Well, yesterday purchased a 2002 Acura TL Type-S. 75,000 miles on it, one owner car. Interior is perfect. Anyway, on the test drive I noticed the VSA light and the ! light was on. I read about the VSA light, but forgot to read/mention the ! light.

They ran the code, told me the TPS sensor had carbon build up and was being replaced. Cleared it, drove it around for 10 minutes - no problems.

My question, should I be expecting the transmission to go out soon? I really don't have the money, especially after dropping the money on the car itself. I'm mechanically inclined, what can I do to prolong its life? Maybe an "owners-guide" of do's and don'ts.

At 75000 miles I'm surprised the transmission hasn't already been replaced if they're as catastrophic as everyone makes them out to be

 

signs of trans failure for me wasn't until 103k

so its all different from owner to owner. some are lucky.. some aren't.

 

If your good with tools, a junkyard 06-07 accord trans and a weekend and you will be back on the road if it does go out.

 

I'm good with cars, unfortunately I'm in a college dorm and don't really have the tools handy. It's too late now - but I saw someone talking about using the manual shifting to avoid 3rd gear...is this a viable solution?

Plus, what oil is recommended

 

Using sport shift won't allow you to bypass a gear and actually puts more stress on components of the transmission. Check for blue bolts on transmission And you can also do 6speed swap if you have time and money as well

 

You sure about that? I can jump 2 gears in my 99, at least on down shift.

 

Jumping 2 gears during a down shift is the fastest ticket to tranny overheating and subsequent failure.

 

@yeedatoy- I am sure at least on my car which is a 2000 it will not let me skip a gear but even if it does jumping two gears is speeding up the time bomb in my opinion by putting more pressure on the clutches. Even if you can jump gears you are still going from 4-2 versus 4-3 which the 2-3 and 3-4 clutches are part of the problem because they get overheated and the friction. Can anyone else skip gears or jump gears?

@Edward'TLS- that is exactly what I was thinking but I haven't gotten mine ti jump gears. Just doesn't seem like a good idea to put even more pressure on the transmission by doing that.

 

Why is they? Replacing the TPS sensor, for most mechanics means replacing the entire throttle body. There is an aftermarket TPS sensor but most shops won't bother with it since it requires cutting slots in the bolts that hold it in place and using a volt meter when installing it to get it set.

Also, TPS symptoms are typically pretty obvious, car goes into high rpm range before shifting, hard shifts in pretty much all gears. It's something you will definitely notice on a test drive.

 

I think thats very low Mileage to expect a faulty tranny at least on an Original tranny are you sure it isnt replaced unit?

My first one died at 114K my second is still running now at 190K

 

Varies from car to car. When my parents bought my car brand new it started slipping and lost power within 10000-15000 miles. And look at how fast some of the other members have failed. It is just a time bomb without a clock don't know when it is going to die

 

Yeah, you're right...I just tried it. I could have sworn I'd done it before, kinda pisses me off

 

Cool thanks for trying it was driving me crazy thinking about it. I was about to go try it but am working on homework right now.

 

I tried once to my amaze I only find out that our tranny shifts painfully slow at SS, And not skip gears just sequentially downshifted.

If you quickly downshift from 4th to 2nd (Fast pulls or Pushes if you havent reversed the Gear +\- ) it will go into 3rd and for about another long ass second into 2nd... I think in Full Auto is way quicker in that sense (2 Gears Downshifts @WOT).

 

true the only advantage I find is if you put it in a lower gear then go, you don't have to wait for it to downshift.

 

Well as soon as I started driving I noticed the car moved alot faster than any car I had been in once I took my foot off the brake. I understand all automatics do this but it was noticeably quicker. There was definitely something strange about the shifting, I was honestly just too distracted by the inside of the car and making sure things worked. However, on the second drive it drove really nice...I don't think they replaced the whole throttle body though, it was cleared/ready to go in less than 30-40 minutes.

 

I should ad, they told me that there was carbon buildup due to it sitting for the last week and a half and it just needed to be flushed. I'm going to drive it one more time when I go to pick it up.

 

Did you already purchase the car? Also carbon build up for a car sitting a week and a half does not sound right to me at least. Maybe for a long period of time but not that short

 

It's hard to explain, but due to my situation I didn't really have much of a choice in terms of car searching. I had to pick something that was on the lot and I liked this car, I put $500 down before I left that day since there was a guy waiting after me to look at the same car. Do I need to look further into this TPS issue? They told me carbon buildup but if its a more serious issue I want to press it rather than leave and let them away with something like that.

 

Not sure why I can't edit, last thought. He told me a week and a half but the car was sitting smack dab in the middle of their showroom with 5 cars blocking it in in any given direction. It probably was sitting for much longer.

 

Carbon builds up when you drive the car...it's a byproduct of combustion, not when the car sits. Be careful, these clowns might tell you that the HID ballast fluid gets low when the dynamo is misfiring....

 

I would be very careful buying this car it seems as if they are trying to hide problems with the car and do not know what they are talking about. I have driven about 3-4 tls/cls in the past month trying to look for one for my brother and they have all been crap. it is funny some of the things they just leave wrong with the cars and try to sell them. i drove a cl last week at carmax all warning lights were flashing went to drive it and transmission was shot in it could not even get it to go on 1/4 throttle. i looked to the guy and said good 133 point inspection or whatever it was.

I hate to say it but you might want to look at another car or somewhere else

 

Dude, DON'T BUY THIS CAR! 75000 is ripe for trans failure - mine failed last year at 81500 or so. It had codes and THEY scanned and THEY told you what the codes were? Oh yeah, just a little carbon build up - oh, and see that guy standing over there? He likes this car too. How about you give us a $500 deposit so he can't buy it? Scam! If you really, really, really like this car then drive it one more time - for two hours at least - get the codes to pop again and then YOU take it to YOUR mechanic to get the codes read.

This place is full of it in my book. $500 down - you don't think they'll sell it to the next sucker that comes in and offers them window sticker for it? Bullsh*t ...

 

If you see any Codes Related to the Torque Converter RUN FAR FAR AWAY = Tranny Will Die Soon!.

 

In short, stay away from all 2G TL's unless the seller shows proof that the tranny has been replaced with the latest Honda revision.

 

I'm not an idiot, I'm doing the best I can to assure that I don't get ripped off.

Talked to the dealer today, every car that comes out of there is serviced and tested. I talked to them about the light, and told them I didn't accept the answer they gave me about the light and the only way I was driving away with that car is if they gave me a detailed report on what the problem was, what they replaced, and why. They agreed.

I've been reading up on the VSA light, and the problems associated with it. If they give me a bullshit reason - I'll know. Appreciate the concern from everyone.

 

Nobody said you were an idiot. We are just trying to help save you some money and tell you what has happened to us in the past. Before you buy it drive it to /most autoparts store and get the codes read for free, that will help to figure out what is wrong. These transmissions are time bombs without a clock and buying a used car from a dealer who probably doesn't have many if any records makes it more difficult. You also have to realize that they clean up and make cars look like there is nothing wrong with them everyday hope that helps don't rush and get stuck with a problem car

 

Yeah I'm starting to feel like I've made a huge mistake, but at this point I don't have a choice. I have no form of transportation, and basically only had enough time to go to one dealer, and see this car - which was approved by the parents. I've already put the $500 down, and the financing has already gone through. However, I am not going to drive away from that dealer and have the thing break down on me the way home with no recourse.

This is my plan, I want to see the documentation first. I want to see what they supposedly fixed, and their explanation for it. If it doesn't match up, theres problem #1. Second, I'm going to tell them(not ask), that I want to drive the car for at least 30-45 minutes. I can't imagine they'll deny that. Suggestions for things to do on this test drive?

 

After u drive it and get the fluids nice and warm give them all a check for sure. Bring a white paper towel so you see the real color of the fluids. That's a good start. Make sure all your buttons and switches work too. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. Broken buttons.

 

take it to acura for a real diagnosis, get it inspected by someone that isnt them.

 

Just realized I said VSA light, not sure why I said that...it was the engine check light or transmission check light. I remember when I looked it up in the manual it said that it could be from a loose gas cap, or emissions-related. Anyone aware of which light I'm talking about?

 

Was it the TCS light?

 

The one that looked like this. Like I said, the manual said could be gas cap or problems with the emissions, etc.

 

Yea that's just check engine. Like you said it could be due to many causes. An autozone or other parts store can scan it for you for free and tell you what codes are popping up for a second opinion other than the dealer if you're having doubts about their honesty.

 

Sorry for my little rant last night - I wasn't trying to imply that you're an idiot. I've just seen too many people I know go through this same type of BS with used car dealers. They will say anything ... a n y t h i n g ... to sell you a car. Don't trust one word.

At this point all you can do is do your due diligence. If the CEL is still on (or comes back on during your long test drive) then get it checked independent of the car lot. Anything trans related means run away. Even if the trans checks out I wouldn't plan on it lasting past 100000 miles. You might get lucky and have it last to 125K or even 150K, but not many at all make it that far.

Other than the trans these 2nd gen TLs are great cars. I bought mine new 10 years ago and still love driving it every day.

Good luck!

 

That light has nothing to do with the transmission though?

 

It could indeed be transmission. There's a bunch of codes for transmission issues that will activate that light.

 

Gotcha, happen to have the specific codes I should look out for? I plan on asking them what the specific code was.

 

It could be anything from a loose gas cap to the transmission to engine misfires to EGR issues, etc. That's why you need to get the codes scanned. Get the actual code(s) and then come back here for help (or better yet, Google the code for 2002 acura TL and you'll probably find plenty of Acurazine threads already to help you!)

 

They told me it was a problem with the TPS sensor. The only weird thing I noticed during the test drive was what I mentioned before. In drive, once I let my foot off the brake(without touching the gas), the car moved alot faster than any other car I've driven. Is this just the TL's or am I crazy?