What's good acurazine! I'm new to these forums & I wanna gain some knowledge about the 2nd gen tl & shit like that. I don't have a tl yet but its most def in my future! So if anyone could be kind enough to school me on what to look for/what to watch out for before purchasing a 2gen tl. I just wanna start out fresh & correct the first time. Lmk guys. Thanks!

 

Hey yo whats up and good bro..

 

Just chillin. Lurking these forums. So tell me some shit about tl's that I should know about

 

why dont u just read?? everything u need to know has already been written down somewhere in these forums...

 

welcome--first advice is read the thread titles,,and their contents- in this main section and the `problems and fixes` section
you will learn of a 3000 dollar trans failure issue that you will likely encounter soon after purchase
its just too risky these days to buy a TL without an aftermarket trans warranty
unless the car is dirt cheap

other issues by now- needs the 105 service for 1000-1500 dollars or more
ps and all fluid flush 200-300
brake parts 300-500
suspension,,you dont want to know!!$$

my advice,, unless you have a big wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket--dont buy a gen2 TL anymore,,especially if you are not familiar with all the issues
ck out an efficient, cheaper to operate- used honda 4 cyl

 

exception to that would be a car from a member here- with a replaced trans and great maitenance history

you can find those in a link at bottem of main page that appears after you log in-
all the special sections are there--including `Member Cars For Sale`

 

Ooh sorry ill search & read

 

I've heard about the tranny problem & am aware of that having to be replaced. Now I know about the other stuff you just mentioned. Would it be better of a chance to purchase an '03 if anything?

 

Nope. They all started with the same POS tranny. If you must have one (it is a great car other than the trans) do as 01tl4tl said and find one with the trans recently replaced (NOT rebuilt, unless it's in a post-2005 case) and a good maintenance history.

Good luck!

 

alright thanks 03tl-s04mdx! if anything find one with a trans that has been replaced NOT rebuilt. got it! im writing this shit down.

 

what that means is `replaced` by acura under warranty after 2005 in the new case design,,contains old and new parts in a new case
that will have blue paint on the bolt heads on trans

an original trans rebuilt in its same case by private shop= carries the original internal oiling issue

either way it still a bogus design and will fail eventually--whether thats in 60 or 80 or 150kmiles no one can really say, it differs with each car

change the fluids often after its rebuilt,,, and hope-- is all you can do

03 no better- gen3,,2004 -05 same trans problem!!!! 2006 trans design changed again!

unless you buy an awesome trans warranty with the car, and spend no more than 3-4 grand on buying the car., you are are making a bad decision $ wise

look at book value--you buy it now= you may as well drive it into the ground

 

01 What advice would you give to those who may have had their trans fixed under the original callback? when should failure be expected under normal driving conditions?
I have had mine done originally when the callback went out. it hase been fine since then...any advice?

Carlos

 

Start saving. Original recall was only to add the external oil jet to get oil to the 2nd gear shaft. Does nothing to fix problem of worn 2nd/3rd gear clutch packs due to lack of decent oil passages inside trans.

How many miles do you have? If over 75k then expect failure at any time - could be next week, next year or even several years if you are lucky and have never driven it hard (downshifting in SS at high rpms from 4th to 3rd to 2nd for example). But more than likely it will fail at some point ...

 

replaced or rebuilt it don't make no difference. it will break again, its all because of a design flaw were the TL doesn't cut power during gear shifts (something that the accords did and that's why they faired better). also the 2nd and 3rd gear in the box do not get enough fluid to cooldown, the jet kit is supposed to help but thats all theory.

 

Man, this trans problem sounds like a pest to the 2gen TL's! So how do ya'll with a 2gen cope with it?! Seems everyone knows about this problem but still picks up a 2gen.

 

Some of us have had them since new so trans issues weren't widely known. Some just didn't know - often people find Acurazine after trans starts acting up.

 

Besides the callback, hasn't Acura provided a fix to this? I'm sure they know/knew the trannies would fail, they hvae to have a solution. Its a damn good car except for that. I'm the original owner and I have 99K on the original Tranny w/ the jet.

 

The "fix" was to extend the warranty to 107k miles or 7yrs 9mo (whichever comes first) and replace failed trannies with a slightly improved design from 2005 on.

At your mileage I'd expect issues to crop up soon. What's the service history on your trans? Any drain and fills of the fluid? If not don't touch it - just asking for problems at that point. Mine had a drain/fill at 45k and then again at 77k - less than a year later the trans was toast. If you've been doing regular drain/fills then I would continue on the same regimen, start saving for a rebuild/replacement and hope it never comes to that. Or you can always try to get rid of it now and dump the maintenance and eventual tranny needs onto someone else. Not exactly the nicest thing to do unless you disclose why you're selling up front but, as always, buyer beware when it comes to used cars.

 

Not true.

Almost all of us bought the 2G TL before knowing this dreadful tranny problem.

I would never have bought a car with a badly designed tranny, if I had known in the 1st place.

Acura had been hiding this 2G tranny problem from the general public, until NHTSA officially opened an investigation, which then Honda had no choice but to spit out the whole truth. Then we were able to know how bad the situation was and how extensive the failed tranny population was.

As for how I cope with it ? I have been trying to get rid of my 2G TL, after the factory extended warranty period on the tranny has expired.

It is much better to stay away from 2G TL/CL, since a tranny rebuild job can easily cost you $3-4K out of your own pocket.

 

damn & i was looking forward to picking up a 2g TL :shakehead

 

Sorry to disappoint.

If the deal is too good to be true, it is.

 

If you find a 2g tl with a newly replaced trans and water pump/timing belt then it might be good deal, that fucking shit was awful although i love the hell outta my car the tranny failed at 37k and at 93 my transmission switch which tells the car what gear its in failed after i got the rebuilt and when that fails the car is stuck in neutral because it doesn't know how to shift out plus replaceing the water pump and timing belt was about 3k sooooo if you find a car that has the things fixed you might be in good shape but, it will more than likely always have more the 100k on it because the water pump and timing belt are supposed to be changed at 90k.

 

As an owner of a 2g tl, DON'T BUY ONE. Although I still like mine and it has never left me stranded, there are multiple issues that pop up. If you can, save your money and buy a 3g tl or a tsx. I'm still looking for the right 3g tl so I can get rid of my 2g.

 

You know, considering how little I spend on maintaining my car I wouldn't be all that concerned about buying another if I got a good price and I knew that the transmission was relatively new and replaced by Acura after February of 2005. My current transmission was actually replaced in February of 2005 so it's hard to say when it will go, but I've got 90,000 on the replacement transmission.

I've kept quite meticulous records tracking every expense (registration, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, and gas) and even with current gas prices I'm still only spending about 39 cents/mile since I bought it. That's extremely low considering that the IRS figures something like 52 cents/mile. If I get reimbursed for mileage, I'm actually making money. And it's not like I've been cheap and not been getting things fixed. I recently spent $1200 to replace the ABS pump. I change my transmission fluid every 15,000 miles. I always fix every little thing. Often I do it myself but sometimes I do take it to a trusted shop. So even if my transmission goes next week and I have to spend $3000 on it, it still isn't that bad a deal. It's been a pleasure to drive and gets great gas mileage on the long trips that I'm always taking.

Obviously keep the following in mind to optimize your outcome:
1) Having some mechanical ability will help you keep those numbers low.
2) I wouldn't suggest buying one with 120,000 on the original transmission.
3) Keep up on those fluid changes.
4) Check these forums when doing repairs to help save yourself some money.
5) Make sure you're getting it below KBB price.

Now the bad aspects... I despise automatic transmissions and front-wheel drive so I could see my next car being something more like a G35.

 

There is also the question of is it worthwhile dumping another 3 grand on the car which isn't worth a whole lot more.

There are so many choices out there. You could have spent that extra 3 grand on another car that has at least a properly designed tranny, and a better peace of mind especially on long trips.

 

That's always true. One would have to be paying for the experience as well as the financial bottom line. For giggles I just did a Kelly Blue Book search and my car is worth $5685 in good condition. I haven't shopped for transmissions yet but I do have a local Honda dealer that typically does work on my Acura for a lower hourly rate. I'm not certain if they'd do the transmission, but if they would I could probably get it done for less than the $3000 that I sort of pulled out of a previous post. I'd say it's still worth it since all of my other fundamentals are strong at the moment. There is something nice about knowing a car. If I bought a new car, there would be a whole new few-year adjustment period where I got my head around all of its maintenance needs. On mine there aren't that many surprises at this point and that's kind of nice.

 

dont buy it.