I'm thinkin about getting a tl, but don't know which year (and really havent fully committed to a TL) My worries lie in the transmission issues as i've had bad tranny issues in the past and the thought reminds me too much of the current annoying car i have.

how common is this transmission failure issue? are any years better than others? i was thinking 2000 and up.

if you guys can shed some light that would be stellar
btw this site is a big plus for the TL community, thx acura-tl.com staff

 

late 03 TL model.
they claimed that the problem has been fixed.

 

If your worried about Transmission failure, Don`t do it. If you buy one, it will always be in the back of your mind.
On the other hand, You want to drive one of the most exciting cars on the market, and you trust Honda when they say the problem has been corrected and there is nothing to worry about.
I would not trade my 2003 TLs in for nothing. I run the hell out of it and race it on the interstate every weekend. It`s the most excitng thing I have driven in many years!

Like I said before, If in dought DON~T DO IT!

 

Thanks for the feedback. i think right now im doing the annoying battle between a 2000-2002 TL and an accord . are the transmissions between the 2000 and 2002 any different? i think i like the earlier years because it seems the grills are getting pointier now though i might be hallucinating.

and about it being in the back of my mind .. it might but not enough that i would really worry about it. im just being retardedly undecisive when trying to pick somethin here

 

I would reccommend a 2000 model... That's what I have and I do agree that the front does look pointier on the later models...

 

you might also consider a 2000 and up TL that HAS HAD the tranny replaced so long as the repair was done after Sept. 2002. Before then, Acura still didnt really know what the problem was (its a defective 3rd gear clutch pak) and so they were just installing refurb trannys which would (will) still fail again. The repair after Sept. includes the replacement of all internal parts plus a redesigned clutch pak. They now also replace the ECU at the time they replace the tranny. The new ECU has reprogrammed shift points that keep the car from lugging the engine at slower speeds. To get a higher fuel efficiency rating, the original TL ECU was programmed to upshift to early. This would drop RPMs and make it use less fuel, but would also cause the engine to run to slow for the speed the car was traveling. In my experience, it had been at its worst between 30-45 mph. I would always keep the car in 4th except when driving on the highway just to prevent it from shifting into 5th while only going 35MPH.
With the new ECU, the car doesnt have that problem anymore. Also, the new ECU eliminates the half second lag between 2nd and 3rd gear when using sport shift mode.