Hi all. I'm about to purchase an 02 TL from an elderly woman. The car itself looks freaking amazing. No rips in the seats or anything like that. It has 113k miles on it. After glancing over your nice forum here I see that the tranny is a major problem on these vehicles. Is there anything that I should look for when I test drive the vehicle? Or is there anything that like I can look at and see something's wrong? The vehicle has never been wrecked per the carfax report. I will be driving 106 miles every day in stop and go traffic. Does that make a difference?

 

Need to understand 1 thing only about the TL..
The chances that the trans is a replaced POST 06 units are LOW! and thus the chances the trans will go bad are as bad as a whooping 98%..

If you get this car.. Bear in Mind that if you don't replace the trans with an Accord V6 2006-2007 (If you don't have a Post 2006 OEM Unit) your trans will shit itself someday.. Maybe not Tomorrow, Maybe not in a Year! But someday when you least expect it and it wont give you any hints.

If you have this in mind? go for it, its a great car that you wont forget in a while.

 

Oh damn that's scary to hear. Very very scary to hear. Thanks though! I'll start looking around for trannys today and see how much that will set me back before I go purchase the car.

 

A major Timing Belt/WaterPump/Valve Adjustment service should have been done around 105,000 miles. It is pretty expensive if you take it in somewhere.

106 miles of stop & go driving a day-your gas mileage is going to suck-TLs just don't get good mileage around town, compared to many other vehicles.
Expect about 16-17 mpg around town. They get much better mileage on the highway.

My transmission was replaced by Acura in late 2005 with the new designed case. I've got 90,000 miles on it without any trouble so far.

 

Make sure to check for Subframe rust on the passenger side ,That can set you back a couple hundreds.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/subframe-corrosion-engine-mount-855816/ Look at post #7 So you know what to look for.

 

Thanks for all your help everybody. I just found another one that's black and it's a 2003 and it's a Type S. I know I'm gonna get either one of these lol. I wanted one for so long. Better late than never i guess.

 

The 106 mile stop and go daily driving routine would create some doubt and tend to steer torwards a newer more efficient automobile, IMO. But...hey ya know what ya want !!!

 

Holy crap this car is awesome! I've wanted one of these since the year 2000 lol. I thought it was gonna be my first car until I saw the price lol. It's actually a 2003 and a Type S

 

I look foward to you posting pictures of it.

 

Yeah, these TL's are really well built "Honda"quality automobiles ....other than being plagued with tranny issues. But, at their present age..... many have had the issues resolved and not every TL has tranny issues, just alot more than should be.

Check the car's PM history and inquire with Acura if the tranny recall or replacement may have previously been done. Just allow some money for a possible AV6 tranny replacement if you're going to keep the TL for awhile.

 

Sounds like your going to buy it.

Get everything started right from the moment you ring it home.

~get an oil change
~check air filters and cabin filters
~check/replace fluids: brake, power steering, radiator etc.
~check your battery's exp. date.
~check brakes
~put new spark plugs in (ngk iridiums)
~timing belt service if needed is less expensive if you do it yourself but takes a more advanced knowledge.

Note: These are just the basics not to be ignored. There are more advanced diys to do also, but start with the basics.

Enjoy the ride.

 

call `acura care` with the VIN at 1 800 382 2238 (?) iirc
ask if all recalls taken care of--SOME 03 get a free timing belt job
and there is a more recent one for airbag inflator on some years
also pop into the local dealer and ask service to run the vin
it often knows things the 800 doesnt,,especially if trans was replaced under warranty

ask owner for records of atf fluid changes

2500$ to rebuild current trans
~1000-1500 for used trans from other model installed without rebuilding

note use only ngk iridium spark plugs- 8 bucks each and worth every penny

 

I'm going to do all this stuff this weekend. Man I'm so happy. As soon as it stops raining I'll clean her up and post pics. Thanks again everybody.

 

Man. it's been quite awhile since somebody has been so excited about getting down and dirty with their beloved TL.....but hey, enjoy the ride and good times for now ..... until it decides to rain buckets down the road. It's always better to prepare yourself and know the weak areas.

 

ck the door drains and sunroof drains too

if I didnt mention it before, a full brake fluid flush is good to do every year with DOT4
special order for TL is Left front then clockwise around the car
LF RF RR LR
its due to abs plumbing

 

i bought my 03 TL new back in 2002. I still had it until last year. For the decade that I owned it the transmission never failed on me and I drove it pretty hard (few times tracking and auto-x). However it tended to shift rather hard and hold gears sometimes but it usually went away after a while. Right now the woman I sold it to is very happy and reports that car is working flawlessly. So it's all to chance.

 

Yeah, gotta agree with Pickler....the tranny's are not all totally bad, even though one may believe that's the case. Very random to get a good one, but then again alot of other cars have tranny issues as they age. We just have a poorly engineered tranny design, conceived at the time with Acura's push for mass production here stateside alongside the Accord. Quality unfortunately took a back seat at the time.