So I was driving cross country to my new job and in the middle of nowhere my check engine light and TCS come on. I get out smell something burning and am able to get it to a honda dealership 50 miles away with the closest acura dealership 400 miles backwards.

The honda dealership runs the codes and finds the trans fluid to have debri and be burnt. The cost of repair is $5K. This is my second remanufactured tranny, and with the first one they didnt replace the ECU under warranty. Does anyone know or have had any luck with any goodwill from acura? The car has about 120K on it and is an 03TLS. So it is about 10K out of warranty

 

read the Tranny Failure threads last few pages for advice
While honda cannot do warranty work in normal situation- with acura being far away they may help you
Contact acura corp at 1-800-382-2238 x5
start a claim file and ask for a manager to call you back

If your 03 is part of the odometer error vins- you get covered to 114.5
Acura is pretty good about helping out under Goodwill where you pay partial cost of repair- anywhere from 500 to 2000
If you had a trans replaced already...that might help you
give a call and dont worry when the phone person says you are past warranty
Ask for a file to be opened and a manager to call you

not all Vins need the PCM changed

 

Hey thanks for the advice. I read the last couple pages and am hopeful since others have gotten discounts. My only issue is that I can not really deal with the service manager at the dealership I normally frequent, even though i have been in contact with him since I am such a distance from their location.

I called the acura client services and opened a file. The lady i spoke with didnt sound to optimistic.

 

dont worry- they just answer phones- not acura managers thermself!
You have called your normal service manager? what did they say
They can work with acura on your behalf- they should- to get a reduced price and find an acura deler ahead- they will pay for the tow
Express how much you love this car and even having gone thru the trans issue before- you kept it and love it
Now it let you down `without warning` in the middle of a job move- arrrgh!
500 for your part sounds fair to me- with a 3/36 warranty
You HAVE to tell them what will make you happy, otherwise they have to guess, and that guess is 2500

call you SM back and tell them you started a file- ask for any help they can offer from the regional acura rep there-
It may take effort but its worth it
Worst they can do is say no
best is `sorry to see you have a problem- here is a free replacement`

 

Great very helpful. I have actually already had the honda dealership order the part so I am kind of stuck with them fixing it and the nearest dealership is 1000 miles away. I have talked to my normal service manager and he is working with someone, but i am also working with acura on my end.

It was the worst time and place for it to break down not to mention I just had 2500 worth of work done a few months ago with the timing belt replacement and had the tranny fluid changed. Makes me wonder if they lead to the current issue.

 

six speed time

sorry that happened to you..i always wonder about my 2nd trans and how long it will hold up..i'm convinced that if i plan on keeping my TLs, six speed is going in

 

you have a chance at a discount.... i had mine replaced out of warranty (02 tl-s with 117k at the time which was about 2 months ago) at 85% off and i was in North Carolina ... 450 miles away from the dealership i frequent... the cost came to roughly $460

and just to add i now have a 3 yr 36k mile warranty on it

 

Thats awesome. Is there anything specific you did or said to get that dea? Or did they just offer it outright?

 

where did you get the tranny fluid changed?
Was it honda fluid?
was it a basic 3 qt drain and refill or a 12 qts full changeout- the 3x3
or a shop using dextron3 and a powered machine- if so that shop owes you a trans

Be sure your SM knows who you are talking to at acura so there is only one case working
You ordered a trans without negotiating a firm deal first?
the honda shop has every right to charge you 5 g if thats what you signed an estimate copy or gave verbal consent on a revised estimate for
Do they know you are talking to acura?

 

yes changing the fluid at high trans miles is a risky deal at best
MANY TL trans fail a month or 2 after a full fluid change (with high miles) and especially with the wrong fluid- it kills them
You didnt say how many miles on this trans?

When you get a replacement trans, its best to start early on changing the fluid and keep with it

 

Well I had the trans fluid changed by my acura dealer so I am assuming they used the proper fluid. I am not sure if it was the 3qt drain or the full 12.

Yeah I had to go ahead and order the new trans because I need to come back and pick the car up before this weekend to finish the final leg of my drive which is another 15 hrs. Someone at acura care said even if they offered me a deal I would need to pay the 5K outright since it was a honda dealership. They know I am talking to acura.

This transmission has about 80-90K on it.

 

Best of luck to you man.

Now I'm scared cause I need to do a complete trans fluid flush and my vehicle has 160K miles..

 

who said you need to do a complete trans flush? you don't, its suppossed to be drained and filled only

 

acura uses the word `flush` to mean a complete drain and fill 3 times procedure for 12 qts total
Thats really only supposed to be done- according to the OLD TL owner book- IF you ever put Dextron3 in as an emergency top off
Dex3 eats TL trans and must be cleansed from the system

Acura dealer would have used the right fluid and done a basic 3 simple drain and refill - $100? unless you remember paying about $250 for a 12 qt change out

to the 160mile ziner- if you even DARE doing anything- just 3 qts and drive it.
Any more and the new fluid ingredients will wash away needed crud holding the clutch disc together!
Does the fluid smell burnt? no? leave it alone unless you have cash for a replacement trans in the near future

 

I just discovered AcuraZine yesterday, prompted by a sudden need to do research on transmission problems, as our 2003 TL-S with 48,000 miles suddenly took a major dump. I had just purchased a 2007 TL-S a month ago, and you can imagine how I felt to find the astronomical number of posts about transmissions when I had just purchased a second! In fact, our very positive experience to date with the 2003 also resulted in my son purchasing a 2005 MXD 2 weeks ago. I was really bumming last night, thinking I should have done some homework before making the purchases.

Now, the reason for my post. It was suggested by some posts that positive experiences should be highlighted as well as the bad, and I think I'm dodging a bullet. My VIN was a ways over the posted automatic warranty extension, and I was looking at 6-1/2 years since driving out of the showroom. Ron Tonka Acura in Portland (OR) is where I purchased the 2003 new, and they have done every bit of eminence to date. I took the car to them yesterday at Noon, and by Noon today they had negotiated 90% coverage of the replacement. In fact, they came with 90% offer right off, which I considered very reasonable, and no haggling. (I had mentioned the 3 Acuras in our family, buying the car new from Tonkin, only Tonkin maintenance, and the low 48,000 accumulated miles driven by my “schoolmarm” wife. What a relief that they said that my contribution would only be $350 to $400.
On the other hand, I was starting to fear that the TL was going to turn out like the old VW Microbus, where you kept rebuilding a second engine so that you could swap every few thousand when the engine blew. I don't know jack about transmissions, and all I could foresee was a financial black hole for 2 very nice autos.
Acura must want my continued business, and they bought some good will from me today to make up for some poor engineering and insufficient testing. - and sorry for the long post.

 

congrats on a good deal
What they probably did was charge you 50-100$ labor and 300$ for a 3/36 warranty on the trans- thats a deal! You can only get the 3/36 if you pay some part of the total

Its a matter of insufficient fluid flow to the clutch disc(s) that causes the problem.
the mid 03 cutoff was only to settle a court case and was not a date they fixed the prob- it continued into the 04 and 05!

Enjoy the new trans!

 

Well so far things are looking optimistic. I spoke to a case manager at acura client services and he was going to suggest that I take it to a dealership near by and they would see about getting the parts for it there and fixed, but I had already mentioned that I had the honda dealership order the parts and start repairing it since I was on such a confined time schedule.

He then told me to fax him the invoice once the repair has been completed and go from there. So for me that is a good sign, and as very pleased with the level of support I have received so far. Not sure how much they will or cover or if anything but I can say that how this situation is handled will determine whether or not I will purchase future acuras. I have always had hondas and a few acuras and love the cars.

 

we (my father and i) made a case for the tl thru the corporate office ... we explained how we have owned 4 acuras as a family, regularly serviced them, and will continue to purchase them in the future. i guess brand loyalty and keeping up on dealership maintenance helped our cause. i can complain about the fact i had to take a ~$500 loss or being stranded on I-95, but i cant complain about a brand new tranny for that cheap.

and congrats on the optimistic outlook on your case. they seem to be pretty fair with the tranny problems b/c it has been such a huge problem for them.

 

Does it matter if your car is salvaged title?

 

yes it does
Salvage title normally means no trans warranty

There was a recent case where the ziner had owned the car since new and always maintained at dealer- it was totalled by insurance and bought back by same owner and repaired
When the trans went- somehow acura corp decided that deserved a freebie or very low cost iirc

In other cases where you bought a salvage car at auction- acura has no reason to offer support- you got a car on the cheap- thats the chance you take

 

^ thanks i guess im out of luck

 

I may have come across this a little late, but perhaps not WAY too late.

I just purchased a high mileage '03 TL (140k). Desperately needs new xmission fluid, so I took it to Uncle Ed's and got it changed. For all I know they know their stuff and used the right fluid (likelihood?).

So, do I now need to throw good money after bad and get the fluid RE-CHANGED? Is it alot cheaper to do the drain and fill myself? Where do I get the correct fluid then?

Or am I ok with what Uncle Ed's did?

 

I would assume they had no idea honda/acura has a special fluid and that using regular dextron3 like most imports and american cars use--would DESTROY your transmission
In which case they owe you a trans

Check the receipt for any note on fluid type and quantity
Call and ask what type of fluid they use in acura's?

register with acura care- 1-800-382-2238x5
ask if your car had the `recall for external oil jet kit` completed
thats different than the extended warranty-which you are past anyway
BUT
if the recall wasnt done and the trans has certain specific internal damage- it gets replaced free by acura

First find out what exactly was done at the shop- a basic 3 qt drian and refill?
what type fluid

then we can tell you what to expect and actions to try

 

why did you think it needed a fluid change?
is this km's or k-miles

 

Looking at the fluid in the dipstick it looked filthy. 140,000 miles.

They did a complete fluid "flush" using the machine.

 

Before I knew about this community, I took the care to a Jiffy lube (a good high school friend worked there and offered free service) and had the transmission fluid replaced with a machine. I am assuming they used dextron3 or something similar like 01tl4tl stated.

This happened at 100,000 miles. My car now as 160,000 miles on the same engine/transmission.

The last time I checked (earlier this month), the dip stick for the transmission fluid showed the fluid level to be in between low and max, and the color was lightly dark but still translucent.

I bought the vehicle at 99k miles. Only (aside from brake pads and stuff) major maintenance was the timing belt service at 110k miles, and just recently had the PS Pump (and belts) replaced.

I guess I should consider myself very lucky.

 

From an engineering standpoint, a fluid replacement will not decrease the life of the transmission nor will it accelerate failure. Please stop spreading old wives tales about transmission fluid changes unless you actually have some credible sources to back up your information.

As for the fluid, the multi-vehicle fluids have been bench and field tested extensively in Honda transmissions and are perfectly fine, if not better. Machine flushes are okay as well as long as you do not use any aftermarket additives and you also clean the magnetic plug.

 

Soda- you know I love to disagree with you just for fun~

When you get a TL we can discuss its trans failure with hi miles full fluid change

Its bad results and FAILURE of trans afterwards are all over the gen2 section here- thats where I got my info~
The (older types of equipment) machine flush is prohibited by acura,,,must be a reason why there is a plate inside the filler hole that prevents a suction hose from going in.
So you would have to tap into the lines, then do a running change-out method with car on jacks and in gear,,,like acura has for the newer cars
many places wouldnt bother- or know how

Physics of the problem in changing all the old fluid out after hi miles is simple!
The new fluid has cleaners in it- the clutch plates were holding themself together largely with crud buildup..now its gone,, and soon the ability of the disc to hook up is history

Working on my Honda bike clutch now, and its a similar type stacked friction plate design as an auto trans- very easy to understand what MIGHT occur when you remove the needed friction.

According to the cool Head Tech at my dealer- who has rebuilt several of these trans at home looking for a fix to the problem--there is not enough room for the number of plates really needed to handle the HP and torque of the car

For anyone who went to a shop and did a machine flush with DEX3 fluid--
the acura book says you MUST do the 3x3 manual drain and refill with a total of 12 quarts Honda fluid to remove ALL traces of the Dex--
its known to kill the TL trans
Shops are LIABLE for what they do to your car
Use the wrong fluid and they owe you a trans if it fails- they have idiot oops insurance just for this type of event--happens more than you want to know
At the least they need to do a correct 3x3 with honda fluid to get the right stuff in there for you and keep your fingers crossed