03CoupeV6

Am I the first? If not, I am one of the few. My transmission was installed in October of 2005 when my 2002 TL-P had 47,000 miles on the clock.

Last weekend while driving on I-75 into Atlanta late at night, the transmission suddenly downshifted into second gear. It took several minutes of creeping along before the transmission finally shifted out. All week, the shifts have been erratic so I took my car to Jackson Acura (the new dealer in Alpharetta, GA) and they ordered a transmission for it and gave me the 06 version of my car (Anthracite/Ebony non-navi) no questions asked. They say my car will be out of service for 10 days. It has 74,500 miles.

I hoped, as do all of you here, that the post-02/05 trannies were fixed. Maybe, just maybe, this is a freak incident... but it doesn't seem likely.

fsttyms1

Bummer. But so far it is a freak incident as you are the only one after all this time. I guess time will tell.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Wait what about that other guy? I forget his name but he had a silver acura for picture and he said his failed to I thought? I could be wrong with that but didnt he have a 02/05 hold on im going to search for that post he made......

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

ok I found it apparently it was a used car so who knows since it was used? So I guess this thread is to be interpereted as you want. https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/floppy-drive-help-151602/ Maybe they acidently put in an older version by mistake or something.

fsttyms1

there was another that had a failure, BUT it wasn't the normal failure. It was a completely unrelated type of failure that was most likely a cause of something not being right to begin with or improper rebuild (which does/can happen with any thing made)

fsttyms1

Right and we dont know if he had a post feb 2005 trans updates.


All we can do is speculate. But so far if you look at the past record with these things they failed alot sooner in with teh past rebuilds, so so far they are shoing that the updates are working

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

oh ok well good to know so far its only 1 which means theres still hope.

BrotherDavid

That's true, and it was me. I bought the car in 9/06 and found the records that showed the tranny had been replaced in 8/05. I called the service manager at the dealership where it was done, he looked it up and confirmed it.

But what does that mean? Not a lot, if you ask me. What was good was that when it threw a code at 98K, they road tested it and replaced the tranny a few weeks ago, which started a new clock on the trans: 3 more years and 36K more miles. So it's all good. The service manager at the dealership told me exactly what fasttyms1 is saying above.

I've noticed people freaking about their transmissions and writing all kinds of crazy stuff about driving "gently" and other voo-doo to avoid problems. Not on this thread, but on the Forum.

It's a car. Drive it. If something happens, document it, take it to the dealer and stay on the case. I did, and I was glad with the outcome, although dealing with Acura customer service at the one near me has been hit and miss. At least on the major one, it was a hit.

grater06

same thing happened to my car .. it already had the forst tranny replaced then last week in went out on me on the way to work .. i was pissed .. but i called acura client services ... cause i live no were near an acura dealer lik 4 hours... so my case manager had me take the car to the nearest honda dealer and they would contact the nearest acura dealer and would arrange to pick up my car free of charge so i called the acura dealer where my car was and sure enough it was there .. they told me about ten days too . and they are gonna wash and vacuum my car then ship it back to the honda dealer where i dropped it off at... all free of charge ... got to love them acura people in california ... cheers goo deal ..

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Thats great about the tranny voo doo I can just picture someone sitting at home and praying to a tranny god. As far as taking it gently well thats probably a good idea. I mean for the older versions beat or it or take it easy it would still fail apparently but these new ones are probably designed to be better and longer lasting so maybe the theroy go easy on it and it will last might work or at least hope. I also think your lucky it failed on you when it did any later and you could have been in a lot of trouble.

ProvidenceLeaf

About 2 months ago I traded in my 03 TL-S. I had started a thread talking about my new car, and the thread got closed before I could start chating about my dealer experience.

I just wanted to say to you guys that my tranny was starting to go again right before I traded it in. I had my tranny replaced at the dealer last year (April 06). I was so disappointed when it started to slip again. Plus, my car was one of the 03's that was not covered so it was like pulling teeth to get Acura to replace it, and I didn't want to have to go through with that again.

I was trying to give a little warning to everyone that I didn't think that they fixed the problem like we were all trying to believe. I even talked to a few mechanics at the Acura side of the dealership where I got my car (It's Acura/Lexus/Infiniti/BMW dealer) and they said I should be happy that I traded the car now. They said that "these TL's are a pain in the ass because of the trannys, and the "new ones" are a joke. I'm sure we'll start seeing more of these replacements coming in soon"

They said they wouldn't fix my car since it wasn't completely fried yet, and send my car to auction since they wouldn't want the headache of being responsible for whoever gets my car next.

Anyway, my less than a year old replacement was starting to slip. Looks like there is another report, and another that we are not sure of.

I still lurk around here, but I didn't want to start everyone up until I heard someone else with a post Feb 05 replacement tranny problem. Just think about it...enought time and miles have started to pass for these new ones to finally start showing failures. i hope I'm wrong, but I think this is just the begining.

03CoupeV6

I feel you, ProvidenceLeaf.. The transmission is poorly designed. How do you correct that without a complete redesign? And the 2nd gens are getting older every day... driving this new one for the past 4 days and next 6-9 is making me see why Acura might be starting to forget the 2nd gen afterall. I just can't see them investing enough money into the 2nd gen at this stage to really, actually, permanently fix the transmission. Last time my transmission was replaced, it was in within a day.. so I sort of wonder if it was just left over stock from pre-Feb-05s. This time it has to be ordered.. so maybe, just maybe, this is the end of the nightmare transmissions for me.

Even though my experience with my TL has not been great (it has had lots of small issues), I'd buy a new one in a heartbeat.

SSMTL01

Thats a bummer... i hope you are the only one.

Please be sure to post in this thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/opera-singing-phenom-charlotte-church-can-she-have-149443/

TL1999

that sux dude and Jackson Acura is new so you will be taken care of. Man, you are around my neck of woods, i could of help u out...LOL

ProvidenceLeaf

I agree with you. Even though the tranny was a PITA I still think Honda/Acura makes a great car. I was actually deciding between a 05 TL 6spd w/navi and my 04 M45 that I ended up buying. I've owned 4 Honda's in the past and my wife and I just bought a 07 CR-V EX, so my faith in Honda is still there. I just think that the 99-03 TL was a hiccup in their line of cars.

To be perfectly honest with you I think my 03 TL-S was built a little better than my M45. My M has a few squeaks and rattles that my TL never had.

Anyway...for all of you with the post Feb 05 tranny...good luck. That is 2 definite failures on here with those. Like I said that now enough time and mileage has started to pass for us to see if the update indeed did "fix" the issues with the transmission.

03CoupeV6

*****UPDATE******

So last Friday night, I picked my car back up. I first noticed how much softer the shifts were and how the car seemed to have less power than before, but I remember thinking the same thing when the transmission was replaced last time. Just takes a little time to break it in and get used to it.

Fast-forward 24 hours.

Starting off from a redlight in downtown ATL, I feel an odd sensation. Must have been a bump, I thought. But throughout the day I felt it again about 4 more times. Then in a parking lot Saturday night, I backed out of a spot and started accelerating down the row of spaces when the car shuddered violently.

It turns out that this transmission is, with 400 miles on it, ALREADY showing the same signs of failure as my first transmission did at 47,000 miles.


Not pleased,
03CoupeV6

fsttyms1

Not to sound like im making excuses for honda but stuff like that does happen when rebuilding that many trans, Occasionally there is a bad one to begin with. Unfortunately there is no way to test them before hand. I feel your pain though. Sucks Big TIme

01tl4tl

If only we could remove the human element from the rebuilding process

Parts fail, assemblers make mistakes

Check your actual warranty on the replacement. If you did not share any cost of the deal- you got a 12 month 10k miles warranty like most of us.
If you paid some, the warranty goes up 1 year 2 year 3 year depending on how much you paid toward the repair

Welcome to Life on Earth

ChrisQ1980

To me it seems you are getting jerked around by the dealer. I'm not really sure they are even giving you a new transmission. Maybe they are half ass rebuilding the same one. I haven't read of anyone with a post 05 tranny problem besides the ones posted in this thread.

I love my 2nd gen and drive it moderatly, if the tranny goes then ohhh well. It's covered for a while. If it doesnt go before the warranty is up then I'm trading the car in and gettin something newer. Most likely a 3rd gen TL-S =)

03typeStl

Good point.

03CoupeV6

Nope, it is a NOT the same transmission that was in the car a week before. The shifts are totally different, as are they symptoms of this failure. The failure of the one that caused me to start this thready was a sudden downshift to second gear on I-75 one night. That transmission occasionally shifted weird but never shuddered.

The original transmission in the car, however, did shudder before failure. It was replaced in October of 2005 when my car had 47k miles.

This is not the dealer jerking me around. They did not give me my car back with the same transmission in it - the shifts on the new one are soft and on the old one was pretty harsh. I hope it is just a manufacturing error.. sigh. This is not the same dealer that replaced it the first time, either. It's just extremely annoying.

BraveDemon

03CoupeV6. I'm starting to have tranny symptoms too. I just had a new Tranny installed this past October. I don't think it rises to the level where I have to worry yet, but yeah I think it's not that surprising that the revised trannys might also be prone to failure.

I mean... if the revised trannys were a sure fire fix.. then wouldn't they just terminate the warranty after you get your old tranny replaced? Lol the fact that they continue to offer new tranny's just screams out that they can't guarantee there is a fix for the tranny issue.

fsttyms1

No they wouldnt.

01tl4tl

The replacement transmission comes with its very own 12 month 10 thousand mile warranty on it. Assuming you shared no cost of the trans with the dealer.

Extensions beyond that based on shared cost by customer

Would you BUY a replacement transmission that had no warranty on it?

I am just glad they did mine at 70k and gave me a loaner car, plus found that odd fluid on my driveway was coming from a bad front motor mount

Many cars are shaking noisy rattling buckets ready to retire at 100k, while ours are just getting the first big service to make it go another 100+!!

There are so many other cars out there that when the warranty is up- too bad
Acura has been known to work with customers- even over the 100k limit (109 with the court ruling)

So your car has to go back in for another freebie- bummer
Do you think they are any happier about it?

I got a shipment of bad ignition condensors once, customer got about 2 miles before the car quit- right after a full tune up and service, on a Friday before a trip to the mountains!
Went to them- replaced parts on the spot- had them come back after the weekend
for some free wipers and a wash
Sorry folks, I dont make the stuff....just install it

Hooray for Acura transmission warranty

ProvidenceLeaf

I agree that the service and warranty is good for the 109K miles, but it after that you may be responsible for a large repair bill of a few thousand dollars depending upon the route you choose to fix it. Plus you shouldn't have to drive a car and worry about if it will make it that day that you are driving to work, or going on a trip.

Also there are people like me who had 03's that were not covered by any extended warranty so it was very difficult to get the dealer to do the replacement for free even though it was the same POS tranny as the 00-early 03's.

I've had a few cars go over the 200K miles mark with no major issues, so yes it's great that they are taking care of those who have failure before 109K, but it still doesn't excuse Honda from the design flaw of this tranny. I had an older Accord automatic that went for 210K, and Infiniti with 203K with no issues.

Anyway, like I said in previous posts I hope myself and 03CoupeV6 are just freak failures with the post Feb 05 fix, but only time will tell if these "new redesigned" trannys will last.

ProvidenceLeaf

I agree that the service and warranty is good for the 109K miles, but it after that you may be responsible for a large repair bill of a few thousand dollars depending upon the route you choose to fix it. Plus you shouldn't have to drive a car and worry about if it will make it that day that you are driving to work, or going on a trip.

Also there are people like me who had 03's that were not covered by any extended warranty so it was very difficult to get the dealer to do the replacement for free even though it was the same POS tranny as the 00-early 03's.

I would not call a tranny replacement a "first big service". How many other cars have a tranny replaced as a part of a cars service? I've had a few cars go over the 200K miles mark with no major issues, not even close to retirement. I had an older Accord automatic that went for 210K, and Infiniti with 203K with no issues.

So yes it's great that they are taking care of those who have failure before 109K, but it still doesn't excuse Honda from the design flaw of this tranny.

Anyway, like I said in previous posts I hope myself and 03CoupeV6 are just freak failures with the post Feb 05 fix, but only time will tell if these "new redesigned" trannys will last.

03CoupeV6

My car only has 75,000 miles and is on transmission number 3. I'd say that's pretty pathetic in and of itself.

I gotta call the dealer back about this new shudder.

uncald4

iTrader: (3)

I had my tranny replaced last summer. It started doing wierd shift and shifting hard into 2nd. Then all the lights popped.

They replaced the tranny with the update. But, I swear that they somehow shut off my warning lights.

Sound dumb right? My new tranny has started doing the same shit but worse. No lights. The work detail from my tranny replacement shows a "replacement of PCM". Does this "NEW" PCM ignore the tranny problems?

Smart move Honda!

01tl4tl

No The PCM is a computer control for the transmission- dont ask me what the initials mean- I just know they did not have to replace mine at 70k with the trans.

Hopefully this will be a winner of a replacment for you!!!
and thank Acura for standing up and getting free replacements and a loaner car

And if #3 wasnt the charm then #4 will be the score!

IMO-There may be issue with the manufacturing facility for the trans- there is now a surge of reports of post 2/05 made trans failures. Perhaps there was a change in employees or something for a period of time that hopefully has long since been fixed, so the post 2/07s will be as perfect as you can hope for.

I am sure the engineers are looking at it

uncald4

iTrader: (3)

Powertrain Control Module.