Just had acura replace my 03 CLS transmission at 67K two weeks ago. However, I notice a transmission "wine" while accelerating half throttle between 3500-4500 rpm that was not there before. It's fairly noticable, at least to me. My old CLS transmission and my wife's 01 TL auto tranny do not have this sound.

My question, is this normal for the acura tranny rebuilds, or is there a problem with the new tranny? Acura has already said they will replace the tranny again if I'm not happy. Would appreciate any input you guys have. Thanks.

03 CLS Auto
Comptech Icebox
UR Pulley Set

 

Doesn't sound like you're happy. Just take it back and have them check it out.
Tranny whine is normal, excessively loud is not.

BTW - welcome to Acurazine. We have a exclusive forum for the CL. Check it out.
https://acurazine.com/forums/

 

Thats bad news if one of the redesigned tranny fails out.

 

I can tell you that I had my tranny repalced two months ago and this one is alot louder then my old one. Quite noticeably at least to me. As long as its shifting smoothe I think you should be ok but I guess you could always see what they would do for you.

 

No its not. Did you ever buy something that was just not working right when you got it home? Every thing has a chance to be assembled a little bit wrong.


If your not happy with it, which you shouldnt be. It shouldnt whine, bring it back

 

For the life of my I cant bring myself to understand what the hell do some of you mean when you say your transmission "whines" ... I just dont get it, can someone enlighten me.

 

well on my TL idk if its the tranny or what but it does it from acclerating from a dead stop to maybe 5 mph. It just kinda goes whoop whoop whoop and goes faster towards the end and fades out. It lasts maybe 2 seconds at the most. Doesnt bother me since its so little. Also mine only does it when from a dead stop otherwise it wont do it.

 

same here!

 

It could well be that the internals are not fully broken in yet ? ...I could see if it didn't want to shift properly at certain RPM'S or making clunky shifts, or maybeit could be a grounding problem with your electronics , comming through your stereo, or other engine mechanicals making noise ....belts etc...but i'm the same way , I notice all the little noises, .....but call and ask other ACURA shop managers or theye'r senior tech's ....it doesn't hurt tocall around ....and ask!

 

I agree to that myself , a little whine is in some cases normal!

 

oh wow haha im glad im not the only one I guess we are good to go then. Just out of curidosity what year is your TL and how many miles you have on it? oh and is it the orignally tranny? Mine is an 00 that just hit 90k today with about 20k on the tranny. This thread has really made me want to figure out what that sound is now that I know other cars do it too.

 

My trans sounds sort of like a turbine - high pitched and starts as you begin to accelerate and continues all the way to 5th gear until the pitch gets really high. We joked a little on our first test drive that it sounded like a jet engine. When you take your foot off the accelerator it stops. The service manager at my dealer rode with me and said the noise was typical for the TL s-type. The car shifts ok but the noise bothers me a little.

 

LOL Take it back and whine to the dealers.

 

My main question - has anyone with a rebuilt transmission had the same transmission whine between 3500-4500 like I'm having. As I said, my old CLS trans and my wife's 01 TL trans have absolutely no Whine like the two week old rebuilt tranny is having.

The acura tech that rode with me last week said he definitley heard the Whine but did not seem to know if this was normal for the rebuilds. He did say I could have a second new tranny if I want which is pretty acommidating on the dealerships part but I don't want to order a new one and have the same whine if this is normal.

Thanks.

 

i hear it too with my new tranny it was replaced about 3 weeks ago... it sounds like a slight whine like theres a breeze or something... i cant really explain it but i definitely know what your saying... do you notice your tranny shifting a bit hard before the car is warmed up? cuz i feel that on my new tranny

 

It's a high pitch whine sound - not a breeze. The shifting is fine however - no harshness.

 

well i didnt mean a breeze... more like a howl... lol i cant explain it but im fairly certain we both have the same issue so im assuming it is normal

 

Mine has had a whine since the dealer installed my second replacement in '04. It's not too bad, so I'm used to it.

I'm at 85k, so I hope it fails one more time in the next 15k! (or is that 24k if the class action suit goes through...)

 

i had mine replaced about a month ago and noticed the whine too... the best sound I can compare it to is a car with a stock supercharger (like a late 90's buick riviera) - it sounds like a really muted serpentine belt whine sort of, but it is definately the transmission

 

Ditto to your experience. I had my 02 TS replaced last July. It whines noticably through 1st-3rd gears. I notice at higher than that, the sounds fades.

This was my second replacement in the month. The first did not have this whine, but instead leaked through bad seals.

Dealer suggested I drive it for a while and let them know if it gets better or worse. In the last nine months it has remained pretty much unchanged.

I complain about it with every visit just so its documented should I ever need another replacement beyond the warranty period.

I'd suggest you do the same with your dealer. If there's a history of complaint, then you have more of a case should you need to go to Honda to cover the costs.

 

its cause the new transmissions have a mini turbo hidden in there...yes turbo has nothing to do with the transmission, but Acura are ballers and they dont care....So if your hear a whining, its just the turbo spooling up.

 

Just letting you guys know but I have "new" model tranny and I'm starting to feel it shift hard. I got a code the other day from the transmission sensor. I'll get the code from him again.

 

i had that same wine on my orignal trans. i know of some cars have the tranny wine a little. my new one wined the same as my old one but for some reason i dont hear it as much. i just broke the 500 miles mark on my new rebuilt one. man with the new update the car feels like it has more torque. i punched it the other day inn d5 and man that thing just keeps going like the torque band just keeps climing from 3500.

i would suggest just drive around and break it in and see if it quiets down. i know mines started to run a little smoother after it broke in. the shifting was a little abrupt in the beginning but it smooth out when i started to drive it more.

but if you are unhappy with it take it back to the dealer to see if they can help you out. seems like a great dealer that they would reorder you another tranny if you are unhappy with yours now.

good luck

 

The best thing you can do is go to the dealer continuously and complain, even if its considered "normal." Like one other person said, you have a nice case built to Honda if it does crap out on you. Then all you do is say, "well here are all my documented visits with complaints, but the dealer said it was fine." Then they won't have a leg to stand on if the problem was potentially within the warranty period.

I have done this with mine as well. I worked at the dealer for awhile and know people there; they told me I would NEVER have to pay for a tranny for that car and that they'd take care of it for me.....but I've had it documented on the repair order to check trans for harsh shift as a complaint at least 2-3 times. I also made sure that I had my tranny flushed there so it was on the repair order.....mine has 86k on the original and the fluid has been changed 4 times I believe.....a little overkill....but my case is ready to present if it craps out above 100k---then I can hope for a "goodwill."

Also, FYI, when I last worked at the dealer in fall 2005, there was not a tranny available for customer pay (i.e. you couldn't go in there and buy it if you were forced to replace it yourself). The parts mgr. told me Acura warranty had them all so you had to go through them--he couldn't even order it if I wanted one for myself......meaning at least some chance of getting a freebie no matter what. It's all up to the dealer on whether you get one most of the time. I've heard of Acura declining people, but your chances are slim on getting nothing if you have all your evidence.

 

I finally had acura replace the the "Whining replacement transmission" at their suggestion, and the new replacement tranny (third one) also whines (more so as the weather gets warmer in Denver). I have about 3000 miles on it.

The Acura dealer has been good to me in that they made the suggestion to replace the second tranny even though nothing else was wrong.

I guess the bottom line is that all or most replacement trannys whine -- unfortunately -- maybe more with certain ones than others. The whining sound is still annoying.