WhitePearl

I found a 1999 acura tl with 54k miles for $6500... I would love to buy it but the tranny problem scares me.. Any advice?

Luke7

I have a 99TL. Bought it 4 yrs. ago with about 39,000 miles on it. (Paid $11,000) Well maintained/looked like new. Carefully driven. Had the original Michelins on it that were not well worn. I got 55,000 total miles out of the tires and that's in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I knew it was not driven hard and was mostly highway miles since the owner had a run around town car and took the TL on rode trips most of the time. Car now has 102,000 on it and the tranny is still working perfect. Shifts smooth (up and down) and correctly. The 99's were less troublesome than the later 2nd gen. trannys. Sounds like a good price if the car hasn't been wrecked and is in good shape. Do you know the history on it? One owner/many? I met and realized the 82 yr old guy I bought it from took good care of the car and drove it lovingly, so I didn't worry. I change the fluid every 10,000 miles. Put 3 qts. in and out. Hopefully it will run for many more miles but we never know.
I parked next to a new Lexus today at Sam's club and realized that my TL had a better looking paint job with NO orange peel look. Was surprised at the lousy paint job on the lexus. It wasn't nearly as smooth looking as mine. My 99 TL looks just as good design wise, heck even better than the Lexus in my opinion. People are amazed that it will be 10 years old come Nov. 23rd this year. It's still a great looking car and has had very very few problems.
Best Wishes! Keep us informed if you buy it and find out any history.

ChrisQ1980

If the car checks out I would get it. That's a decent price.

Bob_F

The four speed transmission used in the 1999 TL is more reliable than the five speed used in the 2000-2003 TL but it still has reliability issues.

Consumer Reports owner surveys resulted in a "worse than average" rating for transmission reliability. The 2000-2003 TL transmission gets a "much worse than average" rating and that's the lowest rating they hand out.

The original transmission in my 1999 TL made it to about 175,000 miles. So there may be many miles to go on the car you're considering.

Be aware that Acura's extended warranty on the tranmission has expired for all 1999 TLs and many 2000 TLs. If a $3,000+ transmission replacement would be a problem you might want to consider an aftermarket warranty.