post important info they get at the dealer

 

Couldn't find any service bulletins, but I did just email Raybestos to see if their kits include the latest mods.....thanks

 

They only do so much??? about 20 or more wheel hp much!!! Thats quite a bit. There are people with my same mods that are dynoing 235-240 whp range, which euqates to about 295 crank hp, that is about 35hwhp over the stock 2GTL-S. I will call out a stock 3G TL, I haven't run into many 6speeds, autos are easy pickings. I have driven an auto and 6speed 3G TL 05, 06, and an auto 07, and I know on a regular basis I can beat an auto and depending how good the driver is I can take a 6speed, I would love to run an AUTO 07 TL-S, notice I said auto, I know better than to mess with a 6speed, I bet it would be closer than people think, then again it could be worse, but thats the fun of it!

You may have had a TL-S but was it modded? Don't knock what you don't know...

 

I emailed Raybestos. They said:
"....We do not at this time manufacture, make or package rebuild kits. We sell our product to distributors that put the rebuild kits together...."

A quick search on "transmission rebuilt kits" turned up some sites that sell kits. Will have to poke around some more tomorrow. Maybe I contact my dealer and see if he can tell me what "upgrades" were done to the rebuilds Honda offers to fix the "early failure" issues. Maybe he has access to Service Bulletins I don't.


>>If you got 130 out of the first one- thats nearly double what some got, you have a very special car worth investing the dollars in to keep it.<<

Remember, I have a '99 with the 4 speed auto (not the 5 speed auto that appeared in the '00's). My understanding is the '99 trannys had their own issues, but not as bad as the '00-'03's. Actually, I think by '02 Acura realized they had a problem with the '00 trannys and started to address the issue in some '03 TL's. Maybe someone here knows the story better than I.....

As far as I can tell, the only issue with my tranny are slipping clutches. I am not REALLY sure. But I am thinking if I am going to spend $$$ to fix that (and I plan on keeping the car a few more years) I'm thinking just get the whole thing rebuilt and be done with it.

If I buy a rebuilt from Honda I believe they will honor the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty only if an Acura (or Honda?) dealer installs it (cost is about $2000+$1000 core charge+shipping both ways+labor to install). I am thinking I may be better off having my local tranny guy rebuild the one in the car now, then I get the warranty he offers.......still debating what to do on this.

Jeff

 

sometimes i feel my car changing gears out of nowhere but its so rare i never think twice about it. when you say bring it into a dealer do they charge you? cuz my local dealership are such D**k's i hate going there unless i have to. i feel like theyre gonna charge me for every question i ask. another question. did they replace your tranny just cuz it showed signs of wear?