Well on my way home today my TL downshifted abruptly. Next thing i know, the tranny will not engage at all!!! After a few seconds it caught and i was able to make it home. I noted the mileage at 57648. The car was smoking like a mofo when i got in! It looks like it spit tranny fluid all down the driver's side and into the wheel well. I call Acura 800 number and now i have to wait until monday morning for a tow and a loner. What a fuckin day... To top it all off i just installed Rotora slotted and EBC greenstuff 2 weeks ago.

 

Looks like they are starting to drop like flys again.

and i dont get your last statement??? whats bad about that?

 

nothing is bad about that. now i just cant drive the car! it feels so nice to brake without the shimmy. my oem rotors were shot!

You ever seen tranny fluid leak out like that all over the place? my driveway is a mess.

 

Yep, it's that time of the month again.

Mine went out last night at 51k.

 

Sorry to hear that. Atleast you are not going through it alone, but it still sucks. I love this car and this just makes me want to kick the shit out of it. I have owned a lot of honda products and never had any trouble like this. The worst part is just knowing that we are virtually helpless and the tranny will fail. From what i see, many are failing in the 50K range.

 

never seen or heard of a dying tranny (ours) leaking fluid.

 

Wonder what will become of these cars as they get older into the 6 digit odometer readings... will they just rot on side of the road car dealer lots? It's a sad end to a car with such a great engine and package. Accords with 6 digit odo readings sell every day, but I just can't see the TL doing that.

 

Mine died at 50k Miles last month. That DOES seem to be a common
mileage for failures. Doesn't appear to be realated to driving style
much either. I pretty much babied mine and it still failed. Changed
the fluid every 25k miles as well. Made no difference.

As much as I love the car it bothers me. I really cannot afford to sell
and buy another vehicle now and am concerned that as it ages it will
fail right before I wish to sell and out of warranty. Can't sell it with a
dead tranny (scrap) and who want's to have a $3k bill right before selling
it.

It is so hard to believe that the problem cannot be re-engineered for a fix.
I've had rumors told of changes to the recent remanufactured ones that
are suposed to cool the hot spot better and materials that will withstand
or not generate so much heat but I see no ancedotal evidence let alone
hard statistics that the failures are dwindling. Quite the opposite on this
board.

/Steve

 

I really hope someone manufactures an aftermarket fix kit for these trannys. If I ever hear of anything I'll let you guys know.

 

Go out beat yours till it blows, then YOU can come up with the fix and make a TON!

 

I still have 49k on the warranty!

 

Dont you want to know how to fixem?

 

Sure - but as long as the dealership is covering it I'd be a fool not to allow them to.

I'm hoping to see one in here soon...

 

the dealership is covering your tow truck costs? even past the TLC service

 

UPDATE:

Well I got a tow to my local Acura dealer. It took about 2 minutes for them to listen to my story and give me a loaner. No word on how long the repair is going to take. I did get a 05 RL as a loaner. It is sweet...navi, power everything, bluetooth, XM, etc.

I still miss my TL though...

 

Anyone have a picture of the part that goes in the tranny. Is it the same part on all the years.

 

I think it is the 3rd gear clutch pack.?... Could be wrong though.

 

Your right. I just need to see a pick of the parts that go bad.

 

Final Update:

Got the car back with new tranny and so far so good.

Miles till tranny #3 = 49,900

 

What dealer did you use? My TL's tranny is on order from Ed Voyles

 

Nalley on Cobb Pkwy. Gave me a 2005 RL as a loaner. Excellent service IMO.

 

LMAO, you got an RL as a loaner? I would tell the dealership to take all the time they want with my car. My transmission died last Wednesday and I've had 2 separate trips to the dealer in the past week to drop my car off for different things. My two loaners have been a Honda Accord 4-cylinder and a Toyota Camry 4-cylinder. I think I need a new dealership...

 

See my thread over in 3rd gen about GA dealers we recommend and read my story of Nalley Acura. I'm filing a complaint with the BBB against them.

But out of curiosity, what color was the 05 RL loaner and how many miles did it have? I had an 05 RL loaner for 2 weeks from Nalley once.

Oh yeah, who was your service advisor?

 

Wow! Sorry to hear that. I have had good service with them for the last couple of years. The loaner was a dark grey 05 RL. It had like 7k on it. It was loaner #22 on their list i think.

My service guy was Al or Alan something...

 

Yeah i was like take your time and fix my car. The RL is sweet, but for that price i would probably get a bimmer.

 

Burn-one:

Sorry hear about you car. I have had 3 replacements on my 02TLS and only have 12K on the warranty. I am going to have to make a decision soon on what to do about he car.

I read in anothe thread that AAMCO does a rebuild with a 3yr warranty for 2200.

If that is true it may be my only option if Acura does not help me.

I had 2 other friends buy a TLS after me and one of the had a replacement too.

That is 2 out of 3 and the guy with original Tranny only had 30K miles.

There is no way that the Tranny issue effects 2% of the cars like Acura has stated.

If there only was a internal memo in Acura like with the tobacco companies.

 

Call around and get recommendations about good shops in your area. You don't have to go to aamco to get a decent price with a nationwide warranty.

I should know. I own a tranny shop that is one of the only other truly national chains (starts with a C) and our warranties go up to 36 months/50,000 miles.

 

Well the 2% is VERY accureate. The Failure part they are talking about is the 2nd gear shaft (which is what teh recall for teh oil jet kit is for) which can due to heat break and lock up the tranny completly.

The 2% failure rate isnt for the 3rd gear clutchpack problem which all of us with failures have had. I dont know of a single person here (with the exception of possibly 1) that had teh 2nd gear break.

 

Al... I never worked with him but I know who you are talking about. And I had 05 RL loaner car number 22 for 2 weeks back in May. Had fun with that one.

 

Yeah that car was ready to get rid of me after beating up on it for over a week. I put almost 800 miles on it in about 9 days. That all wheel drive feels good in the corners.

 

Yeah thanks, but i have been lucky. This is my first failure and i am pushing 60k. Personally I would not go to AAMCO. I think you are beter off going to one of those places that will make the Acura tranny 'bulletproof'. The 2% is dead on. I believe this refers to the issue that the oil jet kit is supposed to 'fix'.

 

Those Supposed "bulletproof" trannies dont exist. Mr Steve talked about it not that long ago. Most of them have had failures

 

Really? Wow. That is disappointing. I guess I will have to rethink my post 100k strategy for this car...

 

I put 1400 miles on that RL! What a blast it was!

I got my transmission today, Ed Voyles installed it and had my car washed and ready in 3 hours.

 

Sweet. Glad to know you are back in business...

 

Hey guys what is the warranty on our tranny is it up to 100k and how many years?

 

7 years I believe...although fingers crossed I haven't had to use it yet

 

I have a question. I bought my '99 TL with a 'Salvaged' title. I know that the extended warranty isn't supposed to cover salvaged vehicles, but my question is... Do you think I could get away with it if I 'forgot' to mention that it had a Salvaged title? Do they check vin numbers when they do the replacement? I have about 65k on mine and as far as I know, the tranny hasn't had any problems yet, but I want to know what my options are if it ever does fail.

 

I think there is a thread where someone with a salvage title got their tranny done for free. I am not entire sure. Do a search. I think it is luck of the draw, same as when you go over 100k. Some get it done for free and others pay. I think it just depends on ACS.

As far as AAMCO is considered, for 2200 you get a 3 year warranty. That is pretty good. It might not be as smooth at Acura's, but Acura will not give you a 3 year warranty. No way.

Hey I guess not all cars are without flaws. But it depends how the company stands behind what they sell. Toyota had the engine sludge problem (~$4000 to fix) and they put a 8 year unlimited mileage on it.

 

7 years or 100k From ORIGINAL purchase date of car.

Odds are NO. they arent bound by any law to cover it with a salvaged title (hence one of the reasons Not to buy a car with a salvaged title)

Yea and they have to change their oil every 3k or they wont cover it.