yup finally my 02 TL-S after 45,000miles of hard driving has broke. i wasnt surprised as it hinted this for the last month or so - harsh shift engagement, super slow shift reaction, and mad slippage. at least i was able to drive home from work in like 1st gear...but now i think none of the gears work it just slips totally. it reeks of what i think is burning tranny fluid and it's some dark brownish color from what i think was normally pink. i guess it's really fried inside there. oh well now i get a new trany...

damnit i just got new tires for the car and i dont even get to mount them....yet

which dealership should i take it to around 626 (around SGV) for warrenty?

 

mine did the same thing yesterday too. I had 31 k...im in a rental right now...sorry to be the first to welcome you to the failed tranny club.

 

MINE WENT YESTERDAY TOO.....ACURA IS REPLACING IT AT NO CHARGE, BUT DAMN THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

 

yeah, I signed that petition this morning and im the 1820 th person.

 

Don't worry. Once the tranny has accumulated enough mileage, there will be more and more joining us.

 

so do they put the same transmission back in or did they redesign it? Why put another poorly designed transmission back in?

Anyone have input there?

Brian

 

I don't think that's true. From what some of the other members have posted, it seems like repeated tranny failures have more to do with incorrect installation than a second faulty tranny. I've got 32k on my 2002 TLS (among the first to be built) so I'm still waiting for my first one to go out. Apparently the new trannies are better and so are the new PCMs that come with it. It fixes some of the SS lag problems. Boy I can't wait!

 

Do you have any info on how the replacement tranny can be installed incorrectly ? Rebuilt trannies are shipped to the dealerships all in one piece. There is no loose part to be messed with. It is a straightforward bolt on job.
To remove the old tranny, a few plastic cover pieces need to be removed, tranny oil drained, motor mounts bolts unbolted, electrical connectors disconnected, other mounting bolts unbolted, suspension parts bolts unbolted, half shalfs removed, engine lifted, tranny bolts unbolted, and rebuilt tranny finally replaced. I may have missed a few steps, but this is generally what’s being done. If the job is done right, the car will drive; if the job is not done right, the car won’t drive. I can’t see how the incorrectly-installed rebuilt tranny could be driven for a few or even a few tens of kilo-miles before failing again.
I used to be smiling with myself when someone’s tranny failed because I thought that I was outside that 2% (Honda claimed) failing cars, and that Canadian cars have less failures. That was before 46K km. At around 46K km, I wasn’t smiling any more because my tranny was starting to have occasionally funny shifts. After less than two weeks, I lost third gear completely. Now I begin to think that more and more trannies are gonna fail once they have accumulated enough mileage. But I sincerely hope that this is not the case.
The rebuilt trannies have already had a few revisions done. Obviously the earlier revisions did not solve the real problem(s). That’s why we see repeated failures from rebuilt trannies. The latest revision involves replacing the PCM as well. Let’s hope that Honda has got to the bottom of the problem(s), and not just “fix wounds temporary with band-aids at minimum warranty cost”.

 

I bought my 02 TL-S this Feb, took it in for 30k service and complained about sloppy shifting (maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but it's not the best in the world.) They told me my tranny was replaced in Dec 03. Would this be the good one, with the electronic fixes? Thanks to this group, I'll certainly be watching my fluid color and shift patterns!

 

Interesting about the tranny failures.

Our 02 Tl-P, not type S, just had the tranny serviced at 30k.

They noted that the fluid was extremely dirty. Apparently much dirtier than they thought it would be. No way I would go extended drain intervals on the tranny in this car.

 

Im still in my first tranny @ 64K miles...im in FLorida though...flat driving... is it possible that when my tranny blows up, that i can get '00and up 5speed tranny?

heh if so ill go blow it right now!

 

So what is the symptoms before it dies?

I have 2002 TLS with 38k but so far no sign of tranny issue. Although sometime I think shifting isn't as smooth as before.

 

I second what "driver" says. My '02 TL-S "feels funny" at times when it shifts between 3rd and 4th gear (in D4). I can't describe it very well yet, except to say that the shift isn't quick -- feels sorta mushy -- but it shifts.

Looks like my baby may be dying at 43K miles!

V.

 

Well, so far, my 2003 TLS has had no trans. problems. I bought it at Thomas Acura in Covina and they seem to doo good service. Take it there!

 

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...ilure+symptoms

 

'cause they don't have anything better to put in there

Unless they buy some GM transmissions like BMW does.

 

My second tranny lasted longer than the first one, but it still broke. They are bad trannies. That's all.

 

symptom is that it shifts crappier than normal. You will know.

 

I had tranny replaced 2nd time.. mine is 78k, my first tranny went out 37k.. I have replaced tranny with the warranty.. Current warranty extension 100,000.. but do you get more warranty out from Acura. I need more.. I don't know when it's going to fail again.

 

I have just failed the fourth transmission in my 02 TLS. The first happened at 19,000, again at 20,000 and again at 24,000 (two remanufactured trannies). I finally asked for a 03 tranny which at first they stated would not fit my 02. Well the brand spanking new 03 transmission worked perfectly for about 18,000 miles and then started acting up just like the 02 and was just diagnosed as defective.

 

got my second one in just the other day. Feels much better again. they told me it would be 5 days downtime but had it ready in under 2!! Musta had some extras laying around the shop!

 

Just dropped off my 02 TL-S again, 1 week after I had my transmission replaced. Had some of the same symptoms as before...cruising along on the highway then the transmission downshifts, then goes back up. All this while travelling at the same speed...not accelerating, nor decelerating. Also noticed that the D5 on the dashboard dimmed and came back on a few time...more or less when I am decelerating. The worst was Wednesday when it happened 5-7 times on the highway. Thursday, not as bad but it happened at times.

They think I should get it back by today. Hopefully its something they just need to adjust.