I have an Acura TL 3.2L (not a type S) at 135xxx miles. The tranny is getting a little clunky between 1st and 2nd gear. Ive heard bad things about 2nd gen trannys and I don't really want to trash my transmission. I like racing my buddy's saab every once in a while (I poop on his 2.0L). Should I refrain from this and will sport mode make a difference in the life of my tranny? And also I was thinking about installing a turbo (nothing ridiculous) and a new exhaust but I don't want to have a tranny fail in the middle of a project.
I'm just a teenager so please don't slaughter me, I just want some info.
Thanks guys

 

OK first of All Welcome to the Forums!


Now.. Lets Describe your problem..
Your trans gets hard shift or at any given point you feel it miss the shift and slips a Little? Kinda like you depress a clutch in a manual?

Clunk or Hard shifts can mean Bad ATF (Time to Change) I recommend a 3x3 with Honda DW-1 (Dealer or Amazon) also can mean bad Engine Mounts. Sport Mode will in most cases decrease trans life since its mostly used for racing or keep a gear for long which causes Heat and Wear.. Just use D4 for City and D5 for highway.

Turbo or any Kind of F/I will decrease trans Life, In these cases you want to swap that trans becouse it will eventually die.. 6 Speed Swap or Accord V6 trans are your choices.


Hope that Helps!

 

Thanks for the reply!
Yes my transmission is just really clunky between 1st and 2nd gear. I spoke with my grandpa about this (he is a kind of under the shade tree mechanic) and he told me to just let it lock up and die. Should I get it replaced before or after this happens? Could this tranny failure lead to an accident or any endangerment? Once I do get it replaced is it cheaper or more expensive to get a manual or an auto? I prefer manual..kind of a control freak when it comes to shifting lol
Thanks
Wyatt

 

It can! The trans can suddenly downshift at highway speeds of 60mph into 2nd and it can end in an Accident.

In this case No.. AUTO is the cheaper and reliable way to go, But not our original Transmission you need the Accord V6 5 Speed Auto from 2006 and 2007 it will basically bolt-on with a few mods and it probably last until the end of the car with proper maintenance.
Going for Manual is way more Expensive since you need a lot more of Parts + Trans itself < This route is for serious "wanna-keep" the car owners not for guys who upgrade every given years.

But Again! Is it Slipping? Clunk shifts can be bad ATF or worn Mounts nothing to do with our Specific Problem.. If it aint Slipping then you dont have the problem yet.

 

No it is not slipping but an other thing that my shed some light on my situation is that when accelerating in 3rd gear my transmission downshifts to 2nd gear and it misses the gear and red-lines until I let off the gas enough for it to get second. This happens every once in a while. What I have been told is that older autos can get confused at times and miss gears. Could this be considered slipping? But in daily driving there is no blatantly obvious slipping that I could feel.

 

Take the shift solenoids out and clean them, also as Skirmich said change your fluid with Honda DW-1 fluid. DRAIN AND FILL three times DO NOT FLUSH. Let us know if it helps, it sounds as though from reading and personal experience that its on its way out. Just be easy on it.

 

Hey Tey_Smitty, an '02 TL @135k.....wanna race & mod, but dunno 'bout tranny ? First things first !

Best thing to do is check with your local Acura dealership to see if the recalls were performed. They will be able to tell ya if the tranny had a "jet kit" installed or possibly the tranny may have been replaced. All ya need is to provide the VIN # for this info.

With a handy "shade tree" mechanic in the family, have Gramps coach ya on doing the tranny fluid drain & fill. It's worth the time and money to try it, IMO. Buy a case of Honda "DW1" fluid....each refill requires about 3 qts. after draining the tranny's pan. Also consider replacing the tranny's filter located on top of it. (Fluid & filter, about $100)

While ya have Gramps around, check the motor mounts.....as the front and top passenger side are notorious for going bad. (Mounts, about $150) The forum's "DIY" sticky has lot's of tips on PM. Also try searching for a specific subject......there's ton's of good stuff on here, available at your fingertips !!!!

If all of these easy and relatively inexpensive things don't help, then figure on about $1000 for a used Honda '06>'07 tranny from a V6 model. Another $500 to install. A CL 6 speed stick is a rather cost prohibitive option, unless ya are capable of doing your own work. Try the simple stuff first, than if that doesn't work..... ya can take Gramp's advice and just kill it !

 

Check the diy section for complete instruction on how to drain and fill. A little more than three quarts. Come out at a time so buy 10clips quarts to be safe. Try to the best of your ability to get it to center of the dip stick. Check transmission fluid on a flat surface and after you turn off the engine.

Do not use any additives transtune etc etc.

 

Thanks everyone, I'll be let yall know how it preforms tomorrow thanks for all the advice!

 

One important thing to do before changing fluid is to smell your current transmission fluid.

If it smells burnt, more than likely, the main pressure regulator valve in the valve body is stuck, and not allowing fluid to flow into your torque converter, causing it to overheat.

Just remember it is never good to jump to conclusions. You want to check every possibility before deciding to repair something.

Here is a video about how to change the transmission fluid on a 2nd gen TL: