RHunter69

Well, it finally happened the other day - after 176K miles, the dreaded shudder/stall/flashing D5 light sequence occurred and my beloved TL now needs a new tranny (amazing that it lasted this long, don't you think?). I've seen the numerous threads about repair/replacement, but now I have to make a choice. Given that rebuilds seem to have a life of 2-3 years at best and that the Acura dealers around the SF Bay Area won't sell to independent shops (thereby increasing their profit by forcing TL owners to have the work done at the stealership), I'm faced with a dilemna. I'm hoping the membership at large can shed some light.

1. Buy a rebuild.
1a. Keep the car until it fails and deal with it again.
1b. Sell the car immediately after having the rebuild installed.

2. Get a factory tranny (at least $3k plus labor, according to my friend who works at a dealership).
2a. Keep the car until it fails and deal with it again.
2b. Sell the car immediately after having the rebuild installed.

3. Try to sell the car with the blown tranny.

4. Keep the car in front of my house as a monument to Honda's failure to engineer the tranny properly (just kidding).

Mind you, I love my TL. It was one of the things that brought me happiness during some of the darkest periods of my life (separation, divorce, etc.) and this is the first serious problem it's had. I also know enough about its weak point (the aforementioned tranny) to know that I was lucky and was living on borrowed time for probably a few years. I honestly don't have lots of disposable cash (house payments, bills, impending engagement that requires buying a ring), so I have to be strategic in what/how much I spend.

I'm open to feedback and suggestions. I'm not in a hurry because I can use my girlfriend's car for a little while, but I don't want to inconvenience her for a long time. Yes, I know I can just compare the cost of a new tranny plus labor to the cost of buying/leasing another car, but I want to know what other TL'ers think - this is as much an emotional decision (maybe even more so) as it is a practical one.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

PiZauL

iTrader: (1)

I say you sell her and pick up the newer TL or another car of your choice. The car has 176k miles, and more problems are bound to occur. Its true that some people had their cars past 200k miles, but some get lucky and some don't.

FL3.2TL

Yea dude, just sell the whip. Hop on a newer TL with 6 speed if money isnt a factor!. Take it easy and good luck.

acutee

I would say if the rest of the car is still in good condition, get the Raybestos kit and have independent shop rebuilt it.

carlitin1988

If you plan on keeping the car for more than 3 years i would suggest doing right at the dealership if you think you are going to end up selling it in about a year span or so than its not worth it to put all that money into it so then i'd advice you to sell it and its true the car has alot of miles more problems ARE bound to happen good luck with your desicion!

CL Platano

fix and sell

joe80055

This Raybestos kit, how well has been known to hold up?

giff74

I think he said, like most of us, money is a factor. I would suck it up short term and pay for the Feb '05 tranny, I have had one for almost six months and no issues so far (knock on wood as I leave on a three week trip this morning). If you have the car paid for this is a no brainer. If the car is in good shape and you have serviced the car correctly over the years, it will keep on motoring. As another poster mentioned if you are going to keep it for another 2-3 years I would fix it with the new tranny and just keep rolling.

Giff

BrotherDavid

In addition to considering the options above, you might want to check the value of your car right now with your mileage and if the tranny was fine. I don't think you said what year your car is, but with that mileage, you might be getting into the range of the bottom that the car will be worth. In that case, regardless of the actual "street value," it may be more worth it to you to get the new factory tranny (pay for half and put the rest on a credit card) or do one of the other options above. Because the car may be worth more to you resurrected than to someone else.

That would be an argument against selling it and trying to trade up, with a rebuilt, new or no tranny replacement. If money's an issue, money's an issue, and it's going to be less expensive to rebuild or replace the tranny than to take on the expense of a new car or a used one in better condition than yours.

Just my 2 cents!

superfob

You mentioned your friend works at the dealer. Someone posted before that Acura dosen't rebuild the trannies themselves so maybe he can help you find out where they get them from.

Another option is getting one rebuild from Aamco. They have lifetime warrantie option on auto trannies.

AAMCO of San Mateo, CA
69 E. 21st Avenue - (650) 573-6444

01tl4tl

Fsstyms1 put 200 thou on his engine and pulled it to put in a different motor with manual transmission. He said the cylinder walls still had all nice markings inside- engine was great
And he drives the new combo every day- very durable cars
You may hold a record on original transmission life!

If the other parts are good engine wise- suspension, and you have kept up with things, just fix your baby
If its been run till it dropped, it may be time to end your relationship with it as you have the other things in your life, and start fresh with a newer car

Even brand new cars break and they are very expensive to do the brakes on the newer TLs
If you drive it another 3 or 4 years thats about 125$ a month to own it, what car can you get for that kind of payment
And the cheaper insurance of the older car- adds up