LOL... don't know if this goes here or not, however, when I clicked on two of the "American Honda" links, I saw that they were TLs...

I am researching this because I just took our Oddessey to the incompetent stealership of Rick Case Honda for the third time relating a repair of a defective transmission.

http://myfloridalegal.com/resale.nsf/VIN%20-%20Liable%20Manufacturer!OpenView

 

Well... under further investigation: 60 TL (several years) bought back by Honda. That in Florida alone. That does not include the ones that got scammed by dealers, the ones that took the vehicle more than three times to get it repaired for the same defect but never filed for a lemon law arbitration case, nor the ones that caused enough agravation to the owner but just barely missed the lemon-law qualifications... etc....

 

i dont get the question. are you saying that there are lots of lemons in the tls?!

 

that is an understatement....

I see the car itself not as a lemon, just the whole transmission issue as one. I know BMWs do not sell as many Hondas, but when doing a search for bought back BMWs, you run up significantly less than Hondas...

In florida, it is a lemon either because you had to have the "problem" repaired three times (and the manufacturer STILL gets one more oportunity to fix it), or your ride was out of commision for a total of 15 days because of it.

This is how I see it:

I sell you a product that is defective. I try to repair your defective product 3 times with no success. I am forced (by law) to replace your defective product or to buy it back from you.

So, since you didn't get the question that I never asked, let me ask one now:

If the design of the transmission is deamed defective, does that make all the vehicles with that transmission lemons...?

 

I would say no. Because the extended warranty is there IN CASE you need it. A lot of people have needed it. I would say the only way your car would qualify as a lemon is if you are within the mileage and monthly limits of your State's lemon law AND you had the transmission replaced three times already and the tranny failed again. (Highly unlikely to have 4 tranny problems inside of ~2 years IMHO.)

On another note, I have a 2003 Volvo XC90 that I have ahd back in the shop for 3 times to fix an oil leak, now it is leaking again. My State (Maryland) lemon law is 15 months or 15K miles. The problem is: I have owned it for 23 months and 33K miles now. I think I am SOL. I am working with the dealer, but I doubt I'll have it resolved to my satisfaction at this point.

 

Mike your Volvo can be filed under the BBB Autoline. If you want to get rid of it. I would most definitly look into that. Lemon or the Magnuson Moss Act should help you get what is fair.

IMHO 4 trannys in 2 years is a possibility. Actually if you were so unlucky to have it happen, you would be better off and just dump the car. And have Acura buy back their junk.

I think the real question here is almost business ethics. Honda/Acura knows their trannys don't live up to what most would consider acceptable. They cannot or will not make the replacements were are getting any better than the ones the break down. So what to do. Nothing.... Just ride it out till all of us are out of warranty or sell to some other poor soul. Most don't fight it. Many will have too many miles. Bottome line Honda/Acura saves $. Unless there is enough of a stink that Honda drops below Kia in dependability.

 

Update on this: I did threaten Volvo with the Magnuson Moss Act, Volvo made an offer of about $7K above trade-in value on my 2 year old XC90, the catch was I had to purchase another Volvo. I purchased a V8 model XC90, despite my brain telling me to stay away from a new engine/tranny combo. The V8 with the 6 speed auto drove 100% better than the 5 or 6 cylinder turbo models, I took the chance on it. Time will tell.

I agree with you on this 100%. I guess you just have to decide if the hassle of a known problem is something you are willing to deal with if you are one of the many unlucky ones. This definitely was a dollar driven business decision for Honda.

 

Mike, good to hear you got something from Volvo.

But with Acura, I don't think enough people care or have gotten in trouble with the tranny. Most guys will get somewhere btw 20-40k miles on a tranny. Get a replacement and they are out of warranty by the 3rd. Basically enough people have to get tranny failures out of warranty till there is a critical mass of people who are very upset and willing to do something. Which would be a very small number. Most will kick the car and buy a Toyota/Lexus.

 

Just thought I'd mention this, but my wife's 03 TL-S is going in for its 4th tranny inside 6 months. Tranny #3 last 2 days before it started acting up.

We will very likely be pursuing the Lemon Law.